Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI

Are you looking to break the mold with your business model? Are you one of those business people that make very deliberate decisions and knows that default decisions just can’t apply to your business? Then you need to meet Pia Silva.

If you haven’t heard of the powerhouse that is Pia Silva, then you’re in for a treat. Pia is the founder of Badass Your Brand and Worst of All Design, and she made a very deliberate decision to step away from the default agency model. She knew she had to structure her business in a way that suited her preferred working style, while ensuring it remained wholly efficient to meet her needs and the needs of her clients.

“This model came about because a year prior, a business coach of mine had said to me, ‘you're selling $30,000 projects, you're looking for clients who have $30,000, but you're networking with people who think you're great, yet they don't have $30,000, they have $3,000. So maybe you don't want to keep saying, oh, sorry, you don't have $30,000, so forget you, and instead think of something to sell them. Just come up with something you would sell someone if they had $3,000.”

And in the space of just a couple of days Pia had pivoted her whole business from chasing big projects via a traditional agency model, to making more money with a smaller project model.

On today’s podcast:

• Break the ceiling by breaking the default agency model
• Why project management tools don’t work for every business
• Using a lead product and a bullseye product
• The freedom of transparent pricing
• How to figure out your pricing strategy
• Increase your price as you increase your value
• Figure out a model that works for you and what you want out of life
• Create a marketing structure that means you constantly have leads coming up
• Why the big agency model can’t work for smaller businesses

Links:

• Badass Your Brand - the impatient entrepreneur’s guide to turning expertise into profit
• Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
• Twitter @ScaleSpark
• LinkedIn @thesusanboles

When you're deciding what to invest in, examining the opportunity cost of your potential investments is a crucial part of the decision making process.

Every option includes a cost associated with it because any opportunity requires an investment of time, money, or resources—or all of the above!

And if we invest them in one initiative?

Then they're not available for other opportunities.

We all have a process we go through when we're thinking through new investments in our business. Whether you're conscious of your process or not... it's there.

In the last episode, you heard from Michelle Mazur about how she thinks about investments—that 3-6 month minimum investment. Today, we’re continuing the conversation about making investments in your business with Beryl Young.

Beryl is the founder & CEO of Momtography and Teentography, about how she decides what to invest in for her business. As a former elementary school teacher, Beryl's true calling is in education. Through a range of curriculum and programs for ANY type of skill level or camera, Momtography and Teentography is on a mission to show families how to unlock their creative potential and find a bit of joy in each and every day.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How Beryl decides what to invest in—or not—for her business
• The opportunity cost of the investments Beryl’s made over the years
• The 3 main buckets where Beryl invested her resources and the outcome of each

Learn more about Beryl Young:

• Mammography Club
• Follow Beryl on Facebook
• Follow Beryl on Instagram

Learn more about Susan:

• Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
• Twitter @ScaleSpark
• LinkedIn @thesusanboles

Hiring the RIGHT people in the RIGHT positions with the RIGHT mix of skills makes your business more efficient, more effective, and more profitable. And having just one wrong team member can tank the whole thing.

Getting this right is all about your strategic—and every day—decisions.

Your decisions on who you hire touches everything in your business. Decisions about what your process looks like affect your software choices. Decisions about your business model affect your marketing strategy. Decisions about your software affect your cash flow.

And this all ties back into how your business is an ecosystem. Each and every decision you make matters and can affect all the other areas of your business.

Your decisions around who you choose to fill those roles and how you onboard those new team members all impact how effectively and profitably your business can operate.

No stranger to making hard decisions and priming herself for growth is Emily Thompson. Emily is the co-founder and host of Being Boss, a podcast for creative entrepreneurs and coauthor of Being Boss: Take Control of Your Work and Live Life on Your Own Terms. Emily is also the founder of Almanac Supply Co, a retail concept that makes and curates products that help people connect with the seasons and live closely with nature.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How Emily uses key members of her team to run both Being Boss and Almanac Supply Co.
• What her hiring (and firing) process looks like—and how she preps herself for those hard conversations
• How she hired the right person in the perfect role for their skillset and it resulted in tripling their revenue

Learn more about Emily Thompson:

• beingboss.club
• almanacsupplyco.com
• @beingbossclub on Instagram
• @almanacsupplyco on Instagram

Learn more about Susan:

• Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
• Twitter @ScaleSpark
• LinkedIn @thesusanboles

Thinking about shifting your business model is one thing...

Actually doing it?

Well, that’s a whole other thing.

You might wonder: do I burn the old one to the ground? Do I make a gradual shift? Or do I just tack on one more service to my offerings?

Maybe you do start from scratch... or maybe you take a more nuanced approach to shifting your business model from one to another... or maybe you add more value to your existing model.

Whatever your path, it’s crucial to examine the risks in your business, re-examine your business model, and then make changes to how you do business.

This month, we’re shifting from the abstract and into reality with stories from entrepreneurs like you of what it really looks like to evolve your business from one model to another.

My guest today is Margy Thomas, Ph.D., who recently made the move from 1:1 services to a membership model. Margy’s community, ScholarShape, is a place for creative, visionary scholars to gather and support each other in creating Story-Arguments, a framework that she developed.

For Margy, creating the ScholarShape community was the natural evolution of that framework. She looked at her business and realized that 1:1 services was no longer the best delivery option for her clients and it wasn’t the business she wanted to be running.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What was going on in Margy’s business that drove her decision to create ScholarShape and shift her business model
• How Margy executed the transition and what her business looks like now
• Instead of a fast pivot, community can be a natural evolution of your existing work
• What the decision process LOOKS like for someone thinking about making shifts in their business model

Learn more about Margy Thomas:

• ScholarShape.com
• ScholarShape Community
• ScholarShape on Instagram

Learn more about Susan:

• Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
• Twitter @ScaleSpark
• LinkedIn @thesusanboles

Managing client relationships is one of the biggest challenges of running a service-based business. Expectations, boundaries, and communication all play a role in whether an engagement runs smoothly or goes off the rails. So, how do you actually know if you're doing a good job?

Karen Sergeant has a solution: a Client Report Card. This system helps her measure and manage client relationships proactively, identifying potential issues before they become problems. As a fractional COO, Karen has spent years refining this process to keep her work feeling calm—even when working inside chaotic businesses. In this episode, we break down her weekly client evaluation system—what metrics she tracks, how she uses the data, and how you can implement a similar approach in your own business.

If you’ve ever struggled with scope creep, unclear expectations, or misaligned client relationships, this conversation is packed with insights that will help you create a calmer, more intentional business.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Karen created her Client Report Card—and how it helps her business
• The 10 criteria she evaluates weekly to measure client relationships
• How tracking qualitative vibe-based data helps prevent burnout
• How you can build your own Client Report Card to keep your business running smoothly

Learn more about Karen Sergeant:

• Karen's Website
• Connect on Linkedin
• Connect on BlueSky

Learn more about Susan Boles:

• Beyond Margins
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Connect on BlueSky

We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.

• (00:00) -
• (00:36) - Managing Client Relationships
• (02:06) - The Importance of Boundaries and Scope
• (08:31) - Karen's Report Card Criteria
• (14:35) - Applying the Report Card in Business