Sparkbound

We exist to unlock the potential of people to do more good, better.

Sparkbound is a leadership development academy disguised as a medical sales organization and medical device distributor. We are focused on going beyond transactions and enriching the lives of our people, partners, and practitioners.

Founder & Principal

Enovis

Sr. Salesperson building Sparkbound ❇️

Arthrex

Agency Sales Manager

Arthrex Extremity & Trauma Lead & Territory Manager

Upper Extremity Sales lead

Arthrex Clinical Specialist

Arthrex Technology Consultant | Sales Professional 

Empire Medical

Executive Sales Manager

P4L Fitness & Torque Sports Performance

Director of Sports Performance

Hospital for Special Surgery

Worked independently for Dr. Adele Boskey’s laboratory. Dr. Boskey is 	interested in tissue mineralization; the ultimate goal in the lab was to improve bone quality by providing insight needed for new 	therapies and tissue engineered products. My specific research project was focused on the role of proteoglycans in the bone mineralization process. More specifically, I looked at the effect of 	the interaction between the large proteoglycan, aggrecan, and aggrecanase (ADAMTS) and aggrecanase inhibitors (TIMP) on hydroxyapatite formation in a gel system. My work was paralleled 	with identical studies performed in this laboratory in a cell culture 	system.

Research Assistant

Weill Cornell Medical College

Presented and participated in weekly journal clubs. Partook in a Lab Techniques Workshop and Clinical Skills Workshop. Scrubbed into surgeries at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Gave an oral 	presentation at Leadership Alliance National Symposium and written and poster presentation of my research at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Intern

I help salespeople become sales leaders w/ the Salesblazer Method™️ | Executive Sales Leader

Over the last decade, I helped build multiple multi-million dollar medical device territories by developing new markets and strategic sales teams. I also helped customer-partners build their personal brands and land consulting contracts, which led to developing new products/techniques and enhanced patient outcomes.

Then, in 2023, I hit a fork in the road. Do I continue building someone else's company at the expense of my convictions, or do I risk my comfortable life to gain personal agency, take complete ownership over my future, and craft something worth telling a story about?

Building something on my terms and diversifying my income would be the best pathway towards control over my calendar, autonomy over the work I get to do, and the direct impact I can have.

While this pathway has not been easy, the results have been remarkable.

Since leaving a sales executive role with a great brand, I have been able to replace my income by working for myself with less effort (working smart).

I have launched Sparkbound, a medical sales & marketing organization that goes beyond the transaction and seeks to enrich the lives of others.

Sparkbound not only helps our people build influential careers, increase our partners' influence, or improve our practitioners' patient outcomes, but we also want to help aspiring difference makers become the change they wish they could make... and then help them make positive change happen.

My mission is to help you see that you're not stuck. You don't have to labor and live as others expect you to. My mission is to help you challenge the status quo, lead by design, and choose the impact you wish to have.

I love writing about leadership, specifically leadership without titles, about how high-impact professionals can earn personal agency, purposeful productivity (doing more good, better), and meaningful work.

Francisco Martinez

Most people wait for the perfect opportunity to start leading.

The perfect promotion.
The right work/life balance. 
The sales kickoff meeting.
A bigger team.

But here’s what I’ve learned after building sales teams:

There is no perfect opportunity.

The promotion won't make you a leader.
There is no such thing as work/life balance in sales leadership.
Leadership happens before the title. 

The people who get promoted don't wait. 

They start.
They lead anybody.
Create opportunities to serve.  
They find solutions that everyone has been aching for. 

Because they understand something most people ignore:

You don’t build influence by a title. 
You earn it by leading. 

Serving builds trust.
Solving problems makes you indispensable.

That’s exactly how I've gone from a sales demotion to now running my own sales organization.

Not with a perfect plan.

But by showing up every day seeking to enrich the lives of others.

What about you?

Making Leaders Remarkable | Follow for systems & strategies for effortless leadership & remarkable work | Founder & Principal building an 8-figure sales agency from scratch

Character is king. 

Character > Competency.
Character > Credentials. 
Character > Commissions. 

Character lasts forever.

The best leaders aren't the smartest in the room. 

More knowledge won't get you promoted. Try this instead:

Acquire wisdom. 

Here's why:

🧠 Knowledge is about knowing more. 
🦉 Wisdom is about knowing you don't know enough. 

🧠 Knowledge says, "I know the answer." 
🦉 Wisdom asks, "What's the right question?"

🧠 Knowledge recites best practices. 
🦉 Wisdom knows when to break them.

🧠 Knowledge speaks first in meetings. 
🦉 Wisdom listens, then synthesizes what others missed.

🧠 Knowledge focuses on being right. 
🦉 Wisdom focuses on being useful.

🧠 Knowledge collects information. 
🦉 Wisdom connects the dots others can't see.

The leaders who get promoted aren't the ones with the most certifications or the biggest vocabulary.

They're the ones who can navigate complexity, read between the lines, and make decisions when the data is incomplete.

They turn information into insight. Problems into opportunities. Chaos into clarity.

Stop collecting knowledge. Start cultivating wisdom.

Your career will thank you.

What's one moment when wisdom mattered more than knowledge in your career? Share below 👇

-- 
♻️ Repost to help others lead with wisdom
➕ Like and follow Francisco Martinez for more insights

The best medical sales reps don't sell. They serve.

After 13 years in medical sales, I've watched too many reps crash and burn trying to be the smartest person in the room.

Here's what actually works:

Stop trying to impress doctors.
Start trying to improve patient outcomes.

This mindset changes everything.

Here are the non-negotiables for high-performing medical sales reps: 

✅ Lead with patient impact, not product features
✅ Create opportunities to serve your customers. 
✅ Play the long game and build trust as you build your pipeline.
✅ Educate, educate, educate. 
✅ Don't knock the competition. 

Here's the interesting truth:

When you stop selling and start serving, your numbers go up.

In medical sales, we don't just move products.
We're integral to someone's healing.

Act like it.

What's the most important lesson you've learned about putting people before profit?

♻️ Repost if this resonates
➕ Follow for more on character-driven sales leadership

The wrong path looks promising. 

Until you are replaced. 

I used to think success came from putting in the most hours.

→ First in. Last one out.
→ Say yes to every opportunity.
→ Take work off your boss’s plate. 

The formula they sold us:
Be everywhere → Pay your dues → Trust the process

But here’s the problem:

Budget cuts happen.
Burnout persists.
And no one is looking after your career. 
One bad performance can make you replaceable. 

Now I focus on building what can’t be replaced:

1. Your Attitude
You can’t control every outcome.
But you can control whether people want you in the room when things get tough.

2. Your Wisdom
Thanks to ChatGPT, Knowledge is cheap these days.
But applying that knowledge? That’s hard-earned. 
Wisdom only comes from personal experience plus reflection.

3. Your EQ Skills
Tools change. Markets shift.
But people don’t. The ability to communicate and win with people will outlast AI. 

4. Your Character
Character can’t be bought. 
It is developed and tested over time. 
While others focus on competencies and credentials, build the foundation that no one else is. 

5. Your Discipline
Motivation can pack a punch, but has a short fuse. 
Discipline keeps your butt in the chair no matter how you feel. 


6. Your Leadership
Leadership isn’t a title.
It’s creating opportunities to initiate acts of service.

7. Your Point of View
A unique, well-reasoned perspective is a moat.
It sets you apart in a world drowning in copycats.

These 7 things made me indispensable.
No org chart. No market shift. No competitor can take them away.

You don’t need to protect yourself.
You need to build value that no one can replace.

♻️ Repost to help your tribe become indispensable
➕ Follow to learn how to become the one your company can't live without

Don't just pray for a great culture.

Be the answer to your prayer.

It's easy to hope for a healthy workplace—one where you feel safe, valued, and seen.

But culture isn't something you stumble upon.

It's something you help create.

Culture is not:

- Pizza, ping pong, or even pickleball
- Unlimited PTO or remote work
- A profitable business unit
- A mission statement
- HR department
- Core values
- The CEO

The success or attitude of individual contributors is not the measure of culture. 
But is measured by:

- Low burnout
- Employee referrals
- High retention rates
- People celebrate each other
- Alignment of all people and parts
- The way employees feel on Sunday night

Yet, no culture is perfect. Even great workplaces will disappoint at times.
And that's okay.

That's why what matters is how you carry yourself and champion the culture you wish you had.

You bring attitude, habits, and values everywhere you go.

The best cultures aren't found. Courageous people cultivate them.

So yes, pray for a great team, a mission you can stand behind, and a culture that breathes life.

But don't stop there.
Be the person who:

- Gives credit
- Has a bias for action
- Chooses to lead without a title.
- Praises the efforts and success of others.
- Isn't waiting to be asked to serve but creates opportunities to serve.

You're not just a recipient of great culture.
You're crafting it—every day.

How else can someone be the solution to a better culture?

If you want to work remotely, that's great.

If you want a hybrid workplace, that's awesome.

If you want to return to the office to be present with people, wonderful.

If you want to quit and work for a remote company, go for it.

If you want to bring everybody back from their home offices, own up to it.

If you want to go to a 4-day work week, that's also cool.

So many people are trying to fortune-tell the future of work.

Many are trying to push their version of success on others.

They pretend that one way of working is better or superior to the other.

Stop believing everyone's opinions.

You live in the digital revolution, which provides many options.

Determine the direction of your life and what works best for you this season.
Then get after it!

Be faithful no matter where you work.
That's true success.

99% of people overcomplicate career moves.

So, in 2023, I simplified the riskiest career decision of my life. 

What they won't teach you in school or corporate America is that all you need is:

1. Direction - where do you want to go in life? 
2. Anti-goals - what are you not willing to give up?
3. Convictions - Why and what must you do no matter what?
4. People - whom do you have as your personal board of advisors?

Things you don't need:

1. To listen to your heart.
2. 5 & 10-year plans.
3. Large network.

The key is to decide on your career before you need to choose. 

And no matter what, be excellent and intentional. 

Because none of this matters if you suck at your work.

What would you add to this career decision framework?

The best sales leaders don't obsess over numbers. 

They obsess over people (and their growth). 

Here's a simple playbook for developing your people: 

> Invest in everyone, not just top performers.
> Be the leader you wished you had.
> Know your people's strengths & weaknesses (personal SWOT).
Create an actionable development plan that drives better paychecks.
> Become a broken record with the company's mission, values, and vision.
Connect people's "why" to the company's purpose.
> Coach, don't command.
> Delegate to grow people, not just clear your plate.
> Lead from the trenches with daily rep face time.
> Make 1:1s sacred (& follow through).
> Celebrate effort, not just results.

The math is simple:
Better people = better culture = better results. 

Choose people over profit because people matter more. The byproduct? They generate profit. 

Do you agree?

After 13 years in medical sales (17 total in sales), I've had to reinvent my career several times. 

I have been demoted, stuck, and promoted. 

I have represented large brands and startups. 

Every time, it has come down to these basic but powerful habits. 

Here are the 17 powerful habits of high-impact salespeople:

1. Focus on what you can control: your attitude & actions
2. Learn to say, "I don't know, but let me find out." 
3" Give, don't take. Give away your time, expertise, & self. 
4. The day starts the night before. Wake up to execute. 
5. Practice patience, not passivity. Growth takes time. 
6. Like navy seals, train with a pod of peers. 
7. Sundays are for strategy. Plan an ideal week.
8. Get aligned every quarter with your values and mission
9. Always be checking in on your character. 
10. Do what you say you will do, even if it costs you. 
11. First impressions are for impact, not to impress. 
12. Time block high revenue activities. Ruthlessly stick to it
13. Send a weekly highlight report to your boss. 
14. Send a weekly lessons learned report to your team. 
15. End each day with a self-assessment review of yourself.
16. Solve big problems instead of reacting to fire drills.  
17. Go beyond the transaction and seek to enrich lives. 

Medical sales, and all sales, is more than hitting quota. 

It's about becoming the person you would rave about doing business with. 

What did I miss? 

--
♻️ Repost to help your network become a high-impact salesperson
➕ Follow for more tips on how to grow your sales career

Character is king. 

You can't fake true character. 

The truth of one's character is revealed in time.

Trust me when I say:

- mastering influence
- excelling in your role
- crafting solutions as a niche
- teaching others to create success

And above all, being worthy of remark...

Will make it 100x easier to get promoted.

Waiting for an opportunity isn’t reliable. Go create a demand for your skills.

The sales boss who kills careers obsesses over numbers. 

Instead of the growth of their people. 

This is especially true in medical device sales, where companies want market share at the expense of people.  

That's why they obsess over acquiring managers and not leaders. 

Leaders help people grow. 

Sales leadership needs to stop:

❌ Managing spreadsheets
❌ Celebrating ONLY the quota achievers
❌ Compromising culture for short-term wins
❌ Measuring success by one bad quarter report

Instead leaders do the following:

✅ Help their salespeople make SMARTER goals
✅ Help align their goals with the company's purpose and goals
✅ Have clear expectations and stop micromanaging
✅ Recognize growth moments that build character
✅ Invest in their potential even when it costs you today
✅ Measure success by their consistency and direction

The leaders who get this right are the ones who:

↳ Ask more questions of their people (they care about them)
↳ Spend more time coaching and practicing
↳ See potential in people before they see it in themselves
↳ Build careers, not just quarterly results

I've watched this play out over and over.

When you care about the people you care for more than just their numbers. 

You want people not just to hit their targets because they have to. 
You want them to crust it because they want to, and they are bought in. 

What's the most impactful way a leader has invested in your growth?

♻️ Repost if you believe in people-first leadership
➕ Follow for more insights on better sales leadership

Caring isn't a strategy you implement. 

It is a lifestyle you embody daily.

So stop acting like you care. Start actually caring. 

❌ Don't perform empathy for your team 
✅ Genuinely invest in their growth

❌ Don't fake interest in customers
 ✅ Detach from profit and connect as humans

❌ Don't care for the applause 
✅ Care because it's a person you can impact

If you feel you are acting, tell yourself to care genuinely.

Do the work to make an impact, not just to impress.

What's one way to embody authentic care?

♻️ Repost to create a more caring world
➕ Follow and like for more unconventional musings

The most dangerous attitude in sales?

"I already know that" or "I don't need help."

I've seen sales careers, especially med sales, crash and burn with that attitude.

Earlier in my career, I saw my own ego get me demoted because of words like that.  

I've seen the most talented salespeople miss opportunities because of that attitude. 

Here's what I've learned about success in sales:

The moment you think you know it all or don't need help, you've already lost.

The top performers who succeed in the long run are the ones who:

↳ Still walk through their checklist before time with a customer
↳ Invite teammates to review your performance
↳ Ask "what would you have done differently?" after every encounter
↳ Read and learn daily
↳ Do not defend against correction from leadership

You only learn from every conversation in the field if you have a humble attitude.

An attitude that wants to improve. 
Craves to learn. 
Never comfortable. 
Is teachable. 

Being humble means:
- You haven't arrived (& never will)
- You can't get there without others

It's not about being weak.
It's about being wise.

Sales is hard and competitive. 

But if you stay teachable and humble
You'll overcome.

Choose a leader instead of a job. 

The wrong manager can hold your career back for years. 

The right managers see your potential, help you unlock your potential, and champion your promotion. 

The best leaders are agnostic to the logo they represent. 
They are believers in the people they are responsible for. 

The best managers prioritize people first, then profit. 

I've worked for great leaders. 

- They believed I had potential.
- They asked about my wife & children. 
- They invested in me even when I deserved to be fired. 
- They designed comp plans around revenue goals, not quota.
- They created roles to solve problems that fit my passion and strengths. 
- They listened - and did not turn on me - when I considered outside offers.

I once struggled because I wasn't sure I wanted to be in this industry. 
My leaders noticed my decreasing excitement, put their arms around me, and said, "Where do you want to be? We'll help you get there." 

They are why I stayed when I was offered better financial offers. 
They are the reason I haven't quit the medical device industry.

Ultimately, their leadership has produced several promotions for me, bigger paychecks, and once-in-a-lifetime career opportunities. 

Choose leaders who want to see you grow today. 

Agree? Let me know your thoughts👇

The best ideas don't come from dreadful meetings. 

More brainstorming on a whiteboard won't move your business forward. 

Ideas matter.
All great things started with an idea. 
That was executed. Iterated. Reshipped. 

Whether ideas to improve the workplace.
Or ideas for new products or companies. 

Ideas accelerated my career. 

I went from being demoted to an accelerated promotion track due to the high-impact ideas I brought to the table and executed. 

But if you never make time to break away to generate ideas, you'll never make time to execute them. 

Here's my Idea OS:

1) Get outside
> Find a happy place. 
> Schedule it during the best time. 
> For me, it's sunrise mornings in the hills and trails behind my house. 

2) Have a plan
> Have an exercise plan: you can walk, ruck, or run
> Have a thinking plan: what are you listening to? Podcast? Music? Audio book?
> For me, it's whatever I am working on or wanting to create. 

3) Come prepared
> I get to my happy place and set time with juices already flowing.
> This means I have already read, prayed, and prepared my heart. 
> Getting out and moving takes it to the next level. 
> Bring the right tools: notepad & pen, notes app, podcast app, etc. 

4) Capture
> When an idea or thought arrives that I want to capture, I pause. 
> I use Ali Abdaal's Voicepal app to record and transcribe all my thoughts. 

5) Create
> Don't just waste this session by doing nothing after the fact. 
> When resolve is high, take action. 
> Make a plan to outline the next steps of the best and most crucial idea you had. 
> Take a step to execute the first thing in that idea. 
> Schedule the following steps. 

Commit to a place and time to get outside and move. 
Chart a course for your time there. 
Capture what matters most. 
Commit to execution. 
Craft a plan around the most essential idea. 
Create and execute. 

For me, not one week goes by without me getting out there at least once. 

What are your favorite ways to get your creative juices flowing? 

♻️ Repost to help your tribe ditch meetings and be more creative. 

Follow Francisco Martinez for more insights like this.

Don't quit. Don't give up. Turn that frustration around. 

Success is not a corner office, a title, or a bigger role. 

Thinking vanity metrics measured success almost destroyed my career. 

