EP. 19 Robert Jacobi: Ahead in the Cloud

Running an agency often means dealing with and overseeing many different things at once, from the copy and offers on your website to the processes that pin down everything you do - and that’s before you even get to the client work.  Some days, it will probably feel like you can’t seem to get control over all of the moving parts long enough to take a breath (and maybe eat a peanut butter cup #obsessed) - but there is some good news:  Even in the most chaotic agency environment, there are plenty of things you can do to make sure you always have control over your next move.  Leveraging your network, starting a side hustle, focusing all your energy on boosting profits in your existing agency business - all of these things have the potential to be highly profitable business activities.  There’s just one problem: as profitable activities often are, all of these activities are resource-intensive, requiring resources, processes, and energy - and sometimes, you just don’t  Of course, for all the times when you find yourself falling asleep in front of a screen at 3 am with four hours of work still waiting on your final approval, there is another option:  Get someone else in control.  That’s what Robert Jacobi would do. As the Director of the WordPress unit at cloud hosting platform Cloudways and former President of Joomla, he knows a few things about growing businesses, managing risk, and making decisions that have an impact.  In this episode of Profit and Impact, Robert shares his tips for running a profitable, consumer-friendly business, from getting the right people on your team to cutting through the jargon.  So what’s this episode really about? The thing that all people really want out of tech companies (it’s simpler than you think)How to set up processes for controlling costs and mitigating risk Why you should always create a financial “runway” for your startupThe best back-to-basics tip for running a profitable business  Why you should listen  We all want to feel like we’re in control of the direction our lives and businesses are moving in, but sometimes, the best way to exercise that control is to hire someone with the expertise to help. This episode will give you a whole new perspective on what it means to make a difference, whether that’s through charity, philanthropy, or building processes to keep your costs under control.  Links  Nev Harris  Robert Jacobi You can quote me on that… “Every day or on the job, at whatever job, you're packing away a whole bunch of information that is insanely valuable.” - Robert Jacobi “Often, we [mistakenly believe that] the desire to have an impact, the desire to create change, the desire to do good things has to be mutually exclusive from making a profit. I believe, passionately, that profit is what allows you to make that impact.” - Nev Harris  “I'd rather be giving the money to help out causes I care about than begging people for the money to help causes I care about.” - Nev Harris  Like what you hear?  Help me reach more ears by leaving a review (and a hefty handful of stars!) here.