29d (edited) • General discussion
If You Want 2026 to Be Different, Read This
Alright, given it’s a new year, I want to share what I think everyone in here should be doing right now — not theory, not motivation… just practical stuff that you action right now.
The objective is simple - reduce the noise, make more by doing less. You want to INCREASE income, and DECREASE outgoings. You should also be thinking about decluttering - everywhere. Your agency, your team, your client base, mentally - everywhere.
It's time to clean up the mess and get serious about kicking ass in 2026 - no excuses.
1. Cost reduction – do a proper audit
The first thing I’d be doing is a full audit of every single expense.
Software, subscriptions, freelancers, contractors, random tools you signed up for “temporarily” and never cancelled. A lot of you will be bleeding cash everywhere through small monthly expenses that don’t feel expensive, but add up fast.
Ask yourself:
- Do I actually use this?
- Is this going to help me reach my goal, or is this purely a distraction?
- Does this directly help me acquire clients and make money?
If the answer is “probably not needed,” cut it. Cleaner expenses = cleaner margins = less pressure.
Once you have done this - share just how much money you've saved yourself below. I have just spent the past 3 weeks doing this and saved over $3k in outgoings. Most of it was absolute bullshit - $20 here, $90 there. Get rid of it!
2. Service reduction – you don't need 35 different services!
Most agencies think growth comes from adding "more stuff".
In reality, all that's doing is causing stress, complexity and chaos.
Go through your services and identify anything that:
- Takes a lot of time to deliver
- Is hard to standardise
- Requires constant hand-holding
- Generates low profit relative to effort
These services are keeping you stuck - get rid of them!
Removing one high-effort, low-return service often has a bigger impact than adding a new one. Less complexity = better delivery and better margins. Most of you could be doing $1M a year with just ONE service offering.
Once you have done this - share which service you got rid of below, and let us know why. Your actions might help others clean up their service offerings too.
3. Price increases – you’re probably overdue
If you haven’t increased prices recently, you’re likely absorbing:
- Rising costs and Inflation
- Higher acquisition costs
- More client expectations
- Losses due to shitty margins
That’s a losing game.
Where possible, aim for at least a 20-30% increase on pricing. Go higher if you can (especially if you know you are undercharging)
For existing clients, handle it properly:
- Communicate early
- Be clear and professional
- Offer a 3-month grace period
- Set a firm date for the increase
Some clients will push back.That’s normal — and often a signal you were undercharging. Who cares if some of them cancel. Chances are you'll be making more money with fewer clients.
Once you have done this - share what prices you've raised - what you were charging, and how much you intend on charging moving forward. Let us know the outcome. For those of you who send a broadcast email and have success, consider sharing the message here so others might be able to use it.
4. Fire shit clients – seriously
Some clients cost more than they pay. They drain energy, push boundaries, and slow everything down.
If you have clients that:
- Constantly create friction
- Are never happy
- Pays late
- Make you dread opening your inbox
They’re holding you back. F them off!
Letting go of the wrong clients often results in:
- Better delivery
- More focus
- Higher morale
- Space for better clients
This is one of the hardest moves — and one of the most impactful.
If you decide to ditch some lowball clients - share that here with other members, because its empowering and might help them take action!
5. Remove distractions – protect your attention
Most of you will be getting pulled in all directions - and the things that truly matter will be constantly delayed. You'll find yourself saying "Ive been really busy, I havent had time - BULLSHIT!. You don’t have a time problem — you have an attention problem.
Audit distractions the same way you audit costs:
- Uninstall apps from your phone you don’t need
- Turn off ALL non-essential notifications
- Unsubscribe from email lists you never act on
Just stop and think about it for a moment - how frequently are you being notified about something? I had this realization recently and it was awful. Every 5 seconds - bing, bing, bing. I uninstalled EVERY single app from my phone - unsubscribed from every email, turned off notifications everywhere and immediately I noticed the difference.
Bottom line - If you’re constantly interrupted, you’ll never do deep, meaningful work. 2 mins here, 5 mins there - at the end of the year you've lost 2 months. Focus is a competitive advantage. By the way, go to your phone and look at the average screen time per day - and share it here. I bet its horrendous!
Once you have done this - share what crap you got rid of and how much time you think you've just gotten back.
In summary ...
If there’s one theme here, it’s this:
Progress comes from subtraction, not addition. Many of you will be thinking about what you can add that might drive the business further, but my advice is this - simplify first — everything else becomes easier after that.
Curious to hear which of these you’re already doing, and which ones you’ve been avoiding. Be sure to share with everyone which of these you've actioned and what you did.
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If You Want 2026 to Be Different, Read This
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