Running and growing a business
Do this first
You already sell something and want to grow without burning cash.
Know your breakeven numbers weekly
- Know breakeven ROAS and count returns before increasing spend. Read the lesson
Measure real delivery by courier and pincode
- Ignore competing industry claims. Track your own deliveries by courier and pincode. Read the lesson
Fix tracking before you scale
- Use the Conversions API. For COD, track confirmed or delivered orders. Read the lesson
Raise budgets gradually
- Raise budgets about 20% at a time. Watch what each increase costs you. Read the lesson
Build your operating systems one by one
- Start with client records, onboarding, a win tracker and NPS in one template. Read the lesson
Answer every lead within 60 seconds
- Aim for a reply within 60 seconds. Test whether instant calls help or hurt trust. Read the lesson
Call back high-value abandoned carts
- Call quickly and answer questions. Only use numbers customers shared with consent. Read the lesson
Send clients three-line updates
- Say where things stand, what's blocked and what you need. Read the lesson
Questions you might have
Why did results get worse when I raised my budget?
- Extra spend reaches less interested buyers. Increase about 20% and watch the extra sales cost. Full answer
How fast should I reply to a lead?
- Aim for under 60 seconds. Instant calls hurt trust for one owner, so test. Full answer
What systems does an agency need to scale?
- Fix gaps in client records, onboarding, reporting or leads. Results here are self-reported. Full answer
Is India return-to-origin really 40 to 60%?
- Operators report about 10 to 20% returns. Measure your own. Full answer
How do I handle extra client requests?
- Say you can offer it as paid work. Keep it brief. Full answer
How many ad creatives should a small account test?
- Plan on 11 to 27 distinct concepts per winner. Start cheap. Full answer
Read next
Business strategy and founder lessons
- Growth and client systems. Open
Meta ads
- Campaigns and account safety. Open
Retention, email, WhatsApp, CRM
- Replies and cart recovery. Open
Finance, ops, legal and business tools
- Delivery rates and costs. Open
D2C and e-commerce conversion
- Pages and checkout. Open
Watch these reels
@theaustinschneider: A 10-item checklist of the operating systems an agency needs to go
- Ten systems for agency growth. Watch
@praxads.ig: When you double ad budget and results worsen, nothing broke
- Why bigger budgets worsen results. Watch
@performance.marketing.by.rohit: An EdTech brand was scaled from Rs 50 lakh/month to Rs 1.5
- One EdTech account's campaign structure. Watch
@the_contentstrategist: Agencies should steal three consulting habits to win pitches
- Three habits for better pitches. Watch
@professorpanache: Say no without a long apology or alibi
- Say no without overexplaining. Watch
@sobusells: A website that generates leads is not enough for service businesses
- One inbox, faster replies. Watch
Avoid these
Switching campaigns on and off every night
- Use scheduling with a lifetime budget. Manual toggling disrupts learning. Why
Running 150 to 750 ads a week on a small budget
- Test fewer, distinct ideas. Small budgets can't support that volume. Why
WhatsApp messages to people who never opted in
- Get explicit checkout opt-in before messaging. Why
A three-portfolio firewall without a plan
- Shared admins and pixels can trigger restrictions. Clarify ownership first. Why
Trusting agency income claims
- Income claims are self-reported. Judge whether the systems make sense. Why
The reels
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