How to defy the odds in a vertical downturn
Corey Quinn
Founder, Deep Specialization™
How do you keep serving your vertical when it goes into freefall? Nicole Mahoney doubled down on travel and tourism during COVID, emerging with 70% year-over-year growth.
How do you keep serving your vertical when it goes into freefall?
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Today’s guest not only overcame the pandemic, but emerged driving 70% year-over-year growth. Nicole Mahoney, the Founder of Break The Ice Media, tackled COVID-related economic challenges by doubling down on her focus vertical: the travel and tourism industry.
I sit down with Nicole to discuss her journey of transforming a generalist shop into a vertical specialist and how her podcast, Destination on the Left, played a pivotal role in getting her unique point of view on the industry out to the market.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation with insights and ideas you can apply to grow your verticalized business and provide true value to your niche.
We cover in this episode:
What Nicole’s learned on niching down in her 15 years in business.
Why Nicole chose travel and tourism as her niche.
How to attract and recognize right-fit clients.
Agency resources she turned to, and what to do if you’re struggling with scaling.
Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders:
Don’t dilute your offering by serving too many industries.
Follow your natural passion when verticalizing.
Identify your ideal client budget that grows your agency without swallowing it.
Serve your vertical with a deeper purpose than just business.
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Best,
CQ
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Frequently Asked Questions
How did Nicole Mahoney's agency achieve 70% year-over-year growth despite the pandemic hitting travel and tourism hard?
By doubling down on the travel and tourism vertical rather than pulling back, discussed directly as a counterintuitive but ultimately successful response to the industry's pandemic-related freefall.
Why did Nicole Mahoney choose travel and tourism as her specific niche?
A decision discussed directly in the episode, reflecting genuine passion and fit with the industry rather than a purely opportunistic choice, a factor she credits as important to sustaining specialization long-term.
What role did Nicole Mahoney's podcast, Destination on the Left, play in her agency's growth?
A pivotal one, getting her unique point of view on the travel and tourism industry out to the market, building visibility and authority within the vertical beyond what direct client work alone would achieve.
How does Nicole Mahoney recommend identifying the right client budget for a growing agency?
By finding an ideal client budget that grows the agency without swallowing it, a balance discussed as important for sustainable growth rather than taking on clients whose scope overwhelms the agency's capacity.
Why does Nicole Mahoney emphasize serving a vertical with a deeper purpose than just business?
Because a genuine sense of purpose beyond transactional service delivery sustains long-term commitment to a vertical, especially valuable during difficult periods like the pandemic when travel and tourism was hit particularly hard.
About Corey Quinn
Founder, Deep Specialization™
Corey helps founder-led agencies scale through Deep Specialization™ and programmatic M&A. Former CMO of Scorpion ($20M to $200M). Author of "Anyone, Not Everyone."
