Amanda Walls, Founder and Director of Cedarwood Digital, a Manchester-based agency specialising in SEO, paid media, and digital PR and international speaker sits down with Richard Hill to share her agency journey.

Amanda gives an honest and frank account into the journey of launching Cedarwood as a solo venture nine years ago to growing it into an award-winning team with impressive client retention and a thriving agency culture.

You’ll hear Amanda’s insights on why specialising beats trying to be everything to everyone, her go-to strategies for scaling boutique agencies without losing your soul and the real frameworks that help keep both clients and staff happy.

Plus, Amanda opens up about the challenges of managing growth, building a standout agency brand and her approach to handling client relationships, even when things go wrong.

Whether you’re building your own agency, leading a team or seeking inspiration from those who’ve been there, this conversation is packed with real-world advice you won’t want to miss.

Listen now!

Topics Covered

1:39 - Journey of Cedarwood Digital

5:14 - Investing in your people and helping them do their best work

6:30 - Building a buzz around your brand

8:12 - The 6month appraisal process

11:46 - Getting speaking gigs

16:15 - Retention starts at acquisition

20:50 - Why Amanda doesn’t ask for client referrals

23:50 - Client challenges

29:20 - Tools to run the agency

34: 22 - 3 years until they won one award and how they finally secured their first one

45:24 - The next 6 months for Cedarwood Digital

48:08 - Book recommendation