Sage Blog

The Way of The Entrepreneur
Today marks the conclusion of my five-part series on entrepreneurial freedom. If you've missed any of the posts in the[...]
A Tale of Two Locations
Over the past few weeks, I've been writing on how to achieve freedom as an entrepreneur. Last week, I discussed[...]
Freedom of Work
Over the past two weeks, I've been writing about entrepreneurial freedom. Last week I wrote about the two mindsets when[...]
Financial Freedom: Spartan or Athenian?
Last week, I talked about the Four Freedoms of Entrepreneurship. Today, I wanted to take a deep dive into one of the[...]
The Four Freedoms of Entrepreneurship
Everyone wants freedom, but not everyone is willing to pay their dues to attain it. Freedom comes at a price. The[...]
Does it really take 21 days to form a habit? 
Last week, we talked about commitment, and the activities you can undertake to grow your business. I'll get back to[...]
Are you committed?
We all want something in business and life. “I want a million dollar business.” “I want to travel the world.”[...]
Stay Top Of Mind
Do your clients think of YOU when they think about the services you offer? If not you, then who? If[...]
The 8 Second Brain
There's too much information in the world right now. And we're all too busy trying to keep up, so what[...]
Your Clients Don’t Trust You
Last week, we talked about the Snowball Strategy, where I argued it is THE key to growing your revenue over[...]
The Snowball Strategy: The Secret To Growing Your Revenue Over Time
What’s the secret to growing your profits year after year as a freelancer, consultant, or agency/service-based business? Is it a)[...]
How the best Salespeople keep deals flowing
What is the most underrated part of selling your professional services to clients? Lead quality? Tenacity? Deal-closing skills? Nope. It's having[...]
Make Your Agency Great
Last week’s post talked about Revenue Planning, one of the most critical business activities you can do in your agency.[...]
Revenue Planning 101
Last week, we talked about Hiring Your First Employee, and I shared two frameworks you could use to help you[...]
Hiring Your First Employee
So you want to hire your first employee? Congrats! That’s the BEST problem you can have in business... to have[...]
How to Select Business Partners
Last week, I talked about The ONE test ALL outsourced contractors need to pass before you hire them. I shared[...]
The ONE test ALL outsourced contractors need to pass
Last week I talked about How To Outsource Your Client Projects The Right Way, and today’s post is a continuation[...]
How To Outsource Your Client Projects the Right Way
Should you outsource client projects to subcontractors? And if you make that choice, what’s the right way to do it? That's the[...]
Why 99% of Client Projects Are Late
Last week I talked about managing clients the right way, and the importance of communicating often and setting clear expectations.[...]
Managing Your Clients The Right Way
Last week I revealed three secrets to closing the sale to help you land your next client. After the contract[...]
Three Secrets to Closing The Sale
So, you’ve started prospecting for potential clients, and you’ve avoided the #1 pricing mistake service-based businesses make when selling their[...]
CASE STUDY: How Sid 5x’ed his fees with a simple insight
Imagine being able to walk into your next meeting with a potential client and get DOUBLE or TRIPLE your service[...]
The #1 Mistake Agencies Make When Pricing Their Services
Pricing is where most freelancers, consultants, and agencies fail. Fail to charge what they're worth. Fail to price based on[...]
How To Get Your First 10 Clients
Last week, we talked about The Imposter Inside you, a.k.a. “Imposter Syndrome” where you feel like a fake, but you[...]
The Imposter Inside You
Have you ever felt like you weren’t capable of doing something? Have you experienced that little voice in your head[...]
A Comprehensive Guide to Outbound Prospecting (for Agencies and Consultants)
Two weeks ago, I announced the 90 day relationship challenge, and in that blog post I outlined a simple six[...]
3 Simple Steps To Thrive This Year
According to a recent New York Times article, 25 percent of New Year’s Resolutions have fallen by the wayside! Only 8[...]
90 Days, 90 New Business Relationships
Today I want to start off with a bold assumption: You want to grow your agency or one-person consulting business[...]
Bringing on Partners in Your Agency Business
If you have been working as a freelancer or consultant, the idea teaming up with others to form a business[...]
What would it take to 5x your rates?
