profile

Micro-Agency Launchpad

HI there 👋, my name's Shane. I built a 7-figure agency with 1 employee (me!). Now I’m building another one (from scratch) and I’m documenting it here. Follow along for lessons learned, practical frameworks, and tactics.

I finally stopped doing the work — here's what happened.

For the longest time, I knew I needed to get out of the daily grind of client work. I’d tell myself, “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Work on the business, not in the business.” I’d heard it a million times. I’d even said it a million times (as you all know). But here’s the thing... Knowing it and actually doing it are two very different things. I finally made the jump last September. I fully removed myself from the day-to-day operations of my agency. No more client Slack pings, no more diving deep...

10 Sales Call Phrases That Are Costing You Deals

Guys, I’ve been on a lot of sales calls. Probably 100 in the last year thanks to Paperboy. Some of them flowed effortlessly. And others that felt like pushing a boulder uphill. Over time, I realized something: It’s not just what you’re selling—it’s how you talk about it. One wrong phrase, and you can lose trust. One well-placed shift in wording, and suddenly, you’re in control of the conversation. I put together a list of what I believe are the most common phrases that might be killing your...

Hustling 60+ Hours a Week Isn’t a Flex—It’s a Trap

Guys, I have a confession: I used to be a hustle bro. For the first 5 or so years of my business, I wore my long hours like a badge of honor. Early mornings. Late nights. #NoWeekendsOff. You know the deal, if I wasn’t grinding, I felt like I was falling behind. The logic seemed simple: More hours = more success. But eventually, I realized I wasn’t actually "winning". I was just… working. Turns out, being busy aint the same as making progress. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Cant remember...

9 Lies I Told Myself About Being a Successful Entrepreneur

When I started my first agency, I was drowning in BS beliefs about success. Looking back, these beliefs held me back FAR more than any external challenge ever did. Here are the 9 biggest lies I told myself —and the truths that set me free 🕊️🕊️🕊️: 1. "I have to hustle 24/7 to succeed" Truth: Hustle gets ya started, but systems, focus, and consistency keep you going. Burnout doesn’t make you a hero, it makes you useless. 2. "I need to have it all figured out." Truth: You don’t need a map, you...

5 Lessons I Learned Building a Team From Scratch (The Hard Way)

When I started Paperboy, I was in the weeds on just about everything — sales, copywriting, technical, ads, you name it. But since returning from my trip to Europe in September, something miraculous has happened. Truth be told, I haven't been in a client Slack channel more than a handful of times in 6 months. And I gotta say, it feels brilliant to be out of the loop. Every week I hop on our team calls and I sit there. I listen. I drink my coffee. I occasionally chime in when I feel like I have...

Here’s how to hack expertise and sell yourself better

These days, just being “great at your craft” isn’t enough anymore. There are a million copywriters, designers, ad buyers, whatever. Your skills? Probably just as good as the next person’s. So…how do you stand out? Expertise. You’ve got to be the expert. But here’s the thing —people mistake expertise for time. Truth is, ya don’t need 20 years in the game to be seen as an expert. You just need to know more than the person you’re selling to. Once you get that, everything gets a whole lot easier....

Second guessing every decision is killing your progress

Ever make a big decision between 2 paths? Maybe it’s choosing which business to start? Which person to hire? Which marketing initiative to invest in? You pick an option, and then every day after, your brain starts playing the “Did I make the right call?” highlight reel. Should I have gone with option B? What if I’m wasting my time? Am I screwing this up? This used to happen to me constantly. But now, here’s what I do instead: I pre-plan my worrying. I know that sounds ridiculous but let me...