I scaled an agency from zero to generating significant monthly revenue before exiting. Initially, the strategy was simply to “sell more” and “figure everything else out,” with minimal planning beyond landing sales and delivering quality work.

As the agency grew and hired additional team members, the approach shifted from improvisation to building sustainable, scalable processes. I learned to embrace a “failing forward” principle, learning from mistakes and leveraging those lessons for advantage.

Why Growth Isn’t Enough

While business owners typically focus on increasing revenue and retained profit, true scaling encompasses much more. Scaling a business not only looks at increasing revenue, but it also refers to the ability and focus to grow all aspects of the business, to meet the needs of the revenue targets sustainably and profitably.

Example: Hiring a sales team that generates new clients without scaling operations creates capacity problems, disappointing customers and worsening the business position. Effective agency scaling requires examining the entire business holistically.

Core business functions requiring attention include:

Step 1: Know Where You Are

Understanding the current business state is foundational. This requires extensive business diagnostics examining all core functions and analyzing internal/external factors affecting growth opportunities.

Step 2: Know Where You Are Going

Success requires defining clear goals and objectives. Common agency scaling goals include:

I prioritized profit, noting: “Without profit, many of our secondary goals could not be funded. Having a tangible profit figure as a goal allowed us to set a clear focus on what needed to happen to achieve this.”

Step 3: Make a Plan to Get There

Converting theory to practice requires identifying necessary resources and making company-wide decisions involving tradeoffs in time, resources, and affordability.

Key advice: Ensure you plan one course of action and stick to it, rather than hopping from one system to the next. Consistency in system adoption helps retain team support.

Implementing systems, processes, and technology requires team acceptance and utilization, not just adoption.

Step 4: Review and Revise

Accountability through regular reviews ensures progress. I recommend:

Enjoy the journey and remember to celebrate the wins, no matter how small they are.

Challenges You’ll Face Scaling Your Agency

Common obstacles include:

Understanding these challenges upfront helps you prepare for sustainable agency scaling.