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.
How to Break Through Your Agency’s Revenue Ceiling (Without Hiring a COO) With Alex Membrillo | Ep #828
What happens when the agency you’ve built is just… stuck? Or when you hit a revenue ceiling, lose a major client, and start wondering if you’ve been playing the wrong game entirely? Those moments either break you or become the pivot points that redefine everything.
In this episode, you’ll hear from an agency owner who’s lived through the grind growing his agency from scratch, riding out recessions, choosing a niche that would help him get out of “no man’s land”. He’ll discuss the strategic bet that broke through plateaus, why he still refuses to hire a COO, and the million-dollar risk that could have sunk him but ended up being a worth-while bet on his vision.
How to Scale an Agency by Simplifying Your Offer and Niching Down with Nate Freedman | Ep #826
What happens when you stop chasing $30K projects—and start solving real problems for $300 clients in a way that actually works?
Today’s featured guest had been building $32,000 websites for mid-market companies. On paper, it looked like success. But in reality, he felt stuck—unfulfilled and back in a corporate-style grind that didn’t align with the kind of work or life he truly wanted.
When he took a step back, he realized something important: the clients he really wanted to serve were already reaching out. These were smaller, $300K businesses with many of the same challenges agencies see across the board—but without the bloated complexity.
From Chaos to Clarity: Systems, Focus & Values of a Thriving Agency with Colin Hetherington | Ep #817
Running an agency can feel like chaos on repeat—clients, team stress, and no clear direction. You’re not alone. Today’s featured guest has built and sold a $3M+ agency, kept employee turnover under 5%, and is now launching a focused, values-driven agency built to thrive in today’s market.
He shares some hard-won lessons on building a culture your team will never want to leave, attracting clients who respect your expertise, and creating the clarity and focus you need to scale without burning out. If you’re an agency owner who’s tired of the chaos and wants a clearer, saner path forward, this conversation will give you a roadmap worth following.
Why Going ‘Niche or Die’ Paid Off Big for Daniel Moscovitch | Ep #810
Ever thought about niching down, then bailed because it sounded too painful? Or maybe you tried, but ditched it when things got awkward? Today’s guest proves why sticking it out is worth the initial pain — not just to find your niche, but to find the perfect business partner too.
Meet Daniel Moscovitch, founder of Flooring Pros Marketing, a digital marketing agency focused on helping established flooring businesses throughout the US & Canada cement their position as the best in their market. He started as a generalist - doing SEO for pretty much anyone with a website and a pulse. However, unsatisfied staying just another “me too” shop competing on price and freebies he doubled down on a single, very specific industry.
How Client Caps and Community Made this Agency a Category of One with Oli Luke | Ep #800
What if scaling your agency wasn’t about adding clients—but building a community that fuels growth from within? During Covid lockdowns, today’s featured guest felt the need to turn his clients into a community, hosting events where they could get to know each other and build relationships. To this day, it remains one of the best changes he’s introduced at his agency.
With a dedicated community, a focused niche, and a cap on the amount of clients the agency takes, he created a sense of exclusivity that turned his agency into a “category of one” business that continues to thrive. Join us as he unpacks how his agency journey began, how he accidentally ran into his exclusive niche, and the ways he found to turn clients into members.
Make Better Decisions for Your Agency with George Arabian | Ep #776
Does your emotional attachment to your agency makes it difficult to make growth decisions? When you remove emotion from the mix and make decisions objectively, your realize more growth. After 21 years of running his business, today’s guest realized he needed emotional distance and accomplished this by creating an alter ego who could assess the agency from an impartial point of view. This experiment proved remarkably successful. He’s come to realize his true role in the agency and that much of it means working for his team, rather than the other way around.
Is It Time to Rebrand Your Agency? When, Why, and How to Rebrand with Jim Heininger | Ep #763
Is your agency in need of a rebrand? Many of us are accidental agency owners who threw together a brand without fully understanding our niche or service offering; starting with just a basic name and logo. As the agency evolves this may signal the need for a strategic brand refresh. Today’s featured guest runs a rebranding agency and shares the scenarios that could justify a rebrand, the difference the right will name make for clients to differentiate you, and share some rebranding strategies to keep in mind.
The Secret to Longevity: Building Trust and Overcoming Skepticism with James Loomstein | Ep #758
Do you face a lot of skepticism from clients who have been disappointed by agencies before? How do you go about gaining their trust? After seven years running his agency, today’s featured guest still lists that mistrust as one of his primary challenges and talks about his strategic approach to overcoming this hurdle: combining client education with precise problem identification to deliver time-saving solutions that truly impact their businesses. This approach not only helps rebuild trust damaged by previous agency experiences but also positions marketing as a genuine catalyst for business growth.
Join us as we explore how agencies can move beyond surface-level marketing solutions to become trusted partners in their clients' success stories.
Building a Global Agency Team and Scaling Against the Grain with Alina Vlaic | Ep #721
How much automation should be integrated into your agency's processes? When is automation a good idea, and when isn’t it? Are your agency services diverse enough to withstand a shifting market? In this interview, learn from one agency owner who has grown her agency making very conscious decisions about what she’ll need to build a business that stands the test of time. From avoiding heavy automation to building a team based primarily in the US while living in Romania, she considers all angles before making long-term plans and has pushed against some trends to find her path. In this episode, we delve into her journey and gather valuable insights on scaling an agency in the dynamic world of e-commerce.
Level Up Leadership: How to Build an Empowered Team in Your Digital Agency with Brett Curry | Ep #628
Do you want to level up leadership in your agency and empower your team? Providing resources and training to your leadership team is important in helping build their confidence and creating a trickle-down effect to the rest of the team. Today's guest believes it all starts with the hiring process and creating an agency that is desirable to work for. He is on the show sharing how he and his agency business partner maintain a balanced relationship that benefits the agency and how they've created an agency that is in high demand not only by clients but by protective employees as well.
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.
