Productization (Again)
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Blair changes his mind on productized services. Again. And AI is the reason. LINKS
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Thirteen Signals Your Website Should Send
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
David shares a quick list of website elements he sees is missing from a lot of creative firms’ websites which could help them attract more new business. Links
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Embrace the Marketing Mess
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Blair shares what stuck in his mind about marketing success from listening to a recent podcast interview with Rory Sutherland on Liam Curley’s Undisputed Authority. Links
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Firms Most at Risk
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Which segments of our field will thrive in the near future and which ones will slowly lose relevance, and why? David wants creative entrepreneurs to continue being resilient and reinventing themselves every two years while keeping a watchful eye on constantly evolving industry practices and technologies (including AI). Links
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Pricing Resentment
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Blair sees creative entrepreneurs opening themselves up to pricing resentment from their clients when the value of their contributions diminishes over time, especially when they've created significant economic value at the beginning of a long-term engagement. LINKS
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People vs. Profits
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Prompted by a recent trip to Europe, David considers how the differences between worker protection laws in Europe compared to North America affect starting and running an agency in this fast-changing global economy. Links 2Bobs in Tuscany Join David, Blair, six other business owners and their spouses for four days and nights of creative business exploration in an intimate countryside villa designed for long meals, deep conversations, and unhurried thinking.
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Three Patterns of Lost Opportunities
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Blair identifies three recurring categories of lost sales in creative firms and offers solutions to each. Fixing two of these patterns can reap the dividends immediately, and adjusting your sales approach for all three will pay off for years. LINKS
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Why Clients Come, Stay, and Leave
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
David sees a lot of creative agencies making bad assumptions about their client relationships by not making the distinction between the reasons why clients come to them in the first place, why they choose to continue working with them as time passes, and then why they ultimately move on. LINKS
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Is AI Going to Kill Labor-based Pricing?
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Blair is stunned that he still encounters so many advisory businesses like ad agencies, consulting firms, legal and accounting practices — large and small — that are still selling time. So he and David discuss what new revenue models should look like as we all adapt to how AI is changing our businesses. Links by Paul Dunn and Ronald J. Baker by John Warrillow by Robbie Kellman Baxter by Tien Tzuo and Gabe Weisert
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If I Were Starting a New Firm
2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns
Blair interviews David about a recent article he’s been receiving a lot of feedback on, in which he lists all of the things he would try to incorporate into a brand new creative agency, based on what he’s seen and learned from working with thousands of firms over the years. Links
info_outlineDespite the fact that many entrepreneurs hate people telling them what to do, they end up running their own agencies using a “central planning” model. Instead, David encourages entrepreneurial leaders to set clear standards, give staff more freedom, and institute kind accountability, for them and ourselves.
Links
“Countering Your ‘Central Planning’ Tendencies” by David C. Baker for punctuation.com