With more agency owners wanting to step out of the agency’s day-to-day operations to focus more on being the company’s visionary leader, there are many areas of the business that can sometimes go overlooked. To remedy this, many agencies are embracing the COO role to help keep things running smoothly. With the fast growth of this role comes many questions, which we will answer in today’s episode. Carolyn Lodge, a COO and agency owner herself, has a unique perspective that will help us see both sides of the coin in the CEO/COO relationship. We discuss what skills and qualities we should look for in a COO, the dynamic a CEO and COO should have when working together, the top concerns of current COOs like cybersecurity issues, and the role COOs should play in agency AI development. This episode is packed with insights and advice for agency owners looking for extra support with their day-to-day operations, so be ready to take some notes and, hopefully, think a little differently about how you can best utilize your team in the future. A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here. What You Will Learn in This Episode: What scaling effectively means for agency owners How to identify which areas of the agency are ready for growth Finding ways to replicate and systemize work in a custom industry like marketing Marrying customization and systems and processes for agency growth Letting go of identity attachment as an agency owner to better utilize your team’s skills Building an effective training program that helps team members and new employees be more self-sufficient The more time off you take, the more money you can make The often overlooked downsides of growing and scaling the agency Digging deeper to discover why you really want agency growth Finding your Minimal Viable Operation for what you need to reach your growth goals