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.
Why Agency Leaders Should Coach, Not Manage with Kriston Sellier | Ep #844
What do you do when your career takes an unexpected left turn? And how do you know when it’s time to stop hustling like a freelancer and start leading like a CEO? Today’s featured guest found herself in that situation and made the bold choice to go from career misstep to becoming an agency owner. She'll dive into what it really takes to go from a one-woman shop in a basement with dial-up internet to leading a team with vision, systems, and staying power. From handwritten letters that landed a 15% close rate, to breaking free from client dependency, to leveraging AI without losing the human touch, she shares the hard-earned lessons every agency owner needs to hear.
How To Find and Keep the Right People to Scale Your Agency with Dan Salganik | Ep #838
If hiring one of the biggest challenges you’ve encountered when it comes to running your agency? How do you sift through hundreds of applications when most don’t even read the job description? Today’s featured guest opens up about the realities of building a team, the role that gave him his time back, and why finding the right people, not unicorns, but the right fits can make or break an agency’s growth.
Scaling Isn’t About Doing More — It’s About Doing Less (The Right Way) with Joaby Parker | Ep #798
If you’re the visionary still stuck doing the work, you’re not scaling—you’re surviving. Joaby Parker knows that loop well. From launching his agency straight out of college to nearly burning out and walking away, his story is a masterclass in doing too much, too long.
In this episode, you’ll hear how Joaby broke free from the grind, stopped bottlenecking his team, and built a business that scales without him.
He shares his journey from founding his first agency right out of college to walking away and returning to agency life with a new approach and mindset. He reveals what caused his early plateau, why he left to work client-side, and how returning to the agency world taught him how to lead, grow, and eventually let go of the creative and account management roles that were holding him back.
Is AI Killing SEO as an Agency Service? 3 Core Principles of SEO with Lindsay Halsey | Ep #783
Is SEO still a viable service offering? If you’re an SEO agency, are you at risk for extinction? With AI taking over many industries at the moment, it’s no wonder people are asking if it’s rise means the death of SEO. Today’s featured guest is an SEO expert that found her path into the industry after discovering her passion for tech. She discusses how AI is reshaping the SEO industry — not eliminating it, but transforming its execution and potential. The fundamental principles that have always driven search engine optimization continue to matter, though their implementation evolves alongside technological advancement. Tune in to gain insights into how forward-thinking businesses are adapting their SEO strategies to thrive in this new environment, and gain practical insights for navigating this shifting digital terrain.
Boosting Agency Efficiency with the Help of AI Integration with Manish Dudharejia | Ep #768
Are you integrating AI in your agency processes in the most effective ways? What sort of opportunities are you missing by not integrating AI into your agency’s systems and processes? There’s no going back from AI, so you might as well embrace it as it continues to evolve the ever changing agency landscape.
While many agencies have begun incorporating AI tools, numerous opportunities remain unexplored, and the technology's full potential is still emerging. Today's featured guest brings unique insights as an agency owner who has fully embraced AI's transformative power. Through his continuous study and practical implementation of AI solutions, he has gained valuable perspectives on how this technology is fundamentally altering agency operations—from team structures to client expectations. Tune in for practical insights for agency leaders looking to harness AI's potential while adapting to the evolving demands of the digital marketplace.
Why Agency Owners Struggle to Propel Their Agency Forward with Darby Copenhaver | Ep# 707
What do you think is holding you back from scaling your agency? In this episode, we talk about agency owners’ accountability and why reaching out for help can be useless unless you understand what you want. Scaling an agency is hardly something you can do independently. You’ll need support and community along the way. Tune in for some hard truths and expert advice.
Raising the Standards: The Importance of SOPs with Robert Brill | Ep #695
Are you prepared to elevate your agency team and pave the path to success? As your agency expands, the need to grow your team becomes inevitable, and having standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place beforehand can save you a lot of headaches.
Today’s guest went through a rapid growth phase with his agency and found he was ill-prepared to delegate responsibilities and clearly define tasks. As a result, he lost employees and clients but has since learned that SOPs should be in place before hiring and that a good SOP takes him out of the process as quickly as possible. Tune in to gain valuable insights on navigating the complexities of scaling an agency effectively.
Building The Right Team: Taking Advantage of The Largest Untapped Talent Pool with Sara Jensen | Ep #694
Is your agency work affecting your family life? Have you created the necessary boundaries in order to let go and enjoy life while also grow your agency? Today’s guest thought she’d always be a solopreneur but as her workload mounted, she realized she needed reinforcements to maintain her level of service and keep clients coming back. Getting the right talent to balance all that was not easy, but she relied on a large untapped talent pool: moms looking to keep their careers thriving while raising their families. Join the conversation as Sarah discusses her experiences in scaling her business and balancing motherhood with a creative career.
Losing Money as a Business Plan? Forging Long-Term Client Relationships with Kim Lawton | Ep #693
Do you prioritize new clients or building lasting relationships? Would you be willing to lose money on a client in order to build a long-lasting relationship? Today’s guest has built two successful agencies banking on the power of planning for the long term instead of focusing just on the numbers. She’ll explain how she and her partner formed their vision of an agency where people could do their best work, clients felt heard, and it would all translate into business. Tune in to learn all about the visionary approach that led her and her partner to success.
How Kasim Aslam’s Agency Became the World Authority on Google Ads | Ep #671
Are you running a full-service agency? Have you already considered niching down? What about broadening your services once you do? Today’s guest built an agency that became a world authority on Google ads. Even though he eventually sold, he now believes more growth may have been possible with patience and the vision to expand his services after niching down, which he calls the “hourglass method”. Tune in to learn about his early failures and successes as a young entrepreneur, the lessons he takes from his years of experience and selling his agency, and why he believes agencies are the future of most businesses.
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.
