Welcome. Here's a little something for you.
Let me explain what’s going on here, so you know what to expect.
💡 Why am I starting a Substack (and why do it now)?
Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked closely with agency owners during their best and worst moments. I’ve even setup and run digital agencies from scratch. Some succesfully, some not so successfully.
And one thing has become clear during that time.
Most people didn’t start their agencies to run a business!
They just got damn good at what they do, then found themselves with a growing team, tricky clients, and a lot of responsibility.
And they need someone to get into the trenches with them, and be eye-to-eye with their challenges. Only then are they able to build forward. With collaborative support, not just someone pointing out things to do from a ‘growth’ list they tout to every other agency.
This publication then, is a way for me to give more of what I’ve been doing behind the scenes to other people that migth need support.
Helping agency owners grow, avoid chaos, and build the kind of business they actually want to run. Without needing a business degree, or another 1000-page business plan book.
It’s also the next evolution of something I started during Covid. About 5-years ago to this day.
Whilst the world turned to sh*t. And every agency person I knew was about to lose a lot of money, I started a free 12-week support group that brought agency owners together to share practical tools and stay grounded.
I’d just spent the previous 18-months building and scaling and agency team from 20-40 people. And all the good, bad and ugly that work entails.
I offered to share one ket insight from my ‘field notes’ per week. Experiences that supported my growth. To test if it also worked in their agency.
I’m pleased to say those agencies are still going strong today. And since then, I’ve continued to look out for ways to impact agencies and their owners.
Now, I’m bringing that same collaborative spirit into a more structured, ongoing digital space. Where I can share my direct playbooks, tools, insights and (sometimes) rants that come straight from the trenches of real agency work I’m involved in.
👋 What kind of community I’m building
This space is for curious, creative agency leaders who want to get better at running the business without losing their edge. People who care about doing good work, but also want to get paid properly, scale sensibly, and protect their people (and peace of mind).
It’s for people who feel more like reluctant operators than natural CEOs - but those who still want to feel in control of their agency’s direction.
This isn’t a guru-led community. It’s a space for thoughtful tools, tested thinking, and shared experiments that come from real, everyday agency life.
Whether you’re growing, stuck, or simply regrouping - you’re welcome here!
🎯 What to expect
You’ll hear from me via email every two weeks. With a mix of hands-on playbooks, thought starters, and experiments I’m running with active agency clients.
🔓 Free subscribers get:
Bi-weekly deep-dive posts
The odd free playbook and tool
Occasional insight reports or interviews
🔐 Paid subscribers, will also get:
Full access to the playbook library
Bonus tools, templates, and bespoke agency calculators I create
Early access to upcoming reports and growth kits
First invites to new support sessions and workshops
And yes - there’ll be the odd story or insight that doesn’t fit a category. But, that’s half the fun. Your support is greatly appreciated, as it powers the kind of impact I’m trying to build here for agency owners and their businesses.
🔗 Free Playbook
I firmly believe that the agencies who look set to thrive in 2025 (and beyond) are not just selling their services! Instead, they’re positioning themselves to offer better commercial outcomes. Met through the design and implementation of a strategy for their customers.
The long-term opportunity for client longevity is about creating commercial impact across their customer journey. The ‘whole journey’ instead of the pieces that are offered as services.
This Playbook is one I developed for my agency clients. It’s packed full of actionable steps to align your client offering for long-term success.
👉 Download the Selling Strategy Over Services Playbook (PDF)
(Free for now — this one’s a gift on me, to help get you impact!)
🧠 Mindset Shift: Strategy isn’t an upsell. It’s a smarter starting point.
If you know strategy leads to better outcomes, don’t treat it like an optional extra. Show how it protects their budget and sharpens their focus.
Strategy isn’t fluff - it’s smart. How can you test ways to own it?
👋 Found this useful?
Subscribe as a paid member to unlock all future resources, templates, and tools — or forward this to someone who runs an agency and needs help to grow their business.