James Robert Lay almost destroyed his marriage because he was working too much and stressing out everyone around him.

His marketing agency was like everyone else’s: doing anything for anyone.

Fast forward to today, he’s happily married, has four kids, has fewer employees, tight relationships with partner firms and a thriving business that’s helped 100s of banks and credit unions transform the way they do their marketing and sales.

How did he do it?

1. He focused on a vertical market: banks and credit unions.
2. He stopped trying to do everything in-house. (For example, he stopped building websites on the HubSpot Content Management System in-house and began outsourcing that to Joseph Jerome’s team at Brand Builder Solutions – who was also on this podcast. Joe has been telling me for months that I would love James Robert’s approach. He was right.)
3. Really dug into how banks and credit unions market and sell now.
4. Built out training, consulting and services that match what banks need to take advantage of digital marketing at the pace of change they are comfortable with.
5. Built a community of clients who share their knowledge and experience.
6. He carves out time for himself to think, plan and build his own business.

Compared to his first years, James Robert says, “I am healthier. I am happier. I am calmer.”

As I’ve said a million times before, I’m a big advocate of marketing agencies (really, any service provider) focusing on a vertical market. Unfortunately, very few really commit to a market. Some dabble. But, dabbling doesn’t produce the type of results James Robert Lay has – for himself and his clients.

For anyone that’s looking for some inspiration, James Robert Lay shared the exact steps he took to build his firm, the Digital Growth Institute into a small, but very successful niche training, consulting and services firm. He’s also an excellent communicator and shared a bunch of frameworks that will help you communicate too.

Hear James’ full story on the latest episode of Agency Spotlight on the Ground Up podcast.

Need more inspiration? Here are 31 more agencies who have benefited by picking a niche market.