At the beginning of this year, I made 2 vows to myself with my work: Lose the ego and practice humility Relentlessly track inputs and daily behaviours I believe that I will achieve everything I’m aiming for with my business if I exclusively practice these two vows alone. Why focus on these two? Most of the time in business, you lose because you become cynical over time. You start doing things because “that’s the way it’s always been done”. Innovation becomes stagnant as you lose the desire to...
2 months ago • 2 min read
I've always been a worrier. As far back as I can remember, I've had anxiety about the future. There's definitely a strong genetic element in this and it's taken a lot of work to get it under some degree of control in my life. Most business owners I speak to are the same. Worried about signing their next deal, how AI will impact their business, whether they're losing an edge to their competitors. Insecurity controls them. They're often motivated by the desire to "prove people wrong" as though...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Quick update this week as I need to fit the gym in before it closes. It’s about the power of detachment and momentum and why they’re so important to your business and how they’re intertwined. Last week, I discussed how I’d spent the year grappling with a personal crisis that had led to constant, reactive decision-making. It led to feelings of hopelessness and paralysis. I couldn’t see any way forward until I started to map out my daily inputs again. This year, I promised myself things would...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Last Thursday, I hosted my first-ever exclusive mastermind event at my home, bringing together 20 leading agency owners across the UK. It was a vision I’d had since I bought the house—to create a space for incredible people to connect, grow, and create amazing memories. Rather than telling you how amazing it was, just read the feedback from people that attended: Article content There were people in the room who had multimillion pounds exits. Leaders who employed 50+ staff. And upcoming...
5 months ago • 4 min read
For over 5 years, I fell into the dangerous trap of calling my agency a "family". I applied the same principles I use in my personal life to my business and ran it accordingly: with forgiveness (at all costs), unreasonable empathy, and attachment. It's cost me hundreds of thousands of $ by holding onto underperformers and killing productivity in the process. The reality is, a family is a group you often have to tolerate no matter what. The people who are truly there for you—through thick and...
7 months ago • 4 min read
I’ve spent thousands of hours testing 5 channels to grow Magnet Monster into a 7-figure agency & Klaviyo Elite Partner. Here’s a breakdown of what’s worked well and what’s been downright ugly in getting to this level. I spend a lot of time chatting with other agency owners about marketing and sales. It always fascinates me to see how much better they do things than us on certain channels, and vice versa. I’ve realised that after running my own agencies for 6 years now, there’s no single way...
about 1 year ago • 6 min read
It’s not going to be fun to write today’s newsletter, but I promised I’d keep it real with you guys for as long as I kept this up. There’s been more bad news with Content Army this week. We lost one long-term client (12 months) and another asked for a retainer reduction. To say the business is struggling would be an understatement. It’s been dealing with headwinds that I’m not even sure are solvable at this moment in time, which I’ll explain below. Despite this, I am, of course, going to...
about 1 year ago • 9 min read
Another wild week is in the books. Lots of challenges this week. Hard conversations - being tough with people you respect and holding them accountable. After talking about momentum and being prepared for tough times in business last week, I got smacked in the face - extremely hard - twice this week. First, a 4-year-old client told me they were taking things in-house. Second, an A-player on our team resigned and found a new opportunity elsewhere. This is the reality of running a business....
about 1 year ago • 6 min read
It’s been a hell of a week at Magnet Monster. Since the turn of the year, our pipeline has exploded. Surprisingly, January is always busy with lots of movers and shakers. In the last 2 years, these have been our strongest sales months, and this year doesn’t seem to be any different. We’ve signed 3 clients in the last 10 days, and we may finish on another 3 before the month is over. We’re coming to a stage where we’re at the classic agency inflection point of “Should we hire for increased...
about 1 year ago • 3 min read