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The Marketer's Exit

TMT Network

Welcome to The Marketer’s Exit: Your Front-Row Seat to Going Solo

Ever wondered what life looks like beyond the 9-to-5? The Marketer’s Exit is the podcast for marketers curious about freelancing, side hustles, and solo entrepreneurship.

Hosted by Tas Bober (former in-house) and Tim Davidson (former agency), we’re pulling back the curtain on the reality of going solo. We share the stuff no one puts in their LinkedIn posts—the smooth parts, the scary parts, and the "group chat only" secrets.

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August 19 · 51 min
LinkedIn Brand Deals Part 2: Pricing, Packages, and Paid Usage Rights (Ep. 28)
If you do not know what to charge for a sponsored LinkedIn post, this episode gives you a starting point and walks you through an actual brand partnership⁠ deck Tas sends to every brand that's resulted in $100k+ in brand deals. This is part 2 of the brand deals series, make sure to check out the others. Tas' Brand partnership Timestamp: 0:00 – Intro 1:02 – Starting out: letting the brand set the rate versus setting your own floor 3:46 – Tim's $1,000 minimum, the three-post bundle, and how he frames it as a discount 7:33 – How to use your consulting hourly rate as a filter for brand deal decisions 14:24 – Tas's full deck walkthrough: philosophy framing, social proof, and format options 20:35 – Stats from brand deals 25:17 – Starter, core, and flagship package tiers explained with real examples 1:00:41 – What to charge on top of the post: usage rights, thought leader ads, and resource hub listings #LinkedInMarketing #BrandPartnerships #FreelanceMarketing Links: Tim Davidson – linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – linkedin.com/in/tasbober The Marketer's Exit – themarketersexit.com
August 12 · 32 min
Making $161K in Brand Partnerships from Posting on LinkedIn. Part 1/3 (Ep.27)
Brand partnerships on LinkedIn are not just for people with massive followings. Tas and Tim started landing them before they were big, and together they have made $161,000 from posts alone. This episode is the playbook, including pricing, pitching, the three-post rule, and small talk that turned into a two-year deal. Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro 0:56 – Why this episode exists and what the $161K number includes 3:22 – Tim's first brand deal: UserGems, three months, $2,500 total 7:12 – The three-post rule and the slot machine logic behind it 11:03 – The Typeform post that went viral 13:34 – How Tas turned a landing page audit into a paid brand content format 17:23 – Four ways to get brand deals and which ones actually work 21:30 – Tas’s Unbounce partnership and how it started in a Riverside waiting room 24:49 – How to price your self 26:22 – What Tim does when a sponsored post underperforms 27:23 – Tas's highest single-post rate and what happened after it went live This is part 1 of a 3 part series, stay tuned for the rest! #LinkedInMarketing #FreelanceMarketing #BrandPartnerships Links: Tim Davidson – linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – linkedin.com/in/tasbober The Marketer's Exit – themarketersexit.com
July 29 · 57 min
Nikhil Hunshikatti on Building a Fractional CMO Practice the Right Way (Ep. 26)
Nikhil Hunshikatti ran a billion-dollar consumer revenue portfolio at Gannett before going fractional. He did not plan to go fractional. He tried three in-house leadership roles first, lost all three to internal candidates, and only then decided to hang his own shingle. Three years in, he has built a model that works, but not without losing 50% of his revenue in one quarter and spending 18 months too heads-down to do any pipeline work. 0:00 – Intro 1:50 – Background: USA Today, Gannett, and running a billion-dollar consumer revenue portfolio 3:52 – The moment that made him leave and why survival mode was the breaking point 5:12 – Going fractional by accident after three failed in-house leadership bids 8:26 – How the first client came in and why the Pro Football Hall of Fame made sense 12:11 – How fractional CMO engagements are structured and why it is different from a retainer 17:08 – The five Ps framework he runs through in every immersion workshop 23:04 – Sitting at the C-suite table as the only fractional and what that dynamic actually looks like 34:12 – Year one: three clients, full capacity, zero pipeline work, and what he would do differently 43:37 – Losing 50% of revenue at once and how he is navigating a slow market right now 44:51 – His advice for fractional CMOs who cannot find their first client #FreelanceMarketing #FractionalCMO #ConsultingLife Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober The Marketer's Exit – https://themarketersexit.com Guest: Nikhil Hunshikatti https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhunshikatti/
July 21 · 1 hr 12 min
How Ademola Adelakun went from Magician to building 14 Different Businesses (Ep. 25)
