Smart Agency Masterclass Podcast with Jason Swenk
Bi-weekly interviews, strategy, and advice for building your marketing agency the smart way.
The popular agency podcast has just turned 10 years old and covers everything from starting a successful agency to selling your agency.
#1 Agency Leadership Podcast. Check Out Our Past Guests.
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Seth Godin
Best selling Author of Purple Cow, This is Marketing, Linchpin, Permission Marketing
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Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and former Apple chief evangelist
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Gino Wickman
The creator of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and author of Traction.
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Neil Patel
Founder of CrazyEgg, Kissmetrics, and other multimillion dollar companies
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![Uri Levine]()
Uri Levine
Co-founder of Waze
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Joey Coleman
Recognized for his expertise in customer retention & enhancing client loyalty
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Mike Michaelowicz
Best-selling author of Profit First and Clock Work
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Amy Porterfield
Renowned online marketing expert and educator
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Pat Flynn
The leaders in the podcast space
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Jay Baer
Best Selling author of Talk Triggers, Hug Your Haters, and one of the best speakers
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Todd Herman
Coach to Elite pro athletes, leaders, and public figures
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Dan Martell
Author of Buy Back Your Time. Influential coach in SaaS startups.
The Truth About Agency Growth: Why It Gets Harder Before It Gets Easier with Elyse Lupin | Ep #859
What if growth doesn’t make things easier but actually just raises the stakes? Agency life looks glamorous from the outside, but the real growth usually starts in the messy middle. Today’s featured guest just wanted to build something of her own, but quickly learned that growth means the challenges get harder, instead of easier, and that your client and team retention will always be the best measures of success, since it means you’ve managed to build a business that has a real impact on clients and a culture people never want to leave.
She’ll share the pressure she felt as the agency got bigger, how she learned to celebrate the little wins, and how she built a culture that has truly worked as a strategic advantage.
Why AI-Enhanced Agencies Are Outpacing AI-First Pretenders with Michael Davern | Ep #858
AI is changing the agency landscape faster than most owners can keep up with. Tools are popping up daily, clients are asking if rates should drop, and your team is either fired up or freaked out. Today’s featured guest talks about what it takes to build an agency that thrives in a world obsessed with shiny new tech, where the edge is not more tools. It is better leadership, human connection, and an incubator mindset that keeps them ahead without drowning in the noise.
Retaining Young Talent and Building Future Agency Leaders with McKay Salisbury | Ep #854
How do you ensure the highest possible retention levels at your agency? Which reasons do you give employees to stay and develop their careers at your agency? Today’s featured guest has chosen to hire mostly fresh talent right out of college that his team can train into the sort o worker that can grow at his agency. However, young talent tends to be ambitious and are likely to move on quickly onto the next company. To boost retention, he has created a growth path for employees that are a right fit with the agency. He’ll break down how he has learned to hire intentionally, and create a culture that grows people as fast as profits.
Most Agencies Don’t Last 10 Years — This One Made it Over 75 with Jennifer Spire | Ep #849
How are the new technologies and tools shaping the future of agencies? How can you create an agency that outlasts trends? When you’ve been around for 75 years in the ad world, you’ve seen it all, from Mad Men, media buying by fax, the rise of the internet, and now, AI. Today’s featured guest runs an agency that has been doing full-service marketing since 1950. What’s impressive isn’t just their longevity but also how they’ve stayed relevant and human in a business that changes faster than a TikTok trend.
How Do You Sell (or Buy) an Agency Without Killing Culture? With Alyssa Ash | Ep #840
What does it really look like when employees step up to buy the agency they’ve helped run for years? Today's featured guest will share how she and her partners carried forward the 30-year legacy of an agency founded in the print-and-stamp days, a business that has not only survived but thrived through three different ownership handoffs. If you’ve ever thought about selling your agency, or buying one, this conversation is packed with lessons on culture, succession, and keeping an agency alive for the long haul.
Launch a Second Agency While Still Growing Your First One? with Greg Peters | Ep #830
Would you ever run two agencies at once? What if splitting your brand was the smartest way to protect and grow both?
Today’s featured guest spotted a booming opportunity in a regulated market—but knew that advertising those services alongside his work for conservative and tech clients could hurt his existing agency. His solution? Launch a separate brand. The move paid off as the regulated market surged during the pandemic.
He shares what it’s like to manage rapid growth, why he built a true people-first culture from day one, and how he stays optimistic even when agency life gets messy.
Hiring a Sales Team? Why Most Agency Owners Sabotage Themselves (and How to Get it Right) with Travis Hoechlin | Ep #797
Most agency owners screw up their first sales hire. Why? Because they either hire the wrong person, or refuse to let go of control.
Travis Hoechlin used to think building a sales team was a waste of time—until he realized he was the bottleneck. In this episode, you’ll hear how he went from solo closer to leading a performance-driven team that fuels his agency’s growth.
Profit vs. Purpose: Why the Future of Business Isn’t What You Think with Jeff Hilimire | Ep #796
Ever feel like something’s missing from your agency work—even when things are going well? You’re not alone. For many agency owners, fulfillment doesn’t come from the daily grind, but from aligning their work with a deeper purpose. Today’s featured guest always genuinely enjoyed agency life—something he quickly realized was the exception, not the norm. That realization led him to a mission: helping others discover greater meaning in their business journey. Whether it’s through his books, his leadership, or his venture that unites developers to build websites for nonprofits in just 24 hours, he is all about turning intention into action.
How to Build a Remote Agency That Scales—Without Losing Culture or Control with Lisa Larson-Kelley | Ep #792
Is remote agency life really the dream? While many chase the freedom of working from anywhere, the reality is far more complex. In this episode, Lisa Larson-Kelley shares how she built a high-performing remote team—without sacrificing culture, communication, or control.
Today’s featured guest decided long ago that she prefers the remote option and shares what really makes remote work actually succeed. For her, it comes down to two crucial elements:
Creating a solid structure for clear communication and aligned goals
Hiring people who thrive in self-led, remote environments
Tune in to hear how she built these systems into her agency—and how she still prioritizes meaningful, in-person connection to strengthen team culture.
How to Build an Irreplaceable Agency Through Strong Client Relationships with Charlene Coughlin | Ep #773
Are you focusing your energy on growing existing client relationships or acquiring new ones? Building strong client relationships requires a commitment to proactive communication from the very beginning, as today's featured guest clearly demonstrates.
Our guest runs a brand agency that prioritizes nurturing and growing client relationships through three key strategies: establishing clear expectations, maintaining proactive communication, and implementing careful qualifying processes to ensure they partner only with the right culture fits. This intentional approach has made her agency irreplaceable to clients.
About the Show
The popular agency podcast has been around since 2014 and covers everything from starting a successful agency to selling your agency. What makes this podcast a must-listen is Swenk’s background as the founder and CEO of an agency for over a decade. Swenk brings his own experience to the table, besides the expertise of his guests. He mostly covers topics that help growing agencies scale to the next level.
YOUR HOST
JASON SWENK
Smart Agency Masterclass
Jason is a family man who also happens to have created a couple big marketing agencies, helped thousands of agency owners, and had a big agency exit too.
