What Should You Do When Your Agency Gets Hit With a $10K Surprise? with Pete Kleinjan | Ep #818

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A surprise $10K tax bill nearly knocked Pete Kleinjan off course—but he learned that trusting experts, keeping perspective, and staying outcome-focused is what turns agency chaos into long-term growth. If you're facing curveballs, this episode is your mindset reset.

What You’ll Learn

• Why SEO isn’t what you sell, it’s what it gets your clients.
• The tax mistake that cost $10K (and what Pete did right).
• How to lead through chaos with perspective, not panic.
• Why timeless principles beat trendy tactics every time.
• How realness (not AI avatars) builds lasting trust.

Key Takeaways

1. Clients buy outcomes, not SEO jargon: Sell the lakehouse dream, not the traffic report.
2. Tax mistakes can kill momentum. Hire experts early: A $10K bill could’ve derailed everything, but Pete owned it and leveled up his support team.
3. Stay resilient when the storm hits: Business will test you. What keeps you going is clarity, not hustle.
4. Tools change, principles don’t: Focus on client results, clear communication, and solving problems—not shiny new platforms.
5. Authenticity wins: Forget perfect video. Scrappy, honest content builds trust that converts.
6. Sell what they need, not what you want to deliver: Pete got a client for life by solving a $0 “do not index” issue. That’s value.

What’s the most unexpected challenge you’ve faced as an agency owner? How did you handle it when things went sideways?

Agency life is full of curveballs, and the only way to keep your business alive is by maintaining perspective and resilience when the unexpected hits.

Today’s featured guest once thought he would lose all the progress he’d made with his agency when the state hit him with a surprise $10K sales tax bill he didn’t even know existed. But now, he looks back and laughs, recognizing that getting through it came down to trusting the right professionals and staying the course.

He firmly believes that keeping your business afloat for the long haul means remembering why clients hire you in the first place — and that focusing on the outcomes that matter is what builds trust and closes deals.

Pete Kleinjan is the founder and owner of Tiger29, an SEO agency that helps local small businesses achieve their sales goals. His agency isn’t a sprawling team of 50; it’s a small, sharp crew focused on what small business clients actually care about: more phone calls, more leads, more sales.

In this episode, we’ll discuss:

• The real reason clients want SEO.

• A lesson on team + preparedness.

• Perspective & resilience when things go sideways.

•  Why you should focus on what won’t change.

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Sponsors and Resources

This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you’re leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That’s why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started.

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Pete’s first job right out of college was doing credit card co