In this episode of Retained Trust, host Karl Hughes speaks with Joey de Wit, founder of AgenCFO, a fractional CFO service specializing in helping agencies master their finances. Joey shares his journey from corporate finance to entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of financial forecasting, pricing strategies, and sustainable agency growth. They discuss the challenges of scaling service-based businesses, how to escape the feast-and-famine cycle, and why many agency owners underinvest in growth. Joey explains how proper financial planning can give agency owners control over their profitability, allowing them to reinvest wisely and build businesses that are financially resilient. If you're an agency owner looking to scale profitably, raise prices, and improve financial strategy, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.

Key Points From This Episode:

[00:00:30] Introduction to Joey de Wit and AgenCFO

[00:01:03] The role of a fractional CFO in agency growth

[00:03:15] What size agencies benefit most from CFO services

[00:06:03] The common financial mistake agency owners make

[00:08:39] The importance of financial planning and budgeting

[00:10:47] How agencies can forecast revenue more accurately

[00:15:24] Growth is expensive—why underinvestment is common

[00:16:41] The challenge of scaling agencies and negative economies of scale

[00:20:00] Pricing strategies: Why raising prices can be the best growth lever

[00:23:04] Joey’s entrepreneurial journey from banking to agency finance

[00:31:58] Hiring for finance roles—analysts vs. CFOs

[00:38:51] Client acquisition: Twitter, referrals, and content marketing

[00:41:18] The challenge of balancing growth with service delivery

[00:45:03] The reality of entrepreneurship—why you’re never fully “off”

[00:50:06] Book recommendations for agency owners and entrepreneurs

[00:52:54] Where Joey sees Agent CFO in the next year

Links:

Joey de Wit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeydewit/
Joey de Wit on X: https://x.com/joeydewit
AgenCFO: https://www.agencfo.com/
Karl Hughes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karllhughes

Production and editing by The Podcast Consultant: https://thepodcastconsultant.com

EP.18 – Profitability & Planning: Joey de Wit on Smarter Agency Finances