Building a Seven-Figure Agency, Realizing the Model Was Broken, and Rebuilding Something Clients Actually Own with Amanda Rush

0:01John Lee Dumas:Light that spark fire nation JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire brought to you by high level the all in one sales and marketing platform. Today we'll be breaking down building a seven figure agency realizing the model was broken and rebuilding something clients actually own. And to draw these vibe bombs I have brought Amanda Rush into EO Fire Studios. Amanda founded Rush Digital Marketing where she builds LinkedIn lead generation systems for coaches and consultants. Her latest model, the Nexus install, gives clients full ownership in 60 days. And today we talk about going from rock bottom to seven figures, the broken model moment, the collapse that changed everything, and oh, so much more.

0:39John Lee Dumas:And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Amanda and our sponsors. NetSuite is the AI-powered business management platform trusted by more than 43 ,000 customers. And now, NetSuite Next builds AI directly into the way you work. For the first time ever, you can try NetSuite Next for free. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, go to netsuite.ai slash fire. Built for every industry, ready for every boardroom. Stop duct taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place.

1:11John Lee Dumas:And when you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more. Visit highlevelfire.com. Highlevelfire.com. Amanda, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Oh my gosh. Hi, great to be here. So that's a great question. I think I have like a lot of mini answers that kind of all point towards the same thing. Cause I was, you know, kind of brainstorming this and like, you know, the biggest thing that I, one of the biggest things that I hear people say who haven't kind of been quote unquote successful are like that they think that you need capital or connections.

1:58And my whole thing for like the last seven plus years of doing this type of marketing has been, you know, growing a business with no connections, no capital, just like a marketing system that works. But it's really evolved, I think, more than that. I think the biggest thing is rather than kind of trying to tap into what success looks like, which is like kind of the extrovert, the, you know, social media performer, all of that stuff. Um, as a, you know, very much introvert myself, I think it's really, um, instead of becoming more of that, just becoming more of who you already are and kind of like leaning into that as much as possible.

2:35Um, in, in a way that of course serves you and serves others. And I think that's what it's really about.

2:40John Lee Dumas:So Amanda, your story, it's pretty crazy. I mean, rock bottom to seven figures and of course, and beyond, and you dropped out of college, You got literally fired from a car dealership. And then what did you do? I mean, not like at a direct line of success. None of us do. We learn as we go. We fail, we iterate, we pivot, we adjust. Then, you know, we have successes that build upon it itself. But you ended up building a seven-figure LinkedIn agency. And the best part is with no ads, with no content marketing, take us through that journey. Oh my gosh, yes. That definitely felt like a rock bottom at the time.

3:15And now, of course, I see it as like just like a completely like a starting point for my current trajectory that I'm really grateful for. But essentially what was going on is I had already started kind of I dropped out of college because I didn't know what the heck I was doing. I was in junior college for like literally seven plus years in junior college plus summer school. Like and I just couldn't make up my mind. So I just dropped out eventually. And then I started like taking these online courses from first one ever was Tai Lopez. because that's like where I got into the space. From there, it kind of kicked off me, you know, taking all these other programs that I found online, learning about learning the fact that you can actually start your own business from scratch, from nothing.

3:58And I really just started kind of learning all of that. At the same time, I got that car dealership job and I started kind of testing out my marketing there to bring in my own like customers, which was kind of cool. But it really, I really wasn't the right fit for a car dealership and did get fired. And then I actually was able to get unemployment at that time. So instead of looking for or like trying, you know, to replace the job, I actually just spent like the entire next year working like 60 hours a week trying to make the business work. And eventually, like literally one year later, like almost to the day it actually kicked off.

4:35That was January 2019. And yeah, that's what happened.

4:37John Lee Dumas:Well, I want to talk about specifically the broken model moment, because there was a point where you actually realized your own business model wasn't working. And by the way, we've all been there. So, I mean, like this is key for you to understand and for you to keep a finger on the pulse. So charging monthly for outcomes, it just wasn't something that you could control. And so there was a struggle there. So what exactly happened and how did that feel as a founder? That was frustrating and it lasted so long because I couldn't figure out what was actually happening. um so I've been you know in business for seven plus years at this point and like after the first like the first I would say three years in business were like booming uh and then um it just seemed like it was slowly tapering down over the years and I think you know lead generation is such a crowded space and then one one day I was talking to my head of operations on one of our weekly meetings.

