Describe your business and your role within it.
I own Goodknight Agency, which provides operations and strategic support to content creators and small business owners.

How did you get into this line of business?
After Mountbatten, I went on to work for a few different ad agencies as a media buyer and worked my way up to managing an agency. In my roles, I applied what I had learned on how to apply entrepreneurial ideas to improving existing organizations. This allowed me to develop a skillset in how to implement processes for businesses to run more efficiently, which led me to launch my agency so I can support solopreneurs and small teams.

How did you go about setting it up and getting established?
I initially started it on the side of my full-time job. I took on one client to determine whether my offering was needed in the market. After attending a few networking events in the space and hearing that there was a demand for what I was offering, I decided to commit to scaling it full-time.

What else is in the pipeline?
Phase one of Goodknight Agency involved scaling our clients and offerings. We’re now moving on to phase two, which will focus on finding efficiencies and documenting our processes to offer them as a self-serve product. Phase two will also involve me adding contractors to my team to delegate work to.

What has been the proudest moment in your working life thus far?
My proudest moment has been my willingness to pivot my career to do this. I had built up a successful career in the media buying industry. When I made the jump, I was leaving a job running an ad agency. Doing this was a pretty big departure and a risk. Thankfully, it has been worth it!

What has been your biggest mistake/learning experience?
Certain things should be paid for immediately, and tax/accounting support is one of them. I tried to research and set everything up independently, but since every state and city has different requirements, it’s very easy to get wrong. I ultimately had to pay someone to redo the work I did on my own.

Who are your role models?
Jay Clouse – This is part role model, part proud moment. Jay has built an extremely successful business called Creator Science where he helps content creators monetize their work. Jay’s work is often referenced as some of the best in my industry and I recently added him to my client roster.

Jimmy Donaldson – AKA Mr. Beast. Jimmy’s business model fascinates me. The way he approaches the content he creates and is always topping the last thing he worked on is an inspiration.

Sara Blakley (Founder of Spanx) – I love that Sara took an everyday problem for many and turned them into a massive brand.

Any words of advice/wisdom would you impart to others thinking of setting up their own business?
There is no such thing as being fully ready to start a business. It is important to plan and test the market, but my ultimate recommendation is to just get started!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-killmer-knight/
goodknightagency.com
@goodknightops on social