Thinking I could impact lives if I had that bigger role hindered my effort. 

I realized that it wasn't my managers keeping me from bigger and better things. 
It was me. 

Once I chose to be a salesblazer, making positive change happen right where I was and leading without a title, my career blossomed. 

Here's the mindset that finds success with or without titles:

- You make change happen for the sake of others. 
- You initiate solving common problems your way. 
- You think beyond your role. Create a rising tide. 
- You are willing to ask for help from your tribe.
- You are faithful with what you've been given.
- You detach from outcomes. Create systems. 
- You know what makes you unique. 
- You don't hate small beginnings.
- You adopt the 12-week year. 
- You aim to work hard. 
- You excel. 

The result? 

You build an impactful and successful career.

The most impactful leaders are the ones who serve. 

Leadership is not a license to do less but a responsibility to serve. 

But everyone gets servant leadership wrong.

It's not about being willing to serve.

But initiating acts of service.

Change from this:

- "If there is any way I can help you let me know."
- "I love helping and serving others."
- "Tell me how I can help."
- "Do you need any help?"

Initiate service this way:

- "I see the best way I can help you is by option a or option b. Which one is it?"
- "You have a lot going on. I am going to take this off your plate."
- "I knew you would say you didn't need help, but I showed up anyway and am ready for you to put me to work."

Most people will not ask for help or say they need it, even if you ask.

Servant-leaders know this and create ways to serve and surprise others.

How will you create opportunities to serve others next week?

Autonomy Agency

Scale your marketing agency to 7 figures in 30-hour workweeks

Founder

Agency Jet - Digital Marketing, SEO, Pay Per Click & Website Design veterans. 

Consultant

Agency Jet is one of the premier providers of all things digital marketing in the United States with a range of services to help companies improve their presence online locally, regionally or nationally. As the SEO Director I:
•Create and facilitate custom plans for each and every client in SEO, Web Development & Design, Social Media and more
•Continuously improve on internal process to provide superb service
•Offer transparency, education and results to each client no matter the scope of the project
•Put the client first, the employee second and the investor third in all business decisions
•Manage multiple projects at any time with flexibility
•Maintain structure with all team members in planning and strategy
•Regularly provide contact with clients via phone or in person meetings to achieve outlined goals
•Manage a team of some of the most talented SEO project managers on earth
•Lead our inbound marketing team and strategy testing

Partner + SEO Director

Colby Wegter Ventures

Owner

Exley Co.

Exley Co. is a boutique digital marketing agency in Milwaukee whose team boasts some of the strongest client retention numbers and results in the United States. As the owner of Exley Co. I:
•Build strategic partnerships with vendors and clients to deliver world-class digital marketing services
•Coordinate free and educational audits by Exley Co.’s talented staff for clients in the United States
•Ensure digital marketing campaigns provide all deliverables, communication expectations and results expected by our incredible clients
•Utilize and organize the talents of some of the most creative and talented professionals the digital marketing industry has to offer
•Offer fully transparent and results-oriented SEO, Digital Advertising and Web Design services
•Maintain some of the highest client retention rates in the United States

A Look Into

Writing the stories of the people behind the products we love is the core belief of A Look Into. Knowing their story takes it from simply a product into a worthwhile experience that needs to be shared. As Founder I:
•Craft relationships with business owners in the Twin Cities
•Develop featured items and posts on alookinto.com
•Expand visibility to local community initiatives and those who foster them
•Photograph, publish and edit all visible content on alookinto.com and corresponding social media

Nagios Enterprises, LLC

Nagios Enterprises is the industry standard in enterprise-grade IT infrastructure monitoring. Our products enable organizations to take their data and make successful business decisions. As a Marketing Specialist I:
•Worked with team members in strategic planning initiatives to increase visibility to the Nagios brand
•Contributed in internal process building to increase workplace efficiency and effectiveness
•Created high-quality digital content for web pages, blogs and video
•Managed the social media department exclusively and created content across all major social platforms

Marketing Specialist

InterActive Circle

InterActive Circle offers development, PPC services, and SEO services for businesses both locally and nationwide.  In the SEO Department I:
•Worked with team members and leaders to execute best practices for communicating and managing the scope of SEO Projects
•Contributed to ongoing improvement of internal processes
•Worked directly with all teams from sales to marketing to IT
•Developed, maintained and executed workable project plans
•Managed multiple projects across multiple clients with flexibility
•Proactively enhanced client relationships
•Coordinated internally and with the client to ensure effective exchange of project requirements, information and deliverables

SEO Project Manager

BrandYourself

BrandYourself provides opportunities for individuals to begin controlling their online presence using professional website design and personalized search engine optimization (SEO) tactics. As a HeadStart Specialist I:
•Educated clientele on SEO terminology and best practices for their personal online reputation
•Designed custom and professional websites to client's specifications
•Created social media properties to enhance client's online presence
•Offered outstanding customer service from introduction to final correspondance

HeadStart Specialist

BrandYourself provides online reputation management (ORM) for a number of clients by creating unique and relevant content on the web. As Concierge Search Representative I:
•Worked directly with the client to glean information and create truthful and unique content
•Built custom websites, web 2.0 profiles, and web applications
•Designed monthly strategies tailored to each client specifically
•Maintained activity across sites and web 2.0 profiles including blogging and social activity
•Worked with clients to achieve their goals

Concierge Search Representative

Bed-Stuy New Beginnings Charter School

Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School is an elementary and middle school proudly serving the students in our neighborhood, affectionately known worldwide as Bed Stuy. As an Instructional Associate I:
•Designed and conducted differentiated reading, writing, and social studies instruction
•Created Writer's Workshop for over 100 fifth and sixth grade students
•Collaborated with grade level learning coaches in grading, pacing, instruction, and field trip coordination
•Enacted "Whole Brain Teaching" to deliver instruction and manage behavior
•Contacted students' parents on a weekly basis for performance and behavior progress
•Designed visual aids, resources and materials used in the classroom to enhance learning

Instructional Associate

Hills Bank and Trust Company

Hills Bank and Trust Company has grown to become one of Iowa's largest independent banks. As a Bank Teller I:
•Handled between 80-100 transactions a day working directly with the customer
•Employed cash handling skills
•Offered services based on customer's needs
•Ensured drawer was properly balanced every closing time
•Ensured bank vault was properly balanced
•Offered superior customer service at all times

Bank Teller

Solopreneurs making over $10K/mo don't need to add. They need to eliminate. I help with that. • Bootstrapped $3M agency owner • Creating custom (and easy) systems is my love language. ☕

"This is how I die."

