Businesses Helped
Spent on Ads
Revenue Generated
Burgers Consumed
LESSONS THAT
SHAPED WHO I AM
Success isn’t about where you start but your consistency. Your past doesn’t define you, only your actions do. Every setback is a lesson, and true success comes from betting on yourself. Adapt fast, pivot with confidence, and build something that matters.
Be a man of your word
or slowly lose your self worth
— AUSTIN VARLEY
Dumb Decisions to
Smart Scaling
Dumb Decisions to Smart Scaling
I’m the youngest of 6 kids. Grew up bouncing around Arizona. While most kids were glued to video games, 8-year-old me was knocking on strangers’ doors asking if they needed help with… well, anything.
Dog walking. Feeding koi fish. Holiday decorations. Attic cleanup (probably not the safest gig for a 2nd grader, but hey, $10 was $10). Hustle was in my DNA.
Then I met Joe. My first mentor. He ran a vending machine empire all around Phoenix, Arizona. After school, I’d help him stock machines, collect cash, and count quarters until my fingers smelled like metal. That was my first real taste of entrepreneurship and I wanted more.
High school hit, and my first “business” was... let’s just say, less than legal. I built a multiple 6-figure weed operation before I even had a diploma. Until one day, I got caught. They were talking 10 years in prison. My stomach dropped. Miraculously, I walked out with probation and a record. That could’ve been the end of my story but luckily God had a plan for me.
Originally, I was planning to be a lawyer. But after tasting fast money (and dodging prison), I didn’t want a “safe” job. I wanted to build something real.
So I started an MLM business with Melaleuca. The mission? Help millennials ditch the 9-5 and build freedom. My team? Fired up. My paycheck? Not so much. After recruiting 40+ people, I had made... a grand total of $3,400. In almost two years of grinding. Brutal.
I realized if I wanted different results, I needed different skills. And I wanted to start marketing for my team so they can make sales too. That’s when I discovered digital marketing.
I pivoted from MLM and went all in. Bought courses. Studied funnels. Learned Facebook ads before they were cool. And I launched my first agency, Social Media Leads. We did it all: gyms, restaurants, authors, ecom brands, you name it. But it was chaos. I was drowning in deliverables and couldn’t crack consistent $10K months.
That’s when a mentor told me: niche down or drown. So I evaluated everything to see what route I wanted to go. One moment stood out: I was running a food challenge campaign for a restaurant. Watched a guy eat a burger the size of his head (plus fries and onion rings) in under 7 minutes. It was a marketing win but not exactly world-changing.
That’s when it clicked. Gyms. They help people get healthy. I could help them grow. So I launched FitClub Advertising, helping gyms pack their memberships. It worked. Fast.
Over the next two years, we worked with 100+ gyms nationwide. Built a team. Built momentum.
Then COVID hit...
Gyms shut down. Clients were panicking. I remember one call: “We’re bleeding. Everyone’s canceling. We’re screwed.” So we pivoted fast. Helped them get PPP loans. Took them online. Kept them alive. And in 30 days, we started growing again.
That pivot opened a new door. Trainers started asking for help building online businesses. And I realized something: when gyms got full, they’d stop working with me. But online coaches? Unlimited scale.
So I sold off my gym accounts, and co-created a Coaching Division with my friend Hugo at Just Digital. In 18 months, I helped generate over $20 million for clients in every niche: clean eating, dating, tax resolution, permanent makeup, podiatrists—you name it. But as the business grew, so did the friction. I didn’t have final say since I was a smaller partner. And that didn’t work for me.
Behind the scenes, my now-business partner Haris and I had landed a client, charged $30K, and built him a 7-figure business in 3 weeks. $1.1M in revenue from scratch. And we didn’t even take equity. That’s when I knew… It was time to build something different. Something bigger.
So I walked away. And in late 2023, Influential Inc. was born.
We’re not an agency. We’re a growth partner. We only work with brands we believe in and we take a percentage because we don’t believe in trading time for retainers.
And it’s working. In 2024, our portfolio brands did over $22 million in revenue. And we’re just getting started.
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Austin is the man, I would be lost without his expertise. Please use him!! He is the real deal on all things marketing, advertising, and all the techy stuff you don’t know how to do like me hah! Thank you AUSTIN
Austin has been a huge help to my agency. Austin is a selfless person and genuinely cares about every individual around him. Austin knows so much about his craft and doesn’t hesitate to give advice and provide value. I’m glad I have had the chance to meet Austin.
This man always checks up on me either on a call or a personal text to see where i’m at and if i need any help in my Marketing Agency. I’ve never experienced such an amazing friend and big brother who genuinely cares about you.
Austin has provided my team and I with strategies that have impacted our overall production. He’s truly been a mentor and an asset to our company.
Austin Varley is a one of kind leader. He's had one of the biggest impacts on my life and I honestly wouldn't in alignment with my dreams and the mindset I am now without some of his guidance.
Austin has been such a great mentor to me and has helped me grow in a number of ways. He challenges you to go outside yourself and constantly look for improvements. He is real and I have no doubt that he will add value to your life in some type of way!
To come for advice knows his craft and genuinely interested. Takes the quality of time to answer your questions. And help you where best fit but also where to continue to go after you do.
From legal trouble to leading a powerhouse agency, my journey proves resilience turns failure into fortune.
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