1 Bold Step
A fast-growing B2B marketing agency trades growth-for-growth's-sake for a clear, profitable plan.
The story in 30 seconds
After scaling from 2 to 20+ people with 27–35% YoY revenue growth, 1 Bold Step's margins weren't keeping pace. EOS and general consultants hadn't moved the needle. One audit later, they had target margins of 16% for a growth year, 18–20% the year after — and the confidence to scale toward them.
- Industry
- B2B Marketing
- Founded
- 2019
- Revenue
- $2-3M
- Team Size
- 20 FTE
We were increasing topline but not increasing the bottom line. Why would you, as an owner, put yourself through that?
Jennifer Jurgens
CEO & Founder @ 1 Bold Step
01 — Situation
Situation
1 Bold Step, a B2B marketing agency founded in 2019 by Jennifer Jurgens and Adam Clarke, had rapidly grown from a two-person startup to a thriving agency with over 20 employees.
Specializing in strategy, execution, and technology enablement for clients in manufacturing, SaaS, and professional services, the agency saw consistent top-line growth—27-35% year over year.
But profitability wasn’t keeping up.
Jennifer and Adam realized they were at a crossroads. They could stay small and focus on profitability, or build the systems and processes necessary to scale sustainably. They knew what they wanted: smart growth, not growth for growth’s sake. But they didn’t have the operational framework to get there.
“We didn’t have the language, benchmarks, or clarity we needed,” Jennifer shared. “We were growing, but the margins weren’t where they needed to be.”
02 — Struggle
Struggle
While Jennifer and her team were experienced business leaders, running an agency brought unique challenges:
- Balancing project work with retainers.
- Tracking and optimizing utilization.
- Setting the right financial targets.
They had tried addressing these gaps with general business consultants and even implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). But none of these approaches gave them the specific insights needed to optimize their agency’s performance.
Jennifer described it as a constant game of operational whack-a-mole:
“When you fix one thing, you end up breaking something else. It’s like pulling a thread on a sweater—you solve one problem, but it unravels another.”
The team lacked focus on key performance indicators (KPIs) that directly impacted profitability.
03 — Solution
Solution
In her search for answers, Jennifer found Parakeeto. After listening to podcasts and learning more about our expertise in agency operations, she felt confident we could help her team find clarity and alignment.
“That was when I brought in my partner and said I think I found the group that understands us and can help us figure out why we’re stuck when it comes to margin.”
Jennifer and her team engaged Parakeeto to conduct an Audit—a deep dive into their financial and operational data to identify key areas for improvement.
The Audit revealed:
- Underpriced services: Their rates didn’t reflect the value they delivered.
- Misaligned utilization metrics: Hours were being tracked, but they weren’t tied to profitability goals.
- Overwhelming KPIs: Too many metrics were creating noise instead of clarity.
Parakeeto’s recommendations were actionable and prioritized: “Fix this one thing first, and you’ll see the biggest impact.” This gave Jennifer and her team the confidence to make changes immediately.
04 — Results
Results
Forecasted with confidence
27–35%
YoY revenue growth heading into the engagement
16%
2024 target profit margin (during a growth year)
18–20%
2025 target profit margin
The clarity gained from Parakeeto’s Audit transformed how 1 Bold Step approached operations. By focusing on metrics like utilization rate, average billable rate, and revenue growth, the team cut through the noise and started tracking what truly moved the needle.
This alignment not only clarified the agency’s priorities but also empowered the team. Employees could see how their work directly impacted the agency’s success—and their own compensation.
Jennifer described the cascading benefits: “It’s brought more clarity to this team, and has us all moving in the right direction together.”
With better financial visibility, 1 Bold Step was able to make stronger predictions for 2024 and beyond:
- 2024 target profitability: 16% during a growth year.
- 2025 target profitability: 18-20%.
“We’re now focused on smart, sustainable growth,” Jennifer said. “If we hadn’t made these changes, we likely would’ve pulled back on our plans. Instead, we’re scaling with confidence.”
Parakeeto understood our systems, financials, and agency-specific challenges. We didn’t have to explain why time tracking or forecasting mattered—they just got it.
05 — Summary
Summary
Parakeeto helped 1 Bold Step bridge the gap between growth and profitability by delivering a clear, actionable operational framework.
From identifying underpricing to aligning metrics with financial goals, the Audit provided the insights needed to build a scalable and profitable agency model.
As Jennifer put it, “Any agency that wants to grow would be wise to make the investment to see what they’re missing today. If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”
Ready to take the next step toward sustainable growth? Contact Parakeeto today to uncover the clarity and confidence your agency needs to thrive.
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Ready for smart growth, not growth-for-growth's-sake?
We'll help you find the one thing that, if fixed, has the biggest impact on your margins. Just like we did for 1 Bold Step.
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