Recently, attended a Mastermind in Dallas, TX hosted by Committed for Marketing Agencies. My main take aways: Lead Qualification is important. We primarily do business in rural Arkansas. We normally qualify businesses by budget. However, there was a point made that we should qualify businesses by revenue. Couple of points here: When qualifying by budget. The client imposes this on themselves. For example if they are way over budget on this, this causes stress on the client to get results fast. Thus, when we do not meet the expectations of the client, this causes some stress. When qualifying by revenue. We know exactly how much the client should be spending on marketing. For example if they client is at $500,000/year in revenue. We know the industry average for marketing spend is 5%-10%. So we can comfortable navigate the conversation and sale around this point. This also prevents the client from overspending and putting themselves in a position of stress. "Pressure Reveals what Comfort Conceals" this is a quote from a friend, Andrew Brockenbush. This was a quote that helped my mindset. The Importance of a SLO Offer. A presentation from Matt Deseno provided some guidance into the importance of a Self Liquidating Offer with actionable insights on how to implement into our business. Going to LA next week for another Mastermind by Matt Deseno.

(TL;DR at the end.) The Agreement: By being here, you are agreeing to one fundamental thing: To grow your business (and mindset) in the healthiest way possible. My Promise to You: For years, I was a professional "What-If-er." I studied the gurus, I watched Hormozi, and I spent countless nights staring at the ceiling, paralyzed by scenarios that never happened. That ends now. I’m building this community because I believe connection is the missing link. I am handing over everything—what we’re doing at our agency, what’s broken, and how we fix it. In return, I ask one thing: You align with our mission to grow sane, sustainable businesses. We are done with "growth at all costs." We are here for growth that lasts. My Story: I was born in California but raised in the middle of nowhere, Arkansas. I grew up with a lot of examples of "what not to be." I wanted to be a breakthrough. I followed the script perfectly: I got the Computer Science degree, I landed the management role at a local tech company, and I secured the "safe" gig that would let me retire someday. By all accounts, I had made it. I was safe. But I wasn't happy. I had an everlasting ache that I was meant for something else. During that time, I met Gabby (my now-wife.) She was outspoken, adventurous, and the polar opposite of my "behind-the-scenes" personality. We dreamed of freedom, but we were stuck in the rat race of capped salaries. So, we jumped. We launched Sidekick Creative Company because we saw our town was full of "get rich quick" marketers selling empty promises. We traded a 40-hour workweek for a 120-hour nightmare. We traded "comfort" for a "dumpster fire." But over the last three years, we figured it out. We learned how to scale, how to stabilize, and how to work together without killing ourselves. Now, we are taking everything we learned, the hard way, every step of the way, and giving it to you. Other important notes: We have a wonderful team of individuals at Sidekick Creative Company.

Time moves fast. What direction are you heading in? Most 2026 business goals will be dead by February. Why? Because "Grow revenue" isn't a plan; it's a wish. And as early-stage founders, we don't have time for wishes. We need breakthroughs. We are shifting from "setting goals" to engineering outcomes. Here is the exact framework we are using this year to move from chaos to stability. Step 1: The "Future-Back" Mindset Don't plan forward from where you are today (that just highlights your limitations). Instead, jump to December 31, 2026. - What does the business look like? - How many clients? - How many hours are you working? Now, work backward. To hit that in December, what must be true in June? To hit June, what must be true in March? This turns a vague dream into a math problem. Step 2: The Premortem (The Secret Weapon) Most people visualize success. We want you to visualize failure. Imagine it is Dec 2026 and you failed completely. Ask yourself: What went wrong? - Did we run out of cash? - Did we burnout? - Did we hire the wrong people? Now, build the plan to prevent those specific things from happening. Step 3: The "Quality Over Quantity" Engine In Phase 1–3, growth isn't just about more leads; it's about the right leads. Stop chasing vanity metrics. We are focusing on a Lead Quality Engine. - Score your leads: Who is actually buying? - Feedback Loops: If Sales loses a deal, Marketing needs to know why so they stop bringing in that type of person.