Catalytic Leadership

Mastering the Art of Strategic Marketing, with Julia Ager

August 07, 2023 Dr. William Attaway Season 1 Episode 58
Mastering the Art of Strategic Marketing, with Julia Ager
Catalytic Leadership
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Catalytic Leadership
Mastering the Art of Strategic Marketing, with Julia Ager
Aug 07, 2023 Season 1 Episode 58
Dr. William Attaway

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What if you could transform your business with strategic decision-making and the right marketing tools? Gain insights from our conversation with Julia Ager, a marketing strategist and the CEO of Jus Agency. She shares her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges and triumphs of running a marketing agency, and how strategic decisions during the pandemic shaped her business. We uncover the significance of learning every aspect of your business and how this understanding can drive growth.

We also delve into the world of CRM, AI tools, and the importance of having robust systems in place in your business. Julia offers a breakdown of how these tools can enhance your customer journey, capture leads, and run successful campaigns. Moreover, we discuss the power of networking and masterminds in fostering both accountability and inspiration. Julia also enlightens us with her experiences in leveraging her network and the impact of podcasts and interviews in building relationships and understanding customers.

Lastly, we get personal with Julia as she shares her habits for staying at the top of her professional game. She emphasizes the importance of mentors, a consistent morning routine, and the crucial role of self-care. We also discuss the significance of creating an environment that fuels creative flow and the value of being true to your own workflow. In the end, Julia imparts invaluable leadership principles, the benefits of having a coach, and how intentional growth can propel you as a leader.

To learn more about the comprehensive range of services offered by Jus Group, please visit: www.jusagency.com and www.goleadbase.com. Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-ager/

As a special offer for podcast listeners, Julia extends an invitation to join her exclusive Marketing Automation Masterclass. This limited free masterclass provides valuable knowledge and practical tips on harnessing the power of automation in your marketing efforts. To secure your spot in the next masterclass, simply visit: https://jusagency.com/masterclass/

Support the Show.

Join Dr. William Attaway on the Catalytic Leadership podcast as he shares transformative insights to help high-performance entrepreneurs and agency owners achieve Clear-Minded Focus, Calm Control, and Confidence.

Connect with Dr. William Attaway:

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Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Send us a Text Message.

What if you could transform your business with strategic decision-making and the right marketing tools? Gain insights from our conversation with Julia Ager, a marketing strategist and the CEO of Jus Agency. She shares her entrepreneurial journey, the challenges and triumphs of running a marketing agency, and how strategic decisions during the pandemic shaped her business. We uncover the significance of learning every aspect of your business and how this understanding can drive growth.

We also delve into the world of CRM, AI tools, and the importance of having robust systems in place in your business. Julia offers a breakdown of how these tools can enhance your customer journey, capture leads, and run successful campaigns. Moreover, we discuss the power of networking and masterminds in fostering both accountability and inspiration. Julia also enlightens us with her experiences in leveraging her network and the impact of podcasts and interviews in building relationships and understanding customers.

Lastly, we get personal with Julia as she shares her habits for staying at the top of her professional game. She emphasizes the importance of mentors, a consistent morning routine, and the crucial role of self-care. We also discuss the significance of creating an environment that fuels creative flow and the value of being true to your own workflow. In the end, Julia imparts invaluable leadership principles, the benefits of having a coach, and how intentional growth can propel you as a leader.

To learn more about the comprehensive range of services offered by Jus Group, please visit: www.jusagency.com and www.goleadbase.com. Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-ager/

As a special offer for podcast listeners, Julia extends an invitation to join her exclusive Marketing Automation Masterclass. This limited free masterclass provides valuable knowledge and practical tips on harnessing the power of automation in your marketing efforts. To secure your spot in the next masterclass, simply visit: https://jusagency.com/masterclass/

Support the Show.

Join Dr. William Attaway on the Catalytic Leadership podcast as he shares transformative insights to help high-performance entrepreneurs and agency owners achieve Clear-Minded Focus, Calm Control, and Confidence.

Connect with Dr. William Attaway:

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Catalytic Leadership, the podcast designed to help leaders intentionally grow and thrive. Here is your host author and leadership and executive coach, dr William Attaway.

