#70: Niche, Mentor, Scale: The Building Blocks of Agency Success
Agency scaling has never been simple but right now, it’s especially messy.
Traffic is harder to measure. AI is changing how buyers discover vendors. Clients are asking tougher questions about ROI. And many agency owners feel caught between two extremes: automate everything or double down on relationships.
In a recent conversation on the Agency Uplift Podcast, I sat down with Wes Towers, founder of Uplift 360, to unpack what actually works after nearly two decades of building and scaling an agency. Wes specializes in websites and SEO for trades and construction businesses in Australia, but the lessons apply to any service based agency trying to grow profitably in today’s environment.
What stood out wasn’t tactics alone, it was the clarity of positioning, the courage to niche, and the balance between AI efficiency and human trust.
This article breaks down the most important lessons for agency owners focused on agency scaling, operations, client acquisition, and long term profitability.
Why Niching Feels Scary but Unlocks Scale
Like many agency owners, Wes didn’t start with a niche.
He began as a freelancer doing “anything and everything” for anyone willing to pay. Design. Websites. SEO. A bit of this, a bit of that. It worked until it didn’t.
The turning point came when he noticed a pattern:
His best clients, the happiest clients, and the most profitable projects all came from the same space, trades and construction.
Niching wasn’t an abstract marketing exercise. It was a practical decision rooted in lived experience.
Once Uplift 360 committed to a specific niche, several things happened almost immediately:
Sales conversations became easier
Delivery became repeatable
Client outcomes improved
Internal operations simplified
Instead of relearning an industry every project, the team developed deep industry fluency, language, priorities, objections, and buying triggers.
The Real Scaling Advantage of Niching
Niching doesn’t limit growth. It removes chaos.
When you serve everyone:
Every proposal is custom
Every project is different
Every delivery process breaks
When you serve a specific market:
Deliverables become standardized
Systems become repeatable
Team members can step in seamlessly
This is how agencies scale without burning out the founder.
As I often say on the show:
when you say yes to everything, you’re saying yes to chaos.
The Hidden Math That Breaks Agency Profitability
One of the most important moments in the conversation came when Wes talked about time, specifically, how most agency owners misunderstand it.
Early on, he didn’t account for the fact that:
You can only bill about half your week.
The rest of your time is eaten up by:
Sales
Proposals
Project management
Hiring
Finance
Strategy
This misunderstanding is why so many agencies feel “busy” but unprofitable.
The 20 Hour Reality
In a 40 hour work week:
~20 hours are billable
~20 hours are overhead
If your pricing, scope, or capacity planning ignores this reality, profitability will always be fragile.
And when founders don’t respect this boundary, the result is predictable:
60–70 hour weeks
Constant context switching
No strategic thinking time
That’s not a growth plan. It’s survival mode.
AI Didn’t Kill SEO, It Changed the Game
One of the hardest moments for Wes came when he had his business valued.
The valuation came back much lower than expected, largely due to perceived risk from AI.
Instead of ignoring it, he used it as a wake up call.
From SEO to “Search Everywhere Optimization”
Uplift 360 reframed its core offer from traditional SEO to Search Everywhere Optimization, recognizing that discovery now happens across:
Google
ChatGPT
AI assistants
Blogs
Podcasts
YouTube
Social platforms
The goal is no longer just ranking pages.
The goal is being present wherever buyers ask questions.
This approach reframes client acquisition entirely:
Content becomes multi purpose
Authority compounds across platforms
Brand mentions matter more than clicks
And yes, traffic numbers may drop.
But inquiries don’t.
The Measurement Problem (and Why It’s Not New)
One of the most counter-intuitive insights from the episode is this:
Modern marketing is becoming less measurable again.
We went from:
Traditional advertising (hard to measure)
→ Digital marketing (everything measurable)
→ AI-driven discovery (hard to measure again)
People get answers without clicking.
They discover brands without visiting websites.
They ask AI who the “best” provider is and trust the answer.
In one example, a client of Wes landed a massive contract because a company found them through ChatGPT, not Google.
No attribution dashboard.
No clean funnel report.
Just real revenue.
This is why agency owners must stop obsessing over vanity metrics and focus on:
Quality of inquiry
Sales conversations
Client outcomes
Where AI Actually Belongs Inside an Agency
Wes takes a balanced view on AI adoption.
Where AI Shines
Speeding up fulfillment
Generating assets (icons, drafts, outlines)
Supporting production workflows
His team uses AI daily to move faster and reduce friction.
Where Humans Still Win
Sales conversations
Trust building
Strategy
Relationship management
One of the most interesting experiments Uplift 360 runs is an AI receptionist used to qualify inbound calls and book meetings automatically.
It filters spam.
It increases booking rates.
And importantly, it routes high value conversations directly to a human.
That’s the pattern agency owners should pay attention to:
AI handles the repeatable. Humans handle the relational.
The Advice Every New Agency Owner Needs to Hear
When I asked Wes what advice he’d give to someone starting today, two themes stood out.
1. Get a Mentor Earlier Than You Think
Not a generic business coach.
Someone who has done exactly what you’re trying to do.
Looking back, he believes years of trial and error could have been compressed into months.
2. Be Braver Than You Feel Ready For
This one hit hard.
Wes admitted he avoided bigger clients early on because he felt intimidated. But later realized:
Big projects aren’t harder, just larger
Big clients often value expertise more
Bigger budgets create healthier businesses
Selling small because you’re “not ready” is one of the most expensive mistakes agency owners make.
Mistakes are rarely fatal.
Inaction is.
A Simple Workflow That Drove Immediate Results
One of the most powerful examples from the episode involved a construction client who niched down further within their own business.
The Process Looked Like This:
Identify a specific, underserved sub niche
Rebuild messaging around that niche
Create focused website content
Align positioning with buyer intent
The Outcome:
Immediate inbound inquiries
Larger project sizes
Number one Google rankings in days
Not because of hacks but because of clarity.
Clarity converts faster than complexity.
Final Thought: This Is Not the Time to Sell Less
Despite economic pressure and uncertainty, Wes made a point that every agency owner needs to hear:
If you deliver real value, this is not the time to hide, it’s the time to show up more.
Businesses still need:
Clients
Revenue
Visibility
Growth
The agencies that win are the ones that:
Know who they serve
Communicate clearly
Combine smart tech with real relationships
That’s how you build an agency that lasts regardless of platforms, algorithms, or AI shifts.
If you’re ready to uncover your agency’s biggest bottleneck and start scaling intentionally, I offer a free Agency Mini Diagnostic. It takes 3-5 minutes and reveals exactly where to start to unlock growth.
Check it out here: agencyuplift.co/mini
