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About the Guest: Andy Seeley

Andy is the CEO and co-founder of Creatively Disruptive—a “revenue growth agency” that helps small businesses scale sustainably. His background is as varied as it is inspiring: from rugby coach to pizza delivery driver to sales manager at CarMax, to eventually buying and selling his own businesses. Today, he helps over 110 small businesses reach profitability through consulting, marketing, and strategic advisory. With clients ranging from gymnastics gyms to local banks and contractors, Andy’s team becomes the trusted growth partner business owners call when they're staring at the ceiling at 3am.

Summary:

In this episode of How2Exit, host Ronald Skelton sits down with Andy Seeley, CEO and co-founder of Creatively Disruptive—a marketing firm built with the heart of a small business owner in mind. From his humble beginnings delivering pizza and coaching rugby, Andy takes us on a journey through his first business acquisition, the painful lessons of the Great Recession, and the creation of a marketing agency dedicated to not just ads, but sustained profit and legacy-minded growth.

This conversation isn’t just about marketing—it’s a playbook for anyone looking to grow a business that can be sold, scaled, or succeeded. Whether you’re looking for marketing advice, trying to build a business that isn’t just a glorified job, or prepping for an eventual exit, Andy brings real-world wisdom, tactical insight, and a lot of heart.

Key Takeaways:

1. Build your business like you’re going to sell it—even if you don’t.
   Creating a business with an exit mindset forces smarter systems, better financial tracking, and a more independent team.

2. Know your numbers. Track your metrics.
   Too many small business owners fly blind. Understanding lead cost, client lifetime value, and profitability changes everything.

3. Profit beats revenue—every time.
   “Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity.” Andy’s agency prioritizes actual business growth over hollow vanity metrics.

4. Most businesses aren’t failing—the owner’s systems are.
   Drawing from the “dog whisperer” analogy, Andy says it’s not the marketing or the platform—it’s usually the operator. And changing behavior is key.

5. Hire an agency that thinks like a partner, not a vendor.
   Look for agencies that consult on financials, profitability, and goals—not just ads.

6. AI is a business owner’s multiplier—but you still need a BS meter.
   AI can do wonders, but it takes wisdom to know when it’s wrong and when it’s working.

7. Build a team. Business is a team sport.
   Success doesn’t come from solopreneurship—it comes from surrounding yourself with mentors, consultants, and staff who elevate your game.

8. Don’t hand over your business systems. Own them.
   Even if you hire experts, Andy stresses that business owners must know enough to make smart decisions. Never fully abdicate responsibility.

Article:

“Your Business Is Not a Job—It’s an Asset: Andy Seeley’s Exit-Ready Growth Formula”

If you’re not building your business to sell it, you might be building yourself into a job you can never leave.
That’s the hard truth Andy Seeley brings to the How2Exit podcast. As the founder of Creatively Disruptive, Andy has helped over a hundred small businesses—mostly service-based, brick-and-mortar operations—understand one core principle: Profit isn’t a side effect. It’s the goal.

Andy doesn’t mince words. The first business he ever bought—a gymnastics gym with his wife—was sold in desperation, not profit. He had the opportunity to sell it for 3x the price before the Great Recession hit, but he fumbled. That pain baked itself into his DNA and became the bedrock of a mission: to never let small business owners suffer alone again.

Creatively Disruptive was born out of this desire to be the team you call when you’re staring at the ceiling at 3am wondering how you’ll make payroll. Andy’s company doesn’t just run Facebook ads. They help business owners wrestle with their own bad habits, dig into their financials, and realign around profitability. His advice is blunt: revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, and if you’re tracking clicks but not conversions, you’re doing it wrong.

Throughout the conversation, Ron and Andy talk tactics—from the dangers of paying $5K a month for static website maintenance to building 12-quarter plans to get businesses exit-ready. They explore the power of AI in building business systems but agree that nothing replaces wisdom and a solid “BS meter.”

Andy’s insight? Most business owners aren’t bad at marketing—they’re bad at delegating without understanding. “You don’t have to know how to rebuild an engine,” he says, “but you’d better know when your mechanic is full of it.”

This episode isn’t just about growth—it’s about empowerment. It’s a call to business owners to stop treating their company like a job and start treating it like the asset it could become. Because in three years, whether you’re ready or not, someone might come knocking. And when they do, the numbers will tell your story.

Make sure it’s a good one.

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