Podcast: Embed

Listen in as I interview Nate Hagerty & Troy Lakey of TaxProMarketer about growing their agency to 7 figures. They share some amazing insights on how they grew their agency to over $100K per month serving 300+ clients. You can listen to the full interview now by clicking below:

Outline of This Episode

  • [0:55] I introduce Nate and Troy of TaxProMarketer
  • [3:50] How Nate wound up in the accounting space
  • [8:00] Transition into his own business vs. being an employee
  • [10:35] The importance of joint venture partnerships
  • [13:45] 3 driving forces that catapulted them to 7 figures
  • [17:00] We discuss what kind of Tripwire they offer
  • [20:50] attending events and writing a book
  • [29:10] Nate talks about why he chose to take a step back from meeting clients
  • [30:30] We talk about how they manage their family life and business
  • [35:40] We talk about their approach to FB ads (and their decision to cut them)
  • [37:40] What services they provide their clients
  • [43:05] Managing 300+ clients with remote employees
  • [47:40] They share the 3 Big Lessons they have learned
  • [54:30] Take questions from the comments
  • [59:05] Final nuggets of wisdom

Nate’s talent for speaking has been their #1 catalyst to hitting 7 figures

Nate was working in youth ministry for YoungLife and was about to be transferred. To avoid uprooting his family he transitioned out of the ministry and became a marketing assistant to an info marketer who worked in accounting. His boss spoke frequently at industry events and had a coaching business as well.

One day, his boss up and put him on stage to speak at an event.

He stumbled through a lot of “umms” and “ahhs” feeling completely unprepared. He wasn’t ready. But that poorly executed talk generated $30,000 of business for the company. He continued to speak and gain experience, and transitioned into his own business confident in his speaking ability.

His first event speaking to 200 people, he enrolled 50 clients—for a conceptual service he hadn’t built out yet. He believes selling from the platform is his most important skill and the best catalyst for bringing in business.

Industry events and lead-magnets 101

Nate and Troy attend 5-7 industry events in a year and they’ve got their approach down to a science. They’ll run a booth at these events and—when other people are giving out free candy or tchotchkes—they give away a book. It only took him a week to piece together and costs them $1.50 to print. It’s a win-win.

They are starting a relationship with potential customers by offering something of value.

Even if people walking through don’t read the book, they perceive it as valuable. It’s a conversation starter and they can often bring in some solid clients. Above all, it’s a great way to plant yourself as an expert and build relationships with other people in your industry operating booths around you.

Keep listening as we chat about why Nate has taken a step back from face-to-face interaction with clients—and how it’s helped the business.

Creating a company culture that has people begging to work with them

Nate brought Troy into the business almost immediately to be his sales guy and day-to-day operator. Now, they’re working on becoming 50-50 partners. Bringing Troy in was the best business decision he’s ever made. What started for Troy as a nice side hustle has grown so that he’s now a partner in a digital marketing agency.

To better serve their family and employees, the company operates on two distinct teams: Every 7 weeks, a team gets a paid 8th week off to do whatever they’d like (while the other team covers their off week). His team loves it. They don’t get burned out and Nate truly believes the business is growing faster because of this unusual practice.

Keep listening as we chat about their approach to Facebook ads, the services they provide their clients, and how they’re working to manage 300+ clients with a primarily remote team.

The top 3 lessons they’ve learned in the last 12 years of business

Nate and Troy have shared a lot of high-level strategies for scaling a 7 figure business. But their continued success boils down to these 3 things:

  1. Craft an internal culture that you want to be a part of. Avoid organizational issues that will cause drama, and hire the right people from the beginning. Find a way to bring joy and laughter to your weekly meetings with your remote employees.
  2. Be intentional about setting boundaries with your clients from day one. For their business, they are clear that family will always come first. Not just for ownership—but for all the team members. Nate wanted to build a sustainable business where he could still enjoy his life with his family.
  3. Embrace shortcuts. Learn from people who are smarter than you, have been in the business longer than you, and make more money than you. Read books. Work with a coach. Take advantage of templates that have been proven to work for others. Benefit from the years of hard work other people have put in.

Listen to the rest of this agency success interview as we talk about scaling to other industries and some final wisdom from these great guys.

Resources and People Mentioned

Connect with Nate and Troy

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