Leveraging Fractional Support to Scale Your Agency with Sydney Mulligan & Lauren Aquilino | Ep #788

This episode explores the challenges and triumphs of building a successful agency, specifically focusing on the experiences of Sydney Mulligan and Lauren Aquilino, co-founders of Emmie Collective. Against the backdrop of their individual struggles—Sydney's layoff while on maternity leave and Lauren's unexpected freelance success—they formed a partnership, initially through informal conversations and a "co-founder speed dating" trip to Florida. More significantly, their agency's growth was primarily driven by referrals within their existing professional networks, highlighting the power of reputation and pre-existing relationships. For instance, their initial success surprised them, as they initially anticipated difficulties in finding and retaining freelance consultants. However, the discussion pivoted to the challenges of scaling their multi-million dollar business, emphasizing the need to delegate tasks and build a strong team to avoid burnout. Ultimately, the episode underscores the importance of strategic delegation, the exploration of fractional support as an alternative to full-time hiring, and the ongoing decision-making process around bootstrapping versus seeking external funding, reflecting emerging industry patterns in agency management and growth.