This week I had a meeting that ended awkwardly …
It was the board meeting of a private client.
Picture it now…
Seventeen stiffs, all suited and booted and dressed to the nines…
… and me, clothed in a black “One Man Empire” t-shirt and cowboy boots 🙂
Anyway, as part of this spectacle, I got to witness the latest dog and pony show from their B-I-G marketing agency.
Needless to say, the client was impressed by the smoke and mirrors.
I wasn’t.
In fact, I ended up going off at the deep end…
… Unloading on how I thought what they’d done, and what they’d delivered – for the price they’d charged, was a sack of shit.
To be fair, I did then explain to the spotty, wet behind the ears, twenty-something in charge of the agency, what they should do instead to drive profit.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
… Because at the end of the meeting, me and the millennial from the marketing agency locked eyes and he swiftly approached.
I expected to cop it with both barrels ….
Turns out he had other ideas.
On the back of what I said, he asked me to sort out their marketing.
(The irony was not lost.)
I declined.
And not for the reason you’re thinking.
Yes, it is true that I believe most marketing agencies are charlatans.
But the main reason I declined was this…
I do not believe any man who is at the helm of his own business should ever use a marketing agency.
… It comes back to One Man Empire Iron Law #67:
Always Be In Control Of What You Eat.
Which means YOU my friend must become the marketer.
And in this economy?
This law is more vital than ever.
Can you get offload and outsource the grunt work?
Sure.
… BUT you must hold the skills to protect and put an iron cage around what you’ve built.
After all, it’s time to consider that it’s YOUR moral responsibility to stack the deck in YOUR favour.
Don’t forget…
This is your Empire.
Do not leave its fate in the hands of others or the so-called marketing gods.
Make More. Prove More. Be More.
Charlie
