CASE STUDY
Scaling Without Burnout: How Dallas Web Agency Helped Kove Marketing Grow PredictablyExecutive Summary
Kove Marketing, a Calgary-based local marketing agency founded by Karen Fennell, was trapped in founder-dependent operations: Karen handled sales, delivery, quoting, and all project work. Growth created more work, not more freedom. Dallas Web Agency partnered with Kove to build repeatable systems, take over white-label execution, and put margin-protecting guardrails in place.
Client Background
Kove Marketing is a hands-on, client-first agency that helps Calgary businesses get visible and win customers online. Karen – founder and principal – is the creative engine and chief relationship builder. But like many solo-led agencies, the day-to-day operations, technical delivery, quoting, and quality control all landed on her desk. That made growth feel like more of an uphill grind than a step forward.
Growth That Cost The Founder Her Time
Running everything herself meant Kove faced:
Hidden Time Drains
Hours spent writing technical docs, reviewing requirements, and juggling scope instead of selling or advising clients.
Operational Unpredictability
Inconsistent planning, unclear handoffs, and ad-hoc workflows that created delivery risk.
Client Friction
Quotes and timelines that shifted, creating disappointed clients and last-minute firefighting.
Margin Pressure
Inefficiencies and rework shrinking profitability.
Founder Burnout Risk
Karen loved client work, but operations were preventing her from focusing on growth, relationships, and strategy.
Scaling felt impossible because every new client added operational friction instead of scale.
A Practical, Founder-First Operational Overhaul
Free Karen from day-to-day delivery so she could focus on client relationships and new business.
Standardize processes and documentation to remove bottlenecks and reduce rework.
Deliver high-quality, white-label execution across WordPress, Shopify, SEO and PPC.
Protect margins with pricing guardrails, scope controls and efficient delivery.
In 2023 Dallas Web Agency began a strategic partnership with Kove to move the business out of survival mode and into predictable growth. Our goals were simple and focused:
What We Did
Kicked off with a structured discovery audit: intake forms, workflows, and a full map of pain points.
Created quote and documentation templates (SOWs, change-order rules, client expectation guides).
Rolled out guardrails for margins – standardized pricing bands, minimum viable scope, and a change-request policy to avoid scope creep.
Built a repeatable project management cadence — clear intake → scoped SOW → templated delivery steps → QA → handoff.
Instituted white-label delivery teams for WordPress, Shopify, SEO and PPC so execution could scale without hiring overhead for Karen.
Implemented simple performance tracking and weekly review rituals so we could catch issues early and keep delivery predictable.
Timeline & Implementation
Discovery & Foundations
We mapped workflows, interviewed Karen and her team, and audited current projects. We set up the project management backbone and a templated quote process.
Rollout & Training
Templates, SOPs, and the white-label delivery team were introduced. We piloted three website projects and two PPC accounts to validate process and quality.
Scale & Stabilize
With processes validated, we scaled the white-label delivery cadence. Regular status reports and a QA checklist reduced rework and the founder’s review time.
Measurable Change And Human Impact
Within 3 months Kove Marketing had a stronger operational backbone and Karen was no longer pulled into daily delivery minutiae. By month 6 the business showed clear scale and stability:
Websites delivered per month (repeatable delivery cadence)
PPC accounts running smoothly under managed, standardized processes
SEO campaigns delivering measurable results for clients
Profit margins stabilized thanks to pricing guardrails and less rework
Founder freedom restored – Karen could focus on client strategy, sales, and business development instead of firefighting
Beyond the numbers, the biggest wins were qualitative: less stress, predictable timelines for clients, and improved client satisfaction because deliverables arrived on time and met expectations.
What Our Happy Clients Say
Nakul and his team are lifesavers! Available 24/7, always kind, understanding and patient with low-tech skilled people like me. They make sure they get exactly what I need and offer effective solutions with no fuss and very reasonable pricing.
Marina Terracciano
Agency OwnerNakul and his Dallas Web team have been wonderful for growing my small business. I’ve been working with them for about 7 years. They complete tasks quickly, always great communication, and have helped me navigate many online things I needed help with. Highly recommend!
Kathie N
Solo Business OwnerNakul and the team at Dallas Web Agency are awesome. I've had the pleasure of working with Nakul for almost a decade and have trusted him with all my web development and support needs for dozens of projects over the years. Highly Recommended!
Eric Hebert
Agency OwnerNakul & the team are incredible to work with! I’ve partnered with them for over five years, and their responsiveness, communication, and attention to detail set them apart. Dallas Web Agency goes beyond just building websites—they truly understand your goals and audience. Highly recommend them for agencies looking to scale!
Kyle Steele
Founder - SEO Dot ExpertWe have owned our small business almost 13 years and I wish we would have found Nakul sooner! He has taken our business to the next level We now have a strong online presence and just had our first customer drive 8 hours from North Carolina after finding our Wesite on the Internet.
Britta Willms
Owner - Your Inner LightNakul has an awesome team of web developers! He is a great listener who truly focuses on customer needs and wants. He goes above and beyond to deliver the results you request. Most importantly, the Dallas Web Team offers the best pricing. Highly recommend them for web development and SEO!
Robert Gangi
Insurance Marketing Agency OwnerNakul is a true professional with extensive IT knowledge and always willing to help. The Dallas Web Team helped scale my agency’s web operations to the next level, maximizing profitability. I highly recommend their services!
Louis Websdale
Founder of wda.aiNakul has been a reliable point of contact for our technical projects—patient, responsive, and helpful. We truly appreciate his support and look forward to collaborating with him on future projects.
Keren Lerner
Founder at Top Left DesignNakul is an excellent source of Shopify expertise. His consultancy on complex projects has been invaluable, helping us confidently liaise with clients and deliver well-suited solutions for new Shopify projects.
Greg Macdonald
Director at London Web Design AgencyNakul is a fast, reliable tech partner delivering quality work on time, with clear communication that makes collaboration smooth and successful.
Aldo Santoro
Founder -Adsolut Web AgencyI chose Dallas Web Agency because of Nakul. His proven SEO results, honesty, reliability, and clear communication made me confident and I highly recommend working with him.
Bryan Bloom
Founder at Mover Search MarketingDallas Web Agency Delivered
White-label WordPress development and Shopify development.
Managed PPC (Google & social) accounts.
Operational playbooks & SOPs, QA checklists and delivery cadence.
End-to-end SEO campaign management.
Project documentation & planning (SOWs, intake forms, change orders).
Ongoing white-label operations support and monthly performance reviews.
Why This Worked - Three Reasons It Stuck
Founder-First Design
Systems were built to give Karen back time and reduce her review load, not add bureaucracy.
Repeatable Playbooks
Templates and SOPs reduced cognitive load and made delivery predictable.
White-Label Execution
Specialized delivery teams allowed Kove to scale capacity without the hiring headaches.
Key Takeaways For Agencies That Want To Scale Without Burning Out
Stop treating growth as “more of everything.” Design processes that let you deliver more with less founder time.
Use white-label or specialist partners to add capacity quickly while keeping fixed overhead low.
Standardize quotes, SOWs, and change-orders – protecting margins is as much about clarity as it is about pricing.
Track a small set of operational KPIs (deliveries per month, active campaigns, on-time %), and review them weekly.