Ademola Adelakun is a former professional magician who has started 14 businesses, appeared on Canada's version of Shark Tank completely blindsided, survived 93 days with zero revenue without telling his fiancée, and now runs A2 Media, a conversion-focused video agency doing roughly a million Canadian dollars a year. This episode is the full story. Timestamps 0:00 – Intro 1:28 – Former magician, 14 businesses, now running a media company 3:19 – University of Waterloo, the entrepreneurship culture, and the first co-founder 7:11 – Going on Dragon's Den and getting blindsided on stage 9:43 – The 14 businesses: dog beds, cookies, mining Bluetooth vests, and more 17:08 – Why he went in-house and how he used corporate jobs as capital to fund his next move 20:44 – Why video and how Vidyard shaped everything 36:48 – How A2 Media works, who they serve, and why they never hold a camera 43:17 – The partner model and how half his revenue comes from referrals 47:31 – Average deal size, retainer structure, and the revenue numbers year over year 49:35 – The 93-day cash crisis and what finally made him ask for help 1:01:46 – Most overrated advice for going out on your own 1:03:12 – What he would tell anyone thinking about making the leap #FreelanceMarketing #SoloFounder #ConsultingLife Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober The Marketer's Exit – https://themarketersexit.com Connect with the Guest: Ademola Adelakun https://www.linkedin.com/in/ademola-adelakun/
July 14 · 54 min
7 Proven Ways to Get Clients Before You Quit Your Job (Ep. 24)
Nobody tells you how to build a client list while you are still employed. The advice always starts after you have already handed in your notice. This episode fills that gap with seven specific plays, including ones that your company might actually sign off on. We cover: 1:13 – The situation that prompted this episode and why it is more common than people admit 7:14 – Creating content without getting flagged, including the anonymous account play 22:27 – Networking, the DM script, and why your past coworkers are your fastest path 31:16 – Industry events your company is already paying for 33:23 – The free mentorship play and why charging for it is the wrong move 38:30 – How to use your in-house title in communities before you no longer have it 47:22 – Brand deals while employed and how influencer agencies work in your favor 49:31 – Setting up referral triggers so other people are incentivized to send you business 51:54 – The full 7-step summary #FreelanceMarketing #SoloConsultant #B2BMarketing Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ The Marketer's Exit – ⁠https://themarketersexit.com
#23
July 7 · 1 hr 4 min
250k Followers, Brianna Doe Built an Agency Without Ever Selling (Ep. 23)
Brianna Doe has 250K followers on LinkedIn and almost never posts about her influencer marketing agency. She built Verbatim, a team of eight, and a client roster that includes multi-seven-figure programs entirely off content about mental health, entrepreneurship, and being a woman of color figuring it out in public. This episode is the business side she rarely shares. We cover: • Why she hired a career coach to help her manage up and ended up mapping her corporate exit instead • Getting laid off two weeks before she planned to quit anyway • Starting full service, hating graphic design and blog posts, and niching to influencer marketing • Charging $1,500 a month for a client spending $45K and how pricing has evolved since • The accountability coach at $3K a month who mostly just texted her things she was going to do anyway • Why not trusting herself was the most expensive mistake she made early on • Checking payroll math at 4am even when the business is stable #FreelanceMarketing #InfluencerMarketing #SoloFounder Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ The Marketer's Exit – ⁠https://themarketersexit.com Connect with the Guest: Brianna Doe https://www.briannadoe.com/
June 30 · 1 hr 3 min
Andy Milligan on Going From $40K to $200K Without an In-House Background (Ep. 22)
Andy Milligan is 25, and built a WebFlow micro-agency to $200K in year two entirely on referrals and local relationships. He did not have a LinkedIn audience when he started. He did not have a safety net. He just kept showing up, and this episode is what that actually looked like from the inside. We cover: • Getting laid off but using that experience to get a client • Showing up to in-person referral networking groups every Tuesday at 7:30am for over a year • The person he said goodbye to on layoff day who became a client two years later, with that single project paying more than his entire time at the company • The first $2,000 project, the bad-fit client, the harsh Loom review, and refunding the whole thing • Posting 165 weekly podcast episodes and 439 YouTube videos, including monthly P&L breakdowns, without caring about view counts • What niching into WebFlow for healthcare actually changed about the business • His most overrated piece of advice for going solo: ""You can work whenever you want"" Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ The Marketer's Exit – ⁠https://themarketersexit.com⁠ Connect with the Guest: Andy Milligan https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/ #FreelancingLife #SoloFounder #ContentMarketing
