The Art of Building a Profitable and Effective Agency Mastermind with JJ Russell
Key Takeaways
- Six and seven figure labels are arbitrary targets. JJ knows six figure operators who could run circles around agencies doing $10 million.
- JJ and Joey Gilkey each meet one on one with every potential member and ask whether they align on values, direction, and a growth mindset beyond the business.
- Sales training from Joey was the hook that got people in. The community is why almost everyone has stayed.
- Members sign a clear code of conduct. The mastermind has kicked out more people than have left.
- Decide what you want first: a coach works on you, a consultant delivers a specific business outcome, a community gives you many perspectives.
- Most agency owners never stop to ask why they want the goal they're chasing, or why not aim further.
JJ Russell is Partner and Director at Best Damn Agency Mastermind, which he runs with his business partner Joey Gilkey for agency CEOs doing seven or eight figures. Gray MacKenzie hosted this episode and asked JJ how they pick members, why people stay, and what he hears from agency owners about goals, then closed with quick takes on EOS, niching, and contractors.
Who gets into the mastermind
There are a million agency masterminds, so Gray asked what makes this one different. JJ’s answer: he and Joey were already running Apex Revenue with plenty of cash flow, so the goal was a community they’d want to be part of themselves, and the screening reflects that.
Joey and I both individually meet with, once if not multiple times, any potential member in the mastermind and ask myself, do we align? Yes, on values and direction and perspective. In some regards, having unique perspectives is great. But then also, is this somebody that I want to sit around a fire in Lake Tahoe and drink a beer with?
He also looks for a growth mindset beyond the business and for people who give first. They had 30 members at the time of recording, all working on the same class of problem.
They are trying to solve very similar type problems. They’re not trying to find product market fit. They’re not talking about niching down. They’ve done those things and they’re trying to talk about, how do I grow my team from 30 to 60 people without breaking everything in the next 12 months?
They came for sales tactics and stayed for the community
Gray asked whether the balance between teaching and connection had shifted since launch. The hook, JJ said, was Joey, who had built a brand as the agency sales guy.
That was the hook that I think got a lot of people into the community, and it is not why they stayed. Anybody that has stayed, which is most of them, has stayed for the community because they’ve realized they get more out of just being around these people, like osmosis, what they learn from them and get from their lives.
The other half is enforcement. JJ sees life as a series of agreements, most never said out loud, so every member agrees to a written code of conduct going in.
If you do not adhere to these things, we will kick you out. And so what’s funny is we have kicked out more people than have left.
Take without giving, or check out of the conversation, and they’ll point you to a community that “would gladly take you as long as you’re willing to swipe your credit card.”
Revenue targets are arbitrary, so get clear on what you actually want
Gray had opened with an off-script question: has JJ’s view of “six figure” and “seven figure” labels changed after two years of running a mastermind built around them?
I think they’re sort of arbitrary markers. I think too, kind of an easy status symbol to hold onto. It’s an easy target to throw on a wall… And also, they don’t ever really speak to what needs to happen to get there. It’s just a sticker slapped on the wall. And I know a bunch of six figure operators who in a lot of ways could run circles around guys who were doing $10 million.
His advice on paid communities ran the same way: get clear on what you want, then decide whether that calls for a coach (works on you), a consultant (a specific business outcome), or a community (many perspectives at once). When Gray asked about limiting beliefs, JJ said most of it isn’t really a mindset problem.
Most agency owners have a dream for what they think that they can build… But when’s the last time that you sat down and evaluated, one, why you even want to do that? It’s less of a mindset piece and it’s more like clarity of vision. What do you want to build? What do you want your life to be about? Are you owning your business or is it owning you?
The second bucket is owners who set an arbitrary target (seven figures, 10 employees, 30% margins) and never ask why not further. JJ thinks almost anyone at this level could build a six, seven, or eight figure business; the variable is speed to action.
Quick takes: EOS, niching, and contractors
Gray closed with a lightning round. On EOS, JJ said he loves the framework and that it changed his view of how fast a business can be operationalized, with one caveat.
I do think simple scales, complex fails. I totally believe in that. And so I think EOS can be a very simple lens through which to make massive improvements to the way that you run your business… The minute that process usurps people, I have a problem.
On the most profitable kind of agency, he borrowed a Warren Buffett line: get wealthy by staying narrow, stay wealthy by going wide. A hyper-niched agency can charge a premium and streamline delivery until it runs out of market. On contractors versus employees, his answer was another question.
Is profitability the highest order of things for you? Is that the target? If so, having a big bench of contractors is probably really helpful. Scale up, scale down, especially if you’re project based…
If culture is the priority, he leans toward full-time employees, though the right contractors in a fully remote setup can feel exactly like a W2.
The full episode also gets into HubSpot versus the field, profitability by service line, and how JJ talks entrepreneurship with his seven-year-old.