🙅 5 costly agency mistakes to avoid

One of the best ways to grow your business is to avoid making big mistakes.

My business is thriving now, but when I look back…

I could be paying myself 10x more if I hadn’t made certain mistakes along the way.

Today, I’m sharing the biggest lessons I’ve learned from those mistakes…

Which could save you MILLIONS.

First up…

1. Moving too fast

When I was starting out, I was overly ambitious.

Before I hit $2M/year, I only cared about how fast I could get there—for the lifestyle, ego, and YouTube recognition.

At the time, I didn’t expect moving too fast to cause the problems it did.

Moving too quickly forced me to cut corners, hire poorly, and churn clients faster.

If you build your business systems right the first time, you may not reach $2M/year as fast, but you’ll get to $10M/year MUCH faster.

I promise you.

2. Not handling massive brands personally

This ties directly into mistake #1.

I missed out on some incredible case studies because I wanted to remove myself from operations as fast as possible to focus on growth.

Because of this, back in 2021 and 2022, 8F missed the chance to crush it for some great businesses.

Why?

In 2022, I had a consultant who looked great on the surface and said all the right things.

He had plenty of case studies, and even mastered the 8F operational system.

But ultimately, he wasn’t elite at strategy and couldn’t provide support in marketing or sales.

I gave this consultant (and a few others) big-name personal brands, who got an okay—but not elite—experience.

They didn’t ask for a refund, but they weren’t singing my praises either.

This reminded me of the most important lesson in business:

Quality over everything.

If you provide an elite, industry-leading service, everything will work out.

Paradoxically, one of my other big mistakes was:

3. Not hiring more consultants

8F is unique.

My operating model is proprietary and you won’t find it anywhere else on the marketplace.

Because of this, I had to learn how to find the right talent for the way I wanted my team to consult.

I wasted 2 years trying to figure this out solo rather than hire consultants from similar businesses to tell me how they figured it out.

Don’t try to do everything alone.

Hiring folks who have already done what you’re trying to figure out will save you years.

4. Not auto-billing

Cash flow. It’s either king, or it’s killing you.

In the summer of 2023, I took 6 weeks off and returned to some minor cash flow issues.

Our clients weren’t on autobill, and could stop and go as they pleased.

My solution?

Save cards on file, and autobill EVERYONE on the first of the month.

5. Inaccurate forecasting

Going into 2023, I forecasted we would add $5M in topline annual sales.

It felt like we were on a rocketship that would always go up. (Spoiler: we didn’t hit that target).

Similar to points #1 and #3, I tried moving too quickly, and didn’t know what I didn’t know.

I didn’t ask, “what could go wrong?” or, “how will churn-% change?”…

And was wildly disappointed when we didn’t add the extra $5M/year in top line.

I was humbled in 2023, and learned that it’s best to have 3 forecasts going into a year:

• Bad

• Mediocre

• Good

Depending on each trend, have a contingency plan to ensure you keep growing.

Are You Building a Business or a Burden?

Let's cut to the chase:

• Is your agency dependent on you for every decision?

• Do you dread looking at your financials?

• Are you constantly putting out fires instead of planning for growth?

Sound familiar?

While these might seem “normal” for agency operators…

It doesn't have to be this way.

At 8 Figure Agency, our mission is to transform agency owners from overworked operators into visionary leaders.

Here's what that looks like:

• Systems that run without your constant oversight

• A team that executes your vision flawlessly

• Financials that excite rather than terrify you

• Growth that feels natural, not forced

We've helped over 800 agency owners make this shift. How?

By implementing our proprietary 8F systems, tailored to your agency’s specific needs.

To start a conversation about how we can help you boost your agency’s success…

👉 Book a quick 30-minute no-cost consult here

We’ll uncover:

• Your biggest growth obstacles

• Quick wins you can implement immediately

• A roadmap for sustainable, long-term success

And help set you up for your best year yet.