You Designed Your Business—Now Redesign It for the Life You Want

By Mike Schmidt

Most agency owners don’t feel like business owners—they feel like employees of the very companies they created.

They wake up stressed. They can’t unplug during vacations. If they step away for a few days, leads dry up, sales stall, and delivery breaks down. Instead of owning a business, they’ve built a job.

I’ve been there. I started my agency back in 2003. For years, I was stuck in the trap of “if I don’t show up, nothing happens.” But today, nearly 23 years later, I work 8 to 12 hours per year in my agency. Why? Because I intentionally redesigned it to work for me—not the other way around.

Business Is a Game—But You Get to Design It

Every business has rules: how it generates leads, how it sells, how it delivers, how it charges. But here’s the secret that took me years to fully realize:

You made all those rules up.

And you can change them anytime.

The times I’ve hated my business the most—the times I’ve been stressed, overwhelmed, or depressed—have all been when I forgot this truth:

I’m the one in charge.

That big orange wall in our office? Made up.

Our pricing model? Made up.

The clients we take on, the services we offer, how we deliver them? All made up.

And here’s the kicker—we’re not done making it up. You aren’t either.

What Are You Still Tolerating?

Maybe you’re still offering services you hate. Maybe you bought into someone else’s model years ago and never stopped to question if it still fits you.

Are you still doing e-commerce even though it stresses you out? Still building one-off websites because that’s what clients are asking for—even though you know you want recurring revenue?

It’s time to ask yourself:

• What parts of your business light you up?
  
  
• What parts do you wish you could hit delete on?
  
  
• And what’s stopping you from doing just that?
  
  

Yes, it’s scary to say no to paying clients. I remember cutting off our e-commerce services even when we had paying clients and leads in the pipeline. Saying no to money in hand is hard—especially in the early days.

But every time I’ve said no to work that didn’t align, I opened the door to something better.

This Is the Best Time in History to Own an Agency

No matter the economy—good or bad—businesses still need marketing. In a boom, they invest to grow. In a downturn, they panic and need to grow just to survive. Either way, they come looking for help.

That’s why I still own my agency today.

That’s why, if I lost everything tomorrow, the very first thing I’d do is start another marketing agency.

Because when you build it right—when you design your business instead of just working in it—you own your business. And when you own your business?

You own your life.

What Will You Design Next?

If you’re tired of trading time for money, tired of the stress, tired of feeling trapped—you’re not alone. But you are in control.

Join us inside the Agency Coach community where agency owners like you are rewriting their stories, designing better businesses, and supporting each other to live better lives.

You don’t need permission to redesign your business.

You just need to remember—you’re the one holding the pen.

 

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