Callum Gracie

Founder · Auto Media Group, Gia AI

Key takeaways

4:06Callum generated $100,000 in revenue as a side hustle within 12 months by becoming obsessed with SEO after losing DJ gigs during the pandemic.
5:07Auto Media Group grew to 42 clients in 14 months by prioritizing systems, processes, and authentic communication of client wins rather than traditional sales.
15:18Building a fully in-house remote team across India, Pakistan, Brazil, Japan, Philippines and Australia allows access to top talent while maintaining quality control and value alignment.
21:27AI should be used to speed up and repurpose SEO work—transforming single pieces of content into blogs, shorts, LinkedIn posts, and thought leadership through automation—not replace human strategy.
22:29Service-based businesses leave significant revenue on the table by not automating reminders (like annual car maintenance) and leveraging existing customer data for repeat sales.

Questions Callum Gracie answered

Why did you shift from music and teaching to digital marketing, and how has your music background influenced your agency work?

The pandemic shut down live performances and DJ gigs, forcing a pivot. Music taught him authenticity and performance—showing up as his genuine self attracts clients and differentiates him from competitors.

How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)2:04

What was the internal motivation that pushed you to leave a stable job and start your own agency?

Callum needed to prove to himself he could succeed. He first demonstrated SEO success for himself, then helped close family and friends, which built confidence before leaving his agency job at a critical moment (his son was about to be born).

How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)6:08

What was your vision and game plan when you started Auto Media Group?

He initially focused solely on SEO as the best SEO company, but the market naturally shifted him toward brand awareness, content, and digital PR as AI overviews and LLMs changed search dynamics.

How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)10:12

How do you build your team—in-house, freelance, or hybrid—and what's your ideal structure?

100% in-house and mission-aligned. He hires globally (India, Pakistan, Brazil, Japan, Philippines) based on talent value and affordability rather than local hiring, allowing him to access world-class expertise while maintaining culture.

How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)14:16

How do you foster creativity, consistency, and transparency across a remote global team with significant time zone differences?

He uses overlapping work hours for key meetings, Time Doctor for time tracking to identify bottlenecks, ClickUp as a CRM, and an operations manager to continuously improve systems. He also prioritizes psychological safety so team members feel comfortable speaking up.

How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)16:19

In Callum Gracie's words

“I always look at SEO as the safety net and then paid advertising is the jet fuel which is just going to let you take off. But if that runs out or the tap gets turned off, you're going to fall back on a pretty beautiful cloud—an SEO cloud of just ongoing leads.”
How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)7:09

“I'm in this to serve. That's my mantra. That's my model. I'm here to help people.”
How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)12:14

“100% in-house—that we cannot align or calibrate ourselves to our mission if we are going to outsource anything. Nothing is outsourced.”
How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)15:18

“What you see is what you get. I really don't hide online. You'll know exactly what you're hiring when you get DJ Callum Gracie.”
How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)26:34

“We're all going to die, so do it anyway and go for it and give it your all.”
How a Teacher/DJ Built a $100K SEO Agency (in 12 Months)28:00

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