Becoming a Small Business Owner in the Agency World, with Michelle Ashby

March 24, 2021

Episode 6:

Not all of us plan on becoming a small business owner in the agency world. Michelle Ashby’s story will help demystify the common challenges. Hear insights about:

  • Michelle’s journey of becoming a small business owner in marketing and public relations
  • How Michelle started her own communications agency
  • Why Michelle chose to buy out the media division from her employer instead of starting her own shop from scratch
  • What AGI means, and how you can use it to measure the health of your agency
  • The benefits of building a team of coaches and mentors to help you run your agency
  • What agency owners should be doing to grow

Becoming a Small Business Owner in Marketing and PR

Michelle Ashby is the founder and CEO of Tipping Point Communications, an award-winning data-driven marketing firm dedicated to connecting businesses with their audiences. With twenty-five years of marketing and public relations experience, she is committed to demystifying the ever-evolving changes and emerging communications trends that clients struggle to keep up with. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Michelle joins us to share her story. She explains how she overcame the common challenges of becoming a small business owner in marketing and public relations.

Tipping Point Communications

Before becoming a small business owner, Michelle started her agency career in print media. She quickly expanded her reach into every corner of the industry. After stints with a newspaper and various rock radio stations, Michelle landed in the television side of the business. This was the final piece of the puzzle, completing a full-spectrum of media experience that gave her an opportunity to split off and run the media department for an ad agency. Within two years of serving as a department head, Michelle purchased the media division of her agency and built it into the entity now known as Tipping Point Communications.

Build Your Tribe

When Michelle purchased the media division, she started with a staff and a handful of clients instead of starting from scratch. This was a sound strategic decision because of her expertise, but she had never anticipated becoming a small business owner. Michelle had to learn quickly and navigate many new hurdles. This is where she began to understand the value of building a tribe and surrounding herself with people who could help her excel. She currently works with Drew McLellan as an Industry Coach, Tom Merkel as a business coach, and myself as a tax consultant. You are never in this alone, and working with experts in fields that you do not have time to focus on will free up your time for revenue-generating activities.

Becoming a Small Business Owner

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About Michelle Ashby:

Michelle Ashby is the founder and CEO of Tipping Point Communications, an award-winning data-driven marketing firm dedicated to connecting businesses with their audiences.

Michelle has over 25 years of online and offline media experience, including content marketing and public relations.

She is committed to demystifying the ever-evolving changes and emerging communications trends that clients struggle to keep up with.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio University for Advertising Management and Journalism. After 15 years on the media publisher side, Michelle moved into the agency world. Her passion for the industry propelled her desire to create Tipping Point Communications. Tipping Point is a New York State certified WBE and member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council with locations in Rochester and Buffalo, New York and a remote workforce across the East Coast.

Michelle was recognized for outstanding community service and leadership by the Rochester Business Journal as a “Forty Under 40” in 2006 and as Business Person of the Year in 2014. Tipping Point received the “Ethie Award” in 2016 for their commitment to ethics in business. She serves on the board of directors of the Construction Exchange in Buffalo, the CEL Alumni Association for the University of Buffalo, St. Ann’s Community, and is on the advisory board for the Roland Williams Champion Academy and marketing committee for the Buffalo chapter of Habitat for Humanity. She has two active sons who are the light and loves of her life.

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