The Final Push to 10M+/yr

Last week we took the journey from zero to scaling past 2M per year.

Now we’re taking our agency all the way to 10M+ by getting past hurdles #4 and #5. 

I’m Nick Avaria, agency owner, and founder of Agency Acquisitions. I’ve scaled multiple agencies to 7 and 8 figures, and now I help other agency owners do the same. If you want to connect with me online, send over a LinkedIn request.

Jumping into the last two items you need to focus on:

#4 Breaking out past $250-300k ($3-3.6M per year) 

This hurdle is all about one key hire and figuring out retaining clients as you scale up sales. 

First, let's talk about the hire: you need to hire a great second in command.

Depending on your skillset as the primary owner, you may need to hire a COO, Managing Director, or CFO/COO. 

If you have a business partner that is strong and can fit into one of these 3 roles then it makes it easier. 

However, if you keep getting stuck around the $250-350k mark and then shrinking back down this is likely the cause. 

The COO or MD has to be an operator with experience that has already broken out of this level of revenue and growth. If your second in command hasn't done it before, it's ok. But you are going to need outside help from someone who has already done it.

This will make the trip upwards to the 10M+ WAYYYYY easier. 

The second part of breaking out at this level is client retention. 

Client retention is not too hard when you are getting a lot of referrals and have brand recognition in a niche.

But as growth happens you start dealing with potential clients that have heard about you less and less. 

As your sales process changes to close these types of clients, retention gets harder which means more robust systems to generate client value beyond the core product/service.

#5 Breaking out past $500-700k (5.4-6.6M per year):

This is about building out the right leadership team.

Notice I didn't say a leadership team, I’m talking about THE leadership team.

You probably have some leaders already in place. And you’ve had a great ride to 5-6M.

But what gets you from point A to point B. Will not take you from point B to point C.

This is a tough emotional hurdle because you feel like you owe these people a lot - they helped you get here in the first place. 

In an ideal world, you can keep them if you didn’t give them titles more senior than their abilities. 

This means you can plug them into new hires at the VPs or C-suite level.

This step is made 10x easier if you have a top-tier second in command (2IC).

The primary owner is the ambassador, finding the top talent. The 2IC screens them and hires the right ones.

From there on out it's all about finding problems and driving client value. 

At this stage it's straightforward to find a professional CEO and replace yourself so that you are now the owner and not an employee.

Get the full overview of the Top 5 Killers for Agencies at any level for more detail on how this integrates with other areas of your business.

Have questions about scaling to the next hurdle for your business?

Book a time with me this week to connect about the stage you are stuck on scaling your agency.

Nick