Summary

In this solo episode, host Sean Lang breaks down why your agency’s “secret sauce” can’t live only in your head. If you want to grow, exit, or simply stop being the bottleneck, you need to transfer your expertise into systems, scorecards, and SOPs. Sean shares a step-by-step method for turning intuition into documented processes while still protecting creativity.

Takeaways

• Secret sauce in your head makes you valuable; secret sauce in systems makes the agency valuable.
  
  
• Codification boosts speed, consistency, and quality.
  
  
• Role scorecards tie expectations to measurable outcomes.
  
  
• Onboarding and SOPs apply to both employees and contractors.
  
  
• Creativity can coexist with standardization by defining “creative zones.”
  
  
• Delegating ownership frees the founder from being the hero.

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

Summary

In this episode, Sean Lang sits down with Andrei Stoica, founder of Stoica, to explore the realities of building and running a digital agency. Andrei shares his journey from freelancing with his brother to scaling an agency serving global B2B tech clients. He opens up about the challenges of building trust as an Eastern European agency working with U.S. companies, the importance of honesty and focus in service offerings, and the personal transformation from freelancer to CEO. From leveraging referrals and free resources to building culture, setting boundaries with clients, and learning to accept help, Andrei highlights the lessons he’s learned in a decade of agency ownership.

Key Takeaways

• Building trust starts with giving value first, even before money changes hands.
  
  
• U.S. clients are often easier to work with but require overcoming cultural trust barriers.
  
  
• Eastern Europe has strong technical talent due to education systems and English fluency.
  
  
• Agency owners should focus on strengths instead of trying to do everything.
  
  
• Clients often ask for tactics, but agencies must redirect to strategy to avoid poor results.
  
  
• Higher-paying clients are often more committed and easier to satisfy.
  
  
• Saying "no" to bad-fit clients is critical for long-term sustainability.
  
  
• Shifting from freelancer to CEO requires mindset growth, not just tactical skills.
  
  
• Accepting mentorship, therapy, and help from others accelerates growth.
  
  
• Agency success isn’t just revenue, it’s building culture and partnerships.

Check out Oliver's agency here:

Stoica

https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

Key Takeaways

• Most agency founders start as specialists, not business builders.
• Many agencies begin by delivering services, then scramble to find clients and hire, without proper systems in place.
• Without foundational frameworks, growth leads to chaos—hiring without SOPs, inconsistent delivery, and client churn.
• Core values, positioning (ICP), and financial management are essential foundational frameworks.
• Operational frameworks (like processes, project management, hiring) should come after foundational work.
• Scaling activities like automation and partnerships only work if operations and foundations are already strong.
• Skipping foundational work results in endless cycles of growth followed by breakdowns.
• Core values are the DNA of your agency—they influence every decision and define culture, hiring, client fit, and marketing.
• Redefining core values at Sean’s agency broke them out of a growth plateau and shifted their entire positioning.

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

Takeaways

• Start building systems before you feel “ready.”
  
  
• Client outreach is a numbers game, persistence wins.
  
  
• Hiring for skills you don’t have accelerates growth.
  
  
• Alumni connections can open unexpected doors.
  
  
• Creative social content humanizes your brand.

Check out Oliver's agency here:

Optican Edge

https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

Takeaways:

• Claude’s “style” prompts let you analyze accounts through fresh lenses.
  
  
• You can simulate 100s of expert perspectives to improve creative ideation.
  
  
• Use Notion and Asana to build real-time dashboards powered by LLMs.
  
  
• Bain’s 30 value props make for powerful messaging test frameworks.
  
  
• AI can help uncover underserved audiences using identity + hobby data.
  
  
• Power laws mean chasing quantity can yield quality — with strategy.
  
  
• Skip the “AI agent” hype—insert AI where it enhances your decision-making.
  Taste is learnable: train on real ad performance, not assumptions.

Check out Brett's agency here:

The Creative Strategy Agency

https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

Key Takeaways

• Incredible results alone won’t guarantee client retention - relationships matter just as much.
• Onboarding is a trust-building foundation, not a formality.
• A clear scope of work protects both you and the client from mismatched expectations.
• Regular, strategic communication reinforces your role as the expert.
• Making “invisible” work visible helps clients appreciate your strategy and effort.
• Define and communicate processes from day one to prevent ambiguity.
• Shorten time-to-action after a client signs to maintain excitement and momentum.

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

Takeaways

• Agencies must evolve beyond platform expertise to messaging and creative.
  
  
• Great client results can’t make up for poor communication.
  
  
• Hiring needs to go deeper than interviews—use trial projects.
  
  
• Avoid client revenue concentration over 20%.
  
  
• DTC is saturated; expanding verticals is now essential.
  
  
• Good ops take time—slow down to build the foundation.
  
  
• Brighter Click now runs without the founder (except for sales).

Check out Colby's agency here:

Brighter Click

https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

This is the 50TH EPISODE of the Agency Uplift podcast - holy crap!

To celebrate, I'm providing my mini diagnostic questions for you to ask yourself, reflect on, and gain huge insights from.

If you want to run through them personally with me on a 15 minute call, go to https://www.agencyuplift.co/mini

Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)