Speaker 2:

Hey, it's William and welcome to today's episode of the Catalytic Leadership podcast. Each week, we tackle a topic related to the field of leadership. My goal is to ensure that you have actionable steps you can take from each episode to grow in your own leadership. Growth doesn't just happen. My goal is to help you become intentional about it. Each week, we spotlight leaders from a variety of fields, organizations and locations. My goal is for you to see that leaders can be catalytic, no matter where they are or what they lead. I draw inspiration from the stories and journeys of these leaders, and I hear from many of you that you do too. Let's jump in to today's interview.

Speaker 2:

I'm thrilled to have Julia Agar on the podcast today. Julia is a marketing strategist and the CEO of Juice Group, based between New York, london and Mexico. With over a decade of experience, julia has successfully led international projects for a wide range of companies, managing marketing budgets exceeding $600,000. Her true passion lies in driving business success and empowering others to achieve their goals through smart and strategic approaches. In 2019, julia founded Juice Group, which consists of two innovative entities Juice Agency and Leadbase CRM. Juice Agency is a boutique marketing agency that specializes in AI, automation and strategic marketing. To celebrate their three-year anniversary, juice Agency took over Times Square with billboard activations showcasing their commitment to delivering cutting-edge marketing solutions. Julia, I'm so thrilled to have you on the show.

Speaker 3:

Thank you for being here. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2:

I would love for you to share some of your story with our listeners, Julia, particularly around your journey and your development as a leader. How did you get started?

Speaker 3:

Well, actually my story started quite a few years ago. I really do feel that I was a born entrepreneur. I've got entrepreneurship running through my family and it's just something that's always excited me. So even when I was working in my corporate roles and even actually when I was at university, I would always be the kind of person to have side businesses. I would always be trying something.

Speaker 3:

I would always be exploring different kind of ventures and trying to see how I can build a business. Where is my passion? So I actually started with many different types of businesses. I had a couple e-commerce businesses one that was an eyewear brand, another one that was a homewear line and I honestly, during that time when everything was kind of nonstop with a full-time job, I learned so much about the start to finish process of what it takes to run your business, because for me, my background has always been and my interests have always been in marketing. But when you start to learn the bigger picture of what it takes to run a business, it's very, very, very complex, I think. So from a very early age. I think I learned a lot of lessons, lots of trial and error Also back then. So this was, let's say, like 12, 13 years ago. There wasn't so much out there to help you along, right, so it was literally just learning, trying and just piecing things together as you go, whereas now it's just a whole different story with what's out there. So entrepreneur through and through.

Speaker 3:

But in my kind of day role and in my education I've always followed marketing through. So I studied marketing and I worked in many different marketing roles and I ended my corporate career in a global ad agency. So that role took me all around the world and I was actually working directly under the board of directors, which was just absolutely incredible. I had really strong female leadership right above me. I was able to learn so, so much. I was honestly. It was just an incredible, incredible experience and actually kind of by the end of that, I just realized I think now is the time for me to start on my own. Now is the time to actually kind of take the reins and actually just kind of take my marketing to another dimension. And the reason why I wanted to start my own business and my own agency is because when you're part of a team where there's thousands and thousands of people involved on client work, you don't get to see the result right. You're not really driving that much change. Even though I was working in a siloed team and I did have a lot of impact on the business, it's still quite different because you only get to see a slice of kind of that your efforts right Come to fruition.

Speaker 3:

I think I've just always been fascinated with strategy. I always. I even remember asking one of my old CEOs when I was a marketing assistant. I said to her and I like one on one, how do I become more strategic? And she said to me you don't become more strategic, you just do. You're at the stage where you just do, do, do. So I was like right, that doesn't help. But long story short, I basically just yeah, I went for it. I started my own agency nearly four years ago now and it's the best decision I ever made. It's been very, very scary, but the best.

Speaker 2:

And you started GCE Agency. In a matter of months later, a pandemic hit. What was that like?

Speaker 3:

That was a very, very interesting time because during that period most clients and most corporate companies cut two areas of budget, one of which was marketing and the other one which was consulting agencies or consultants, which I was both of.

Speaker 3:

So it was very, very, very tricky, but I actually, literally just by the grace of God, landed a client in the healthcare industry.

Speaker 3:

So this healthcare clients was the biggest COVID testing center in, or ended up being the biggest, ended up being the biggest and also the first COVID testing center in London. So essentially, what I had to do with my pretty much brand new business was grow like in the space of months what typically would take a business years to get to. So I had to stress test every area of my business. I had to make hires and really we were just going full force. There wasn't much sleep happening during those months, but it was so incredible and it was just yeah, it was I mean to be honest with you it was a good distraction at the time. So, yeah, and then from that I just continued, even while I was still kind of in that bubble of crazy work. I still continue to pitch for new clients and I built our own internal systems and I was able to actually kind of leverage my one big client into kind of acquiring more.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that strategic mind that is leading you to do that. You're not just going to be sucked into the urgent of what's happening right now, that everything needs to happen right now. You're going to be forward. You're thinking ahead, thinking, hey, I'm going to need something beyond this. I'm going to need clients beyond this. I've got to build those systems now for when I need them later. That is so strategic. You talk about the importance of having a plan in your marketing strategy. It seems like you just completely embodied that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean, I'm a strategist through and through. I like to have a very thorough plan of action because this just gets you the best results. Right, I've seen this. I mean, at this point, I've worked with hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of hundreds, maybe even thousands of clients and they all come to me once they've worked with either lots of freelancers or they've been doubling with a little bit of marketing here and there or some kind of business growth plans themselves. They always end up coming to me and saying, okay, I've tried the DIY approach, it's time for a plan. I see what you were talking about. It works. I just know that that's what works, and I think I am just a planner through and through. I love to have a vision for everything I do. I love looking at the bigger picture. I love to look three years, a year, six months into the future. Of course, nothing stays true. Everything changes, but it's still good to have some roadmap to at least lead you in some way.

Speaker 2:

What do you see work in these days, as you're looking at the present and looking ahead a little bit, what do you see working for clients?

Speaker 3:

In the current market. I would say a lot of the companies I work with, a lot of the entrepreneurs I work with. They are a couple of things that really really are working, and that is building solid systems in the business. I know this is nothing revolutionary, because some businesses have them kind of perfected, but actually you'd be surprised about how many businesses are running. They have a multimillion dollar turnover but they don't have the systems to support this in place. The journal and the back end of the business is an absolute kind of shambles and nobody is operating at their best capacity because of this. That's one element I would definitely say.

Speaker 3:

Elements like a solid CRM system are really I'm not sure why, because CRM has been around forever and ever. You know what I mean, but really recently a lot of people are talking about this and a lot of people are seeing the value in it. That's something that I would definitely say is working right now. If you implement a CRM system well and if you actually use it as it should be used, you will start to see really, really incredible results and really incredible growth in the business, because you are not letting any lead slide by without literally nurturing and handholding them every step of the way.

Speaker 3:

This is something that I talk a lot about in my marketing strategies, which is the customer journey. A CRM really is a tool to enable you to look at every area of your customer journey and ensure that it's just as perfected as possible can be. We're not leaving any money, no dollar, on the table. The other element is AI. There is so many incredible free tools out there, and literally just seeing what is out there which is thousands and thousands of tools out there at this point and seeing how you can integrate them into your immediate needs to maybe lessen the load of some of the admin, maybe lessen the load of some of the repetitive tasks that you're doing, is an absolute game changer for many, many businesses. Then, essentially, there's lots and lots that we can talk about when it comes to marketing, but I would say that those two, really right now, are the most transformative. I would say.

