He Runs Three Companies. The Secret? Other People Run Them. | Brad Ferris

What if the people you hire could run your agency without you in every seat? In this episode of the Agency Advantage Podcast, Brad Starnes sits down with Brad Ferris, co-owner of ClinicGrower and co-founder of Propel Leadership, to unpack how a nurse who always wanted to own a marketing agency ended up running three companies, why he says it's tasks before titles when you hire, and how to grow your best people into leaders before they leave for another agency. Brad Ferris did his graduate degree in marketing and planned to start an agency called Straight Line Marketing. Instead he went to nursing school while he figured out his business career, fell in love with the bedside, and spent about fourteen years as a full-time nurse while running and scaling practices on the side. In early 2019 he saw HighLevel for the first time. That October he partnered with Bref McHugh at ClinicGrower, and in March 2020 COVID hit. They doubled down, taught clinics how to keep bringing in patients virtually, and grew from $17K a month in recurring revenue to their first million, then their second. He talks about how he and Bref split the visionary and integrator seats, why he took about three years to decide before approaching Cassi Carpenter about Propel, the two hiring mistakes he warns about from the stage, and the learning plan he borrowed from nursing to keep ambitious people growing. He and Brad also share a first look at a program they're building to help TalentFuze clients grow their offshore team members into leaders through Propel. In this conversation, Brad and Brad discuss: From a marketing degree to fourteen years at the bedside Seeing HighLevel in 2019 and doubling down when COVID hit Why three companies only work when other people run them Splitting visionary and integrator with a business partner How he chose a co-founder, and why it took three years Tasks before titles: what to figure out before you hire The two costly hiring mistakes, and the scorecard that heads them off Why senior hires are already sitting in someone else's seat Learning plans and leadership tiers that keep your best people growing A TalentFuze and Propel program for offshore talent, in the works Timestamps: [00:00] - Agency Advantage intro [00:34] - Meet Brad Ferris of ClinicGrower and Propel Leadership [01:28] - From a marketing degree to fourteen years of nursing [02:13] - Seeing HighLevel for the first time [02:43] - Partnering with Bref McHugh, then COVID hit [03:11] - Three companies that support each other [04:33] - The secret: other people run the companies [05:28] - A marketer before Facebook ads [06:24] - What nursing brought to the agency [07:56] - In medicine, you do what you do best [09:28] - Visionary and integrator: splitting roles with Bref [10:22] - Talk it out early, even at $17K a month [12:01] - Partner up or go solo? [12:37] - Three years before approaching Cassi Carpenter [14:00] - If you can't get the votes, it's not a good idea [14:46] - How he found the right partner [17:54] - Coaching inside Seven Figure Agency [18:41] - Tasks before titles [19:52] - Do you want to be chairman of the board? [20:48] - The executive assistant job that's really four roles [22:35] - The two most costly hiring mistakes [23:34] - Standards and scorecards before the offer [24:30] - Stop racing to the hire [25:43] - Put your assistant in your prospecting channels [26:13] - Hiring a doer vs. hiring someone who runs a seat [27:06] - Senior hires are already in a seat somewhere else [29:49] - How to keep your A players growing [30:35] - The yearly learning plan borrowed from nursing [31:27] - Courses, guided programs, and Propel [34:06] - Propel's three tiers of leaders [35:06] - The assessment that shows who's ready to lead [36:52] - A first look at a TalentFuze and Propel program [39:18] - Brad Ferris's advice: hire for more than today's problem CONNECT WITH BRAD: Facebook →   / bradstarnesofficial   Instagram →   / bradstarnesofficial   LinkedIn →   / bradstarnesofficial   CONNECT WITH BRAD FERRIS: ClinicGrower → https://clinicgrower.com Propel Leadership → https://propelleadership.com Leadership assessment → https://app.propelleadership.com/ LinkedIn →   / bradmferris   CONTACT: TalentFuze → https://talentfuze.io Book a call → http://bradstarnes.fyi/talentfuze/ #AgencyAdvantage #BradFerris #ClinicGrower #PropelLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #HiringForAgencies #AgencyOwner #AgencyGrowth #MarketingAgency #EOS