Jensen Savage, CEO of Savage Growth Partners, Shares Insights for the FoundHer Files
I’m Jensen, founder of Savage Growth Partners, and my journey has been far from straight lines or overnight wins. Over the years, the messes, the late-night brainstorms, and even the endless team Zoom calls have taught me more than any agency playbook ever could. Let’s peel back the curtain together - here are the unpredictable lessons no one tells you about scaling a service business, straight from someone who’s failed, pivoted, celebrated (and still regularly forgets to eat lunch).
Burn the Rulebook: Why I Started Savage Growth Partners (and Refused to Play Small)
You know that feeling when you've just had enough? That's where I was shortly before I decided to start SGP. After years of watching business owners get handed pretty reports full of meaningless metrics instead of actual results, I snapped.
Fed up with empty marketing tactics, I needed to prove business owners deserved more than flashy reports. The industry was broken, and someone needed to fix it.
From Zero to Something Real
"It was just me, a single client, and my laptop." That's how Savage Growth Partners. No fancy office. No team of specialists. Just a burning desire to do things differently.
My solo beginnings forced a new kind of discipline and clarity. When you're the only one responsible for results, you get real clear real fast about what actually matters.
Did I know what I was doing when it came to growing service-based businesses? Absolutely. Did that make it any less scary? Nope.
Beyond the Marketing Bubble
Here's what drove me crazy about traditional agencies: the disconnect. They'd treat marketing as this separate thing from the actual business. Like getting clicks somehow magically translated to growth.
"Don't sell deliverables. Sell transformations. This mindset changed everything for us."
Holistic strategies trumped piecemeal solutions; I wanted to connect marketing to real growth, not just clicks or likes. Because a thousand Instagram followers means nothing if your business is bleeding cash.
Breaking the Agency Mold
When I launched Savage Growth Partners, I made three promises to myself:
Never separate strategy from execution
Never prioritize vanity metrics over revenue
Never treat clients like transactions
Those early client relationships weren't about formulaic tactics. They were deeply personal, custom-built solutions that acknowledged the messy, complex reality of growing a service business.
Was it harder and more complex this way? Yup, but it is worth it.
Because when you refuse to play small, when you insist on connecting every marketing activity to actual business growth, you create something that matters. Something that lasts.
Messy Wins, Humbled Lessons: From Control Freak to Remote Team Leader
I used to think no one could do it like me. Classic control freak syndrome, right?
When I started Savage Growth Partners, it was just me, my laptop, and one awesome client who believed in my vision. I handled everything, from strategy to execution to those late-night email replies.
The Control Trap
My breakthrough came when I hit a ceiling. Hard. Despite working 70-hour weeks, I couldn't scale beyond a certain point. The truth slapped me in the face:
"Delegation isn't about freeing my time. It's the only way to scale without capping revenue."
Letting go hasn't come naturally. I always wanted to ensure I had control so that we had top-tier delivery and client experience. But, something I had to learn was that delegating to the right people can deliver the same experience while also enabling growth for the business at large.
The Mindset Shift
When it came to hiring, I made a big mistake at the start. Hiring for technical skills while overlooking mindset. I'd find talented people who couldn't adapt or take ownership.
Eventually, I flipped my approach:
Character over credentials - I can teach skills, but can't install work ethic
Ownership mentality - Team members who treat the business like their own
Growth-oriented thinkers - People who see failures as learning opportunities
Our Beautiful Mess
Today, our small remote team has helped scale our clients' businesses to seven figures and beyond. We're entirely bootstrapped. No VCs, no loans, just reinvested profits.
This lean approach keeps us nimble. Each team member holds real ownership over their domain. They make decisions without waiting for my approval on every little thing. We are fast, action-oriented, and evolving every day.
And that leads to me a humbling lesson: sometimes letting go isn't just good for business, it's essential for it.
"Let Go or Be Dragged." - Ancient Chinese Proverb
Niche Over Noise: Why Personalized Growth Beats the Marketing Masses
I've always felt that something was... off... about the typical agency model. You know what I mean? Those cookie-cutter packages that promise the world but deliver the same tired strategies to everyone. That's quite simply not how marketing works. Not scalable, sustainable marketing, anyway.
That's exactly why I built Savage Growth Partners differently.
Custom-Built, Not Mass-Produced
Here's our truth: We intentionally avoid boilerplate services- each strategy is built uniquely for each client's metrics and goals. No templates. No recycled campaigns.
This approach wasn't easy to implement. It would've been simpler (and probably more immediately profitable) to create standard packages. But I couldn't do it. I just couldn't.
"We're not just another marketing agency - we're business growth experts."
The Value Ladder Philosophy
Our value ladder starts with free audits and climbs to premium, transformational offers - no race to the bottom pricing here. We begin relationships by providing genuine value first, then build toward comprehensive solutions.