June 23 · 46 min
From Teacher to Agency Owner. Brendan Hufford Explains How and Why He Went Solo (Ep. 21)
Brendan Hufford spent ten years as a teacher, became an assistant principal, looked up his salary and confirmed he was the lowest paid one in the state of Indiana, and decided enough was engough. He started creatinig content, going in-house and eventually started a solo consulting business that has been through genuinely scary moments he does not always talk about publicly. He talked about them here. We cover: • How teaching trained him to keep his head down and ask permission • The 100 Days of SEO project and how building in public before it was a cliche opened doors he was not expecting. • What it was like working under the best editor he had ever seen at Active Campaign • The goalpost problem and why his wife's math lesson was the thing that finally cut through it. • Moving from strategy-only to strategy plus production after realizing clients were not executing anything he gave them • What the CRM data actually shows about where his clients come from and which leads are the hardest to convert • The loneliness, the imposter syndrome running in both directions at once, and the goldfish memory that helps him forget the bad months faster than most people can Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ The Marketer's Exit – ⁠https://themarketersexit.com⁠ Connect with the Guest: Brendan Hufford https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanhufford/ #FreelanceMarketing #ContentMarketing #SoloConsultant
June 16 · 1 hr 9 min
How Solos can Scale their Time with Codex and Claude. (Ep. 20)
Tas and Tim pulled back the curtain on how they are actually using AI in their day-to-day businesses right now, including some use cases that made the other person immediately want to switch tools. This one is practical, specific, and aimed at solo consultants who are not AI developers and do not need 22 agents to get things done. We cover: • What MCPs are and how they let you pull data from multiple tools directly into your AI without exporting a single CSV • Tim's Fibbler MCP client dashboard that filters out renewals and expansions to show only the new business metrics clients actually care about • Tas's Codex plus Fathom plus Gmail workflow that turns a client call into a polished follow-up email in under 10 minutes • Why Tas says her email perfectionism was the biggest time sink in her business and how Codex solved it by reading all her past emails first • The moment Tas completed a full workday and still had 87% of her weekly Codex usage remaining on the $20 plan • Tim's airport border control line story and what building dashboards in a two-hour queue actually looks like • Why verifying AI outputs is where experience actually lives now, not in doing the analysis yourself • The Codex pet mascot that notifies you when a task needs approval without interrupting what you are working on • Why Tas has moved almost entirely to Codex while keeping Claude for mobile and content brainstorming Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ The Marketer's Exit – ⁠https://themarketersexit.com #AIMarketing #FreelanceLife #SoloConsultant
June 9 · 54 min
Episode 19: Four Signals You Should Consider Going Back In-House as a Solo
Going back in-house after going solo is one of the most loaded decisions in the freelance and consulting world, and one of the least talked about honestly. Tas walks through the four-signal framework she used on a real call with a friend who was weighing a tempting offer against a business that was already working. Then both Tas and Tim share what is actually new in their businesses right now, including updates that are genuinely useful for anyone running their own thing. We cover: • The four signals that tell you going back in-house might be the right call for your specific situation • Why comparing a solo income to an in-house salary is never as straightforward as the headline numbers suggest • The friend who woke up to 27 messages from a company before she had even said yes, and what Tas told her it really meant • Why the ego fear around doing the reverse exit is almost always worse than what people actually think of you • How to keep side clients even after taking an in-house role and when you have the leverage to make that part of the deal • Why Tas dropped her core website offer after months of beta projects that were stacking up stakeholders, dragging out timelines, and quietly killing her margins • The end-to-end campaign sprint she replaced it with, how the partner model works, and what it starts at • Tim's mortgage warning for any solo founder thinking about buying a house before they have two years of business tax returns A free plug for Eric Holland, a product marketer who did a voluntary exit with a real plan and built two ventures after leaving. Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠⁠https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠⁠ The Marketer's Exit – ⁠⁠https://themarketersexit.com⁠
#18
June 2 · 43 min
Episode 18: Are Solo Consultants Actually Safe From AI? We Get Into It.