5:31And I was kind of talking about like unhappy clients. And she was like, well, what would make a happy client? And I was like, oh my gosh, it's so simple. Like that's such a simple question. But since I didn't have the answer, I was like, oh my gosh, I actually don't know. And I kind of just like turned it over repeatedly for like a few months, as well as brainstorming other things at the same time. And finally, I was like, oh my God, like there isn't actually a way to have a completely happy client forever doing this monthly recurring model. Because at some point, something breaks, whether it's the market or maybe the calendar link change or something.

6:11I don't know, little things like that. And then, of course, it looks like that is reflected on us, but it's kind of not the case. So it's a frustrating situation that does lead to, as a relatively sensitive person myself, a lot of guilt. I'm like, oh my gosh, they're not happy. so it kind of took a lot of toll in a lot of different ways and so that's how I figured out like okay this model is actually not the best model after all these years of doing this and how do I you know change it that's pretty much how that happened well I want to talk about the

6:42John Lee Dumas:collapse that changed everything and by the way having done 5 ,489 episodes collapses are very common fire nation they happen in businesses all the time and it's how you react to those are you anti-fragile? Are you going to live? Are you going to learn? Are you going to adjust and pivot? Because I mean, for you, Amanda, your revenue dropped, but instead of fixing the pipeline, you're like, you know what? I'm going to rebuild this thing from the ground up. I'm going to rebuild this model. So what did that transition look like? So lots of reflection and brainstorming, as I mentioned, but once I kind of figured out where I wanted to go or kind of the idea started clicking, I had a client who would be like the ideal version of like my first client for this new model, which is instead of like a monthly recurring retainer that where the client depends on us, it's more like here, we'll like build it for you, prove that it actually works and then hand you the keys so you can own it forever and get like, you know, lifetime ROI.

7:49And so that's first, like the biggest move that like was like the first domino piece was just getting on a call with this client and being like, Hey, um, I think that this would actually be a better fit for like for you for X, Y, Z reason. Is that something you would be open to like discussing further? And then like two calls later, or I think it was like only one call later after that, after he kind of chewed on it, he was like, actually, yeah, that sounds great.

8:15John Lee Dumas:So, um, that was the very first, you know, client. And then I was like, Oh my God. So then, you know, it was really just like from there, um, just like having that one tiny proof of concept, um, you know, in other words, like proven that someone will pay for it. Yeah. I just like started building upon that. Fire nation. We're going to talk about that birth, the birth of Nexus install, escaping the agency trap, the 83 % close rates and more. When we get back from thinking our sponsors, don't wait to start using AI in your business. The companies that embrace it now will have a real advantage, and NetSuite Next makes it easier than ever to get started.

8:54John Lee Dumas:NetSuite is the AI-powered business management platform trusted by more than 43 ,000 customers. It brings your financials, inventory, commerce, HR, and CRM together into one secure system, so your team is always working from a single source of truth. And now, NetSuite Next brings things even further by building AI directly into the way you work. It automatically services insights tailored to your business. It includes AI agents that can help solve problems, streamline routine tasks, and save time. And because NetSuite is designed for a wide range of industries, it adapts to the way your business operates.

9:24John Lee Dumas:Whether your company generates millions or even hundreds of millions, it's time to see what NetSuite Next can do. If I needed a platform like this, NetSuite is what I'd use. For the first time ever, you can try NetSuite Next for free. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, go to netsuite.ai. Built for every industry, ready for every boardroom, netsuite.ai slash fire. Fire Nation, ideas are exciting, but systems will allow you to create freedom. That is where High Level comes in. High Level allows you to build and run your entire business from one platform. Website builder and hosting, funnel and landing pages, email marketing, automation and workflows, calendar booking, payments and subscriptions, even course and membership hosting.

