Should You Burn the Boat In Order To Achieve Agency Success?

<p>Duncan Alney made the decision to focus his agency on social media back in the late 2000s when MySpace was still a thing. Now he's running a 7-figure agency and is has niched it down even further. As founder and CEO of <a href= "https://www.firebellymarketing.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Firebelly</a>, Duncan juggles the roles of catalyst, program overseer, problem solver, and strategist within the organization. Today he joins us to talk about how he accelerated his social media agency, the benefits of letting go of your fears, and why you have to let go of your ego to reach the next level.</p> <h2>3 Golden Nuggets</h2> <ol> <li><strong>Letting go of your fear.</strong> When Duncan made the decision to focus his agency on social media, he started rejecting other types of work. It was a scary moment, but he had a “burn the boat” mentality. They would succeed in this new space or they would go down trying. In the end, they committed to following their own compass. Shortly after, they started winning awards by having a clear point of view and claiming their spot in the industry.</li> <li><strong>The phases of running an agency.</strong> If you look at running an agency in stages, the <a href= "https://jasonswenk.com/how-to-start-a-digital-marketing-agency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first stage will be building</a>. After that’s done, the next phase is all about direction, in terms of the values that you will set up for your business and will guide you in the decisions you make in the future. Once you established your direction, you will need to put some systems in place. Many people like to skip this part, and they will regret it. The combination of the direction and the systems is what will help you scale and get to the next phase of delegating.</li> <li><strong>Get past your ego.</strong> A lot of agency owners want to be needed, and that can be a problem. Remember that your clients go to you to solve a problem. They are not necessarily reaching out to you because they like you or feel you’re the