If you're growing your service-based business with a team, this is the mastermind for you.
The Agency Mastermind is a space for you to navigate the ups and downs of growing a business based on the agency model. Where you can be with other bosses like you who are experiencing the same things.
This Mastermind is DIFFERENT
Before we go any further, you need to know this mastermind is different. This isn't a glitzed up version of a BS fluffy program designed to fund my lavish jetset lifestyle.
The Agency Mastermind is based on the belief that when we work together we all do better. And that we need a community of practice as agency owners where we talk about the real-life situations we find ourselves in with our team, clients and operations. This mastermind designed as place for all of us, as professionals with shared experience, to learn how to do what we do better through consistent support and interaction.
Hey Boss, I'm Maggie
And I've spent my entire career in the agency world.
Not even kidding. The first years of my PR career were spent climbing the ranks at a fast-growing agency going from inexperienced account coordinator to account director managing big budgets, a team and even bigger name clients.
Once I started freelancing, I found myself doing subcontracting work for a number of agencies. Believe me, that was an education in all the ways you could run an agency with the good, the bad and the super freakin' ugly.
Today, I run Scoop Studios, a boutique content marketing agency that works with tech and professional services companies.
Best of all, I didn’t set up an agency last year and then decide how to teach you how to do it too. I've been doing this my entire career, and after years of working with service business owners, I've realized that my years of experience can make a measurable impact on other agency owners.
This is Perfect for You If...
You’re Running an Agency. Period.
Creative
Consulting
Professional
Services
Or any other B2B or B2E company where you rely on clients to get paid and have a team to deliver those services.
Get 1:1 Support to Build Your Biz
I know from my personal experience with growing my business that there’s simply nothing more powerful than one-on-one support — especially the kind where you’re not a number, but you’ve got support from someone deeply invested in your success.
That's at the heart of the Agency Mastermind.
But before you go any further...
You Should Know:
I’m Not a Coach, I’m a Consultant.
Have you ever asked a question and had the response be “What do you think you should do?” Frustrating, right? If you knew what to do, you’d not be asking the question in the first place!
I’ve spent my career as a consultant in professional environments where I’m expected to have the answers and get results. I’m not a coach who only knows how to run a coaching business.
As a consultant, I'm a collaborator, a contributor, and a conspirator to help you make things happen.
Best of all, I'm an agency owner who's in the trenches with you experiencing what's working and what's not in real-time.
As a consultant, I give you the answers. I dish up my professional opinion based on your specific situation when you’re part of the Agency Mastermind. There's absolutely NO cookier cutter advice coming out of my mouth, ever.
When you’re in the Mastermind, I roll up my sleeves and get into the weeds of your business with you. Just a few things I’ve been known to do: bust out the calculator to break down budgets, re-work weekly schedules, help with team challenges and give you the guts to stay the course when things aren't all rainbows and unicorns.
“My business was growing faster than I expected and I needed guidance from inside the industry. I had some great mentors in business and finance, but I was jonesing for a creative entrepreneur mentor who would truly understand the intricacies and WTF-eries of working with a remote team and remote clients. I knew Maggie was my person and I hunted her down before she even had a chance to market to me!
Maggie has been on-call for some peak stressful moments in my business this year and she’s always calm and validating without ever coddling. She relies on her wealth of experience in the industry to guide her input and has talked me off the ledge of making impulsive decisions and encouraged me to stay the course.
I recommend this mastermind to anyone who is running a business and intending to grow a team. Maggie, Sara, and the whole mastermind team are worth every penny. I won't hesitate to renew my membership next year!”
— Katie Pangborn,
Founder + Head Copywriter, Talking Tree Communications
What Does Your Mastermind
Experience Include?
The Agency Mastermind is currently in session. We'll be opening again in Fall 2023 for our 2024 cohort. Scroll down for details and to sign up for the wait list.
Quarterly Planning Office Hours
Every quarter, we’ll have office hours to get your quarterly plan done using my Supercharged Success planning system. Planning Office Hours are designed to help you create your Success Map plan for you to be productive and focused for the next 12-week period.
Office Hours are interactive and enable you to bring your specific questions and challenges to the table.
Mastermind & Group Coaching
Each month, we have a monthly group coaching call with mastermind style “hot seats” to focus on your specific issues that month and come up with a winning way forward. (This is always a mastermind favorite as you get unstuck and into action!)
Mastermind-Only Slack Group
A big part of the mastermind is collaborating with other agency owners in a small, intimate setting. This mastermind-only Slack group is the perfect place to bring your challenges for feedback and get cheered on as you make strides in your business. I’m in this group daily to support you and help you with whatever you need to grow.