Earlier this week I saw a note come in from an Agency Course student named Sid. He's deep into Agency Course[...]
Be specific
Last week I sent an email with some really terrible advice. It was titled "Be Generic" and it was written[...]
Be Generic
Stay average. Don’t be compelling. Don’t give anyone a reason to care about what you have to say. Don’t go[...]
The Compound Interest Effect of Niching Down
When you first start selling your services, it’s common to hear yourself saying “I can do that!” to anyone with[...]
Two Unintuitive Tips for Pitching Your Services
Last week, I shared my story about helping Josh improve the Pitch Deck for his new startup. This week, I[...]
Pitching Services: How to Leave Them Wanting More
Yesterday I had a call with Josh, one of my closest business friends. Josh was working on his sales pitch[...]
Already Planning for Next Year?
There have been many times in my agency career when I was surprised by the extended planning cycles of clients.[...]
What is the best way to pitch your services?
Last week I left you on a cliffhanger. We set the tone for a pitch situation, and I recommended starting[...]
Who are you, and why are you here?
The agency business is a relationship business. Same goes for any other form of professional service you might offer. Delivering[...]
Execute and Iterate
Rome wasn't built in a day. It took centuries to create all those roads. Your business works the same way.[...]
Seeking Validation from the Marketplace
Marketing a business shouldn’t be a Hail Mary pass. Paid advertising shouldn’t be your last hope. Throwing good money at[...]
What do you want to be in business?
You have a choice. Do you want to grow into a huge corporation? Do you want to build a lifestyle[...]
How to Make 6 Figures as a Consultant
Hard lessons I've learned through the years about hitting your target income and becoming a 6 figure consultant in the digital marketing industry.
The Fastest Way to Make a Million Dollars…
... is to help someone else make 20 million dollars. That's it. The fastest way to improve your own financial[...]
You can always get a job…
We all have hang-ups when it comes to improving our career prospects. Some of these hang-ups are related to risk-aversion.[...]
But I’m not an expert…
It feels weird to call yourself an expert. Egotistical, even. It's much better to leave that designation to a third[...]
Hard Work vs. Smart Work Business
Hard work is the only way to get ahead in business. I've heard that sentiment many times over the years,[...]
Survivor Bias and the Unassailable Mountain
You should be skeptical about trusting the story of how someone achieved their success. They always make it sound so[...]
Good Things Take Time
Every marketer uses language like quick, fast, rapid or instant to describe the results they promise. As if reading this[...]
Should Freelancers Partner Up to Build Something Bigger?
I often come across freelancers who want to partner up with other freelancers to form an agency. The logic is[...]
[Case Study] Do Surveys Get Better Responses with an Incentive?
Last week you were part of an experiment. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but it would have skewed[...]
How Much Should You Charge for Your Services?
For years, I stressed over how much I should charge for my services, as if there was a right answer.[...]
How Content Marketing Gets Your Agency Noticed in 2017 (Case Study)
One of the considerations we made during the production of Agency Course was to make sure our lessons provided value[...]
What Does Success Mean to You?
My favorite part of the Agency Jumpstart Course is having one-on-one calls with agency owners and budding freelancers. Each conversation[...]
What is the Half-life of Your Agency Resources?
Over the years, I have had the fortune of observing many businesses across hundreds of industries. Some of them are[...]
Outsource Everything! (And Why This Fails for Service Businesses)
Your plans come together with the precision of a Swiss watch. Step 1: Win over a business with your charm[...]
Holding Your Business Together with Duct Tape
Duct tape has always been a handy asset in my home. Whether it’s used on a leaking faucet or a[...]
Listening to the Marketplace
We were ahead of our time. That’s the only conclusion I could draw from the looks in their eyes, as we[...]
An Ode to the Dreamers
We all have dreams. It could be dreaming of traveling or purchasing a new home. Social and financial security. Or[...]
What exactly is a qualified lead? (SPOILER ALERT: It’s the only leads that matter)
Leads come in all shapes, sizes and definitions. Just trying to keep up with the terminology makes my head spin.[...]
Should You Work For Free to Win Clients?
Last month my friend Dan Shure published an article about the pain in writing SEO Proposals. It was an honest[...]