Why? Because commoditizing creative work is a death sentence for quality. And frankly, for happiness too.
Sometimes I worry this approach limits our scale. Then I remember the alternative - becoming just another faceless agency - and I know we're on the right path.
Connection Before Conversion
Perhaps the most important principle: Real connections (not just closed deals) fuel genuine business growth and lasting relationships. Every conversation matters, whether it leads to immediate business or not.
"Every real conversation is valuable, even if it doesn't close a deal."
I've found that some of our best clients came from relationships that developed over months or even years. The marketing world is too fixated on instant conversion. Real growth doesn't work that way.
Breaking away from "agency" stereotypes meant carving out a true niche - offering fully-customized strategies rather than scrambling for quick wins. It's a longer path, but one worth taking.
Does this approach take more time? Yep. More effort? Absolutely. But the results? Transformational rather than transactional. And that makes all the difference.
Wild Card: The Time I Overdelivered (and Almost Burned Out)—and Why Boundaries Matter More Than Ever
Let me tell you about my wake-up call.
For a while, saying "yes" to everything felt right - until it nearly ran me ragged. I was that founder who couldn't turn down any client request, no matter how far outside our scope it fell. I couldn't help it. I love to help people and if I see potential, it's hard for me not to dive in and get deep into the weeds immediately.
The Burnout Breaking Point
It started innocently enough. A client would ask for "just one more thing," and I'd eagerly agree. Then another request. Then another. Before I knew it, I was working 70-hour weeks, answering emails at midnight, and my personal life? What personal life?
My breaking point came during a vacation - which wasn't actually a vacation because I was still working. Sitting in my 5-star hotel on the Las Vegas strip, plugging away on my computer the same way I would at home, I realized something had to change.
I wish I'd been more assertive with client boundaries much earlier. You don't have to burn yourself out to deliver real value.
The Boundary Revolution
Here's what I learned the hard way: chasing every "yes" doesn't make you a better founder; it makes you exhausted.
So, I chose a complete boundary reset:
Clear scope documents that spell out exactly what's included
Designated "off-hours" where I do strictly solo-work (besides emergencies) or things in my personal life
Additional fees for work outside agreed parameters
The shocking part was that clients respected these boundaries. Some even seemed relieved to have clearer expectations. It's funny because I always thought that "putting my foot down" would scare people off, but it actually ended up being a win-win for everybody involved.
Finding Renewed Motivation
These days, I draw strength from two powerful sources:
Other bold women entrepreneurs who prioritize both growth AND wellbeing
My younger self, that scrappy, determined woman who had the courage to start this journey
Both remind me why I'm here: to help others build unapologetically, without sacrificing themselves in the process.
Now, my line in the sand is non-negotiable: firm boundaries, massive respect, for myself, my team, and the clients who value us most. Because at one point, overdelivering led me straight to burnout, and that's a lesson I only needed to learn once.
Conclusion: Why Sustainable Growth Looks More Like a Mosaic Than a Step-by-Step Guide
Looking back at my journey with Savage Growth Partners, I've realized something important: there's no straight line to impact. None. Zero.
The path I've walked has been messy, fragmented, and honestly? That turned out to be the real gift. Growth isn't a neat checklist you complete in order - it's a living, breathing mosaic made of continual pivots, genuine relationships, and showing up as your authentic self day after day.
What I've learned is that success looks different than I originally thought. It's less about revenue targets and more about time, impact, and intention. At Savage Growth Partners, we've shifted from measuring success by revenue alone to evaluating the actual impact on people's lives.
To anyone ready to build: start now, not when you feel perfect. You're already ready enough.
My hope is to help service founders see scaling as both an art and a science. The science is in the systems, the metrics, the proven strategies. But the art is in the courage to be bold, even in the messiest moments. It's in the fusion of strategy, grit, and flat-out refusing to settle.
I wish someone had told me earlier: start before you feel fully ready. Perfection is the enemy of progress. And please, always charge what you're worth. Unapologetically.
For everyone building a service business: let go of step-by-step perfection. Shape a company you're actually proud of. One that reflects your values and serves clients in ways that truly matter.
True growth isn't linear - it's cyclical, seasonal, sometimes even contradictory. Some days you'll take three steps forward; others you might slide two steps back. That's not failure - that's the natural, unavoidable rhythm of building something worthwhile. Embrace it or suffer.
So here's to the messy middle, the unexpected pivots, and the courage to keep showing up. Because in the end, that's where the good stuff happens.
TL;DR: Real growth for service-based businesses comes from strategic clarity, letting go of perfection, and refusing cookie-cutter solutions - plus plenty of grit, experimentation, and making peace with occasional chaos.
