The Subtractive Year: Making More by Doing Less

Read time: 12 minutes

Last week, we covered the automation question. What to systemize, what to semi-automate, what to keep human. The key insight: automation should make you more human, not less. Remove friction from logistics so you can show up fully where it matters.

If you implemented that framework, you’ve reclaimed 3-5 hours per week.

Now the question is: What do you do with those hours?

The obvious answer: Take on more work.

The better answer: Do less. Make more.

This is the counterintuitive truth about scaling a consulting practice. At some point, growth comes from subtraction, not addition.

Cutting the clients who drain you. Eliminating the services that don’t pay well. Narrowing your focus until you’re exceptional at one thing.

This is the subtractive year.

Most consultants never do it. They keep adding. More clients. More services. More complexity.

And they wonder why revenue grows but profit and freedom don’t.

The Addition Trap

Here’s how consultants typically grow:

Year 1:

• One service: Product roadmaps

• One client type: Series A SaaS

• Revenue: $80K

Year 2:

• Client asks for something adjacent: “Can you also help with our product team structure?”

• You say yes. Now you offer two services.

• Another client asks for ongoing advising. You add retainers.

• Revenue: $120K

Year 3:

• You’re doing roadmaps, team structure, ongoing advising, occasional workshops, and one-off strategy sessions.

• You serve SaaS, fintech, healthcare, and e-commerce clients.

• You have 12 different engagement types at 8 different price points.

• Revenue: $150K

On paper, it looks like growth.

In reality:

• Every engagement is different, so nothing compounds

• You’re constantly context-switching between problem types

• Marketing is impossible because you do “everything”

• Pricing is all over the place

• You’re exhausted from juggling complexity

Revenue went up 87%. But you’re working 50% more hours.

Revenue per hour actually went down.

The Subtraction Alternative

Here’s what happens when you subtract instead:

Year 1:

• One service: Product roadmaps

• One client type: Series A SaaS

• Revenue: $80K

Year 2:

• You get better at roadmaps. Your process is refined.

• You raise prices 30% because you’re more efficient.

• You say no to adjacent requests. “That’s not my specialty.”

• Revenue: $100K (fewer clients, higher prices)

Year 3:

• You’re known as the Series A SaaS roadmap person.

• Referrals flow because positioning is clear.

• You raise prices again. Now $8K per engagement instead of $5K.

• You take fewer clients but make more per client.

• Revenue: $130K (half the clients of Year 1)

Revenue went up 62%. You’re working 30% fewer hours.

Revenue per hour more than doubled.

That’s the power of subtraction.

What to Subtract

Here’s how to identify what needs to go:

Subtraction 1: Low-value clients

Not all clients are created equal.

High-value clients:

• Pay premium rates without negotiating

• Respect your process

• Are easy to communicate with

• Refer other high-value clients

• Energize you

Low-value clients:

• Negotiate aggressively on price

• Question your recommendations constantly

• Require excessive hand-holding

• Create scope creep

• Drain your energy

The math:

A $6K client who takes 8 hours = $750/hour effective rate.

A $4K client who takes 15 hours (because of scope creep and difficult communication) = $267/hour effective rate.

You’re making 3x more per hour from the first client.

If you fired the second client and replaced them with another high-value client, your revenue goes up and your hours go down.

Action:

List your clients from the past year. Rate each one:

• Revenue generated

• Hours spent (actual, not estimated)

• Energy impact (positive/negative)

The bottom 20% needs to go.

Subtraction 2: Low-margin services

Not all services are equally profitable.

Calculate effective hourly rate for each service:

Revenue from service ÷ Total hours (including sales, delivery, and follow-up) = Effective hourly rate

Example:

Service A (Roadmap builds): $6K revenue, 8 hours total = $750/hour

Service B (Ongoing advising): $2K/month revenue, 6 hours/month = $333/hour

Service C (Team workshops): $3K revenue, 12 hours total = $250/hour

Service C is your least profitable offering.

If you eliminated workshops and redirected that energy toward roadmap builds, your revenue per hour increases significantly.

Action:

List your services. Calculate effective hourly rate for each.

Any service below 50% of your highest-paying service is a candidate for elimination.

Subtraction 3: Client types that don’t fit

You probably work with multiple types of clients. Some fit your expertise better than others.

Signs of misfit clients:

• You have to learn their industry each time

• They don’t get as good results as your core clients

• Referrals from them lead to more misfit clients

• You don’t enjoy the work as much

The focus advantage:

When you serve one client type deeply:

• You develop pattern recognition

• Your frameworks fit perfectly

• Your reputation compounds in that space

• Every engagement makes you better at the next one

When you serve everyone:

• Every engagement is custom

• Your expertise spreads thin

• You’re always learning instead of applying

• Nothing compounds

Action:

Look at your client list. Which type produces:

• Best results

• Highest revenue per hour

• Most referrals

• Most enjoyment

Double down on that type. Phase out the others.

How to Subtract (The Process)

Subtraction requires intentionality. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Stop accepting new low-value work

You don’t need to fire existing clients immediately.

Just stop accepting new ones that don’t fit.

When a low-value opportunity comes in:

“Thanks for thinking of me. I’ve gotten more specialized over time, and this isn’t quite in my wheelhouse anymore. You might have better luck with [alternative].”

The natural attrition starts.

Step 2: Raise prices on services you want to keep

Higher prices filter out low-value clients automatically.

When you raise prices:

• Budget-conscious clients self-select out

• Clients who remain value your expertise more

• Fewer clients, same or higher revenue

Step 3: Let low-value engagements complete naturally

You don’t need to fire clients mid-engagement.

Just don’t renew. Don’t extend. Don’t take on additional work.

At the end of the engagement:

“It’s been great working together. At this point, I think you have what you need to move forward. If anything comes up down the road, feel free to reach out.”

Clean, professional, done.

Step 4: Fill the gap with high-value work

As low-value work phases out, capacity opens up.

Use that capacity for:

• Pursuing higher-value clients

• Raising prices on existing services

• Deepening expertise in your niche

• Building systems that improve efficiency

Don’t fill the gap with more low-value work.

The Revenue Per Hour Framework

This is the metric that matters most:

Revenue per hour = Total revenue ÷ Total hours worked

Not just billable hours. Total hours. Including sales, admin, learning, and everything else.

Why this matters:

A consultant making $150K/year working 2,000 hours = $75/hour

A consultant making $120K/year working 1,000 hours = $120/hour

The second consultant is doing better.

They have more freedom. More margin. More sustainability.

How to improve revenue per hour:

Lever 1: Raise prices

The most direct lever. Same work, more revenue.

Lever 2: Improve efficiency

Better systems, templates, automation. Same revenue, less time.

Lever 3: Subtract low-value work

Remove the work that drags down your average.

Lever 4: Specialize

Expertise commands premiums. Generalists compete on price.

Most people focus on Lever 1 and ignore Levers 3 and 4.

But subtraction often has more impact than price increases.

The Focus Advantage

Here’s what happens when you narrow:

Before narrowing:

“I help companies with product strategy.”

• Competing with thousands of consultants

• No clear differentiator

• Marketing is vague

• Referrals are random

• Pricing pressure is high

After narrowing:

“I help Series A B2B SaaS companies build their first product roadmap.”

• Competing with dozens of consultants

• Clear expertise signal

• