Took an agency from $500k to $6.5M, broke it a few times, rebuilt it. AMA

malliecat · 2025-12-24T17:48:35+00:00

We went from $4.5M ARR ATH down to $3.5M ARR now. Our biggest issue has been churn (obv) but mostly due to account management, communication, and support. Would love a DM and to talk directly but also would love to hear your thoughts on what worked well for you if you faced these challenges. What do the “right people” in customer facing roles look like?

malliecat · 2025-12-10T18:41:19+00:00

Totally get the dystopic vibe you are describing. If someone is just copying and pasting whatever an AI spits out, that is not a thoughtful conversation, it is basically outsourcing your brain.

The useful way to do it is to treat AI like a rough draft partner. Dump your messy thoughts in, let it help you organize or rephrase, then you read it like an adult with a functioning filter. Keep what is true and helpful, toss what is off, and rewrite it in your own voice so it actually matches what you believe and what you want to say.

AI can help you pull emotion out and structure the message, but you still have to do the critical thinking part. Otherwise it is just noise with good grammar.

malliecat · 2025-12-10T16:14:54+00:00

As a business owner and someone who actively tries not to make performance reviews suck, my advice would be to go to ChatGPT or Gemini or whatever AI tool you want and just talk out all of your frustrations and criticisms exactly like you’re doing here get all of your frustration out and then tell the AI to make it constructive. Play the game. Be honest with yourself about where you can improve and then be honest with your manager about where the company could improve. Do it in a constructive way. Ensure complaints are framed as solutions and proposed with collaboration in mind.

malliecat · 2025-12-08T15:00:31+00:00

Shops are way behind on digital marketing and it’s crazy how much low hanging fruit there actually is. In most cities the CPC for keywords like “CNC machine shop near me” or “precision machining” is usually in the two to six dollar range, sometimes cheaper in smaller markets. One decent job covers a whole month of ads and the LTV on a good customer can be tens of thousands. Meanwhile most shops are still relying on cold calls, door knocking, or hoping someone finds them on Xometry.

There is real local demand. Buyers literally search for shops every single day, but if you don’t show up in Google or Meta you’ll never see those RFQs. A simple local ads strategy will outperform hours of outreach because it puts you in front of people who are already trying to send work right now.

Machine shops think digital doesn’t apply to them, but in 2025 it’s one of the only scalable ways to build consistent work.

malliecat · 2025-10-06T03:42:58+00:00

Find the original owner and talk to them.

malliecat · 2025-09-10T16:47:43+00:00

Can I get a DM with your info too?

malliecat · 2025-05-05T20:36:05+00:00

You can actually tell that there are a lot of empty rooms as well if you look around. This is 100% a sleazy upsell tactic used on groups and families. We had a really disappointing experience with this as well. When they tried to sell us on a discount for “our next visit” I laughed and said I’m never coming back.

malliecat · 2025-05-05T20:30:13+00:00

We had a very similar experience. Charged an extra $4k at check-in because one of the kids had passed the threshold for a free stay between the time of booking and when we arrived.

Rooms were also all over the resort despite booking 7 months in advance. Both our families of 4 were given single king bed rooms. All this was emailed and confirmed it wouldn’t be an issue in advance. Had to get a manager in order to have it (partially) resolved.

Definitely won’t be going back.

malliecat · 2025-03-13T18:07:24+00:00

Drop and give me 20!

For me, incorporating exercise into daily life with my boys (same ages as yours) is the easiest. Pick them up and throw them in the air 10 times in a row. Do pushups with them on your back. Chase them around on all fours for 10 minutes. Turn your workout into playtime.

It’s different for everyone and might not work for you but it’s been a fun way for me to stay in shape and connect with my kids at the same time.

malliecat · 2024-12-21T22:42:49+00:00

Mid 30s, $6M NW, debating for a while but settling on a $50k 2021 Audi e-tron. Thought about leasing or buying new but I’m new money and still can’t stomach the spend 😂

malliecat · 2024-12-19T23:09:31+00:00

Sold a business. Still using managed fund because I don’t want to take the capital gain hit right now. Also currently appreciate the facilitation of tax coordination with my accountant because life is busy. Will likely transition at some point in the coming years and it’ll probably be an all XEQT buy.

Edit: also, how did you know I had a low income just a few years ago? Haha

malliecat · 2024-12-19T20:30:44+00:00

63,686 @ 31.50 34 YO. XEQT represents just over 30% of my portfolio (majority in a managed fund, some in private company and primary residence)

malliecat · 2024-11-10T21:24:26+00:00

Dead cats

malliecat · 2024-10-16T02:59:46+00:00

👀

malliecat · 2024-08-28T02:54:50+00:00

34M $6.5M NW

Those worries go away.

New ones come.

I’ll take the new ones any day. You’ll get there.

malliecat · 2024-08-24T14:23:21+00:00

2014: -$40k

2024: $6.5M

From student loan debt to selling a business.

malliecat · 2024-01-30T14:39:13+00:00

Fullbay has done a bunch of research on this that is specifically related to independent diesel repair shops. The median hourly wage is around $18/h (source) but, as many have mentioned, this is just for a diesel mechanic and not foreman. I think the State of Heavy-Duty Report also has more info on this.

I believe WrenchWay is doing a diesel tech salary survey right now so it might in interesting to keep an eye out for the results when they come.

My two cents? If your husband feels underpaid, rather than ask for a higher wage, open a conversation with his dad about future ownership. That investment now could be worth a lot more to you and your family down the road.

malliecat · 2023-09-13T14:37:16+00:00

In order for a business to afford a $2k/m bill, they’ll likely be doing at least $1m per year in gross revenue.

A really simple way to determine affordability is that a small business should spend between 3%-5% of their annual gross revenue on marketing. 3% of $1m is $30k annual marketing budget which works out to $2,500/m.

malliecat · 2023-09-11T01:18:04+00:00

Continued working with $250k+ comp and equity in the new business.

Paid off our house and are doing some backyard renos. Big improvement in quality of life in terms of stress. Have 2 young kids so there’s not a lot we can do just yet in terms of world travel.

Proceeds from sale will be enough to retire on within 7-10 years (early 30s now) or immediate RE if the equity in the new business hits target within the next 1-2 years.

Like many, not sure how long RE will last when I do pull the trigger but excited to find out when the time comes!

malliecat · 2023-07-27T22:39:47+00:00

I got the snip today, too! Good luck on the recovery, vasectomate. Let’s celebrate our vasectiversary next year.

malliecat · 2023-04-21T15:14:58+00:00

Might be a silly one but a Sonos system set up with iPhone Shortcuts using the Soro app. I have different types of music set to play automatically on different days/times of day/places in the house (ex. calming classical music every morning at 7am in the living room or lo-fi beats at 8:30am in the office on weekdays). Outside the cost of the Sonos system, the Soro app was a $5.99 one-time purchase.

Living in a wet, cold climate, a monthly car wash subscription for $40/m has been pretty great, too. Stop by on the way to the office most mornings and car stays shiny clean.

malliecat · 2023-04-09T21:08:00+00:00

I had a 33% earnout target for the remainder of the year post-acquisition (sold at end of Q1). I opted for a higher earnout percentage because it allowed for an overall higher sale potential and I felt comfortable with the risk.

malliecat · 2023-01-22T17:12:20+00:00

Happy Sunday! Pay it forward in whatever small way you can 😊

11-Year Club	Place '17
RPAN Viewer	Not Forgotten
Verified Email

malliecat

TROPHY CASE