Last year Tas watched her landing page business dip and started wondering if AI was quietly eating her niche. This year the leads came back, and almost every single one opened with the same line: "We tried to use AI for this and it was garbage." In this episode, Tas and Tim break down exactly why consultants are not getting replaced and what you should do if you are not so sure about your own situation. We cover: • Why Tim fed 370 LinkedIn posts into Claude and still rewrote almost everything it produced • What AI-generated landing pages actually look like when clients show them on discovery calls • The 3-layer framework for figuring out if you are actually at risk: can AI do it, can it do it well, and what is the cost of getting it wrong • How to answer the sales call question ""why can't I just use AI"" without panicking or going defensive • Why Tas' advice is to tell the prospect to go try AI first and come back • Tim's take on why this is actually the era of consultants, not the end of them • What the AI versus me comparison looks like as a website section or a sales call screen share • The intern analogy that explains why you should never stop checking AI's work • Why lowering your prices in response to AI pressure is the one thing you should never do Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 Tas Bober – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober
May 26 · 58 min
Episode 17: The First Year of Going Solo (Good, Bad, and Ugly) with Dom Odoguardi
Most people who have gone solo come on podcasts to tell you how their revenue is up 50%. Dom Odoguardi came on seven months in to tell you his pipeline is looking rough, he has lost four clients in a month, and he is still figuring out what he is actually selling. That is the episode. We cover: • Why Dom started with employee-generated content, realized almost nobody knew what that meant, and had to rethink the whole offer • The nest egg strategy he used to give himself six months of runway before jumping • How warm outbound actually works when you refuse to use sequences and just vibe it • The existential spiral that hit in December and what snapped him out of it • Why pricing too low got him clients he spent every day regretting • What his month-to-month revenue curve actually looks like, including the number • The margin reality of video work when you have to hire shooters and travel • Why he lost four clients in the same month he had his best month ever • The question he still cannot answer on camera because the client is still active Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41 ⁠Tas Bober – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ Connect with the Guest: Dom Odoguardi https://www.linkedin.com/in/odoguardi/ If you are in the messy middle of year one wondering if you are the only one going through it, this one is for you.
May 19 · 1 hr 4 min
Episode 16: From $4k Projects to $300k Deals with Tim Bradley
Tim Bradley spent 12 years as the first creative hire at a PR agency, growing to lead a team of 25 across every type of project, channel, and industry imaginable. Then he looked in the mirror and realized he was running a business for someone else's passive income. In this episode of The Marketer's Exit, he breaks down how he built Pennant Video Co. from scratch, including the exact DM strategy that kept him buried in client work before they even officially launched. We cover: • Why spending 12 years inside an agency was the best and worst preparation for going out on his own • The business partner model that gave him a financial and mental safety net from day one • How the video marketing trifecta framework came before the midfunnel positioning did • Why he hired a brand person and an ops person before he ever hired a creative • The DM strategy that generated months of work before the website even went live • How average deal size grew from $30K in 2024 to $55K in 2025 • The snail projects that taught him to trust his gut when everything in him said no • Why cold email outreach was a $12K mistake and what worked instead • What he misses about the old job and why he is still paying himself less than he used to Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ If you are inside an agency right now doing everything for someone else, this one is going to hit different.
May 12 · 52 min
Episode 15: The Marketer's Exit Playbook. How to Go Solo Without Blowing Up Your Life
Going solo does not have to mean quitting cold turkey and hoping for the best. In this episode, Tas and Tim walk through every step of what smart preparation actually looks like, from building a quiet client pipeline to figuring out your first offer to knowing when you actually have enough runway to jump. We cover: • The leverage framework that tells you how risky your specific situation really is • Why posting on LinkedIn is a long game and should not be your first move • How to find clients in communities without blowing your cover at your current job • The Trojan horse networking strategy that generates referrals without ever pitching • What your first sales deck needs to include and what it absolutely does not need • Why you are going to underprice yourself anyway and why that is actually fine early on • How to structure your first few engagements to create income stability before you leave • What happened when someone asked their employer to be their first consulting client • Why the safe approach can also be the reason you never actually go Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠
#14
May 5 · 44 min
Episode 14: From Free Shoots to $30K Deals. How Ding and Jake Built Event Shark
Most B2B events have speakers, sponsors, and a budget. What they almost never have is someone with a camera documenting any of it. Ding and Jake saw that gap and built a whole business around it. In this episode, they pull back the curtain on how Event Shark went from free shoots and $500 gigs to a full production company with eight employees, a new office in Austin, and deals ranging from $10K to $30K. We cover: • How a failed rap career and a LinkedIn parody video accidentally started the whole thing • Why logistics companies were their first real clients and what a blue ocean actually looks like • The moment they realized events were the offer worth building around • What custom scoping looks like when your deals range from one-day shoots to three-day conferences • Why inbound through personal brand has been their biggest growth lever • The cash flow scare that almost had them walking back office plans • What it actually looks like to scale from founder-led delivery to a team you trust • Solo vs. co-founder, the real answer from someone who has done both • The worst advice people give marketers who want to go out on their own Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ If you are thinking about going solo or building something with a partner, this one is worth the listen.