👆 Burnout #1 - April 2022

"Will I wake up tomorrow?"

👆 Burnout #2 - December 2022

Here's what the surface looked like:

→ Owner of a Global Top 1000 digital marketing agency
→ Managing over $1M in revenue
→ Inbound leads coming in
→ Hiring and managing

Here's what the inside looked like:

→ Growing workload I couldn't manage
→ Saying yes to "opportunities" that didn't align
→ Believing working more would yield more results

So, I changed everything. No one was coming to save me.

Here's what I did:

→ Eliminated 90% of meetings with one email (saved 75 hours/mo)
→ Stopped saying yes to poor-fits and raised prices
→ Doubled down on existing clients (upselling)
→ Increased client retention (predictability)

I got addicted to systems and removing myself. And got from 70 hours a week down to 8 hours a week...and we increased revenue by 150% in 12 months.

And I networked with 150+ marketing agency owners in 22 months.

→ 50%+ were actively burning out
→ 70%+ had big goals and dreams but were falling short
→ 90%+ were working over 40 hours a week and wanted less stress

I saw my past.

I asked them all, "Do you have someone who's been where you want to go helping you?"

Not one said yes.

So, despite having gotten my challenging agency into an amazing place, I left.

I was in a unique position to help people stuck in six-figures, working over 50 hours a week for their marketing agency, to help them scale revenue without scaling hours.

I created Autonomy Agency with the promise that you'll:

→ Increase revenue
→ Get to a 30-hour (or less) workweek
→ In 16 weeks with 1:1 help and unlimited async access to me with a money-back guarantee if I fail

It on January 1, 2025.

Here's what's happened so far:

→ Brady fired a poor-fit client and signed $16K in new business within a 2 week period
→ Bob added $51K from his existing clients in the first 30 days
→ Kevin added $50K/mo recurring to his agency in 16 weeks

So, if you're a six-figure marketing agency owner working over 50 hours a week

With a desire to get to 7 figures but have no idea how you're going to do that without working more

And want personalized 1:1 help from someone who's been there...

Drop me a DM

If I know I can help, we'll put a customized plan together for you, with a no-risk guarantee.

Not ready yet? Get as much free value from me that you can in these places:

→ https://www.youtube.com/@colby-wegter (I post twice a week)
→ https://colbywegter.com/ (Newsletter: Twice a week)
→ https://autonomyagency.com/ (Select spots available)

Colby Wegter

Your client just emailed they’re pausing.

Here are your next 3 moves [minute-by-minute]

I’ve received this message hundreds of times.

Tools of the trade when you’ve served over 1200 people and businesses.

It’s not sustainable to feel physically ill every time this happens.

So, here’s what you do when it does, so you don’t vomit on your keyboard:

MOVE ONE = Understand

Minute 1
→ Breathe (nose to mouth) 10 times

Minutes 2-5
→ Write a message to yourself going as deep as you can to the prompt: “Was 
this client aligned? Why or why not?”

MOVE TWO = Map

Minutes 6-15
→ Your run rate will change. Map it.
→ Discern: Do I need to adjust expenses? Team? Vendors? My time?

MOVE THREE = Tie the bow

Minutes 16-30
→ Acknowledgement email. You’ll send a full set of instructions within 24 hours.
→ If the pause is your fault, make moves to fix it.
→ If the pause isn’t your fault, acknowledge that’s business.
→ Look at your existing pipeline. Find one person. Send a ‘9-word email.’

Looks like this: “Hey [NAME], Still looking to [RESULT] this year? Looks like we have a spot opening up and I’d love to give you first dibs. Hit reply and we can grab coffee.”

LIKE DON DRAPER SAID:

“The day you start getting clients is the day you start losing them.”

It’s not a death sentence or a time for panic.

Acknowledge it. Tie it up. Create a positive in under an hour.

🍯

P.S. I’ve had dozens of clients who paused refer me to more clients. Want the story? I’m sending it to my email list this morning 👉 colbywegter[dot]com

Helping agency owners & coaches stuck between $20k-$50k/mo // 1200+ clients // $2.5M exit [autonomymodel.com]

2 months ago I bought a car's worth of mentorship.

Butterflies in my stomach. Walking by the river with my wife telling her what I think it’ll do for us.

The latte I just swallowed likely to end up in the water as fish bait with how intense my nerves were.

But her?

Serene. Calm.

She looked me dead in the face and said:

“This family believes in you. You’re going to get a master’s degree in 90 days. I say you do it.”

I’ve taken nothing but risk these last 15 months:

→ Left a 6-figure salary to start at $0
→ Stopped selling an offer that made $54K in 3 months
→ Signed clients to a community that didn’t have a product

But when she said those words…the risk felt different.

All the trust I’d built in myself was infecting other people.

So, as we near the end of the most amazing, failure-ridden, profit-filled, and fun-as-hell year of my life…I’ve got one goal for 2026…

To infect more people with the drug that is self-trust.

When you trust yourself, it all happens, compadre.

But trust isn’t a destination or a result.

It’s an identity. And identities shift, are messy, and get lost.

I’m going to show you all of it in 2026.

It’s not the funnel. It’s not the strategy. It’s not the business model.

It’s trust.

As my brother, Jacob Pegs would say…

“You in, motherflower?”

Shift your identity. Scale with simplicity. Achieve autonomy.

I teach something that most mentors expect you to have.

COMMITMENT

Let’s take Margherita as an example.

Since I can’t teach talent, I find people to work with who already have it.

Marghi’s got it in spades.

And her work ethic is off the charts.

But like any founder, hell any human, commitment can feel seasonal.

It’s easy to feel committed when times are good.

When they’re rougher?

→ Shiny objects
→ A new business model
→ Escape, dopamine, hope

How do I teach it?

