How We Built a Six-Figure Marketing Agency with Only Two Employees

Six years ago, when I started my digital marketing agency, I stayed committed to the traditional route: New clients, more money, new hires–only to commit new mistakes.

On most days, I would simply regret the cycle and think about quitting.

The problem wasn’t money or workload; the issue was scaling and training. I would hire more people to work, only to hire more people to supervise. Eventually, the corporate chaos got to me, and the profit margin got so thin that I stopped sleeping.

That’s when my friend suggested a different route. Something that pulled my business and me out of human chaos. I switched to automation three years ago, which helped me cut the operational budget and maximize revenue.

Today, my partner and I are the only employees, and yet we generate 80% of the profit. The best part of the deal is that we have bypassed the daily headache of employee management, and we deliver work faster than ever. Moreover, we are still on our residential internet plan with Xfinity Internet, so there is no operational budget overload.

So, if you want to start an AI agency, then here is our exact operational blueprint that you can follow.

Change your Services to Systems Integration

One of the biggest mistakes most agencies commit is offering generic services and packages. For instance, if you are selling blog writing, social media management, or email marketing services, you are competing against other agencies.

So, it’s better to sell specific marketing services, like Generative Engine Optimization (GEO or Data Infrastructure.

This way, you don’t need a staff to write multiple blogs daily. Instead, you can offer them an automated system that monitors market trends, analyzes data, filters data, and then structures web content. For all these services, we use LLMs like ChatGPT search and Google AI overviews.

 This way, your agency services will look more like a technical system that can be integrated into marketing. It also offers you bargaining rights because you are not selling time like in any other marketing agency. Instead, you are getting paid for automating the marketing services.

Division Of Labor Within a Minimum Team

Now that you have changed the product, you won’t need a huge team for the manual labor. Instead, you will need people for highly specialized roles. In my case, my co-founder and I were enough.

Here are two major roles that we perform:

The Architect

I work as an architect. I have to work on the backend, focusing mainly on the customer journey mapping, generating system prompts, connecting APIs, and monitoring work on automation. In case any of these tasks are affected, I have to handle them and ensure the data flows smoothly from one app to another.

The Rainmaker

My partner works in the real estate market. The basic task of the rainmaker is to handle the front-end, including client communication, closing deals, and offering strategic oversight. It’s more of an editorial filter role where you review the AI-generated reports and then make sure the report aligns with the brand voice before it goes live.

The Tech Work Behind the Curtain

Since you have changed your services, your focus needs to be on the software architects. Rather than using the basic AI tools, you need to work on building seamless pipelines.

Here are three main tech roles we perform at our site:

Data Processing: Claude 3.5 Sonnet & GPT-4o

For complex logic, Ulti-step analysis, and highly nuanced, long-form strategic copy, we use Claude. For handling the volume, data classification, and sentiment analysis, we use GPT.

Visual appeal: Make.com & Voiceflow

For the visual workflow, we use make.com. It helps in sharing data between platforms, so the flow of information is smooth. It is perfect for platforms that do not have a way of talking to each other naturally. This software has helped us update the database in seconds, so it is perfect for working on new sites.

Similarly, we use Voiceflow to make the boring spreadsheets into interactive AI dashboards. This way, our clients get a premium interface.

Putting a Price Tag on the Service

Now that you have the service ready, it is time to put a price tag on it. Unlike most service-based agencies, we don’t use the hour rule. Instead, our focus is on subscription or retainer-based.

Why?

Well, most of the work we do is via AI, and since AI performs each task within 10 minutes, there is no way we can become profitable.

So, we have a setup and optimization retainer-based model. Here is a simple way you can replicate our model:

Setup Fee

The setup or implementation fee is what we charge just one time. This is a flat fee, which can be somewhere between $3K and $5K. For the setup, we build and integrate the customer AI workflow, then connect the API’s, set up the work, and map the database.

Subscription Fee

Then comes the retainer-based model. For this, you work on updating the AI prompts, analyzing the performance data, and boosting the workflows. Since this is a monthly fee, we charge around $1,500 – $2,500 for these services.

The fun part of this is that since the client is getting a bespoke marketing tool, they can’t get the maintenance done from outside. Also, it is highly profitable because it takes less time, yet it is secure, accurate, and boosts revenue.

One-Week Action Plan for Newbies

If you are just getting started, here is a basic action plan that you can follow:

Get Familiar with Your Shortcomings

Start by running a business-wide audit. This will help you pinpoint problems and the most repetitive task that is consuming the majority of the time.

Build a Basic Workflow Model

Then use different AI tools to create a bespoke system where you can offer an automated solution. This means your focus will be on one single problem and creating a single solution.

Create One Solid Product

This will be the hero product that you can sell to other companies as well. So, rather than offering bundles of multiple services, you will be creating one product. Also, make sure you have a video demo that you can show to your client during the briefing.

Simply put, you can use AI for building a profitable marketing agency only if you have a solid action plan. So, rather than trying to replicate a plan used by another agency, take inspiration from it. Then tweak their plan for maximum profit.

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