April 28 · 1 hr 20 min
Episode 13: From Burnout to $650k as a Solo with Kaylee Edmunson
You don't have to do everything right to build something that works. Kaylee Edmondson has no scheduling link on her website. She barely posts on LinkedIn. She has a conflict bot built in Claude because she's bad at hard conversations yet she's one of the most sought-after fractional Demeand Gen operators in B2B SaaS. This episode covers: - How she went from a 230K W2 to beating that number in the first four months solo - The audit-to-retainer pipeline that quietly became her best business development tool - Why she considers her exit strategy for every client before she even starts - How a portfolio model, two senior hires, and a hard cap at two clients each changed everything - The Perplexity million-dollar sweepstakes and what she actually did with it If you're early in your solo journey and feeling like you're doing it wrong, this is the episode to listen to. Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ 🎧 The Marketer's Exit is hosted by Tim Davidson and Tas Bober.
April 21 · 1 hr 3 min
Episode 12: The Virtual Assitant (VA) Playbook for Freelancers and Solo Consultants
Most people going solo think hiring means a full-time employee. It does not. In this episode, Tas and Tim get into everything they wish they knew before hiring their first virtual assistant, the good, the bad, and the stuff that took way too long to figure out. We cover: Why Tim started with a VA 2 months into his business and now has three Tas' first VA experience and why it took her too long to let go How to know when you actually need one versus when you are just excited about the idea What Tim's two full-time 40-hour-a-week VAs are actually doing every day Tas' version, the non-trustworthy list of tasks that require zero sensitive access The VA agency vs. going direct conversation and why the agency cut might shock you How to set up Last Pass so they never actually see your passwords The red flags that tell you it is time to move on before you waste more time Why the travel, reporting, and IRS call stories might be the most convincing arguments for hiring one. Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠⁠ If you have been doing everything yourself and quietly wondering whether a VA is worth it, this episode will help you figure that out.
April 15 · 52 min
Episode 11: Courses, Coaches and Communities: Are they worth it?
You just went out on your own and immediately someone's trying to sell you a course, a community, and a coach. Tim and Tas break down all three. What they bought, what they regret, and what actually moved the needle. • Tas spent $300 on courses including Justin Welsh and Ken Yarmosh. Tim spent zero. Both have opinions. • The Ship 30 for 30 cohort that cost $800 and taught nothing new • Why paid communities beat free ones every time • The Slack keyword filter trick that keeps community noise from eating your day • Why the final boss isn't a coach or a course. It's a group chat with three colleagues and peer Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠⁠
April 7 · 26 min
Episode 10: The Starting Tech Stack for Anyone Going Out on Their Own
Before you build anything, you're going to get distracted by tools. This episode is the shortcut. • Tim's $546 starter stack vs Tas' $2,800 one, and what the difference actually bought • The four non-negotiables when you're just starting out • Fathom, Slack, Canva: paid or skip? • Why Tas is paying 4x more than Tim for the exact same Google Suite plan • The business bank account mistake Tim made that his accountant still hasn't forgiven. Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠
#9
March 31 · 59 min
Episode 9: Avoiding Red Client Flags
You can't always avoid a bad client, but you can get a lot better at spotting them early. Tas and Tim go through every red flag, mid-engagement nightmare, and hard lesson from years of going solo. We cover: • Why the big logo client turned into Tas' biggest nightmare • How Tim almost walked away from a client that became one of his favorites • The personalities to watch for, Rushing Ralph, the Billionaire Bully, the Moody Truity • Setting expectations so clearly that you rarely have to enforce them • When to refund, when to hold firm, and when to just walk Connect with the hosts: Tim Davidson – ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41⁠⁠⁠ Tas Bober – ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasbober⁠ The right clients make your best work possible. This episode helps you find them.

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