In this interview, Joshua Nelson talks with Danny Barrera, the founder of Concrete Marketing Crew, about his journey from extreme financial hardship to running a $2.5 million annual recurring revenue agency with over 140 clients. Danny recounts sleeping in his car after a failed solo agency attempt, a Wells Fargo statement showing a negative $417 balance, and a painful divorce that pushed him into a personal “pit.” He discovered Joshua’s program through an ad, received mentorship from Jeff Fisher, and was advised to focus on a concrete‑marketing niche. By concentrating on that niche, leveraging a case study, and mastering cold outreach, Danny rapidly grew his client base, systematized his operations, and now supports multiple businesses, funds his family, and gives back to the community. The conversation highlights the power of mentorship, surrounding oneself with high‑caliber peers, and building repeatable systems to achieve agency growth.
I see we've got Danny Barrera with us, uh, and I just want to call him up real quick. I, I'd love to kind of chime you in as we go throughout this cold outreach session, but Danny is our, our Agency of the Year. He is a rock star, look, looking fitter every time I see you, Danny.
Uh, always work in progress, always work in progress, Josh. Blessed to be here.
So, Danny, tell us a little bit about your, your background, or let's start like where you're at in your agency right now. How many clients? How much recurring revenue? What's this State of the Union?
Yeah, State of the Union is, uh, we're over 140 clients right now. Um, we're on our way, we're very close to, uh, to $2.5 million in annual recurring, uh, in annual revenue. So, you know, going back a couple of years, um, ago, I actually came across a Wells Fargo letter the other day. Real story, this is a real story, I'm not making this up. I wish I had it here. Kind of makes me cry thinking about it because 2017, I was at the lowest point of my life. I had tried to do this agency thing myself. I had, you know, just quit a job over at Fox News Channel and then tried to figure out this entrepreneurial thing in the digital agency world, building websites for clients, doing SEO, and I had some things going and working, but it wasn't sustainable. It wasn't something I could rely on. I'd become very good at delivering SEO services, but I could not maintain it. And I ended up actually losing it all, sleeping in my car, no joke. And the letter from Wells Fargo said, "$417 and a couple of cents." I'll post a screenshot one of these days. When I think about that, I showed it to my daughter. I was actually laughing at that point in time. Now I get to laugh about it, but it It's just like, can you actually have a minus $417? Well, that was my reality back then. And it was around 2018. So fast forward a few months later, like I really went to like a really, my pit, I call it my pit. And that's where I decided to work on myself, went through divorce, really rough patch. And I came across an ad from you, Josh. And that was God-sent to me because I've tried to do it all. There was a point where I went to this firm, they were hiring an SEO specialist, and I talked to the owner and I said, "Hey, I know I can help you guys out. I have the skill sets." And he just looked at my resume, he looked at me, and he's like, "It seems like you were doing this agency thing before. Why are you here?" I said, "I really need a paycheck. I need to pay child support and all that." And he just looked at me and he says, You know, I could hire you, you sound like a good guy, but, uh, your heart is going to be out there and your mind is going to be out there, uh, and I know you and the type of guy that you seem to be, you're a go-getter. So I'm sorry, but I have to, uh, I can't take you. And after that, it was like God talking to me and saying, you know, dude, go ahead and give this thing a fair shot. And with the right guidance, with the right instructions, like Concrete Marketing Crew did not exist. I had no presence whatsoever. The name wasn't there. I had a couple of websites. One was local here in South Florida. Another one was a contractor SEO agency. And I leveraged that to kind of build up some momentum in the niche. And then a few months later, I landed on a niche name, Concrete Marketing Crew. So I literally was on a Wednesday call and was guided by Jeff Fisher. And he told me, hey, look, try this niche out and see if it works. And I just decided to go all in, forget about everything else. Nothing was working for me. And sure enough, like, I, you know, I had worked with a guy that did concrete before, so I just took that as my case study and I just leveraged that. I ranked my website for a term that I could talk about, and I started getting clients. My first one turned into 2, into 4, into 11, into 20, and the rest is history. But without the support system, uh, Josh, without having the guidance from you, without being in this environment, like, I don't know if you guys realize how powerful it is to be surrounded by individuals of high caliber. Like, this is what you— if you want to get to the next level, you got to get into rooms and where you're very uncomfortable with the people that, that are around you, and they make you almost feel like, man, I gotta level up. Well, when you're at 7 Figure Agency, I can tell you when you go through the on-ramp, you're getting exposed every day, every day, every morning. You're getting those emails, you're getting so much information. Uh, and not for nothing, Josh, like, I wish I would have started with the way it is right now. But back— even back then, I got so much out of it just diving in and having someone in my corner that would be there for me when I had questions. Like, even with my logo, with my branding, I did my first Expo. I don't know if you remember, like, hey guys, which— what should I do here? Getting that feedback. So if you really think about it, and as I go back, you know, this, this was the place like God gave me the opportunity to come in and, and, you know, it's really what propelled me. Uh, now I have multiple businesses. I would not be able to fund those businesses without the agency. From minus $400 and whatever dollars to where it's at right now, I am blessed. Like, I'm about to cry just thinking about it, you know. I, uh, I wanted to retire my father and my mother. My father passed away a couple of years ago, but, uh, with my mother, she doesn't have to go to work anymore. She doesn't have to go to work anymore, guys. When you get into that position Were you able to bless others around you? There's something, there's a fire inside of you that just lights up where you're no longer, you're not thinking about, hey, I want to get a Beamer, I want to get a Mercedes, I want to get that Land Rover. Forget about that. That's small goals. Think about something bigger than yourself. And for me, that's what it was and it's always been. But I didn't have the vehicle. I didn't have the process. So you asked me where I was, where, you know, where I've been and what my status is. This is my State of the Union for me.
So good, man. What an inspiration. Congratulations on breaking through those barriers, getting to where you're at today, um, and, and being such an exceptional person, right? Like, at this point now, you've, you've, you learned cold outreach, you dialed that in, you grew your agency, you've got the systems in your business so dialed in where you're actually showing other agencies now through the, through the Blueprint trainings exactly how to deliver world-class results in a systematized way. Um, thanks for being on here, man, and thanks for being such a great example of