Speaker 2:

You're right, there are so many tools and it's easy to get overwhelmed by the complexity of what is in front of you, right, and to see all of these different options and you're frozen into an action. I talk with entrepreneurs and I'm sure you do as well who just they don't know where to go, they don't know what to do next, and in the midst of all of those different options, you started a CRM.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, this is such an exciting project and, honestly, anybody that I demo absolutely loves it and I just get so excited about it. Now I, to be honest with you, have not done the best job at actually screaming and shouting about it and actually promoting it as much as I should have done until now, and this is about to change just because I've been so swamped with running my marketing agency. The CRM and kind of any good CRM will save you so much time, so much hassle and there are so many different options that are available out there. Our CRM, which is lead based, is much more affordable than a lot of other tools out there like Salesforce and HubSpot. But not only is it CRM, it also brings together a variety of different tools like Calendly, mailchimp, hubspot. So, instead of having all these different subscriptions and it's not it's even deeper than just having a subscription and paying lots of different providers it's what happens with that data. Let's say you're using, as a business owner, calendly to get potential leads to book meetings with you. How often do you actually download that list and import it into your MailChimp and how often do you actually follow up and see how everything's talking together? I would really really, really kind of have a hazard of guess that it wouldn't be that often, okay, but with our tool, it links everything together. So if somebody speaks to or leaves a message on your chat on your website, or whether they message you on your information at email address, whether they leave your message on Instagram, everything's universal. Everything is logged in one CRM and you're able to start running your campaigns. You're able to start running your little engine.

Speaker 3:

And CRM aside, that's something that I talk about to all my clients and it's very, very important. People get confused with marketing because, as we said, there's so much that we can do. It's really important as a first foundational step. First foundational step is actually strategy, but then the second one is build the sales engines is to build your foundation, your strong, strong, strong foundation of how you're capturing your sales or leads. So I would say, for any business, that should always be, there should always be a secondary goal of building your data list. Okay, so a CRM is basically just a tool that we can use to really make that very, very, very easy. You can also build, you know, lead generation pages in there. You can build whole websites in there. So it's absolutely fantastic.

Speaker 3:

And, just as a little bit of background story. The CRM, the kind of that I've created, is actually based on the backend and the software solutions that's only available for marketing agencies. So it's actually been around for many, many years now. It's been stress tested to the nines by hundreds of thousands of businesses. It has had millions, probably hundreds of millions at this point leads run through it. So it is totally kind of bulletproof. But, like I say, it would typically be resold by agencies only once you start working with an agency, what we've done is we've made it available to all. They don't need to go through us, they can just, kind of they can go ahead with the CRM. So that's been really, really that's just a very exciting project, to be honest, and something that I'm very proud of, because, at the end of the day, all I care about is driving results for my clients.

Speaker 2:

And this is just great.

Speaker 3:

This is just one of the tools that are available to do that.

Speaker 2:

I love that and I love that you've taken it and said hey, I want to make this available to everybody.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I think that that's so generous. I mean to say, hey, this is a solution we found results with for our clients, and even if you're not going to be a client, you know yet, we want you to experience this. I want to go back to the strategy for a minute, because I think that's a part of marketing that a lot of people don't dive into. This is a piece that some people feel unequipped to do. They feel like they can't afford to hire somebody like you to do this, and so what they do is they end up just throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks Right. They don't know there's no strategy. It's just a matter of, like you said earlier, do, do, do, do, do, do, do and hope something works. If somebody who's listening is in that spot where they haven't had a strategy up to this point, where they've just been trying things here and there, what's their next step? What would you say?

Speaker 3:

Well, I love a good cheat sheet, I love a good blueprint. I love to make things very easy. So I'm actually personally working on a book right now. That will just break that down, because I mean, I have, over the years, perfected my own techniques based on some of the industry leaders that I followed for many, many years. But what can people do now?

Speaker 3:

So I would definitely say there's a lot that you can do right now, because there is a million different courses out there. There is a bajillion different YouTube videos that you can start with, so I would find a business leader that resonates with you, that creates good content and puts out there. It's really essentially what marketing is and what a marketing strategy is. It's just a full plan for all of your channels and it's also a step back to review your market, to also review your competitors and to do a deep dive in exactly what your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are of your business. Okay, and then take that into consideration, as well as your resources, your objectives and your budget. You then come up with the plan Right.

Speaker 3:

So, basically, it is definitely a lot to do. It can be definitely overwhelming. That's why people like I would recommend for people, if they can, to at least book a consultation with a marketing strategist. And you know there's so many, there's so many amazing people out there that can definitely help. But you can absolutely start yourself and I would say just to yeah, I'm not sure if this is a helpful answer, but just start on YouTube.

Speaker 3:

Honestly, there's so much amazing, valuable information that's out there right now for free. Also, using tools like chat GPT, you can absolutely ask it to create something very basic for you. The reason why you know I'm not scared that chat GPT will replace my role is because marketing is so broad and really it's the job of a marketing strategist to prioritize the projects that will get clients the best return on investment. But still very, very good starting point. You can get a little outline of a marketing plan, you can put the right tests in place and you can see what starts to work and then obviously double down on what is. I would say. Those are some tips that I would recommend.

Speaker 2:

Another thing that I've heard you talk about is the importance of a network. And this is something a lot of entrepreneurs really don't think about. They've got their head down, they're focused on what they're doing. They're trying to build a business and even when they get beyond the early struggle stage, even when they're beyond the beginning, they've still got their head down and they're not thinking networking. You have some wisdom around this. I would love for you to share that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I really do believe that businesses are stronger if they work through partnership, or whether you know, when you're really just making the most of leveraging kind of your community or you're leveraging, yeah, you're kind of your contacts of the people around you, right when, like way back when, when I was starting out with my businesses, I remember I would always try and sell to my friends and family first. So it really matter which kind of level you're at, I really think it's just an easy big win. So when I look at marketing and when I'm looking at different projects that a client can take, I always want to go after the biggest and easiest wins, okay so I would say that is just one.

Speaker 3:

So getting out there talking about your business, first of all, of course, it builds your own personal brand, which for most businesses is hugely beneficial. But also you never know who you're going to meet. You never know who you're going to connect with, and partnerships really do pay off long term because you are being exposed to somebody else's whole audience, or I mean it depends what kind of partnership it is. So that's one angle of it, and then the other one is really, I think, especially for entrepreneurs, it can get really lonely. And when you are trying everything yourself and when you are wearing a million different hats, I think it's just nice to talk to people, to other people that understand and can maybe just share their wisdom. So I've actually found a lot of value in masterminds, so working with people in a similar level as yourself and also somebody to you know, a group of people that will hold you accountable, right, yes, and that will keep you pushing. You know you're all hungry, you all want to get to this end goal, because sometimes it can get very difficult, especially if you're, you know, if you have a small team and you are meant to be the inspirational one, is kind of what happens when you kind of burn out, what happens when you're not feeling inspirational. So I think it just, it just really really helps it also. Yeah, I mean, if you have big goals and big dreams, I really do believe that you should surround yourself with like minded people too. So that really helps For me.

Speaker 3:

I travel so much, so my network is absolutely huge and I'm so so lucky and fortunate with that. And actually something that I realized at the end of last year is I wasn't doing business with these incredible people in my network and I actually just had them in my network for the sake of it. Okay, so I was meeting all these amazing people. For them, kind of what, what came from that? Not much. So I made a big shift this year into coming up with really solid partnerships. We've just celebrated six months with one partner which is a bit London based business consultancy, and we've actually been featured on the front of global woman magazine, which came out in print just a few days ago at a global woman conference here in London. So just elements like this. I mean, what did I gain from this partnership? It was literally a whole world of new networks that we tapped into through that partner, right. So that's just absolutely incredible. Also, the PR, the brand building piece just absolutely amazing.

Speaker 3:

And also something that we also started in December last year was a global expert interview series. So this is a really interesting tool and I just want to share it with you because you're obviously doing it too and I just think it's just so, so brilliant, because I'm not sure how many people realize how amazing podcasts are or interview or you know anything in a similar vein at building relationships, right, because actually to get somebody to speak about their experiences for 30 minutes, 40 minutes, whatever it is, really gets you to connect on a deeper level than you would do in a networking scenario or over a coffee, okay, when you're talking just business. So actually, with our global expert interview series, I've been doing interviews with global experts who are billion dollar executives, investors, super successful startup founders and industry leaders and getting them to share their advice to businesses that are just starting out, okay. So this has been a brilliant kind of tool just to get them to talk to me a little bit more and to build that relationship and, honestly, the response that I've got from that, too has been amazing, and actually I've got some of my interviewees now chasing me and saying, like, well, can we get this out a week earlier, like because they just love it. They just love it and I just I to be honest with you, until I started it I never would have guessed that. So the Meet network is yeah, is everything.

