I listened to a lot of rubbish business podcasts on the way to building my agency. Motivational noise, American hustle culture, people who had never run a team telling me how to run mine. Most of it I switched off inside ten minutes.
A handful were different. They were made by people who had actually carried payroll, lost a big client on a Friday afternoon, and figured out how to price work so the agency made money. Those shows changed how I ran the business.
First, the one I make. Since it is my site, I will declare it upfront: I host Exit Ready, the show on what actually moves an agency’s value, profit, owner dependence, recurring revenue, in real conversations with founders who have built and, in some cases, sold. I built a Belfast agency to £2.2 million and exited, so it comes from carrying the payroll, not reading about it. It is the conversation I wish I had heard five years before I needed it. Have a listen here, then fill the rest of your feed with the shows below.
The rest are ranked on merit, with the honest version of who each is for.
For pricing and positioning
2Bobs, with David C. Baker and Blair Enns. If you only subscribe to one, make it this. Two of the sharpest minds on agency positioning and pricing, in short episodes with no filler. Baker on the firm, Enns on the selling. I changed how I quoted work because of this show.
Creative Agency Success, with Robert Patin. Tighter focus on profitability and getting your life back. Good for the owner who is busy but broke, which is most of us at some point.
For systems and scale
Build a Better Agency, with Drew McLellan. The most consistent agency show going. Operations, leadership, growth, a guest most weeks. Drew has seen inside hundreds of agencies, and it shows.
Seven Figure Agency, with Josh Nelson. More tactical and more US-flavoured, heavy on lead generation. Take the funnel obsession with a pinch of salt, keep the operating discipline.
For the bigger picture
Secret Leaders. Not agency-specific, but the founder interviews are excellent and UK-grounded. Good for stepping out of the day-to-day and thinking like an owner, not an operator.
The Uncensored CMO, with Jon Evans. Marketing strategy at the top end. Useful when you are pitching bigger clients and need to sound like you belong in the room.
How to actually use these
Do not binge them. Pick one show, pick the episode that matches the problem on your desk this week, and listen with a notebook. One idea, applied, beats ten episodes consumed.
And if listening to other founders talk about value has you wondering what your own agency is worth, that is the right instinct. Take the Agency Scorecard. Two minutes, eight questions, and you will know which of these shows you should be listening to first.