I use evidence and remind.

In Marghi’s case, she loves chatting with people and is a nerd about LinkedIn.

When someone challenged her commitment, all I did was remind her of the evidence she’d created.

She books coffee chats that turn into client in her sleep.

She provides value on default mode.

And now, she’s getting clients in the door on a $4K/mo offer.

Her January is looking really good.

And she made my job easy.

She provides the talent + value…I provide the reminders and the lessons.

And it’s gonna be dope when 90 days from now, her clients are raving about their results with her.

But she got all of this because when she was reminded of the evidence she created in her business…she re-committed and made it happen.

Maybe you’re one reminder away from unleashing your talent and value in a whole new way.

P.S. If you want the same sales script that Marghi’s using LMK

POV: You have a tiny audience, algorithms hate you, and you still get clients.

Want the secret?

Let’s set the scene straightaway:

→ I’ve never gone viral
→ I have a combined audience of 10K
→ My average post gets 200 impressions or less

So, before the audience builders come knocking down my door, this post isn’t about that.

It’s to disprove that you need a massive audience to get clients.

High-paying clients. Dream clients. The “my life is easy” clients.

First, algos owe us nothing. So, complaining about it is a waste of time.

I haven’t become the algo’s best friend yet. Fine by me.

The secret?

Use social media to be social…as a human, not as a strategy.

I get clients from caring about the experience first.

Which means, I want to hear about them. What they’re working on. What they’re passionate about.

I ask questions. I don’t see them as opportunities or leads.

They’re people.

Then, as often happens, they’ll say something that I might be able to help with.

I ask permission to explain it.

They say yes, because sadly, I’m one of the few who treats them like a human versus a pipeline category.

Then I explain it in a way that’s specific to them.

Turns out, this gets clients pretty well.

Who do you want to follow?

Someone with 100,000 followers, 1000+ likes per post, and makes six-figures?

Or someone with 10,000 followers, 10+ likes per post, and makes six-figures?

Followers aren’t friends. And big audiences don’t mean big business.

Props to the audience creators.

But I’m here to get clients.

And if you keep it simple, the audience and the algorithm have no bearing on how successful you are.

Enjoy your weekend.

✌️

P.S. If you have a tiny audience and hate writing content into the void for a few likes and no clients…I’m running a 3 clients by Christmas offer and have a couple spots left.

It’s simple, I install client getting campaigns with you, so January becomes about momentum, not fixing.

Drop me an email if you want to learn more → colby@colbywegter.com

LinkedIn + I are taking a break.

Nothing dramatic. No entitlement.

The joy isn't here for me lately.

I'm all for pushing through discomfort if it's worth doing.

But I've looked at the vibe here and I think...nah, dog...I'll keep an eye on it but making this juju part of my day-to-day...not necessary.

Nearly all the people I consider dear friends have come from this platform, so it's no drama, I just operate a business from flow not force.

And LinkedIn's felt forced for months.

I trust the fort will be held down by the masters in my absence:

Jason Vana
Jacob Pegs
Margherita Andreassi
Jake McCoy
Matt Stokes

These are some of my favorite people who I've had a joy to work with.

If I forgot ya, it's cause my whole household has sickness and we're writing this at 20% brain power.

In summary, signing off from creating here for awhile.

You'll find me creating daily on IG: https://lnkd.in/gV8QvNsQ
And weekly on YT: https://lnkd.in/eNkVyYTA
As well as my newsletter: https://colbywegter.com/

Tomorrow's newsletter is about me breaking my promise of never dancing on the internet.

Feel free to join us in the weird and wonderful part of the internet where we build whatever we want with alignment, autonomy, and flow.

Arrivederci LinkedIn ✌

The biggest scale-move? Become someone who’s easy to root for.

Let’s keep it simple…

Would you rather walk into the room with the mentality of…

I’m the sh*t.

OR

I don’t deserve to be here.

Because whether you deserve to be there or not…SIDEBAR: there’s no such thing…

The person who walks in with confidence will perform.

The one who doesn’t won’t.

And all that negative thinking is doing is delaying progress.

The progress of hitting your potential.

So, here’s the hack:

Root 👏 For 👏 Yourself 👏 First 👏

The feeling will be addictive.

And then, you’ll make a lot more moves and fewer plans.

P.S. Use your power for good. No big ego amigo.

If scaling to $20K/mo was chaotic, I help make +$50K/mo calm. Coaching B2B Founders // 1200+ clients // $2.5M exit [autonomymodel.com]

Most founders aren’t stuck…they’re misaligned.

Here’s what the day-to-day of this person looks like:

→ Wake up, check emails, smash coffee
→ Check slack, answer an urgent email
→ Lower stress from 10 to 8 to start client work
→ Client work for 6 hours
→ Damn! I need to create content.
→ Uninspired creation, gets posted, no love (or business)
→ Do it again, day after day

…

We got the one life and we’re spending it like this.

How did we get here?

Quite simply, we put on everyone else’s mask before our own.

The people pleasers in us believe that we should take care of everyone before we take care of us.

And it’s harmful on all sides.

Giving from a cup that clearly isn’t full means what you give isn’t that helpful.

And because this is the default of 99% of founders, no one is getting what they want.

👇 The simple fix 👇

Reverse it.

Start with you. Get to them.

It’s what I teach all of my clients.

You fill your cup first.

Then, and only then, do you help others.

Because when you get this right, your cup overflows and you’ll have an abundance to give.

And, for the first time, it’ll actually help.

The person you were 2 years ago would commit a felony to be who you are right now.

We're all Chief Wanting Officers. And that's a good thing.

But let's make one thing clear.

Improving 1% everyday and getting 37X better a year from now doesn't actually look like a graph that only goes up and to the right.

It's peaks and valleys.

So, you're in a valley right now? Got it.

Let me be the first to say, "That sucks."

But can I help?

Because if you keep wishing you weren't in the valley, it's gonna last a long time.

Instead, welcome the valley, because they're always coming.

The way to make this fun, light, and worth it?

Focus on making the valley time as short as possible.

And the peak time as long as possible.

That's it.

That's the game.

Sending hugz 🤗

The crisis among high-achieving founders that no one’s talking about.

