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Chad Bauer, SR&B Advertising

How Chad Went From Overwhelmed to 18% Growth in His 60-Year-Old Agency

Chad Bauer was running a 60-year-old agency the way it had always been run — reactively. New business came through referrals, tasks were managed day-to-day, and despite years of goals and aspirations, there was no strategic plan in place to actually grow. After working with Jesse, Chad built a complete book of SOPs for the first time in the agency's history, restructured how his team plans their weeks, and drove 18% year-over-year revenue growth — while becoming a more present father at home.

 
Interview with:

Chad Bauer
President & Owner
SR&B Advertising
Company Size: 
Niche: Full-Funnel Marketing and Advertising

Services:
​​​​​​​
Advertising, Performance Marketing, Growth Marketing, Full-Funnel Strategy

18

Percent year-over-year revenue growth

60

Year-old agency — documented SOPs built for the first time in its history

80

Percent of team's week planned before it starts
I felt confident. I felt prepared. I felt like I knew what I needed to do next. As an entrepreneur, that's usually not common.

BEFORE using the Leverage for Growth Method:

Chad was managing everything day-to-day and reactively — despite having goals and aspirations for years, he'd never put a real strategic plan into action.
His agency had no outbound or inbound systems for client acquisition — new business came entirely through referrals.
He had no documented processes or SOPs — after 60 years of operation, there was nothing a new employee could reference to get up to speed or understand how things worked.
His mind was scattered — chasing the next bright light, overwhelmed by noise, and unable to prioritize what actually mattered from what just felt urgent.
He'd never looked inward to honestly assess his own strengths and weaknesses — and that gap was silently holding back every other area of the business.

AFTER using the Leverage for Growth Method:

Chad built a complete book of SOPs and documented processes for the first time in the agency's 60-year history — so any employee, new or tenured, can immediately understand what needs to happen and how.
His team now has 75-80% of their week planned before it starts — replacing the reactive day-to-day management with clarity, efficiency, and shared direction.
Chad drove 18% year-over-year revenue growth — up from 11.5% the year before — by positioning the firm more intentionally in front of the right prospects at the right time.
Longtime staff members started telling Chad — unprompted — that they understood the direction and felt aligned with where the agency was headed. He'd never been communicated to upward like that before.
He became a more present and intentional father — not as a separate goal, but as a natural result of the same work that was driving the business forward.

Chad on Building Systems in a 60-Year-Old Agency and Driving 18% Growth

Across two interviews, Chad shares how he went from running a 60-year-old agency reactively — no SOPs, no outbound systems, and a scattered approach to planning — to building documented processes for the first time in the agency's history, restructuring how his team plans their weeks, and driving 18% year-over-year revenue growth. He's candid about the personal work that made the structural changes stick, and credits the combination of strategic systems and honest self-assessment as the catalyst for growth across his business and his role as a father.

Results

Before working with Jesse, Chad was leading a 60-year-old agency the same way it had always been run — reactively. New business came through referrals, tasks were managed day-to-day, and there were no documented processes or SOPs in place. Despite years of goals and aspirations for growth, he'd never put a real plan into action. His mind was scattered, chasing the next bright light, and he was overwhelmed by noise that made everything feel equally urgent. When Jesse's cold email landed in his inbox, Chad replied immediately. Something about the approach — organized, systemic, with a clear method — clicked from the very first conversation. Chad walked out of that call thinking: this guy knows what he's talking about, and he's the kind of person I need on my arm to get this thing to the next level. The work started where Chad didn't expect — with honest self-assessment. Before touching strategy, systems, or sales processes, Jesse had him look inward. What are you actually good at? What are you not? Chad admits that wasn't easy. But he now credits that personal foundation as the catalyst that made every structural change stick. Without it, he says, he'd still be taking the long road around. From there, the business transformation moved fast. Chad and his team built a complete book of SOPs and documented processes for the first time in the agency's 60-year history — giving any employee, new or tenured, the ability to immediately understand what needs to happen. He restructured how the team plans their weeks — 75-80% of each week is now mapped before it begins. He repositioned the firm to attract the right prospects, which drove 11.5% revenue growth in year one and 18% in year two. But the results that surprised Chad most were the ones he didn't expect. Longtime staff members started telling him — unprompted — that they understood the direction and felt aligned with the agency's future. He'd never heard that kind of upward communication before. And at home, he became more present and intentional as a father, showing up fully for his boys in a way he'd always wanted to but had never made structural. Chad describes growth as a messy, dirty, sloppy process — and Jesse as the person who helps you clean it up. As he puts it: you think the problem is one thing, and Jesse peels back the layers and shows you it's actually three things — and here's how to fix them. His door is open to anyone considering the program — he's offered to connect directly on LinkedIn with anyone who wants a candid, no-BS conversation about the experience.
From a business results perspective, we've grown over the last two years at a pretty decent clip. Last year we were right around 11 and a half percent growth year-over-year and this year we're gearing more towards 18%.
Growth is not a clean thing. It's a really, really messy situation. Jesse is the guy that's going to help you sift through all the madness that comes with growth and arm you with the right decision-making skills to get where you want to get to.
—  15 MINUTES. NO OBLIGATION.

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