Why I don't scale my agency

These agencies took more clients than they could handle, had to hire good writers at breakneck speed (which is very hard to do) and eventually churned left and right.

This is a hedonic trap.

I say no to almost everyone when my slots are filled or when someone doesn’t fit the criteria.

If I had taken the route of scaling agency, my writing would’ve been in the doldrums.

Many of the really good writers (who now run big agencies) I know are posting soulless content for themselves and their clients, something I would’ve never predicted from them.

But this isn’t unusual. The incentives these people are putting in front of them are business revenue, and that’s fine.

My incentive is to improve my writing. Become a lethal writer who is just known for quality. I’m going brahma bull on research-driven writing.

It’s been a year since I took this route, and I can see an obvious quality upgrade in my writing.

And the ripple effect of this is that I started attracting clients who are also into quality content.

So I’m happily letting go of this train, the lodestar is still what I made when I started writing 3 years ago:

Pay a decade-long tax to this craft. Study it religiously.

Be honest to it in every decision I make and revenue would eventually follow.

I just need to make sure I don’t chase the wrong carrot that corrodes this process. 7 more years to go.