It’s the third coffee chat this week and it’s going the same way as the other two.

The founder…fidgeting, leaning forward, then back, then forward again.

Rubbing their head and touching their face.

Telling me about the stress. The fire.

And I say:

“I just want to say ‘I see you.’ You’re handling so much.”

And their shoulders relax. Their hands become calm.

Because they actually do feel seen.

I don’t want to sugarcoat it for you.

There is no secret.

No meditation, mindset, or breath work that’ll make this go away permanently.

It’ll always come back.

Because high-achievers don’t know how to slow down.

They have to be told.

And to believe it, they have to trust who’s telling it to them.

And to trust that person…they need to feel seen.

I am you. And you are me.

I see you.

You’re managing so much.

→ Breadwinner
→ Business leader
→ Potential chaser

It doesn’t go away. But it feels better when you’re not alone.

And I don’t care if I’m being repetitive.

This post isn’t for the algorithm.

It won’t get me clients.

F all that.

It’s only here to tell you…it’s not just you.

And that’s a good enough win to have today.

✊

This is the final permission slip you need.

Plans. Goals. Targets.

What if your imagination is limiting you from what you're truly meant for?

Maybe your imagination is undershooting your true potential.

I wasn’t there for my son’s first 2 years.

Physically in the room. Mentally on another planet.

Stress + isolation destroy us.

I can’t regret what happened, because it was a crucial part of who I am now.

But I mourn the moments I missed.

It’s a black hole I have to own.

I let…

→ Performance outweigh presence
→ Being successful outweigh being affectionate
→ Founder anxiety call the shots instead of putting it in a drawer

I could have controlled it. I just felt alone.

And when you feel alone, you don’t make good choices.

But I know better now.

Crossing the street this week, holding his hand, I thought about this.

And I said:

“You know what? You’re getting so big now. And someday you won’t want to hold my hand to cross the street anymore. And I’m thrilled for you for that. But I’m going to enjoy it while I’ve got it today.”

His 5-year-old mind had no idea how deep those words run in me. What they mean.

I hope you can enjoy your kids.

I hope you don’t feel alone.

I hope you can escape the black hole.

It may feel like you can’t survive the next business fire.

But you can. I know you can.

And we both know, business will always provide a new challenge.

The challenges aren’t going anywhere.

So it’s OK to put them in the drawer now and then.

Because those moments we miss with our kids. We don’t get them back.

It’s not about feeling guilty for what we’ve lost.

It’s about deciding to do it differently from now on.

And I know you’ve got it in you.

-C

I’m having a lot of ‘die with zero’ thoughts.

Sitting here, with my wife, trying a lavender cold brew (not bad but bougie as hell).

She’s up for a promotion. I’m here looking back on how successful of a year it’s been.

And I think…

I don’t need it.

As someone who was incredibly scarce for a long time, I’m now making more than ever.

And I have more to make.

Old me, what little money I did earn would get spent on escape:

→ The newest video game
→ Cheap thrills
→ Alcohol

Now, I don’t care about any of that.

But I’m spending plenty…

→ Upskilling
→ Mentorship
→ Hiring experts

The master plan…

→ Get paid to exist
→ Become debt free
→ Donate 60¢ of every dollar anonymously

And when FU money happens…

→ An Audi A7
→ Property in Scotland

No escape required.

Could care less about possessions.

Just want to nail this ‘living life’ thing the best I can.

But saving it all for the feeling of safety…it’s so far away from my mind.

Safety is retractive thinking for me.

Belief. Risk. Evidence. Improvement.

That’s my plan.

Happy Sunday.

P.S. If you’re on earth to treat money as a tool instead of worship its existence…

I’m kicking off a holiday offer in 24 hours to help you make a lot more and help a ton of people.

Big value. Low price. Sending it to my email list if you don’t want to miss it: colbywegter[dot]com

My stomach’s been churning lately.

People I’ve known over half my life are still in their 18-year-old situation.

And I very nearly got stuck there, too.

The simple truth?

Permission is pointless.

Others are telling you to go for it right now.

But you won’t listen.

That’s because the only permission you need is from yourself.

You’re not lazy.
You’re not stupid.
You’re not behind.

You’re waiting for permission.

You want upward movement? Take a forward step.

Your future is drastically improved from being willing to do a 180 on your current life (the one you’ve been stuck in since childhood) and to look incredibly stupid for 90 days.

90 days.

That’s all it takes.

To turn fear and stagnation into evidence and proof…

—That you had it in you all along
—That you never needed someone’s permission
—That the scary thing is the worthwhile thing

And if you don’t have a f**king clue what the forward step looks like, drop your heart and soul into The Big Idea Vault.

The 180 has never been more accessible.

Grab it here: https://lnkd.in/eSiVg86N

I don’t manage time. I curate it. Here’s how:

[my 3-year system]

Since 2023, I’ve run my calendar like a top 1% operator.

If you want to curate your time instead of react all the time…

It takes 3 minutes to implement.

STEAL AWAY

👉 The Calendar Curation System

Your current calendar is all one color, right?

How do you know where the leverage is when…

→ Lunch
→ Sales meetings
→ Internal meetings
→ Doctor’s appointments

all look the same?

You don’t.

You curate time after you know where the leverage is.

Here’s how you do that:

[1] Open an event in your calendar

[2] Click tags

[3] Add the following:

→ Blue = meetings
→ Red = tasks
→ Green = personal
→ Yellow = needle movers

[4] Go back the last two weeks and assign a new tag

[It’ll look like the image below 👇]

See what I mean?

You know where the leverage is.

Now you can start doing something about it.

100+ founders are using this every day.

If you want more time systems that give me 20+ hours of flow per week, comment “TIME” and I’ll send you my Quick Time Buys checklist.

Free. Not gatekept. Effective AF.

Doesn’t it suck to be a babysitter?

If you double check your team’s work…read this:

High-achieving founders are in my inbox a lot lately.

The transition from $20K/mo to $50K/mo plus means hiring more people.

It’s a very individual and personality-driven game.

This’ll help you if you’re about to hire or you’re a glorified babysitter with your current people.

The one line you need to actually get the best out of them…

Presume they could care less about your company.

