My WORST Decision as a Freelancer
When I was looking to scale my income as a freelancer, I became an agency owner. It was the WORST decision for me. I grew quickly, didn’t interview subcontractors well, didn’t manage my team well, and foolishly expected everyone I hired to be as meticulous and client-oriented as I was.
My brand suffered. My reputation suffered. I was earning more but working more too. That wasn’t why I started my business
It had me thinking - is there a way to earn more, have more time, and NOT have an agency?
There is. Here are the the steps I took (so you don’t have to guess):
✅ I burned down the agency.
It wasn’t serving me, giving me more stress than ease.
✅ Changed my pricing structure to be tiered offers.
Lowest price point was the minimum amount I would work for anyone.
✅ Set up a system where clients paid more for greater access to me.
Took clients off of a level playing field.
✅ When referrals came, pricing increased.
Referrals close easier due to built-in trust.
✅ Clear boundaries in my contracts that freed up my time.
Sets expectations early, creating a better experience.
✅ Began taking on clients that didn’t need my constant presence.
I hired subcontractors again but this time…
✅ Added those who worked exclusively with me, not clients.
Assign work, double check, send to client.
✅ Built a list of peers that I could send clients to
If a client wasn’t a good fit, I would email a list.
✅ Began charging for connecting clients with freelancers
Not a lot of work for a good amount of money
✅ Increased my pricing again
If clients don’t hesitate on pricing, time to increase again.
You don’t need to build an agency to scale. It’s one of the biggest myths in our industry.
For me, scaling was earning more money and time in my life, as well as being able to hire carefully and move through scaling slowly. I wanted to keep my reputation intact.
The next time I scaled, I made sure that clients didn’t know I had subcontractors, I was double checking all their work, and still stayed client facing. It was a good solution to the problem of scaling, and one that I wish I had started with.
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