The Growth Equation
The Growth Equation
Podcast Description
The Growth Equation is a podcast dedicated to helping Australian marketing agencies thrive in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing. We go beyond the surface level and dive deep into the "messy middle" of scaling a business – the challenges, the triumphs, and the lessons learned along the way.
Each episode features candid conversations with agency founders and leaders who share their experiences, strategies, and insights on topics such as:
- Navigating the Messy Middle: Overcoming common challenges in scaling operations, managing teams, and acquiring clients.
- Strategic Frameworks & Systems: Implementing effective processes for project management, client onboarding, and talent acquisition.
- AI & the Australian Market: Leveraging artificial intelligence and adapting to the unique opportunities and challenges in Australia.
- Growth Mindset & Well-being: Maintaining a healthy work-life balance and cultivating a resilient mindset for entrepreneurial success.
Whether you're a seasoned agency owner or just starting out, The Growth Equation provides valuable takeaways and inspiration to help you unlock sustainable growth and build a thriving business.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores a range of content themes including navigating operational challenges, implementing strategic frameworks, leveraging AI in marketing, and fostering a growth mindset. Specific episodes delve into topics such as client loyalty in long-standing agencies, integrated marketing approaches versus specialization, and the essential balance between work and personal well-being for entrepreneurs.
The Growth Equation is a podcast dedicated to helping Australian marketing agencies thrive in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing. We go beyond the surface level and dive deep into the “messy middle” of scaling a business – the challenges, the triumphs, and the lessons learned along the way.
Each episode features candid conversations with agency founders and leaders who share their experiences, strategies, and insights on topics such as:
– Navigating the Messy Middle: Overcoming common challenges in scaling operations, managing teams, and acquiring clients.
– Strategic Frameworks & Systems: Implementing effective processes for project management, client onboarding, and talent acquisition.
– AI & the Australian Market: Leveraging artificial intelligence and adapting to the unique opportunities and challenges in Australia.
– Growth Mindset & Well-being: Maintaining a healthy work-life balance and cultivating a resilient mindset for entrepreneurial success.
Whether you’re a seasoned agency owner or just starting out, The Growth Equation provides valuable takeaways and inspiration to help you unlock sustainable growth and build a thriving business.
In this episode of The Growth Equation, Brendan Ellich joins me to unpack how a “why not?” freelance experiment during COVID evolved into BluFire, a Melbourne-based paid media agency now partnering with 7–8 figure service businesses. We walk through the whole journey: starting with almost no capital, juggling random client work, making the call to stop freelancing and build a real business, and then growing a tight local team that works together in-office four days a week. Brendan is refreshingly candid about the parts most founders gloss over—the times cash flow was tight, the pressure of payroll, the clients that left unexpectedly, and the days where it felt easier to walk away than to keep fronting up.
We go deep into how BluFire makes paid media actually pay. Brendan explains how he links marketing, sales, and finance so every dollar of ad spend is judged on revenue and margin, not “cheap clicks” or noisy dashboards. He breaks down their retainer model and ad spend tiers, how they think about lead targets, and why his team talks to clients weekly to stay ahead of lead quality and volume issues instead of waiting for a nasty surprise at the end of the month. We also dig into why breakfast networking nearly became a full-time job, what changed when he pivoted to building a proper acquisition system for his own agency, and how he’s thinking about AI, smaller-budget campaigns, and the future of agencies that don’t perform. If you’re in that messy middle of running an agency or service business—hiring, dealing with client churn, and trying to keep profit intact—this episode gives you a grounded look at what it takes to build something durable.
Connect with Brendan Ellich
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-ellich/
Company Website: https://www.blumedia.com/
Brendan Ellich’s Company Socials
https://www.instagram.com/blufire.digital/
Connect with us. 👇
Evolve To Grow: https://m.mtrbio.com/evolve-to-grow
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