The company’s goals aren’t their goals.

Elbow grease and “can do” attitude don’t come from a company mission statement.

They come from making it clear that the employee’s gets what they want.

The way I got the best out of my staff wasn’t shoving our ideology down their throats.

It was asking them what their personal goals were.

If you don’t know these, no wonder you’re double checking their work.

STEP 1: Know them

How? Ask.

Then, interweave them into your company’s plan.

So you can both win, and you’re not a babysitter to someone who doesn’t care.

People care about themselves, not the company.

Use that knowledge and everybody will hit their goals.

P.S. To solve this, I didn’t do anything fancy. Just a simple Canva template I called ‘The Employee Roadmap’ that kept me from being a babysitter.

👉 Comment ‘ER’ if you want it.

...
[This dude's goals? To wrestle ninja-style every night.]

You’ll be out of the day-to-day by Christmas if you do this.

And it’s the opposite of how you’ve been told to do it.

THE DREAM:

Only work “on” the business instead of “in” it.

Yet, how you’re supposed to do it is more complex than quantum mechanics.

Let’s keep it simple, and actually get you out of the day-to-day by next Christmas.

WHAT THEY TELL YOU: Hire
WHAT I’M SAYING: Reduce

→ Start with your offer. I guarantee there are unneeded deliverables.
→ Funnels. One high-performer outweighs five average ones. Go all in.
→ People. Several of my clients have cut their teams in half AND made more cash.

WHAT THEY TELL YOU: Create SOPs
WHAT I’M SAYING: Loom to staff

→ When you do a task, record it with Loom.
→ Send the recording to an employee.
→ They create the SOP, not you.

WHAT THEY TELL YOU: Delegate
WHAT I’M SAYING: Timers

→ Delegating isn’t a magic pill. It’s a skill. And it’s not the real problem.
→ The real problem? You take all day to do client work.
→ Humans conform to the constraints we give ourselves.
→ That all day work will take 2 hours if you set a timer. Trust me.

HOW I WENT FROM 70 HOURS/WK TO 8 HOURS/WK

These steps plus:

[1] Employee roadmaps
[2] Zone of Genius mapping

👆 These are the bonuses I’m offering anyone who grabs “3 clients by Christmas.”

If you want 3 clients by this Christmas and out of the day-to-day by next Christmas…

The offer closes in 24 hours.

Email me if you want to learn more 👉 colby@colbywegter.com

10x’ing doesn’t start with a funnel

Or an automation. Or AI.

It starts with one word:

OBSESSION

It’s an elusive thing but when you’ve got it, you move.

You 10X easily because there is no other way.

Chances are you haven’t found it yet.

Here’s what you do [one choice]:

When you don’t have it, you’re self-talk looks like this:

→ I’m behind.
→ Shouldn’t I have it figured out?
→ Why is this harder than I thought?

All that is is lamenting your current situation.

Instead, tell yourself…

“I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

This one sentence is the mindset shift.

You’ll no longer worry about your current spot, because you’re supposed to be there.

Therefore, you don’t think about it at all.

All you’ll think about after this choice?

“Where am I headed?”

That’s positive. That’s a momentum creator.

It’s how I went from feeling behind all the time to on the path of getting everything I want in under a year.

I could think…If only I would have made this choice sooner.

But that throws us right back into the negative camp.

Nah, dog.

I’m right where I’m supposed to be and so are you.

Where are you headed?

P.S. Shoutout to AC clients who keep moving forward. Sealing $40K+ in cash this last week. [IMAGE]

The clock says 3:27 AM and your heart’s beating fast again.

It wasn’t supposed to feel this way.

→ the racing thoughts
→ the feeling you got lucky
→ the worry you’ll be exposed
→ one decision away from it all crashing down

Your success wasn’t luck.
Divine intervention.
Or someone else’s work that got you here.

It was by design.

The problem?

When you scale from early stage to growth stage…

Your identity has to shift.

Alone, you don’t have enough equipment to level up.

You’re not an imposter.

You are just playing a higher-level game, and the rules change.

Rule No. 1: Don’t f**k around going alone.

You’ve been selfless.

The growth stage eats selfless people for breakfast.

If you have any designs to get to $100K/mo or even $1M/mo…

And you’re planning on improving your life, not making it f**king awful…

You can’t play the early stage game.

The identity must shift from do it all to do one thing better than everyone.

Your first step changes everything.

The step?

Finding someone who’s done it before, and vibing with them 100%, so you can take daily actions towards hitting your potential and changing the world.

- - -

2022: Saw 3:27A five out of seven days a week.

2025: I do this instead 👉 autonomymodel[dot]com

You hit $50K per month and still feel like a beginner

Let’s play a game and see how you score.

On a scale of 1-10, how much do you resonate with these?

[1] I don’t have as much figured out as I want.
[2] I’m the focal point. If I chill we make less.
[3] If I carry on this same pace, I’ll burn out.

Your results:

<10 points = carry on
→ You’ve got belief
→ You’ve got great clients
→ You have clarity and a vision

10-20 points = get perspective
→ You’re more on your own than you need to be
→ A good networking group or community will help
→ Other people doing the same thing will open up some clarity

20+ points = get help
→ You’re on a one-way ticket to burn out.
→ You’re doing too much and are terrified of doing less.
→ The longer it’s not addressed, the deeper the hole gets.

Being a beginner is a feeling.

You’re transitioning from early to growth stage…and that’s a whole new ball game.

The prize isn’t bigger if you hit it by refusing help.

Your health, your relationships, the time it takes to do it…

Sacrificial lambs to sticking with what you know.

And being too afraid to look stupid or vulnerable.

When my business hit $50K/mo, I scored 30.

But I would have gotten to sub-10 real quick if I asked for help.

You’re one qualified person’s help away from doing so.

You get to the prize quicker and it feels better.

Rooting for you.

🍯

P.S. If you want to hear how my “this is how I die” story of burnout…join my newsletter and I’ll send it your way 👇

colbywegter.com

I help founders create the version of themselves who make scale feel simple.

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The Battle

Francisco Martinez

Colby Wegter

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The Battle

Francisco Martinez

Colby Wegter

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Francisco Martinez's LinkedIn Performance

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