Leading Transformation

Heather Noel • Owner & CEO • Ampersand

Heather Noel, founder and principal of Ampersand, will share the journey of her agency's transformation during the past three years. After finding herself at a crossroads, both professionally and personally, Heather was faced with a choice: Stay stagnant and limit growth, or enact real change and build something stronger than even she could imagine. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Heather gathered her strength and outlined a plan for agency growth and success. Her plan addressed everything from the agency brand to ideal clients, operational procedures, securing key employees and an eventual plan for succession. Heather will walk us through her journey and share the one great realization she made along the way­–in order for the plan to work, she needed to let go and put responsibility in the hands of others.

The Mindful Agency

Zack Pawlosky • Founder • Agency Community

Mindfulness seems to be everywhere these days; from articles to websites, to apps and online communities. After the past few years, it's not hard to understand why. Mindfulness will continue to gain steam in 2023, but what does it mean to be mindful as it relates to your agency life? Zack Pawlosky, founder of Agency Community, will share important considerations, practices and tools you can use at your agency to support a mindful organization. From mindful email etiquette to valuing quiet time, to reducing stress and increasing health, he'll show you how small changes can make a big impact. He'll also discuss why building a mindfulness charter might be exactly what your agency needs right now. As a bonus, we'll be sprinkling in some activities throughout the two days that you can take back to the agency and implement with your team.

Mini Leadership Lessons

One of the most valuable aspects of SAIL is the ability to learn directly from other agency people. In this segment, you'll hear from two of your fellow attendees about an important lesson they have learned as an agency leader. Speakers will prepare a fifteen-minute presentation and share their lesson with the group, including how and why they learned the lesson and what this lesson can teach all of us about running an agency. Each segment will include a ten-minute Q&A so we can explore their lessons further.

The Future Favors the Small

Leslye Schumacher • Founding Partner • VICI Media

Leslye Schumacher, founder and principal at VICI Media, finds herself at the center of digital media trends and innovation every day. As a digital partner for many smaller agencies, she is not only educated on what work now but what will be key for future success. Leslye will share her thoughts on the digital trends that agencies need to employ to provide results for their clients and why the new digital media trends will favor smaller agencies.

Help Seat

During this segment, volunteers from the group will share a current problem or challenge they are facing at their agency. Attendees will then spend 15-20 minutes offering suggestions and advice, which will be captured on a whiteboard. At the end of the session, the volunteer will be asked which solution(s) they intend to pursue and make a commitment to implement the advice when they return to the agency. There is nothing your agency faces that someone else hasn’t already solved. Spending time in the help seat will send you home with tangible solutions for addressing the issue head-on.

For those of you who like to rise early and get a little exercise, we'll be offering a brisk morning walk around the beautiful grounds of Coronado Springs. It's a great opportunity to take in your surroundings, reflect on what you learned during day one and maybe even get in a little shop talk with your fellow attendees. Join us, you won't regret it.

Virtual Reality

Josh Turney  • Founder & Principal • Rooster

Josh Turney, founder and principal of Rooster, has grown his company from a boutique agribusiness consultancy to a full-service, powerhouse marketing firm that serves the farming, food and rural lifestyle industries. Founded in 2017, Rooster has been operating as a virtual company since its inception. This is a point of pride for Turney and his team, who are dedicated to finding, retaining and developing top marketing communications and agriculture industry talent from around the country. Based in Clinton, Ill., the firm has satellite offices and more than 50 employees based in 13 states, where the team brings unparalleled strategy and service to global agricultural clients, brands and campaigns. Turney will share Rooster's remarkable story of growth and detail what it takes to operate and scale a fully virtual company and agency successfully.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Victoria Fouke • Director of Strategic Partnerships & Customer Advocacy • Function Point

Victoria Fouke, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Customer Advocacy at Function Point, engages with smaller agencies every day. Most are in the process of selecting or implementing a new software system for their team. As Victoria said, finding the right system is only half the battle, the other half is getting it implemented. In order to adopt new systems or processes, agencies need to implement a change management strategy that will see them through to the finish line. All too often agencies begin new processes and procedures only to abandon them in a few weeks or months. During this segment, Laurie Mikes of Second Wind will interview Victoria about change management techniques and strategies you can implement at your agency for guaranteed success.

Help Seat

Once again, volunteers from the group will share a current problem or challenge they are facing at their agency. Attendees will then spend 15-20 minutes offering suggestions and advice, which will be captured on a whiteboard. At the end of the session, the volunteer will be asked which solution(s) they intend to pursue and make a commitment to implement the advice when they return to the agency. There is nothing your agency faces that someone else hasn’t already solved. Spending time in the help seat will send you home with tangible solutions for addressing the issue head-on.

Mini Leadership Lessons

You'll hear from two more of your fellow attendees about an important lesson they have learned as an agency leader. Speakers will prepare a fifteen-minute presentation and share their lesson with the group, including how and why they learned the lesson and what this lesson can teach all of us about running an agency. Each segment will include a ten-minute Q&A so we can explore their lessons further.

Get Your House in Order

Laurie Mikes • COO • Second Wind

Vince Dong, CPA • Ad•vice Software & Consulting

Recently, there has been a noticeable uptick in agency mergers and acquisitions activity. While there is no definitive reason for the rise, inflation, a volatile stock market, work-from-home trends, along with the effects of the pandemic, are likely contributors. All in all, there are many interesting and lucrative M&A opportunities available for smaller agencies. If you have been considering the world of M&A, then your agency needs to be in tip-top shape so you can react quickly when opportunities present themselves. Vince Dong of ADvice and Laurie Mikes of Second Wind will review the crucial considerations when preparing your agency for a merger or acquisition. They will discuss key financial metrics; agency valuation; fine-tuning agency operations for optimal performance; effects of M&A on exit planning, and understanding multiples and elements of an attractive deal.