The week I almost quit
Then remembered my why
There was a point last month when I seriously thought about quitting.
We had made the decision to stop working with low-tier clients - those who didn’t value what we offered. It felt like the right move at the time, but within days the work just… vanished.
My inbox stayed empty and every morning I opened my laptop with a knot in my stomach, bracing for the reminder that maybe this whole firm idea was a terrible mistake.
It wasn’t just the silence. It was the fatigue that followed.
My co-founder and I had spent months building our client base, dialing in our niche, and fine-tuning our process for IT, Fintech and SaaS clients.
And yet here we were, watching our pipeline evaporate because we refused to bend on price or on quality. It felt like pouring water into a bucket full of holes.
Each evening, I’d find myself staring at the ceiling, wondering if I’d made the wrong call.
I’d scroll through LinkedIn and see everyone else buzzing with new projects and shiny client wins.
My hands would hover over my phone, wanting to reach out—anyone, anyone—to fill the void. Instead, I’d toss it aside, thinking, No. We can’t go back.
I never admitted to anyone how close I was to giving up.
But I did make more calls than usual—to fellow founders, to lawyers I respect, even to old mentors who’d been through similar ruts.
I asked them bluntly, “What happened when you raised your standards?”
Their answers were eerily familiar.
Each of them described that same hollow lull—weeks, even months, of no work—right after they decided to stop taking on low-value clients.
And then, like clockwork, the tide would turn.
One high-quality client would come in, and it would cover the revenue of ten of the smaller ones. Their workloads felt lighter, their margins healthier, and their stress levels plummeted.
That’s when I remembered my why. I didn’t start this firm for prestige or fancy titles.
I started it because I wanted freedom—freedom of time, freedom of location, freedom to pick and choose the people I work with.
I wanted the ability to step away for a week if I needed to clear my head without worrying about loose ends waiting in my inbox.
So I leaned into that truth. I updated our website to reflect our new client criteria. I reached back out to former clients who fit our ideal profile.
Within a few weeks, things began to shift. A fintech founder who’d seen our content reached out.
He referred two colleagues. Our calendar filled again, this time with clients who paid on time, valued our process, and let us do our best work.
Now I want you to learn from this. And I want you to take some lessons home
Write down your core why. Be brutally honest—maybe it’s never missing another family dinner, or traveling without checking email every hour.
Place it somewhere you’ll see it daily. Your desk, your phone wallpaper, or a note in your planner—whatever works for you.
When doubt creeps in, read it out loud. Remind yourself that those tough days are part of building something that supports your freedom, not steals it.
Do this now, before you do anything else today. You’ll be surprised at how differently you face the week when your why is right in front of you.
— Akhil
Have questions about building your firm, getting clients, or positioning your services? I offer 30-min strategy calls. No fluff, just practical answers that fit your situation.