“Before joining the mastermind, I was craving one-on-one, personal guidance and accountability from another agency owner who's been there. Being part of this mastermind has helped keep me focused on the right things in my business and eliminate what isn't working.
What I wasn’t expecting was how having a small but robust circle of other agency owners to lean on and turn to has been so fun and rewarding. You're not just getting Maggie's experience — you're getting a whole group of agency founders to learn from and grow alongside.
Since joining the Agency Mastermind I've successfully been able to go after the larger corporate and higher-value clients I need to support the team I'm building, and that fit the long-term vision of my agency. I'm still on track to outpace 2019 revenue by 37%, even with the hit the economy has taken. Through some of the toughest and most emotionally challenging moments in my business, I've been able to get support that instantly puts everything into focus and gives me tangible next steps. Maggie goes above and beyond to be there when it really matters. The Agency Mastermind is hands-down the best investment I've ever made in my business and I never want to be without it.”
— Megan Van Groll,
Founder, Evoke + Engage
Plus, you’ll get the one-on-one support your business needs:
Kick Off Goal Setting Intensive
During this 45-minute session, we’ll dive deep into your goals, break them into bite-sized chunks, and help you create a plan for how exactly you’re going to get this all done. No matter what your goal-setting challenges are, I’ve got you covered, and at the end of this call, you’ll have a realistic plan that fits your business and your life.
Monthly Calls
After your goals set, then you’ll get monthly calls with me where we’ll work together on your business. You set the agenda, and we’ll make magic happen in a matter of minutes so you can make big things happen in your business. (10 monthly calls are included, and calls are 30 minutes each.)
Four 15 Minute 911 Calls
Hello, 911, this is a business emergency. Let’s face it, sometimes things get a little sticky, or you just need to talk it out. That’s where your 911 calls come in. You get help as you need it so things don’t get messy, and you can get back to business.
Maggie In Your Pocket
I’m here to help you, which means I’m accessible to you via both Voxer and my project management system. You can share documents, ask questions, think out loud and get direct access to me. No need to go it alone or stay stuck when I’m just a Voxer or message away.
Mastermind Workshops
Here's a sampling of our workshops:
Sustain or Scale: Getting Real About Your Growth Plans
It’s easy to subscribe to the idea that you should be constantly growing, but no one talks about the painful reality of growing an agency. In this workshop we’ll dive into:
- The essential strategy you need for deciding when to scale and when to sustain so you can build a solid foundation. (Including the value of being a microagency.)
- Understanding revenue breakpoints for your business and what you need to know before you decide to cross the “valley of death”.
- Dealing with cash flow as you grow and locking down your money game plan.
Sell the Strategy™ for Agency Owners
As an agency owner, you’re doing strategic work, but over time it’s way too easy to end up in a position where your expertise gets devalued by clients. In this workshop we’ll explore:
- My Sell the Strategy framework and how it applies to how and when you sell strategy in your agency.
- The biggest mistakes agency owners make when it comes to selling strategy.
- The #1 thing you must do to effectively sell strategy and get paid for your team’s brilliance and expertise.
The Truth About Building a Team
Hiring is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building your agency’s team. From capacity to resource allocation to becoming a solid leader, there are so many moving pieces that we can quickly feel like we’re in over our heads. We’re going to talk about all of it, including:
- The 411 on capacity and resource allocation, and how to do it when you’re short on time.
- The hidden truth about the path to profit when hiring that everyone needs to know.
- Your leadership must-haves as a growing agency owner. (Some of these may surprise you!)
Lead Gen and Sales for Your Agency
You know how to get clients and close the sale, but to build a thriving agency, what got you to this point, likely won’t get you to the proverbial next level. In this workshop we’ll look at:
- Analyzing your current lead gen plan based on your current (and future) business goals.
- Strategic shifts in your sales process to compete with big agencies and to improve your close rate.
- Deciding how involved your team should get with your marketing and sales, and how much time you should be investing.
Future Planning: What Every Agency Needs to Know
Many of us are accidental agency owners, but what comes next can’t be an accident, you need to have a carefully designed plan. In this workshop you’ll learn:
- The power of projections and how to accurately future forecast in your business.
- Building out an org chart to ensure you’re hiring proactively (instead of in panic mode).
- Examining the cash needed to make your plans a reality.
- Reviewing your resources and creating a retention plan including learning and development, psychological safety and more.
Each of these workshops is exclusive to the Agency Mastermind and specifically designed to support the most impactful areas of your business.
Bonus #1
Virtual Retreats
Facts: We all need time away to work on our business. In 2023, we’ll have two virtual retreats.
