This week on Own It we’re talking to Katie Schibler Conn from KSA Marketing. Katie has been a part of the Own It community from day one so this episode has been a long-time coming.
Katie jokes that her firm’s initials, K-S-A, stands for Kick Some Ass. And my, how true that is for her clients. The business evolved from a small consultancy to a 15-year-old agency helping lead brand governance for companies large and small. Her journey is nothing short of amazing.
It includes down-sizing her time to spend more time with family, traveling from South America to Mongolia thanks to a serious wanderlust passion, to being a girls scout troop leader for her daughter.
In all those adventures, she accumulated a wealth of knowledge, experience and insights to run a fantastic agency by understanding collaboration, partnerships, managing relationships and more. She had great insights for closing the gender gap in agency ownership, too.
These conversations just keep getting more and more interesting. You’re going to love this episode.
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Many agency owners, including Katie, don't start with a predefined plan to build an agency. Instead, it often evolves from a small consulting or freelance role that grows due to demand, leading to the gradual expansion into a full-fledged agency.
After the initial phase of taking any work available, a key step in an agency's growth is to identify its unique niche and what it excels at. For KSA, this evolved into brand governance and transforming workflow data into business signals, which became their distinctive offering.
Moving beyond vanity metrics like impressions and engagement, agencies should focus on analyzing data to understand the true impact on business velocity, saturation, and adoption. This deep dive into data helps inform better creative briefs, optimize marketing organizations, and identify missed opportunities for clients.
Friction in business, whether it's challenges in client relationships, internal processes, or market changes, should be viewed as an opportunity for acceleration and growth. Leaning into these difficult moments can reveal underlying issues that, when addressed, lead to significant improvements.
It's vital for agency owners to understand their numbers, including the difference between gross and net profit, costs of goods, and overhead. Engaging "scary expensive" external advisors who push you to charge your worth and navigate financial complexities can be transformative for growth and moving beyond comfort zones.
