Geek Powered Studios Case Study

“Our participation with ScaleTime has transformed our business…
We’ve had access to tools, workshops, and accountability partnerships which have all been instrumental in our success. But what makes ScaleTime truly different is that we are part of a community that is invested in helping each other grow.”

From Q3 2020 – Q3 2021

Increased average client profit margin by 459%, while also Reducing team workloads by an average of 29% per person

Geek Powered Studios had tried it all – from the buzzy business self-help books to seminars to mentorships and coaching. What they were left with were a lot of ideas, conflicting recommendations, and no clear path on how to sort through it all. Instead of being given generic advice, they needed someone to help them craft a plan based on their own unique situation and then turn it into an executable plan.

Client Story

After nearly 10 years in business, Geek Powered Studios had experienced a meteoric rise which included recognition as one of Austin’s 50 fastest growing companies and the receipt of the 2014 Torch Award from the Central Texas BBB. But what happens when an energetic startup grows too fast without solid processes to act as checks and balances along the way? Chaos. Turnover. Burnout. Inconsistent profitability.

There was never any question that the company had an insanely talented team that was all about doing great work. But as a company they couldn’t get out of their own way. They were stuck in a reactionary mode that kept them from growing in a purposeful, strategic, and scalable way. Because the team was always at (or over) capacity, simply signing new clients wasn’t a solution. New hires would be needed which would offset the new revenue, putting them right back at square one.

Geek Powered Studios was confident in their ability to help their clients level up, but needed help with their own game. They needed a way to tap into their own institutional knowledge, document it, codify it, and craft it into cohesive, consistent processes. ScaleTime was just the cheat code that they needed.

“Being able to reach out to the ScaleTime community in Slack has been an enormous resource. The information and insight from our tribe has been invaluable. When we are looking at new tools or run into challenges, the first place we go is to the Scale tribe. It’s also a great place to go to celebrate wins. I’ve never seen a community so dedicated to knowledge sharing.”

– Guillermo Ortiz | CEO of Geek Powered Studios

Scaling Up

& Geeking Out

We started with the ScaleMap which took a snapshot of Geek Powered Studios’ overall starting point based on self reported metrics. This in-depth assessment focused on 5 pillars to determine how each area of the agency was performing: Workflows, Tech Stack, Documents, Training, and Metrics. The goal was to make each one a complete and optimized system that could be easily delegated.

Their initial assessment in February 2020, clocked the team at 58%. They had some things in place, but a long way to go before they were playing at master level.

The Challenge

One of the biggest areas of opportunity was in the workflow process. Client requests were not being properly vetted so the team was working on projects that were out of scope, over budget and non-strategic. In Q3 of 2020, the agency had a workload that averaged 19 hours per client over the hours provided by their retainers. When multiplied out by their hourly rate this equated to over $200,000 in lost revenue in this one quarter alone.

With the help of ScaleTime, Geek Powered Studios undertook re-onboarding their entire client list. They had to reset expectations that work would be performed according to the retainers. But in order for this to work, they also had to completely change their internal process for scheduling work.

They started putting work under the microscope, and limited who was able to add to the calendar. They streamlined their workflows and focused on the specific tasks and projects that would move the needle and get results. And because it became one of their primary metrics, they got really good at staying within hours. They were able to reduce their workload by an average of 29% per person. Not only did their clients not suffer, but many of them reported their best years ever in 2021!

“There is always a new tool or gadget or software that promises to rock our world. But if your problems are process related, tech won’t solve them. After working with ScaleTime and fixing things from the ground up we realized we didn’t need all of the shiny new toys. Through a series of SAAS chops, we saved over $1,000 per month.”

– Guillermo Ortiz | CEO of GeekPowered Studios

The Results

Geek Powered Studios took their assessment again as a follow up. As of August 2021, the Geeks have leveled up their score to 83%!

Results Continued

The ScaleTime program is designed to free up time for agency owners so that they can focus on growth. This is exactly what Guillermo was looking to do. His long term goal for the company has been to be “coin operated” meaning a plug and play model that applies to people, systems, business areas, and client requests.

By helping Geek Powered Studios diagnose the bottlenecks and systematize their processes, ScaleTime was able to help the Geeks free up both team resources and Guillermo’s time. By having processes, templates, and checklists in place, the team has the benefit of knowing “WWGD” without needing to track him down or wait for a spot on his calendar because all they have to do is follow the process step by step. This has freed up Guillermo’s time while also creating opportunities for the team to be self-sufficient and truly shine. Collaboration has also increased as the team is more empowered to combine their knowledge and experience with the established processes to take initiative.

“We have a dedicated cohort that meets every week. The trust level is high, so we can really get into details when we are troubleshooting problems. But we also have weekly labs, monthly tinkertalks with guest speakers, and monthly one on ones. There is no shortage of support resources.”

– Shasta Erickson | Operations Manager

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Geek Powered Studios Case Study