What happens when you sell the agency you built, then buy one you didn't?
In this episode of the Agency Advantage Podcast, Brad Starnes sits down with Jono Long, CEO of Leads Near Me, to unpack 20 years as a Metro Atlanta youth pastor, a $300-a-month Facebook side hustle that paid the mortgage, and the decision to acquire a ten-year-old auto repair marketing firm instead of starting over.
Jono sold his church-niche agency in May 2025, then partnered to buy Leads Near Me that October. He walked in as CEO of a team he didn't hire and clients he didn't sell. The agency markets for 800-plus independent auto shops. He talks through splitting fulfillment off the phones, hiring marketing coaches, standing up pods, and why buying beats starting from scratch when the problems are fundamental and the business is already profitable.
In this conversation, Brad and Jono discuss:
Twenty years in youth ministry and the side hustle that became an agency
Why COVID doubled his book instead of wiping it out
Niching into restoration, then churches, and why church margins stayed thin
Selling, then buying: walking into a team and a book you didn't build
Getting specialists off the phones and installing marketing coaches
Pods, 800 shops, and making a large agency feel small
How to pick a niche by who you like serving, not a list
The bottleneck that is almost never a secret sauce
Timestamps:
[00:00] - Agency Advantage intro
[00:28] - Meet Jono Long, CEO of Leads Near Me
[02:07] - Twenty years as a Metro Atlanta youth pastor
[03:08] - The $300 Facebook side hustle that paid the mortgage
[05:12] - Last night in youth ministry, then COVID
[06:36] - Why he didn't lose a single client
[08:31] - Restoration, then churches
[15:50] - Selling the agency, then buying one
[18:24] - Walking into a team you didn't hire
[22:19] - Flat org chart, understaffed fulfillment, culture fear
[23:42] - Specialists off the phones, marketing coaches, pods
[26:51] - What he fixed first (and what he left as a premium)
[30:15] - How to pick a niche: like the people, not the list
[35:19] - Where Jono is the bottleneck (there is no secret sauce)
CONNECT WITH BRAD:
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/BradStarnesOfficial/
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bradstarnesofficial/
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradstarnesofficial/
CONNECT WITH JONO:
Leads Near Me → https://leadsnearme.com
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonolong
CONTACT:
TalentFuze → https://talentfuze.io
Book a call → http://bradstarnes.fyi/talentfuze/
#AgencyAdvantage #JonoLong #LeadsNearMe #AgencyAcquisition #AutoRepairMarketing #AgencyGrowth #NicheMarketing #MarketingAgency #AgencyOwner #Delegation
Are you an agency owner that is looking to scale through global talent? Connect with us at talentfuze.io or join our free Facebook group, The Agency Advantage: https://www.facebook.com/groups/youragencyadvantage/
Are you an agency owner that is looking to scale through global talent? Connect with us at talentfuze.io or join our free Facebook group, The Agency Advantage: https://www.facebook.com/groups/youragencyadvantage/