We broke down every dollar business owners spend on agencies, contractors, and marketing "experts." The numbers are brutal. But the solution will make you smile.
Pull up your marketing expenses for the last 12 months. Go ahead. I'll wait.
If you're like the average small business owner working with an agency or marketing contractor, here's roughly what you spent:
| Expense | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Agency retainer | $3,500-5,000 | $42,000-60,000 |
| Ad spend (managed by agency) | $1,500-3,000 | $18,000-36,000 |
| Agency ad spend markup (15-20%, hidden) | $225-600 | $2,700-7,200 |
| Setup / onboarding fees | — | $1,500-3,000 |
| Quarterly "strategy" sessions | $250-500 | $1,000-2,000 |
| Additional creative/design fees | $200-500 | $2,400-6,000 |
| TOTAL | $5,675-9,600 | $67,600-114,200 |
Look at that number at the bottom.
$67,600 to $114,200 per year.
Now answer honestly: did you get $67,600 to $114,200 worth of results?
Because here's what that money should have produced: a steady, predictable flow of qualified leads. A marketing machine that runs reliably and scales when you want it to. Complete clarity on what's working and what isn't.
Is that what you got?
Or did you get monthly reports full of metrics you don't understand, "brand awareness" you can't deposit in the bank, and a vague assurance that results are "trending in the right direction"?
The numbers don't lie. But your agency might.
The remedy is below.
Join the Waitlist — Stop the BleedingYour agency invoice shows a clean number. $3,500/month. Maybe $4,500. Looks straightforward. It's not.
Most agencies mark up your ad spend by 15-20%. Some go higher. It's buried in the contract language — something about "management fees" or "platform costs." You're paying $2,000/month in ads? You're probably actually paying $2,300-2,400. The agency pockets the difference.
Over a year, that's $3,600-4,800 you never see.
Those quarterly strategy sessions? The ones where they present a deck and tell you they're "refining the approach"? That's recycled work. The same presentation template they use for every client. Your business name swapped in. Maybe some new screenshots.
You're paying for a performance of expertise, not expertise itself.
This is the biggest cost, and it never shows up on any invoice.
When your agency runs campaigns that deliver okay results instead of great results — and you don't know enough to tell the difference — you're leaving money on the table every single day.
Let me show you what I mean.
Say your agency generates leads at $45 each. That sounds... fine? You don't really know. They tell you it's "competitive for your industry."
But what if, with proper optimization (the kind that takes 10 minutes a week but your agency doesn't bother with because they're managing 30 accounts), your cost per lead could be $22?
That's half.
On 100 leads per month, that's $2,300/month in wasted ad spend. That's $27,600 per year — on top of the retainer, on top of the markups, on top of everything else.
Every month of mediocre marketing is a month you're not growing at the rate you could be. Your competitors — the ones who are visible everywhere, the ones stealing your potential customers — are operating in the same market, with the same tools, going after the same people.
They're not smarter. They're not luckier. Their marketing is just better optimized.
What's a customer worth to you over their lifetime? $2,000? $5,000? $20,000?
Now multiply that by the number of customers you're not getting because your marketing is running at 50% efficiency instead of 90%.
That's the real cost. And it dwarfs the retainer.
What does it actually cost to run your own marketing once you know what you're doing?
| Expense | With an Agency | DIY (After Training) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | $3,500-5,000 | $0 |
| Ad management fee | 15-20% markup | $0 |
| Strategy sessions | $250-500/quarter | You own it |
| Landing page builds | $2,000-5,000 each | DIY in hours |
| Email campaigns | $500-1,500/month | Templates included |
| Annual total | $67,600-114,200 | $360-1,560 + one-time training |
| Expense (DIY Breakdown) | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend (you manage directly — no markup) | $1,500-3,000 | $18,000-36,000 |
| Email marketing platform (Mailchimp, etc.) | $30-80 | $360-960 |
| Landing page builder (free-tier tools) | $0-50 | $0-600 |
| Analytics tools (mostly free) | $0 | $0 |
| Your time (5-8 hrs/week at your hourly value) | Varies | Varies |
| Training program (one-time investment) | — | One-time |
| TOTAL (excl. ad spend) | $30-130 | $360-1,560 |
Read that again.
Your ongoing marketing infrastructure costs: $30-130/month.
Compare that to $5,675-9,600/month with an agency.
That's a difference of $5,545-9,470 per month.
That's $66,540-113,640 per year back in your pocket.
And here's the part that should make you sit up straight: the results are typically the same or better when you DIY.
Why? Three reasons:
1. Nobody cares about your business like you do. Your agency account manager handles 15-30 accounts. You handle one. Guess whose campaigns get more attention?
2. You move faster. See something working? You scale it today. Not after a call. Not after an approval chain. Not after a revision cycle. Today.
3. You make smarter decisions. You know your customers. You know your industry. You know what resonates and what falls flat. An agency is guessing at that — no matter how good their "discovery process" is.
The question is whether you're ready to act on it.
Join the Waitlist — Founding Member PricingThese are realistic scenarios based on common small business situations. The numbers are representative, not promises — your results will depend on your market, your offer, and your execution. But the patterns are consistent across every industry I've worked in.
Plumber, roofer, landscaper, law firm, dental practice
Not terrible. But watch what happens when you do it yourself.
Online store, physical product, DTC brand
This is more common than you think. Agencies love to show you the ROAS number (2.5x! That's good!) while ignoring that their fees push you into the red.
Consultant, SaaS, accounting firm, IT services
I'll be transparent about what this program is and what it costs.
This is a comprehensive training system built by an agency owner — me, Nate Eckford — that teaches business owners to run their own marketing using the exact same strategies, frameworks, and tools my agency uses for clients paying $3,000-5,000/month.
