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Life Update:

Pretty relatable to the topic of this newsletter.

I’ve been getting extremely selective with the partnerships I let into the agency currently.

I could close anywhere around 15-25k New MRR each month. But if that doesn’t stay, the agency doesn’t compound.

The main motto this time has been to do extremely good work for the most important clients.

Have the other clients catch up on deliverables.

Collect testimonials, make the proof of work stronger.

And to increase the pricing, which is 2x of what it used to be 3 months ago now. Already have 2 extremely qualified projects in the pipeline.

In other aspects, I’m finally back to my schedule fully. Knee is healing. Gaining the strength back fully to perform well in training.

I’ll be moving apartments next. Completely unfurnished this time. I’ll build everything with my flatmates.

The amount of content I have that will be put out, you guys aren’t ready.

In other aspects, specially this month, I was feeling like I’ve gotten to a threshold with my knowledge.

Identified things I want to learn and changing my consumption habit.

Yeah, it’s real. My scrolling habits got really bad recently. Consciously controlling it has been a challenge, but I never felt so good.

If I want to be a great creative, I need to upgrade my taste, and horizon of creativity. That’s been my focus recently.

Reading essays, blogs. Learning color theory, moodboarding. And studying content again.

Taking newer steps with the Journey club.

Being consistent with YouTube.

Writing more.

Training safely.

Working on a few new projects with Akshat and a client.

That’s the agenda.

Honestly, doesn’t feel like the year’s ending. Sure a bit more parties are on the way, but the work will be the same.

Maybe this time I won’t be working at 12am on 1st January. Like that last 5 years.

Let’s get into one of the most important concepts I’ll cover as an agency owner.

(If you like this, please share it on your IG stories. It helps massively in spreading the word).

The Great Agency Cleanse

There’s a moment in every service business where you stop asking
“How do I get more clients?”
and start asking
“How can I only work with the best ones?”

For me, that moment hit somewhere between August and October this year, a season where Metro Media House hit its “peak volume” phase: 24–25 clients, a team running at full tilt, and a calendar that looked like a Tetris level designed by Satan.

From the outside? It looked like scale.
From the inside? It felt like everything was eroding.

And that’s when I realized something most agency owners learn too late:

This is the story of that subtraction.

This is the story of The Great Agency Cleanse.

1. Volume is a vanity metric. Retention is the business.

There’s a formula nobody teaches you early on:

The unpredictable part about service businesses is the retention and completion of deliverables.

You can never be sure of your MRR at 100%.

Yet I kept playing the wrong game → the “stack as many clients as you can, be proud of the chaos, and call it growth” game.

The truth?

Acquiring 5 clients a month is not impressive if you lose 4 of them the month after.

That’s not momentum. That’s churn with extra steps.

That’s

1. Starting new projects

2. Creating the ops pipeline

3. Getting the creatives started

4. Putting the team together

5. Getting hyped up about the future results

Only to lose it all in 1-2 months and starting again. Multiple times per month.

A service business compounds only in one place:

Long-term partnerships with people who actually value the work.

And if you don’t have those, you’re not running a business → you’re running a glorified treadmill. A job where your boss changes every month. And several of them.

Because you couldn’t earn the authority to set your own terms.

2. Ending 12 partnerships and watching revenue stay the same

When you see the bank account inflate with all that new revenue. You sometimes forget to be a great judge of character.

Same actually happened with me from June till October. I onboarded clients, even if I didn’t feel confident.

This time it was different than last year. Back then it was out of desperation, because every small close meant the agency would survive.

This time it was my happiness of seeing a big number in my bank, not caring about it’s longevity.

To make money is different, to keep it and grow that’s a different beast.

It’s always the same pattern of you being disgusted in yourself and finally deciding to change for the better.

I sat down with my lead team members, admitted my mistakes and asked “Which clients would you fight to keep as partners?”

A similar principle from the book, No Rules Rules (talks about team members, but different context here).

I got a list. And the hunch was right, all of those clients were the ones that I didn’t feel confident in.

So I had to start becoming a cleaner (Gachiakuta reference)

So I started drafting plans, offboarding emails for clients where the cycles were ending. And some where we just started, and giving their money back.

A few created problems, others didn’t.

With every “unfit” client gone, my peace increased. Deep down I was worried about losing out on money.

