Tom Hart, a Profit Advisor
for $1M–$5M Marketing Agencies

Clients pay me to identify and fix people and process leaks. I turn high-stress agencies into wealth-building machines by teaching clients how to operate businesses that prioritize profit and professional excellence.

More About Tom
Portrait of Tom Hart

The Philosophy

How Do I Fix People and Process Leaks?

Using my proven 12-step approach:

  1. Face Reality
    By accepting things as the way they are, with brutal honesty, anything becomes possible
  2. The Do, Own, and Risk Trap
    By trusting your team and playing one role in your business (no more many hats) everything becomes easier
  3. Operating Values vs Core Values
    You need a decision-making framework more than a values framework
  4. Run a Business You Could Sell
    Your asset should be more valuable over time
  5. The Talent Siphon
    You need a labor advantage over your competitors, never overpaying your employees
  6. Command by Intent
    Your people need to know how to make decisions without you in the room
  7. The Daily Bookend
    You need to run a daily business, the goal being winning one day at a time
  8. Mistakes Mean Progress
    You're building a learning company and you need a team that remains calm in a storm
  9. Systems Thinking
    Your people need to be better than AI at the human parts
  10. Labor Efficiency Ratio (LER)
    A simple measure to define the relationship between dollars out and dollars in
  11. Junior Talent Is Your Future
    You need seniors who can teach your juniors
  12. What Winning Looks Like
    Progress is more important than perfection — you don't need to win by knockout

The Results

What You Can Expect

My results speak for themselves:

Increased Revenue
At North Street Creative my system increased revenue by 25%, Labor Efficiency (LER) by 122%, and profit by 40%, all while increasing the owner's salary to a market-based level and paying off the business' line of credit

Tom implemented systems and processes that have transformed our operations, enabling us to consistently deliver projects on deadline and with 40% improved profitability.

Tom Conlon, CEO @ North Street Creative

Improved Morale
At p3 Maine my system saw employees report higher job satisfaction and engagement, stating their wish to stay longer because of my system and its positive impact on their work environment, the company, and their career. The company saw an immediate 30% labor efficiency improvement by using my system

Tom identified our real needs immediately, pivoting us from cutting expenses to generating sustainable revenue. He spoke our language and told us the truth without tip-toeing. That frankness is exactly why we hired Tom.

Brian Chin, Co-Founding Partner, p3 Maine

Equity Buyers Care About
Your business becomes more attractive to potential buyers:

  • Clean financials (unpolluted by the owner taking minimum wage to make the company profitable)
  • Documented processes followed by all (I install the Entrepreneurial Operating System [EOS] as standard)
  • A team that knows how to make decisions (and is trusted to do so without owner involvement)

The Offering

Fit Comes First

I work with clients I believe in and who share my vision for running a successful, profitable agency. Which is not everyone. If the following applies to your business, we might be a good fit:

  1. You're Tired of Living This Way

    Although you're a decade into your business, things feel tougher and less predictable than ever, especially with technology racing away from you at the moment you can least afford it. You want to change for better once and for all

  2. You're Tired of Making Less Than You're Worth

    You're not getting the margins nor compensation you deserve for your efforts. You're too important in the company and not important enough in the marketplace

  3. You Want The Option to Sell

    Things seem to work out but there's no written process. Your team is smart but you're worried that key players leaving would mean losing your entire knowledge base. You know that needs to change, and that means you need to change

  4. You Take Your Work (And Not Yourself) Seriously

    Your professional standards are high and you care about your people, your clients, and your output. But you have a sense of humor about yourself and understand you're part of an ecosystem, that making a big difference to a small group is what matters most

About

Tom Hart

Born and raised in the UK, I've spent the majority of my working career in the USA, running a direct-to-consumer business for over a decade before switching back to agency life.

I've spent 20 years inside marketing and creative agencies — operations, finance, project management — watching the same repeating problems unfold. Hart Ops is the practice I've built to treat these repeating conditions, with a clear playbook to replace heroics. Between (1) my work consulting with clients, (2) the philosophy behind my approach, and (3) my product (VERA, the easiest and most useful time management app you've never used), you'll find all my best ideas.

The Eurasian jay catches thousands of acorns each autumn to survive each winter, far more than it'll ever retrieve. The forgotten ones grow into oak forests. I like to think my ideas can help my clients grow forests of their own, and what better way to spend my time than helping good people build better futures by sharing my acorns with them?

A Eurasian jay perched on a branch
The Eurasian Jay

Say Hello

Drop-Ins Welcome

Talking shop is my favorite hobby. Drop me a line and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

The One Thing You Needed...

I Have a Podcast

If you'd rather hear what I have to say about being an Irreplaceable Professional — where I talk, in under ten minutes per episode, about what it takes to survive AI — you can find The Irreplaceable Professional anywhere you listen to podcasts. I position the conversation directly at your employees, so they hear the other side too: prioritising their career while inspiring them to be the best professional on your team.

I also work on...

VERA: My Time Management App

The easiest and most useful time management app you've never used, VERA is a Slack-native time-tracking and financial-intelligence assistant for agencies. The goal is twofold: (1) make recording time as easy as possible, and (2) make the data as simple to use as possible.

→ See VERA at getvera.site