From Store Owner to Agency Owner, Chris Thomas has seen and heard it all. He is a self confessed agency hater and fell into the agency world by chance.

He has developed his agency to ensure that the constant frustration and disappointment he felt with his agency partners doesn’t happen with his clients.

Chris acknowledges that the success of an agency comes down to the people. Your staff are your product, they are the ones that clients buy in to and deliver the service. Therefore, shaping a growth culture is one of his biggest priorities as an Agency Owner.

He shares the decisions he has made over the years to impact the culture positively, how he engages his staff to retain them and how hiring superstars has yielded success. His day 1 and day 2 team are still working with him and that definitely accounts for something.

Does your team talk about salaries? A heavily debated topic in the business world. Chris shares how he manages expectations by having transparent salary bands across the agency.

Find out how he has changed his tech stack for efficiency, what he is using now for optimum productivity and what past software he is retiring.

Everyone knows that being an Agency Owner is a rollercoaster of emotions, with a lot of ups and downs. Chris has transformed his life over the last few years by focusing on his holistic health and most importantly, his sleep quality. He shares how you can do this too!

It’s time to innovate, deliver and delight your clients for success. Be two steps ahead of them. Embrace failure and engage in Black Box thinking.

Topics covered:

00:23 - How he went from Store Owner to Agency Owner

04:39 - Skepticism of the traditional agency model

11:32 - How focusing on a niche has yielded success for his agency

14:31 - Innovation and change vital for staff retention

18:25 - Black Box Thinking

22:30 - Retailers faced challenges in 2022 and adapted.

25:29 - His opinion on the impact of events

28:55 - Anticipate client needs for successful marketing strategy - be two steps ahead of them

30:46 - Retain clients and grow their business

34:04 - Building client relationships leads to mutual success and referrals

38:40 - Project management software: Switching to Teamwork, retiring Asana for 2024

41:15 - Launching new products, supporting businesses in 2024

43:01- Business and health book recommendations for success