Start Your SMMA With $0

Summary

In this video, Iman Gadzhi, founder of IAG media and GrowYourAgency.com, shares insights on starting a social media marketing agency (SMMA) with minimal capital and no prior experience. He emphasizes overcoming self-limiting beliefs, starting with free tools like Gmail, Instagram, and Wix, and leveraging platforms like Zoom and Stripe for communication and payments. Iman also discusses the potential of scaling with minimal investment, using the 'Expedia model' to subcontract work and build a profitable agency. He encourages viewers to take action by booking a demo call and subscribing to his secondary channel for more in-depth content.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker, Iman Gadzhi, runs an advertising agency called IAG media and has worked with various clients.
• 📈 He also operates GrowYourAgency.com, a leading educational platform for agency owners, helping them to achieve significant monthly revenue.
• 🌐 SMMA stands for Social Media Marketing Agency, and it's an ideal business to start with minimal capital and no prior experience.
• 💡 Overcoming self-limiting beliefs is crucial; perfection can lead to inaction and hinder the start of an agency.
• 🏡 The success of businesses like Apple, starting from a garage, illustrates that big things can begin with small beginnings.
• 📚 The speaker used to visit Brixton Bookmongers to read books on a budget, emphasizing the importance of learning without spending much.
• 💼 Starting an agency can be done with minimal resources, such as using free or low-cost tools like Gmail, Instagram, Wix, Zoom, and Stripe.
• 🌍 The speaker emphasizes that being 'country agnostic' and using online communication tools allows for global client acquisition.
• 🛠 The use of tools like Facebook Business Manager and ClickFunnels is recommended for advertising and building client funnels.
• 💼 The 'Expedia model' of connecting clients to services without owning the service is used as an example of how agencies can operate.
• 🔑 The importance of investing small amounts of money wisely is highlighted, suggesting that even $10 a month can be used to generate additional income.

Q & A

What is the name of the advertising agency run by Iman Gadzhi?

Iman Gadzhi runs an advertising agency called IAG media.

What are some of the clients IAG media has worked with?

IAG media has worked with clients such as Evarae, IKNK, Motivate, Design, and Oura Ring.

What is the purpose of the link provided in the video description for eCommerce or infoproduct businesses?

The link in the video description is for scheduling a 15-minute demo call with IAG media to potentially receive help with their business.

What is the full form of SMMA mentioned in the script?

SMMA stands for Social Media Marketing Agency.

How did Iman Gadzhi overcome the challenge of having no startup capital and no prior experience when starting his agency?

Iman Gadzhi started his agency with zero startup capital and no prior experience by leveraging free or low-cost resources and focusing on providing value to clients.

What is the significance of the phrase 'perfection is paralysis' in the context of the video?

The phrase 'perfection is paralysis' is used to emphasize that striving for perfection can prevent action, and that it's better to start with what's available and improve over time.

What is the main advantage of using Stripe for receiving payments as mentioned in the script?

Stripe is advantageous because it allows for easy online payments and invoicing, taking only a small percentage of the payments as its fee.

What is the role of Facebook Business Manager in the context of running an advertising agency?

Facebook Business Manager is used to advertise and deliver results for clients, especially if the agency specializes in Facebook advertising.

What is the 'Expedia business model' referred to in the video, and how does it relate to running an agency?

The 'Expedia business model' refers to the concept of connecting clients to products or services without owning them, similar to how Expedia connects travelers to hotels without owning any. In the context of an agency, it means managing client relationships and delivering services by subcontracting work to freelancers or contractors.

What is the importance of having a professional email address for an agency according to the video?

Having a professional email address, such as one that includes the agency's name, is important for appearing legitimate and professional to potential clients.

What is the recommendation for someone starting an agency with limited funds according to Iman Gadzhi?

Iman Gadzhi recommends starting with free or low-cost tools like Gmail, Instagram, Wix for a website, Zoom for communication, and Stripe for payments. He also suggests considering the 'Expedia business model' by subcontracting work to freelancers or contractors.

Outlines

00:00

📢 Introduction to Iman Gadzhi's Agency and SMMA Business Model

Iman Gadzhi introduces himself as the head of IAG media, an advertising agency that has worked with various clients. He also mentions GrowYourAgency.com, an educational platform for agency owners aiming to achieve significant monthly earnings. The video focuses on Social Media Marketing Agency (SMMA), a business model that requires no capital or experience to start. Iman shares his personal journey, emphasizing the importance of overcoming self-limiting beliefs and the concept that perfection can lead to inaction. He uses the example of Apple's humble beginnings to illustrate the potential of starting small and scaling up.

05:03

💼 Starting an Agency with Minimal Budget and Experience

Iman discusses the process of starting an agency with no budget, suggesting the creation of a Gmail account and simple social media profiles to establish a professional presence. He recommends using free tools like Zoom for communication and Stripe for payments, and leveraging Facebook Business Manager for advertising. Iman emphasizes the importance of being frugal and strategic with any funds available, even as little as $10 a month, to invest in tools that can generate returns. He also touches on the potential of using contractors to deliver services, allowing the agency owner to focus on client acquisition and business growth.

10:05

🚀 Scaling an Agency with Minimal Resources and the Expedia Model

Iman explains how to scale an agency using the Expedia business model, which involves connecting clients with service providers without owning the services themselves. He shares his personal experience of hiring contractors and the importance of charging clients at the beginning of the month while paying contractors at the end. Iman also suggests using tools like G Suite, Loom, and ClickFunnels to enhance professionalism and efficiency. He encourages viewers to take action by booking a call with his student integration managers, subscribing to his secondary channel for more content, and leaving comments for a chance to win a coaching call.

Keywords

💡Advertising Agency

An advertising agency is a business that provides services related to creating, planning, and managing advertising for its clients. In the video, Iman Gadzhi mentions running an advertising agency called IAG media, which has worked with various clients, emphasizing the role of such agencies in promoting products and services.

💡E-commerce Business

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and an e-commerce business specifically engages in these transactions. The script mentions that the advertising agency has experience working with e-commerce businesses, indicating the importance of online advertising in this sector.

💡Infoproduct Business

An infoproduct business is one that sells informational products, such as ebooks, courses, or guides, often distributed digitally. The video script refers to this type of business as a potential client for the advertising agency, highlighting another market segment that benefits from online marketing.

💡Social Media Marketing Agency (SMMA)

A Social Media Marketing Agency specializes in promoting businesses on social media platforms. The term SMMA is central to the video's theme, as it discusses starting and running such an agency with minimal capital and experience, underlining the accessibility of this business model.

💡Zero Startup Capital

Zero startup capital refers to beginning a business without any initial monetary investment. The video emphasizes the possibility of starting an SMMA with no money, as the speaker shares his own experience of doing so, which is key to the video's message of entrepreneurial accessibility.

💡Boutique Agency

A boutique agency is a smaller, specialized agency that offers a limited range of services, often with a personalized touch. The script describes the speaker's agency as boutique, focusing on a niche market, which contrasts with larger, full-service agencies and is part of the video's narrative on efficient business models.

💡SaaS (Software as a Service)

SaaS refers to software that is delivered over the internet and accessed via a subscription model. The video mentions tools like G Suite and ClickFunnels, which are SaaS offerings, as part of the recommended toolset for running an agency, illustrating the reliance on cloud-based services in modern businesses.

💡Freelancer

A freelancer is an individual who is self-employed and offers services to clients on a contract or project basis. The video introduces the concept of hiring freelancers like Jake to handle specific tasks for clients, which is a strategy for agencies to manage workloads and expertise efficiently.

💡Contractor

A contractor in a business context is similar to a freelancer, providing services under a contract. The script discusses paying contractors like Danny to perform work for clients, which is a common practice in agencies to outsource certain tasks or services.

💡Expedia Business Model

The Expedia business model refers to a company acting as an intermediary between customers and service providers, without owning the services themselves. The video uses this model as an analogy for how an agency operates, taking a cut of the fees for connecting clients with the services of contractors or freelancers.

💡ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is a marketing software that helps businesses create and manage sales funnels. The video recommends ClickFunnels for building agency websites and onboarding funnels, showing its utility in the digital marketing space and its relevance to the video's theme of establishing an SMMA.

Highlights

Introduction to Iman Gadzhi, founder of IAG media and GrowYourAgency.com.

Offering a 15-minute demo call for eCommerce and infoproduct businesses.

GrowYourAgency.com's role as the largest education company for agency owners.

The concept of SMMA (Social Media Marketing Agency) as a startup-friendly business model.

Overcoming self-limiting beliefs and the importance of not seeking perfection in starting an agency.

The story of Apple's humble beginnings to illustrate the potential of small starts.

Iman's personal journey from zero capital to running a profitable agency with high margins.

The strategy of starting an agency with minimal resources and a shoestring budget.

Utilizing free or low-cost resources like Brixton Bookmongers for knowledge acquisition.

The importance of being country agnostic and leveraging digital tools for global client reach.

Starting an agency with $0 using free tools like Gmail, Instagram, Wix, and Zoom.

Using Stripe for payment processing with minimal fees.

Leveraging Facebook Business Manager for advertising and delivering client results.

The potential of starting with $10 a month and investing wisely for returns.

Upgrading to G Suite for professionalism and access to Google's productivity tools.

Introducing Loom as a tool for creating video audits and proposals to clients.

ClickFunnels as a crucial tool for building agency funnels and onboarding processes.

The 'Expedia model' of running an agency by connecting clients with service providers.

Strategies for managing clients and contractors to maximize profit margins.

Action steps for viewers including booking a call with integration managers and subscribing to a second channel.

Offering coaching calls as incentives for viewer engagement and feedback.

Transcripts

So ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this YouTube video. My name is Iman Gadzhi.

I actually run an advertising agency called IAG media.

We've worked with some very cool clients such as Evarae, IKNK, Motivate

Design or Oura Ring and the list goes on and on. In fact,

if you are an eCommerce business or an infoproduct business,

there's a link down below schedule in a 15 minute demo call with us and we'd

love to help you out. But anyways, enough with the sales pitch,

I also run a company called GrowYourAgency.com,

which is the largest education company on earth for agency owners.

We help agency owners making literally 100K a month.

And we also help people probably such as yourself,

if you clicked on this video who have no experience,

have no money and want to start an online business and there's no better

business out there that you can start than SMMA.

Now SMMA basically just means social media marketing agency. Now,

I've had my agency for almost four years at this point.

And the reason that I got into SMMA was because it was a business that was able

to start with zero startup capital and no prior experience.

And I want to get more nitty gritty.

I want to get more tangible here and literally show you what I would do if I had

literally zero or if I just had $10 that I could spare.

So let's go ahead and get straight into it.

How to start estimate with $0 million. So in today's teaching,

the self limiting beliefs,

every beginner has how to start on a shoestring budget,

what to do if you literally have $0 million to spend,

how you can use $10 to go a long way and how to start regardless of your

experience level. So self limiting beliefs and how to overcome them.

Now one thing I need you to understand is that perfection is paralysis.

There's no perfect way to start an agency.

I know so many agency owners and I put that in quotation marks,

who spend months putting together perfect websites, Instagram, Facebook pages,

and uh, you know, even copywriting these incredible case studies,

but never actually reach out to clients. That's why like I say, agency owners,

but really big quotation marks there because there's a difference between,

there's a big difference between having an agency and being an actual agency

owner. So as I said, you might be going, look,

I don't know where to start to perfectly depict this.

This is Steve jobs in front of his garage and this on the right hand side.

Well that is the Apple headquarters. So, um,

I think that should really prove the point that you can make something big.

You can make something huge off of very small starts. So just look at my agency.

I've been able to get my agency to six figure months profit.

That means a 100K profit in a single month from my agency.

Now currently as it stands, that's not consistent every single month.