Virtual retreats will be all the fun of an in-person event with the ease of being in your home office! For 2023, for each retreat, we'll have an experienced, successful agency owner join us for a Q&A session so you can go behind-the-scenes!
Bonus #2
All Access Pass to All SBB Products
As a mastermind member you get an all access pass to all the products we have in our shop. With over 10 products you'll have a shortcut for everything from marketing scripts to proposal templates and so much more.
Get Ongoing Operations &
Leadership Support
As an agency owner, there are multiple layers to your business, which means you need support on multiple fronts. This is why you can join quarterly operations and leadership office hours with my support team! You bring your questions and you'll get input on your specific operations and leadership challenges.
Operations Office Hours
Sara Freeburn
My right hand at Scoop and BS-Free Business, Sara will be co-hosting operation office hours. At Scoop, she's the Client Services Director so she knows what your customers wish you knew and the ins and outs of the operations side of your business.
Before Scoop, Sara spent 15+ years in marketing, training, and operations roles in the corporate world with well-known financial services and telecommunications brands.
Tressa Beheim
Tressa is a project manager, back-office coordinator, and people wrangler who knows product development and online marketing. She acts as the COO in her client's businesses, going beyond the typical Online Business Manager role.
With nearly a decade of experience in operations and online business, Tressa will bring her know-how to your team and ops challenges.
Leadership Office Hours
Bekka Prideaux
Bekka Prideaux is my leadership coach and has been instrumental in my growth as a leader in the past couple of years. With years of corporate experience building and leading teams, she brings a unique point-of-view to how we lead as agency owners.
In the Agency Mastermind, you'll have hands-on support from Bekka around your challenges with your team, building a culture, hiring, and much more.
JOIN THE AGENCY
MASTERMIND WAITLIST
The price is currently $600 a month for 13 months.
We're full for the 2024 cohort and the waitlist gets the first crack at available spots when we open in in Fall 2024
“I joined this mastermind as it’s the only one I've seen that focuses on running and building an agency-model business. I was looking for a community and network that wasn't about "coaching" and really about services!
I loved that we could be honest about where we were in our agency journey, share client woes with people who really got it, and ALL of the bases were covered in the program - from capacity, clients, strategy, pricing, onboarding contractors, etc. it felt like I had all the resources and tools, as well as, the people to make this work!
Thanks to the mastermind my business is so much more efficient and my average client spend and contracts are WAY more than what I was charging before. Plus, I've also been able to bring on my partner full-time, hire four other contract writers, and be able to serve more clients.
I’ve loved being able to ask questions about capacity, team management, hiring/firing, workflows and everyone in the group gets it. It was a comfortable space to show up and share all the lows of being an agency owner while receiving support and acknowledgment along the way.
If you’re tired of all the flashy things folx sell and really want to talk about quality client services this is the group for you.”
— Cassandra Le,
Brand Strategist & Copywriter, The Quirky Pineapple Studio
“I love Maggie's no-BS approach to building an agency. Having direct access and support from Maggie is exactly what I needed. Every piece of advice is specific to the situation, not a generic canned response. Plus, being in a smaller community creates a tight-knit group where ideas, knowledge sharing, and support happen organically.
Personally, I love being able to get a gut check on big business decisions. Maggie is present and active in serving her mastermind. Plus, the tools and resources that are available have helped me be more organized in operating my business, growing my team, and being clear on the direction we are going.
Since joining the mastermind, we've gone from a team of contracted resources to hiring two employees. We have grown our year-over-year revenue and are able to serve more clients.
This mastermind is for any agency owner who wants to implement a sustainable and profitable structure for growth.”
— Katie Holt,
Lead Smart Girl, Smart Girl Digital
“I signed up for the Agency Mastermind because I wanted to find a community of other micro-agency owners who know what this work involves. I also wanted to learn strategies to help me grow my team and my operations in a way that wasn't formulaic or force-fed.
Now I have a clearer idea of where I'm at in my business. I know my numbers are on track, I know my team is organized in a way to support growth, and I know that my offers are scalable in an agency model. I've also learned which areas of my business I need to focus on when things start to feel rocky, and I have a plan for addressing concerns as they come up.
While I can't tie a specific number to our work in the mastermind, I do know that this is our highest revenue year. This is in part because I have frameworks needed to scale to make more money, but also because I feel more confident in my role as a leader/CEO of the business. I’m in a community that’s doing exactly what I'm doing, and I see what's possible. That means my decisions are more sound, my ideas have more direction, and I don't doubt myself as much as I used to!”
— Latasha Doyle,
Owner and Lead Writer, Uncanny Content Co.