The program will be a one-time investment. Not a monthly subscription. Not a retainer. You pay once, you get the knowledge forever.
I haven't announced final pricing yet. But I'll tell you this:
It will cost less than one month of your current agency retainer.
Read that again.
A one-time investment that's less than what you pay your agency for 30 days of work.
And that investment pays for itself in the first month you stop paying the retainer. Then it keeps paying you — month after month, year after year — in savings, better results, and faster growth.
| Metric | Conservative | Moderate |
|---|---|---|
| Agency retainer saved (Year 1) | $36,000 | $60,000 |
| Improved campaign performance | $12,000 | $36,000 |
| Total first-year value | $48,000 | $96,000 |
| Training investment | One-time | One-time |
| ROI on training | Massive | Absurd |
I don't know of another investment in your business that returns this much, this fast, with this little risk.
Returns that compound every year you're in business.
Join the Waitlist — Lock In Founding PricingHere's what the program covers, and the dollar value each module replaces.
Replaces: $2,000-5,000 "brand strategy" engagement. How to define your market position so your ads actually resonate. The messaging framework that makes your ideal customer think "this is for me." Why most marketing fails before a single dollar is spent (and how to fix it in an afternoon).
Replaces: $1,500-3,000/month of your agency retainer. Campaign setup from scratch — step by step, click by click. The budget allocation method that eliminates waste and finds winners fast. The "Ugly Ad" framework — why raw, simple ads outperform polished creative. How to read your metrics and know in 30 seconds if a campaign is working.
Replaces: $1,000-2,500/month of your agency retainer. Search campaigns that capture people actively looking for what you sell. Keyword strategy that focuses budget on high-intent terms. The quality score hack that lowers your cost per click without reducing volume. When Google beats Meta, when Meta beats Google, and when to run both.
Replaces: $2,000-5,000 per page from a web agency. Build high-converting landing pages in an afternoon using free tools. The page structure that converts at 15-30% (while most agency pages convert at 2-5%). Copy templates you fill in — no writing talent required. Mobile optimization that captures the 70%+ of traffic from phones.
Replaces: $500-1,500/month from a marketing contractor. The 5-email sequence that turns cold leads into paying customers. Automated flows that sell while you sleep — literally set and forget. Subject lines that get 35-50% open rates (industry average is 18%).
Replaces: $500-1,000/month "reporting" line item. The 20-minute tracking setup that replaces a 12-page agency report. The 3 numbers that actually matter (and the 44 that don't). The "Sunday Dashboard Check" — 10 minutes once a week that keeps everything on track.
Replaces: $1,000-3,000/month from a content agency. The 2-3 hour/week content plan that actually drives business results. Why you don't need to post every day (and what to do instead). Repurposing one piece of content into 5 formats without extra work.
Replaces: $0 — no agency will ever teach you this. When it makes sense to hire help (and when it doesn't). How to evaluate an agency or freelancer in 15 minutes. The management system that keeps hired help accountable. Red flags that mean you should fire them immediately.
Plug in your current marketing spend and see how fast this training pays for itself.
This program is built by Nate Eckford — a marketing consultant who's spent over a decade working inside agencies and managing real campaigns with real budgets. Over $5 million in ad spend managed across dozens of industries.
Not a course creator who's never managed client money. Not an influencer who makes money teaching marketing but has never actually done marketing for businesses.
Someone who sits in the same chair you're sitting in, looking at the same platforms, managing real campaigns, every day.
The frameworks in this program aren't theoretical. They're the same ones being used right now for clients paying agency rates. You're getting the same playbook — minus the monthly invoice.
Data-driven responses to the most common concerns.
You don't need to be. The system is designed so you're watching 3 numbers, not 30. If you can compare two numbers and tell which is bigger, you can run this system. The tech side uses simple, user-friendly platforms — most of which you can learn in an afternoon.
The program teaches you the "First $1,000" approach. You start with small, controlled tests. $10-20/day. You learn what works before you scale. The biggest mistake people make with ads isn't spending money — it's spending big money without testing small first. We eliminate that mistake entirely.
Your maximum downside in the testing phase is a few hundred dollars. Your upside — once you find what works — is unlimited.
I've managed campaigns across dozens of industries. Home services. Professional services. E-commerce. Health and wellness. Legal. Real estate. B2B SaaS. Financial services.
The specific tactics vary slightly. The principles are identical. You learn the principles, then apply them to your market. The program includes frameworks that work in any industry, plus guidance on adapting for your specific situation.
You can. People have been saying this about every type of training since YouTube existed. And yet:
You can also learn surgery from YouTube. Doesn't mean you should.
The value of this program isn't just the information — it's the system, the sequence, the templates, and the fact that it's built by someone who manages real money for real businesses every single day.
Time is money. How many months of YouTube rabbit holes can you afford before you need actual results?
Over the next 12 months, you're going to spend money on marketing one way or another. The question is how.
Control over your marketing: None
Understanding of what's working: Minimal
Ability to scale or pivot quickly: Zero
Control over your marketing: Complete
Understanding of what's working: Total
Ability to scale or pivot quickly: Instant
The difference: $61,240-175,640 in Year 1 alone.
And it compounds. Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 — the savings stack up while your skills keep getting sharper. The training pays for itself over and over and over again.
There are very few decisions in business with math this clear.
This is one of them.
The math has never been this clear. Join the waitlist for founding member access.
Founding members get:
No cost. No commitment. Just first-in-line access and founding member pricing.
P.S. — Here's one more number to think about. If you stay with your current marketing setup for one more year, and the results stay the same (they will), you'll spend another $60,000-100,000 on something that isn't growing your business the way it should. A year from now, you'll wish you'd made this decision today. The waitlist is free. The risk is zero. The upside is six figures. Do the math.