There is a reason why I haven’t posted on my blog in over a month…
It’s not because I wanted to finish my blogging career covering the Old Spice guy.
It’s not because I haven’t had anything to say.
It’s because my team and I have been work hard to reach a sustainable point of business with ConvoSpark and provide our clients the best service possible. Therefore, I have unfortunetly been in “workaholic” mode for the past few months.
Running an agency can be challenging and demanding of time and energy. Agency works has been synonymous with scotch drinking executives that work 15 hour days and go home to their mistresses (think Mad Men). However, I have not adopted this outdated notion and work-style. Instead, I consciously think of the “how” when I am working…as long as that “how” is leading me towards results for my clients, learning for me and happiness I know the “how” is right on.
I believe savvy entrepreneurs find time saving ways to gain leverage and avoid this migraine producing work style. However, I also believe that when an entreprneur is working towards reaching a defined destination..they need to maximize their effort. And sometimes maximizing effort literally means pushing effort to the maximum (especially when running a service based company).
Being in this state of “maximized effort” for about two months, I can see it isn’t that bad.
Pursuing a destination does not have to be correlated with relentless grim determination (and Scotch drinking). You can actually choose to enjoy the work you do…all 14 hours of work if necessary. It takes endurance, the right mental approach and some mind slowing outlets. Here are some methods and principles I have been going by that have made the past two months enjoyable and fulfilling.
Watch the trees
Find ways to slow down the mind. My girlfriend’s mom sent me a quote today that read:
“We’re so busy watching out for what’s ahead of us that we sometimes forget to take the time to enjoy where we are.” -Calvin & Hobbs
Ain’t that the truth! Running an agency can make you insane; constantly thinking about what you have to do…and what you have done…that sometimes it’s tough to get the mind to slow and just take on the task at hand. What I have learned is that the best results (for you and your clients) come when you have intense focus on one item at a time.
Remember, sometimes it takes taking a step away from the laptop and smart phone to slow the mind a bit. I prefer cereal at 7:30 while looking outside at the trees. Nothing works better for me 
Have great clients
As an owner or team member of an agency, you are only a portion of the equation. The client typically plays a large roll in all major projects. Therefore, you better make sure to be working with some awesome people.
It is ok to discriminate a bit. If a client is overly demanding for the sake of being demanding…they’re not worth your time. Your mental health and your other clients will suffer because of that one client.
With this being said two things are very important. One, you get a good understanding for your client, their needs and the details of their project pre-sale. This way you can qualify the client and they can qualify your company as well. Maybe the project is not worth the investment in terms of the time you will give and the money they will provide. Maybe the client wants to work far outside your processes which will over extend you and your team. Maybe you don’t like the client and they don’t like you (100k can’t get me to work with someone I don’t like). Two, it’s is of the utmost importance to set expectations. Give clients a look into your operations and how you will be handling their project. Set specific deliverables and meeting times, making your company professional and minimizing the constant back and forth that can waist everyone’s time.
Embrace cosmic laughter
Work can gets crazy at times. Servers can crash, a feature may not be working, designs might be all wrong…it happens. Best thing you can do is laugh it off…like really laugh hard! Recognize that the universe is still in motion and that the situation can be addressed. Sometimes it take a little laughter to recognize those truths.
Measure Progress
I never have been good at treading water. I prefer to be swimming forward (I really prefer to be on land). Stagnation is never good for a business…and results are never as good if they aren’t measured. By making sure to gage progress you are moving forward towards gaining momentum. You will subconsciously be moving towards bettering your progress and hitting the goals you set. Incremental success is paramount in obtaining fulfillment in work.
We make sure to measure our client’s and team success frequently. This keeps moral up since we feel like we’re working with purpose. We are also trying to get better at celebrating our successes that are well deserved.
