⚡️ Columbus Marketing Jobs Newsletter:
https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com

Danielle Walton co-founded Adept Marketing in Columbus, Ohio, scaled it to 40+ employees, landed on the Inc 5000, and sold it to a global performance commerce agency in 2022. In this episode, she breaks down exactly how she and her business partner built something a buyer actually wanted, where the gaps were, and what she'd do differently.

We also get into why Columbus gave Adept an edge that no other market could have replicated, and what she's building now with LGS Consultants and a growing dental group.

CONNECT WITH DANIELLE

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-walton-a6205720/

CONNECT WITH ANDY

🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Introduction to Business Acquisition and Consulting
02:47 - Career Trajectory and Entrepreneurial Roots
05:54 - Identifying Market Trends and Business Strategy
09:11 - Narrowing Focus: The Shift to Digital Marketing
11:57 - Building a Business for Acquisition
14:50 - Misconceptions About the Acquisition Process
24:41 - Misconceptions in Entrepreneurship
30:10 - Building a Business in Columbus
34:52 - Transitioning to New Ventures
39:14 - Coaching and Leadership Insights
40:12 - Implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System

TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/
🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/
🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org and our friends at COhatch (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us) https://www.cohatch.com/mbd

⚡️ Columbus Marketing Jobs Newsletter: The best marketing jobs in Columbus delivered to your inbox every Monday. Freelance, fractional, in-house. Totally free. https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com/

This week, Andy pulls back the curtain on his marketing studio with the full January 2026 monthly retro. He walks through revenue, contractor costs, the new MMG rebrand, two LinkedIn posts that popped off, and the websites his team shipped. If you run a marketing business or a freelance practice and want to see how someone else thinks about finances, hiring, and accountability, this episode is the inside look most agency owners will never show you.

CONNECT WITH ANDY

🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

📬 Columbus Marketing Jobs: https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com/

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:30 - I Show My Numbers Every Month

02:30 - $28,818. Here's Where It Came From.

04:15 - The Diagram That Runs My Business

06:30 - Why Contractors Cost Me $4K

09:00 - Why I Stopped Saying "Expenses"

11:00 - We Moved Into a Real Studio

12:45 - Florida On Spirit Airlines

14:30 - The MMG Rebrand Is Real

17:00 - Two LinkedIn Posts That Hit

19:30 - The Websites We Launched in January

22:30 - The Things I Need To Own

25:00 - What I Said I'd Do in January

27:00 - My February Marching Orders

TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org and our friends at COHATCH (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking, on us) https://www.cohatch.com/mbd

⚡️ Get the best marketing jobs delivered to your inbox every week: https://www.columbusmarketingjobs.com/

The real LinkedIn growth isn't what you see on the surface. It's the behind-the-scenes work that happens in DMs, profile optimization, and strategic commenting. In this episode, I sit down with Alison Ditmer, a LinkedIn strategist who's helped countless founders build thriving businesses on the platform. We break down what actually works in 2026: the consistency required, why clarity beats content volume, and the conversations that turn into real client relationships. This episode contains the secret to growth on LinkedIn and becoming a thought leader on LinkedIn.

CONNECT WITH ALISON DITMER

🌐 Website: https://allisonditmer.com/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonditmer/

📹 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@allisonditmer/videos

CONNECT WITH ANDY

🌐 Website: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindfulmilligan/

⚡️ High-Converting Websites Visual Swipe File: https://www.mmg.studio/visualswipefile

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - The Algorithm Lie Nobody Talks About

3:15 - How Often Should You Actually Post

8:45 - The Busy Founder Problem

12:30 - Show Your Work, Not Your Life

18:00 - Why Comments Beat Posts Right Now

24:15 - The Real Money Happens in the DMs

30:45 - How to Audit Your Profile for the Right People

36:30 - The Lacey Picasso Attribution Story

42:00 - What's Actually Working on LinkedIn in 2026

48:15 - Testing the Phone Posting Theory

52:45 - What Alison's Building Next

TEAM

🎙 Host // Andy Milligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmgdesign/

🎥 Production // MMG Design: https://www.mmgdesign.net/

🤝 Powered by // AMA Columbus: https://amacolumbus.org and our friends at COhatch (Get 2 free weeks of premium coworking): https://www.cohatch.com/mbd