Marcus Knight

Me 👉 Ten years working in agencies. Launched my own in 2018 with two brothers. Now focused on building a team of expert leaders. On Twitter to share lessons learned and pick up some more. Hobbies include drinking, reading, parenting. Not in that order.

Get yourself addicted to working on one thing at a time, without distractions

I think that marrying well is the single most effective thing a business owner can do.

Two important areas of learning - your own experience: mistakes, testing, reflection - experience of others: books, blogs, articles, talking with other experts You need both to become an expert

If you're running a meeting, be careful how you invite questions “has everyone understood” subtly asks people to admit their weakness, which many won’t do “would you like to stay on this topic” puts the responsibility on you to ensure understanding. Option 2 is much better.

Life gets much better when you start chasing what you really like instead of what other people like

Approach difficult situations with common sense, logic and an open mind. And take action on what you see.

Wrap up all of the critical points as a spoken summary at the end of the meeting, and follow it up with a written one for good measure; this will reduce any ambiguity between attendees and show everyone how in control and effective you are at hosting meetings.

Micromanagement is mismanagement

When your agency is 1-10 people, you probably don't need an operating system From 10-20 people, you probably need one From 20+, you definitely need one

Most of us should really work on our addiction to checking our inbox

To set up a productive meeting, start by being clear about the key things that will be discussed - create an agenda, add this to the meeting invite, and email it to everyone in advance.

There are no shortcuts to becoming an expert. Be patient, put in the years of effort required, make mistakes, and actively look for better ways to do and think about your area of expertise

Two very important skills for agency founders 1. Building systems 2. Building systems that other people want to use I'm currently working on getting better at the second one

Everyone makes mistakes. Your clients will be far more forgiving if they are generally happy with your relationship and the overall quality of your work

Every agency founder's route will be unique. But the elements needed to be successful are universal.

People aren’t motivated by pessimists - even in the face of trouble, remain enthusiastic and always optimistic

Understanding time is the most valuable thing we have = easy. Behaving like it is = much harder

If you're running an agency, you need to map out the 100s of things you need to do well. And put them into an operating system. I am 5 years in, and still working on doing this properly