Speaker 2:

I love that and I love that you've gotten to be so intentional about this, because I think that's that is critical. I mean building the networks, building the relationships. You know, the podcast for me is a way to have conversations with people that I've always wanted to have to meet, people that I wouldn't have an opportunity to meet otherwise. Right, but you're exactly right, it's also building relationships and you do get to go deeper and you do get to kind of accelerate the process, whereas you know, in a networking group or even in a mastermind, sometimes you're only going to go to a certain level. That's so true.

Speaker 2:

I've been talking a lot recently about the community that you surround yourself. With Julia and it sounds like with your masterminds, you have surrounded yourself with people who are either at your level or a little bit farther than you are, so you can learn from them, you can share your wins together and celebrate together. You can encourage one another when things are struggling a little bit, because everybody's been there. It is so, so important that people find a community like that, find a group that they can be honest with and that has to be outside of the team that you lead. Leading a team requires you to be the leader, and that's a struggle for a lot of entrepreneurs. What was it like for you starting your own agency and building a team that now looks to you to be the leader, the inspiration, the one who always has the answer? What was that like?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I have actually personally always been very much into personal development and also professional development. Okay, so, even from a you know, when I was a marketing assistant, way back when and I was just starting out, I always knew the value of having mentors and, you know, doing the work to always be on top of my own career progression. So I think that was a really, really big benefit to then starting my own business and kind of and do my own thing. However, there's nothing you can learn or you can read that will prepare you quite for it kind of the ups and downs. So it is just always going to be a learning curve.

Speaker 3:

I love to surround myself with people that are way better than me and I do not want to be the biggest kind of best in the room ever. I have been so, so lucky with the team members that I've hired during COVID and after and kind of through the years. Some of them have been with me right from the start and I just adore them. I think they're absolutely incredible, incredible, incredible marketers and experts in their own rights and, yeah, I would say that it's it's a yeah, it's a kind of a test and learn approach, but I just love being kind of the vision. I love being the kind of the spearhead, but I also have learned through some bad management when I had some bad managers of what I don't want to be. So I have a very clear picture of how I do not want to micromanage, how I do not want to tell people exactly what to do and how. Yeah, I think that's also quite important.

Speaker 2:

It is I often say that you can learn from anybody. Sometimes you learn what not to do, and that can be incredibly valuable.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 2:

How do you personally stay on top of your game? How do you level up with new skills, new leadership skills, new team skills Like? How do you do that? Because that's something a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with. You talk about. You know you've been a student of personal development, professional development. There have to be habits in your life where you regularly and consistently stay on top of your game. How do you do that?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I have a very solid morning routine that I try my best to stick to, which I really find makes a big difference, and then certain just elements through my day, that all through my week that I would try and pepper in to make myself kind of have space, had space to actually come up with really great ideas. As an example, the conference I was at, a global woman conference this weekend. It was four days, very, very intense. I came away from that with so many light bulb moments. I came away with so many projects that I already had in mind, but you know, maybe a few months ago, a few years ago, and I just never kind of got around to doing. And now I'm ready, I'm like let's just go, I'm going to do all of them All at the same time. I'm going to make it work, okay. So I think that for me is really important. So feeling inspired. Also, taking time for myself is really, really important. So taking time away and taking breaks was something I did not do for many, many years of my business, to be honest with you, and also when I was working in the corporate job, I was totally burnt out all the time. But I always say that the burnout you have from working for someone is very different to the burnout you have for working for yourself. So I would still choose this one every day, Okay. And the other thing is like silly, but actually I love to work from beautiful places. So I love going to like a five star lounge and having a coffee there and sitting there with my laptop and, you know, either taking meetings there in person meetings or just getting through a project Because I don't know, it just kind of inspires me to have you know and do and be kind of better. So, yeah, I would say that I would say those elements, I think also, actually, one more thing I would add is staying true to your own workflow.