But we're in that territory now. Even to this day,

I still have 85 to 90% of margins with my agency. It's just me,

one full time employee and one, I guess you could say he's still full time,

but part time for the agency specifically.

So it was basically me and one and a third team member and very minimal software

costs.

There's not too many softwares that you need when you have an agency owner.

So even to this day, it's still a very lean and efficient business model.

But back in the day, I had no money to start. I was in your exact position.

So very small beginnings can lead to very prosperous futures.

So let's get back into training. Next thing you might be saying is, well,

I have no money. We'll come onto this in a second,

but there's an image I want to share with you first.

This is me when I was first starting my agency, and what this is,

is a place called Brixton Bookmongers in London. Now.

Brixton Bookmongers is definitely my favorite bookstore in London because I have

so many memories there because I literally spent every single Sunday there.

And the main reason is because at Brixton Bookmongers,

you could get books at Waterstones that you could get for 15 pounds,

you could get Brixton Bookmongers for two pounds, or one pound, or 50p.

And the reason I say that is because I couldn't afford books when I started my

agency. I could not afford to pay for books.

Instead what I had to do was I had to travel 45 minutes on the bus and I would

go on the bus because you know,

at that age in the UK at least you get a free bus transport.

So I'd do two changeovers and I would go on the bus every single Sunday without

fail to Brixton Bookmongers.

And sometimes I would sit down and I'd be in there for three hours and I

basically read a book end to end, or at least for the most part, skim read it.

And you know, every two weeks or so I might reward myself with, you know,

two or three books totalling never more than 10 pounds.

So the thing that I'm trying to get across here is I started this thing from

zero and every decision I made in my life was based on a budget.

So I understand where you might be coming from. Now,

once again you might be saying, I have no experience.

Well this is 16 year old me and I can,

I can say I had no experience when I started my agency either.

Now you might be saying I can't get clients in my country.

None of my current clients are based in the UK. Okay.

You need to reach out via DM, via email and speak via zoom guys,

be country agnostic, use a.com use Stripe to get paid.

And you really can't sign clients from anywhere in the world. In fact,

even when I've had clients in the UK before,

I still refuse to meet them in person because if you know anything about me,

the way that I wrote my agency and the way that the thousands of my students run

their agency is we have a boutique and very niche agency. I have,

I offer one service and I offer it to only one will,

technically two kinds of clients, but they kind of fall into the same umbrella.

My team is remote and I run a very streamlined operation.

So I have what I like to call a boutique agency and my students, you know,

some of my students that are making even 10,000 a month,

which I noticed some of you guys may seem like such a ridiculous amount of

money, but at least in the grid and see community,

that's pretty standard to be honest. So even someone doing only 10,000 a month,

they're making more than most agency owners out there doing 50-60,000 a month

because they're doing 10,000 a month profit.

So remember it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you can sign clients.

And should be signing clients all across the globe just as long as they speak

your language.

That's what I do and that's what thousands of my students do as well.

So getting started with literally $0 dollars,

this is exactly what I do. If I had to start with $0 dollars.

Okay? All you do is you create a Gmail email. Okay?

So as an example,

black lab [email protected] and you created an Instagram black lab media,

and then you create a.wix.com website. So black lab,

media.wix.com then to communicate, I would use zoom. Zoom has, uh,

I think unlimited. If you're talking one on one with a client,

unlimited runtimes you can, you can talk for as long as you want.

If there's more than two people on the call, then it only runs for 45 minutes,

then you have to have paid zoom.

But realistically you're going to be talking with a client one-on-one anyways,

are you Stripe to get paid and it costs zero.

And you can also send your invoices directly from Stripe.

Stripe only takes a percentage of your payments. So for example,

I think domestically it's only 1.4% they take,

I think International's 2.9% but my point is, look, if you're getting paid,

if you're signing your first client for a thousand dollars or $1,500 or $2,000

or hell $5,000 do you really care that you're giving up 1.5 to 3% no,

not really.

Then use Facebook business manager to actually advertise and deliver the results

for clients. If you have an Facebook advertising agency.

When I first started my agency,

I actually was creating content for clients and then distributing it on their

social platforms.

