Agency Productivity and Sanity with Melissa Morris
Our guest today is Melissa Morris, the Owner and Founder of Agency Authority, a project management and operations consultancy for agency owners. She uses her 10 years of agency experience to help business owners maximize their team, increase their productivity, and grow their profits. Firmly committed to breaking the ‘long hours and bad pay’ stigma that plagues the agency world, she and her team help business owners and their team members do the work they love without sacrificing client satisfaction, the bottom line, or their own sanity.
Melissa’s journey of entrepreneurship has been full of bumps, twists, and turns. She started her career working at ad agencies, and was fortunate enough to work with a smaller agency where she was given the chance to look behind the curtain and really grasp how an agency is run.
After her second baby was born, Melissa’s plan was to go out on her own as a contractor, educating people on marketing and social media. But a lot of the businesses she ended up working with had struggles with their packages or with scope creep. Furthermore, they had other parts of their businesses that could use extra defining and streamlining.
Focusing on helping marketing and advertising agencies was a no-brainer for Melissa, although it was her coach at the time who really encouraged her to go for it. Melissa’s experience with her coach was really valuable, and she’s glad they worked together despite having a previous bad experience with another coach. Melissa emphasizes doing your homework before you hire a coach so that you have a better idea of what to expect.
Being clear and transparent is important for all businesses, including Melissa’s. Setting expectations from the get-go can set you up for success with your clients. The clients she typically works with now are six-figure businesses who have been at it for a couple of years. They’ve found success, they’ve brought on contractors, and now they’re looking to get to the next level.
As a business owner who really wants to focus on growth, you can’t be available for every call and every email. A big part of the process is learning to let go. It’s going to feel scary, but having clear processes and systems can help make the transition easier. Melissa has been through this herself, so she knows how important it is to take a little step back so she could take a giant step forward.
The first person Melissa hired was a virtual assistant. She was ruthless about finding the right person, and she did. Her assistant has now been with her for two years and is moving into taking on even greater responsibility. This also means Melissa can promote from within, which is something she also recommends for her clients.
By working with clients that have similar pain points, Melissa has been able to become an expert in her niche. Once she focused on helping other agencies, she’s been able to plug into other businesses and how she can improve them with greater ease.
Having the right tools in your business plays an important part in keeping your business organized. Melissa likes using Monday, Asana, and ClickUp. Part of what she does for her clients includes walking them through these tools and linking them up with the right solutions for them.
Free offer! For anyone resonating with our chat and is looking to get more support or connect with me they can go to youragencyauthority.com/learnmore
Agency Authority social links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissavmorris
https://www.instagram.com/youragencyauthority
https://www.facebook.com/agencyauthority