10:06John Lee Dumas:Everything works together seamlessly. Plus, award-winning 24-7 support, so you are never stuck. And when you go through my link at highlevelfire.com, you unlock my full bonus stack, a 30-day free trial of High Level with full access, a private 50-minute coaching call with me, weekly live office hours with me, a digital copy of my book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, my 50 Days to Something execution roadmap, and more. Stop piecing tools together. Start building momentum. Visit highlevelfire.com and start building your something today. Amanda, we're back. And as we kind of tease before the break, we're going to talk about the birth, the birth of Nexus install.

10:49John Lee Dumas:I mean, a single client conversation that you were just referencing. I mean, it turned into a brand new offer built and launched in under 30 days. I mean, this is the dream. How the heck did that happen? Yeah. So interestingly, I think that's even an overstatement. I think it was like the next week and a half, I had launched a campaign for it. So, you know, that was really the spark was selling that one client into it and me kind of having all of these realizations of how much of a better model this is, not just for me, but for the client as well. And so what ended up happening is I created like, you know, I was all, I was really excited and I created this email campaign to my existing like email network.

11:33And I was like, Hey, like I'm starting this new thing. And by the way, I've tried like sending email ideas to my list and like nothing really works that well. Right. Nothing really has stuck. But this one actually got like the most positive response that I've ever gotten from my email list. And so in terms of like the birth of the Nexus install, like I didn't actually even have the whole thing built yet. I was just like, let's see if people want it. And then I ended up getting like six people that were like, yes. And then out of those six people, you know, five people like signed up immediately.

12:10And so I had my first beta cohort essentially. And these were the five people that I took from day one to day 60, step by step and learned, okay, this is what happens at each stage to have a successful outcome. And that's really how I did it.

12:27John Lee Dumas:Let's talk about escaping the agency trap because there's this idea that agencies create dependency, not ownership. So how did you specifically build an exit hatch and shift towards a more scalable model? I learned kind of a lot of things at the same time. One of them was actually that I prefer, like one of my biggest things that I like to do in life is kind of like close projects. Like I love finishing things. I'm kind of like the opposite of, I think a lot of people. And so even just the model of having the ongoing thing for me, for my personality wasn't, you know, the closed model was better.

13:04and then from there I actually learned about the IKEA effect I'm not sure if you've heard of that but just kind of understanding that people actually have more they see more value in things that they've had a part in in creating and then on top of that I got this you know mass email from Alex Hormozzi that was talking about agency dependence and how instead of hiring an agency to do your marketing for you, which creates a dependency because then you don't know how anything works. And then if something happens, you don't have any way to fix it, et cetera, et cetera. You should instead have the agency show you how they're doing it and then like build it in-house.

13:46And I was like, oh my God, this is literally like what I just like started building. And so it just kind of all came together like that.

13:53John Lee Dumas:I mean, that Ikea effect is really interesting. I'll plant another story, Amanda, that I think you'll also kind of resonate with here is it's called the Sarah Lee story, I believe. I think I read about it in Robert Chiodani's Influence, which was such a great book, by the way. And he talks about how, you know, for years, like Sarah Lee had this like brownie or this cake mix that, you know, that people would buy and they take home and then they would have to crack a couple eggs, you know, pour the powder from the bag into a bowl, crack a few eggs, mix it up and then put into the, um, you know, add some water, mix it up and then put into the oven and it would come out.

14:33John Lee Dumas:And it was like this unbelievably tasty, like, you know, brownie cake. And at dinner, everybody'd be like, you know, for dessert, like, oh my God, that was so amazing. And like the person who bought it, you know, the wife or the husband, whoever made it would be like, oh, thank you. Like they would appreciate that. And like, they would kind of feel like they could take ownership of that. Well, then Sarah Lee like released a product that they thought was going to crush it. It was like, Hey, we actually now have powdered eggs in there. So you don't even have to crack any eggs. Like all you have to do is just pour it out of this bag, put in a cup of water, mix it up and put it in the oven.