Speaker 3:

I actually, for some reason I remember even in university I was the same I work really, really well in the middle of the night and I can't explain that, I don't know why. Actually I would. I do some of my best work in the evening and I can, you know, finish it like I mean, I'm not talking about crazy hours, but like, maybe like 2am, okay, like 1am. So if I do like an evening shift, for some reason, I just get into my flow and I think it's something around, maybe working when other people are not, and I just feel kind of I don't know all my senses light up and I'm just like I don't. I'm just totally in the zone. So I think don't force yourself to have a routine that doesn't fit with you and kind of your workflow. Find what your personal kind of style is yeah, you don't want to kill yourself. Kind of working for your business Okay, you have to make it work for your lifestyle.

Speaker 2:

Good, good word. The environments we're in matter. They really do. The learning experiences we expose ourselves to, conferences, workshops, the places we go, like you're describing, like that matters. The environments matter, and if you don't have an environment that is conducive to you as the leader, it's time to get one. That's why you get to be an entrepreneur so that you can create environments.

Speaker 3:

Julia if we were to go back to the beginning.

Speaker 2:

If we were to go back to you as a 20, 22, 25 year old, if you could give yourself some advice based on what you know now, if you could say one thing to yourself, what would you say?

Speaker 3:

It's just, it's all going to be fine, it's all going to be really good. It's going to be better than you imagined.

Speaker 2:

That's good.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think for me it's just maybe just trust your gut, just trust and follow and let things you don't need to worry, don't stress, let it be enjoy the journey is what I would say.

Speaker 2:

I think that's powerful and I think the encouragement you would give yourself speaks volumes, because so many of us, early on, are really plagued by this idea is this going to work? Can I do this? You know, am I the person who can do this?

Speaker 3:

And.

Speaker 2:

I love that you would speak those words of encouragement to yourself, and I think a whole lot of people need to do the same. People will walk away from an episode like this typically with one or two things that are on their minds, something that they took away. If you were to tell people this is the one thing I want you to take away, what would that one thing be?

Speaker 3:

I think I would just, yeah, end on. I think I would end on my last point. To be honest with you, I think, just enjoy the journey, follow your passion, follow your dream, and everything else will just fall into place.

Speaker 2:

Julie, I know people are going to want to stay connected with you. What is the best way for them to do that?

Speaker 3:

You can find me on LinkedIn, so Julia Ager, and also I am quite active on Instagram. So that's JUS agency and, yeah, I would love to connect with all of your listeners.

Speaker 2:

And you had something that you wanted to share with the podcast listeners an opportunity where they can take a next step with the resource that you're providing.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, for all listeners of this podcast, we are doing a free masterclass for marketing automation. So a big kind of topic that I've also been talking about recently is about working smarter and not harder, and that's exactly what I'll be covering in that masterclass. So if you would like to know more, just head over to the link. I will share it with you. And, yeah, I would love to see you there.

Speaker 2:

Julia, thank you for that. It's so generous and I'm so grateful for your time today in sharing from your journey so far, and I can't wait to see what's next for you.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for joining me for this episode today. As we wrap up, I'd love for you to do two things. First, subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you find value here, I'd love it if you would rate it and review it. That really does make a difference in helping other people to discover this podcast. Second, if you don't have a copy of my newest book, catalytic Leadership, I'd love to put a copy in your hands. If you go to catalyticleadershipbookcom, you can get a copy for free. Just pay the shipping so I can get it to you and we'll get one right out.

Speaker 2:

My goal is to put this into the hands of as many leaders as possible. This book captures principles that I've learned in 20-plus years of coaching leaders in the entrepreneurial space, in business, government, nonprofits, education and the local church. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn to keep up with what I'm currently learning and thinking about. And if you're ready to take a next step with a coach to help you intentionally grow and thrive as a leader, I'd be honored to help you. Just go to catalyticleadershipnet to book a call with me. Stay tuned for our next episode next week. Until then, as always, leaders choose to be catalytic.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to Catalytic Leadership with Dr William Attaway. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss the next episode. Want more? Go to catalyticleadershipnet.

Leadership Podcast Interview With Julia Agar
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Starting an Agency and Personal Development
Catalytic Leadership Principles and Coaching

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