However, the interesting part that surprised even me:

During the “cleanse”, I ended 12 partnerships myself.
Not because the clients were “bad.” Okay, maybe some of them were.
Not because the work was unbearable. Alright, a lot of it was, overall because the alignment wasn’t there.

And after all that “loss” here’s what happened:

Our revenue… didn’t move.
Not up. Not down.
Exactly the same.

Because I started qualifying even more. Longer term agreements. Way bigger retainers.

That moment changed me.

It shattered the illusion that “more clients = more money.”

Instead, it proved a harder truth:

3. The psychology of charging more (and why I was the bottleneck)

For years, my pricing philosophy was simple:

• If X amount feels fair, I will charge X.

• If clients pay X happily, I’ll increase slowly.

• If results continue, maybe I’ll try X + 10%.

It was a very “reasonable” mindset. Reasonable… and limiting.

Because while I was operating on proof,
my team was operating on performance.

One day they told me:

I didn’t have a good answer.
Just habit.
Just caution.
Just old mental models.

Then the cleanse forced my hand.

I raised prices, not aggressively, but truthfully.

What happened next?

Fewer clients.
More revenue.
Better fits.
Better work.
Better sleep.
Better life.
Trip to Japan, Hong Kong, back home without any worries.

Turns out revenue didn’t grow because I “scaled.”
It grew because I finally stopped underestimating the product.

Where we’re fucking amazing right now. We have real motion with our work, being on somewhat of a global stage where now more people know us than I estimated.

4. The real lesson: Scarcity is loud. Abundance is quiet.

There’s a quote I’ve been repeating to myself:

Most agency founders stay stuck because:

• They fear losing income.

• They fear running out of leads.

• They fear “dry months.”

• They fear asking for what they’re worth.

But here’s the irony:

The moment you stop gripping clients tightly,
you stop losing them.

Like that crush in school time that you chased so much, she used to think you’re a weirdo.

When you’re not desperate, you negotiate better.
When you’re intentional, you deliver better.
When you choose who you work with, you create better.

And that leads to the holy grail of agency life:

Fewer clients × Higher retention × Higher pricing

Effortless scale

Not chaotic scale.
Not burnout scale.
Not ego scale.

Real scale.

5. Stop putting “service business money” on a pedestal

People glamorize numbers:

“10k months.”
“30k months.”
“50k months.”

But money in the agency world is a false summit.

Because every level feels the same.
10k → 20k → 50k → 80k.
Different numbers, same fires.

What actually changes your life is NOT hitting a revenue goal.

It’s hitting clarity:

• clarity on the type of clients you want

• clarity on the value you bring

• clarity on your pricing

• clarity on what excellence looks like

• clarity on what you will no longer tolerate

Once that clicks?

Everything gets easier.
Not because the work got lighter,
but because you got stronger.

6. The moment your agency shifts into its next chapter

Every founder faces this crossroads:

Become the agency that says yes to everyone,
or become the agency people feel lucky to work with.

I always say this to my team members.

“Our clients should rave about working with us. Everywhere they go, they should get appreciation for their content and in turn they spread the word about us. About Metro Media House”.

The cleanse pushed me into the second category.

Not exclusivity or being premium.

It’s all about operating from a simple belief.

I just want to be extremely proud of my work. What I can make happen.

I think about a trophy cabinet right behind me, that I can feel, but it’s not visible. Where it’s a collection of my accolades. That I created a net positive in people’s lives.

The kind of work that compounds.
The kind that becomes a case study.
The kind that clients stay for.
The kind that builds reputation for years.
The kind that makes price irrelevant.

And that mindset more than any funnel or outreach script is what scales an agency.

Final note: Every agency needs a cleanse. Yours is coming.

If you’re reading this and you feel:

• stretched thin

• overcommitted

• underpaid

• undervalued

• overrun with busywork

• unsure about your pricing

• scared to let go

• afraid to raise your standards

You’re probably overdue for your cleanse too.

Remember this:

Real growth comes from subtraction.

And once you remove the misaligned,
your business and your confidence will expand to fill the space.

Because the moment you start choosing your clients, instead of chasing them,

everything changes.

This was, the great agency cleanse.

Huge thanks to Rundown for sponsoring this newsletter. Do make sure to check them out, just that helps run Curate and I’ll keep on bringing more bangers (I’ve got so many stories to tell lol).

I’ve been subbed to them for more than 6 months now, being sponsored by them is an honor.

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