If you guys want to learn more about how to run ads step-by-step for Facebook,

I'm going to go ahead and leave a link in the description to my step-by-step

Facebook ads training that's here on YouTube.

You don't need to opt in or anything like that and yeah,

you just create a very simple Instagram,

just a very simple Facebook profile and guys,

this isn't going to help you sign clients having a good Instagram or good

Facebook.

What this will do is just really you're just covering bases and making sure you

look professional. You can see black lab media, we help pet supply companies,

get customers through social media, ladies and gentlemen.

That's literally how you start with zero.

You use the tools that you have out there, the costs, no money. Look,

is it ideal that you have a dog, wix.com website? No, but when I first started,

I had zero website. In fact, I didn't even have an agency name.

I got to $10,000 a month with no website,

no agency name.

I was just selling myself as like a service provider without even a name,

no limited company or LLC, whatever, depending on where you are in the world.

I was just a sole trader. I was just self-employed.

I can speak from experience because I started with a shoestring budget.

I started with nothing. What I recommend is, look,

if that's what you have to do, then do it,

but if you even have just $10 a month that you can spend,

that goes so far, so look, don't spend that money on Chipotle.

Spend that $10 wisely so you can make an extra 10-50,

just even an extra $1,500 a month. You know,

let's not even talk about the 10 15 20,000 Mark. That, as I said,

is very common in the grade in the C community,

like just an extra $1,500 a month that does so much for people.

So invest that $10 a month running costs in something that will actually bring

you a return. So I know this video says how to start with zero.

I've shown you how to start with you. Now.

I'm just going to show you very quickly what I would do if you even just have

$10 a month to spend, I would upgrade to a G suite. Okay?

You can use a GoDaddy or uh,

I prefer Google domain just because it's easier than to set up with your G

suite.

I think a domain on GoDaddy is a $1 in your first year on G suite.

It's $12 in your first year. So look,

you're spending like a dollar a month on your domain, right?

That's $1 and once you have your domain, like let's say for example,

let's say you have a black lab media.com then your G suite would say your name,

like let's say your name is a Sophia, Sophia, add black lab,

media.com it comes across so,

so much more professional and a strongly do recommend it and with G suite,

now you've got your email. Obviously you have the entire suite of tools.

You have all your Google sheets, you already have Google slides,

you've got basically everything you could ever need.

Another tool that I want to add in here is Loom.

I've been using loom for probably two and a half years now.

I've probably sent them a 10,000 plus customers. They have a paid version,

which is $10 a month, which you don't need loom pro you, you don't need it.

I didn't even know they had a pro version for a long time.

For literally the first 18 months I was just using their free version with loom.

The awesome thing you can do, it's a Chrome extension.

You literally just hit loom record and you can record your screen and that way

you can send out audits and you can send out proposals and video audits and

video messages to prospective clients where you can share your screen,

show them what you do differently, show them their current advertising efforts,

how you could build on it, or maybe their social media,

how you could build on it, show them some of their competitors, et cetera,

et cetera. So that's just another honorary mention I want to add there.

The next thing is ClickFunnels.

ClickFunnels is really like I run half of my agency on that thing.

I use ClickFunnels to build out all of my funnels, my onboarding funnel.

In fact, I've even had my website on ClickFunnels before. Now, once again,

because you have bought a GoDaddy domain or a GCP domain,

you can help hook that up to your ClickFunnels solo.

You use the dragon drop a ClickFunnels, a builder,

you know to build a website and build your onboarding funnel, stuff like that.

It can still have your professional agency name on there.

Now I've gone ahead and provide you guys with a link. It's great.

And c.com/clickfunnels free trial, the link is in the description.

Would that link specifically you guys actually get a 14 day free trial.

So once again, I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend that tool.

Check it out for 14 days and Hey, within the next two weeks,

if you watch this training and you watch other videos on my YouTube channel,

you very well could have a client by that time.

So the next thing I want to talk about is getting started with no experience.

Guys, I want you to meet Jake now jig studies at university.

