I had a client running a small dev shop last month. Smart guy, brilliant developer. Had 5 people working for him and was doing about $40k a month.
But he was absolutely miserable.
Why? Because one of his clients - a startup founder who was a old business partner - was paying him $3k a month (way below market) but taking up 60% of his team's time with constant revisions and "emergency fixes."
My client kept this arrangement going because he still sort of believed in the startup's vision, he felt it would be unloyal to abandon his former partner, and he didn't have any other work immediately lined up so he'd end up in the red.
It can feel as if your entire world is on fire where in reality only one specific thing is causing most of your stress. Fixing that is your next point of leverage, the next step on your stairway to freedom.
And no, the answer is never to just work more.
The most common advice I give to agency owners isn't about marketing funnels or sales scripts. It's about letting go.
Letting go of that problem client who's "about to make it big."
Letting go of that brilliant developer who's making everyone else miserable.
Letting go of the identity of being a "technical founder who codes."
Your revenue will thank you. Your team will thank you. Your family will thank you.
And you'll be able to breathe again.