How to Transition from Entrepreneur to CEO, with Jason Swenk — Ep.152

About this Episode

In this episode of the Agency Profit Podcast, Marcel welcomes back the legendary Jason Swenk. Jason, a pioneer in agency growth and a seasoned mentor, shares his incredible journey from founding and selling his agency to now guiding hundreds of agency owners through his Agency Mastery 360 program. This conversation dives deep into the transition from being a hands-on entrepreneur to stepping into the CEO role, managing through others, and scaling your business. Jason brings fresh, insightful strategies to the table that will resonate with any agency owner navigating the challenges of growth. Tune in for an inspiring and practical discussion!

Points of Interest

• 00:01 – 00:44 – Marcel’s Introduction: Marcel Petitpas welcomes listeners to the Agency Profit Podcast and introduces Jason Swenk, a returning guest and friend of the show, known for his agency expertise and role as the founder of Agency Mastery 360.
• 00:44 – 01:33 – Jason’s Background: Jason Swenk shares his journey of starting his first agency by accident in 1999, growing it to eight figures, and eventually selling it. He reflects on how he transitioned from agency founder to advisor and coach.
• 02:20 – 02:55 – Success with Major Clients: Marcel highlights Jason’s success with major clients such as Lotus Cars and Hitachi, as Jason reflects on growing his agency into a multimillion-dollar business and the lessons learned.
• 04:50 – 06:28 – Scaling with the Right Team: Jason explains the significance of building the right leadership team to scale and how to ensure the team is aligned with the company’s vision.
• 07:35 – 09:55 – The Two “Whos” in Leadership: Jason outlines two key “whos” for agency growth: who do you need to hire to scale the agency, and who do you need to become as the leader to support that growth.
• 12:19 – 14:35 – Shifting Focus to Long-Term Strategy: Jason shares how focusing on long-term strategy and empowering team members can unlock new levels of growth and how founders should stop managing day-to-day operations.
• 16:07 – 19:25 – Empowering Your Team to Take Ownership: Marcel and Jason wrap up by discussing how to empower teams to take ownership of their roles, make decisions, and drive the agency forward without relying on the founder’s input for every decision.
• 23:08 – 24:45 – Continuous Problem Solving: Marcel and Jason discuss how entrepreneurship is a constant process of solving bigger, more complex problems as the business grows, and how discipline and reinvention are key.
• 25:52 – 27:54 – Core Values in Hiring: Jason shares the importance of aligning new hires with the company’s core values, ensuring that employees believe in the same vision and standards as the leadership.
• 29:45 – 31:28 – Simplifying the Hiring Funnel: Marcel and Jason discuss how filtering applicants through creative processes like video submissions saves time and effort, allowing only the best candidates to move forward.
• 32:55 – 34:45 – Trial Hiring for Leadership Roles: Jason advocates for hiring leaders as consultants for a 90-day trial period to assess their impact on the business before committing to a full-time position.
• 34:45 – 35:52 – Measuring Success in Leadership Hires: Jason outlines how to measure success for leadership hires by focusing on how they streamline operations, save time, and work effectively with existing teams.
• 37:25 – 38:45 – Invitation to Agency Mastery 360: Jason invites listeners to check out Agency Mastery 360 and his resources for agency owners, including upcoming events like Elevate in Arizona, where agency owners can learn to step back from day-to-day operations.

Show Notes

• Jason’s Podcast: https://www.agencymastery360.com/podcast 
• Swenk.it
• Elevate Event in Arizona Feb 2025 (Marcel is speaking) https://www.agencymastery360.com/elevate

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