He doesn't have time to find clients and Jake is great at Facebook advertising.

He just, Jake doesn't really like selling clients or finding clients or just,

you know, being a business like he doesn't want to be a business owner.

He'd rather be like a freelancer or a contractor and there's so many people like

that.

Now I want you to meet your client custom color.com custom color.com pays you

$2,000 a month and then you pay Jake $500 a month as a contractor.

Ladies and gentlemen,

this is where I want to talk about the Expedia business model.

This is something I've been talking about for years and years and years.

I need you to understand that Expedia or booking.com or whatever,

they own zero planes, they own zero hotels,

yet they make billions and billions and billions a year.

Just by connecting the customer, the client to the product or service.

I want you to use Airbnb and Uber as the example. Once again,

when you get in an Uber,

Uber doesn't own that car or doesn't employ that Uber driver yet.

They take a substantial cut of that and that's really what an agency is,

is you're paying an agency and then they have someone who actually deliver the

services, whether we're talking like a 500 person,

full-scale agency or a boutique agency like this.

So when I actually got started,

Danny who now has been working full time with me for two years,

or actually he's been working full time with me for 16 months.

Prior to that he was my contractor for eight months,

but I used to sign clients for 2,500 a month for 4,000 a month. Hell,

I even had a couple clients even at that time that I was signing for eight,

nine $10,000 a month and I used to pay Danny,

I used to pay daddy 700 a month per month per client. So to bring that back,

let's say more to reality,

you can sign a client out there for 1500 a month and you pay your contractor 500

a month and you pocket the difference.

You can do that or you can just decide to run ads yourself. Or for example,

with me,

I'm really good at photo video and that's how I first got started with my agency

four years ago is I would do photo video for clients and then post on social

media and grow it. So all depends on your style and your level of expertise,

but my point is whether you have zero money, zero experience, it doesn't matter.

And the best part about in this example, Jake,

you signed that client for $1,500 a month or let's say even a thousand dollars a

month that client pays you and Jake only gets paid at the end of the month,

but you should be charging the client at the beginning of the month. Once again,

if you want to find out more information about this,

I recommend down the description.

I'm going to leave my YouTube step-by-step training on how to build a social

media marketing as well as my YouTube Facebook ads,

step-by-step training and between this video and those two resources,

you should have everything you need to know without ever even giving me your

email or opting into anything. So ladies and gentlemen, just do what I did.

Now these days, Danny gets paid very well. I mean a little too well. You know,

these days he's making Apple engineer type income.

But that's because I've grown my agency to the point where as I said,

we're hitting a hundred came months profit at times. So ladies and gentlemen,

hopefully this has just rid you of any excuses you have.

Now today's action step is number one.

I want you to book in a call with my student integration managers,

Max and Caden. There's going to be a link down in the description.

You're going to be matched to either max or Kayden. Once again,

they're both very,

very busy helping students in the community as well as talking to people who

might be a good fit for Agency Incubator. So it'll be one or the other.

So as I said,

go ahead and book in a call with them to see whether you're a good fit to join

thousands of other students in great agency.

Next thing is I want you to go subscribe to the second channel on the second

channel. I've actually got four uploads a week.

They're more long form content and I actually do weekly giveaways on there.

With this channel I have to be a little bit more mindful of like SEO and stuff.

I got on the second channel.

I just talk and I talk and I talk and I give tons of value on there and we get a

lot more specific. In fact, I even do student interviews on there,

30 minutes to 45 minutes student interviews every single week where I share

people's journey and how they matched, assign their clients.

The last thing is I want you to leave a comment with what you thought of the

video.

I'm giving away a coaching call for every hundred unique comments and I'll keep

the winners update in the comments. Guys, I'm super busy, my businesses,

so I can't give you a one hour coaching call,

but let's just call it a 20 minute coaching call.

I'll keep the common section of day with the winners. As I said,

ladies and gentlemen, I hope you guys have enjoyed those videos.

Really important. Go follow those action steps.

Go check out the other videos I mentioned.

Everything will be in the description and I'll see you guys in the next one.