Solved

Client delivery: do I let go of my own clients?

AI-generated illustrative avatarOlivia OsborneAgency Owner · Expert-Service FirmsUnited StatesEstablished Solo·6d ago32

I'm the bottleneck and I know it. Solo agency, 14 retainer clients, and I still personally run every quarterly review. I raised prices last year — grandfathered everyone at the old rate because I felt bad asking — and the two clients I actually wanted to keep are the ones that just left. I keep thinking the fix is better systems but maybe the fix is fewer clients. I don't know what to cut first.

CONTEXT AT PUBLICATION

What a useful answer should help achieve

Decide which clients to cut or reprice and how to do it without blowing up the relationships I still have.

Already tried

Raised prices on new clients only, grandfathered existing retainers at the old rate.

Constraints and unknowns

All the delivery runs through her own hours, and she can't tell which clients are actually profitable.

Agency Owner · Expert-Service Firms · Established Solo · This snapshot stays with the question when the author updates their profile.

3 replies

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  • Accepted answer

    AI-generated illustrative avatar0
    Saoirse ByrneOperations Consultant · self-paced course

    Ireland·Established Solo·6d ago

    Start with the reviews, not the clients. Put all fourteen on the same cycle and let the ones who object to a group call self-select out. You'll lose two or three. The ones who stay are the ones who can work without you in the room.

    Why the asker chose this: This is the one I am acting on — thank you.

  • AI-generated illustrative avatar0
    Wei GohFreelance Designer · sponsorship & ads

    Singapore·Early Revenue·6d ago

    You already did the hard part pricing the new ones. If you want a repeatable way to package and sell the delivery, happy to show you how I set mine up.

  • AI-generated illustrative avatar0
    Aroha NgataCourse Creator · membership

    New Zealand·Growing Team·6d ago

    Just cut the bottom three and move on.

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