From Startup to Exit (Agency Edition): Jonathan Baker's Advice
🎙️ Happy Clients Podcast Recap: From Startup to Exit (Agency Edition): Jonathan Baker's Advice
For many agency owners, “growth” feels like the only goal that matters. More clients, bigger teams, higher revenue. But as Jonathan Baker, partner at Punctuation and former founder of a 170-person company, shared on The Happy Clients Podcast, growth is not always the right answer.
“Growth is not always the right answer. You might just be in a stage where you want to have a small team and work on the work you want to work on, and that’s fine.”
We help agency owners grow by taking client management off your plate - and putting you in the CEO seat instead
🎙️ Happy Clients Podcast Recap: From Startup to Exit (Agency Edition): Jonathan Baker's Advice
Rethink What Growth Means for Your Agency
The agency world often glorifies scaling, but bigger isn’t always better. True growth happens when you align your business with your personal goals. If managing a large team or selling nonstop drains your energy, forcing expansion can backfire.
“For growth to make sense, you need to love managing a big team and you need to love sales.”
Before you chase the next revenue milestone, ask yourself: Do I actually want to manage more people? Or would I rather refine my positioning, raise my prices, and increase profitability with the clients I already have?
Why Positioning Is the Foundation of Everything
Every agency problem, from weak margins to inconsistent leads, comes back to one thing: positioning.
“Usually anything that we point to starts with positioning your agency well. Once you have a narrow enough target market, a lot of things can flow from that.”
A clear, narrow position makes marketing easier, improves profitability, and even increases your agency’s valuation. But “niching down” doesn’t mean turning away work. As Jonathan explains:
“Here’s the thing, you don’t have to say no. Positioning is how you portray yourself to new clients. It doesn’t mean you reject other opportunities; it just means you focus your message.”
In other words, choose what to showcase publicly, but stay open to valuable projects that fit outside your niche.
The Smart Way to Delegate and Structure Your Team
One of the biggest challenges for small and mid-size agencies is knowing when to specialize and when to delegate. Early on, everyone wears multiple hats, but that can’t last forever.
“Project management should be the first thing that they get off their plates because, for the most part, founders are horrible at it.”
As your agency grows, freeing yourself from project management and later account management allows you to focus on strategy, culture, and leadership, the real levers for growth. Reluctance to delegate is often rooted in control, not efficiency. Founders must learn to trust their teams if they want the business to scale sustainably.
Building an Agency That’s Valuable, and Sellable
Whether you plan to sell or not, running your agency like it could be acquired is one of the best things you can do. Clean financials and clear processes make everything smoother.
“Make sure your books are clean. Run the business like a real business, because valuations and buyers are going to look back at least three years.”
Beyond tidy accounting, a valuable agency has strong positioning, documented processes, and minimal dependence on the founder. Buyers (and clients) want businesses that can thrive without one person holding everything together.
The Takeaway
Sustainable agency growth isn’t about chasing size, it’s about clarity, focus, and structure. Define what success looks like for you. Position your agency with purpose. Delegate the right tasks at the right time. And build systems that don’t depend solely on you.
When you do that, you’ll have a business that’s not only more enjoyable to run but also far more valuable.
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