15:06John Lee Dumas:And like, it did not do well. Cause what was happening was people that were doing that were now having people say, Oh my God, this is so tasty. It tasted just as good. But that person could not feel like they could take any credit for it. Cause they essentially did nothing. They just added water. Just the act of like cracking the eggs and mixing the eggs in was enough for them to take ownership. Just like putting together a few pieces of furniture is enough for you to take ownership of the Ikea product. It's such a fascinating mental, like psychological thing. But like, you need to think about that when you're building something that you want to scale.

15:43John Lee Dumas:So Amanda, let's talk about the 83 % close rate, because this is insane. I mean, you closed 83 % of sales calls and we're talking a seven to 10 K offer with no case studies, no testimonials. That's wild. What told you that you had true product market fit and how did you close 83 %? Take it away. The product market fit, of course, at, by the time of, you know, bringing it to a colder market was kind of, um, dialed in from the beta launch. And then at that point it was just about like okay how do I actually say this in a way that like it kind of makes sense um like you know beginning middle and end and um I honestly think that like this is I honestly think it's just the fact that the market wanted this more than I realized um and like you know I'm not I'm not awful at sales like I'm decent at sales but this just I think I think what took it to the next level is actually having it's like all about you know something that people want so I I really think that's all it was, to be honest.

16:45John Lee Dumas:83 % of sales calls were closed on a seven to 10 K offer. Are you just a great closer? I think I'm a decent closer. I think I'm not like out of this world. Um, uh, I would say, I would say like on a typical offer, like my last one, I would have like, you know, 25 % closing rate, um, you know, average month after month. So I think it really was, I mean, I'm sure it was the, the offer itself that is really grabbing people's attention on those sales calls. And of course there is the conviction on my end. I'm sure that bleeds through as well. I want to talk about a closing value bond for our listeners.

17:27John Lee Dumas:I mean, entrepreneurs that are listening right now, I mean, they're stuck in a model that no longer works, not everybody, but of course a lot of people are, and at least some part of their business isn't working to the level they want it to, at least part of it. So what's one move that they can make to rebuild something stronger and more scalable? I think that's the through line of the lesson that I've really learned over this last year or so is really to really start to understand themselves on a deeper level more. And so like really starting to analyze, like, how do I think, how do I like to work?

18:04What type of work actually energizes me that gets me excited? What type of work drains me? What and then again, like what make what would actually make my clients happy? Like kind of like digging into these deeper questions. And even sometimes it's just like, how do I make more money right now? Because some of the collapse, you know, raises financial like, oh, my God, like what's what's happening? And so all of these like kind of deeper questions mixed together with understanding yourself to a much more like core level, I think. and more specifically what I did to be like even more concrete about it I actually created an AI diary I know this might be a controversial thing at this point in the world but I you know I created like a sounding board so I created a clod project that to act as my sounding board and I and like a diary basically and just like talk to it every day at like not like and just keep coming back to it and like saying stuff and like just treating it as like just a diary basically.

19:04And I think just having like an artificially intelligent robot repeat things back to you, it's like crazy what kind of patterns come up. And honestly, like, yeah, that's, that is what I would do. Just the, the introspection. And if you can get a sounding board, even if it's another person that doesn't mind you talking their ear off all day about your work projects, that's what I would say.

19:25John Lee Dumas:Amanda, if Fire Nation is listening and they want to learn more about you, maybe connect with you, maybe start consuming some content and learning more about what you have going on. What is your call to action for our listeners today? My website would be the best spot that has all of my socials on it anyways. So it's rushdigitalmarketing.com and that's really it. Fire Nation, you are the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with AR and JLD today. So keep up the heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com, type Amanda in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up.

19:57John Lee Dumas:And Amanda, thank you for sharing your truth and knowledge and value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thank you so much. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Amanda for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we're now accepting applications for EO Fire. So to learn more about becoming a guest, visit eofire.com slash guest and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. NetSuite is the AI-powered business management platform trusted by more than 43 ,000 customers.

20:32John Lee Dumas:And now, NetSuite Next builds AI directly into the way you work. For the first time ever, you can try NetSuite Next for free. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, go to netsuite.ai. Built for every industry, ready for every boardroom. Stop duct taping your business together. HighLevel runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place. And when you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more. Visit highlevelfire.com. Highlevelfire.com.