How One Agency Doubled During a Downturn | David Newman

Send us Fan MailWhat should a business owner do when uncertainty rises and competitors begin cutting expenditure?In 2021, while many companies were reducing advertising and waiting for conditions to improve, David Newman’s agency took a different approach. Ad Lab continued investing, acquired customers while advertising costs were lower and more than doubled its revenue.In this episode, Peter Boolkah talks to David about the decisions behind that growth and the challenges created when demand accelerates quickly.David explains why measurement must come before additional marketing expenditure, how the shift towards e-commerce benefited his agency and why growing revenue required changes to the company’s team and organisational structure.Peter and David also examine the risks of short-term pivots. Moving rapidly into an emerging market can produce immediate revenue, but it can also distract the company from its core business and leave it vulnerable when competitors flood the opportunity.You’ll discover:Why some businesses continue growing during difficult economic conditionsHow lower advertising costs can create an opportunity for companies prepared to investWhy every marketing channel should be measuredHow e-commerce changed the prospects of traditional product businessesWhy a short-term pivot should not replace the core businessHow rapid growth creates new recruitment and organisational challengesWhy David capped customer concentration and monitored his cost of saleWhen an ambitious growth target needs to be resetWhy surrounding yourself with coaches and experienced advisers mattersThis conversation was recorded during the pandemic in 2021. Some of the market examples are specific to that period, but its central lessons about measured investment, calculated risk, team building and protecting the core business remain relevant.CONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAHWebsite: https://www.boolkah.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkahInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoolkahX: https://twitter.com/boolkahABOUT PETER BOOLKAHPeter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:Do you own the business, or does the business own you?Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com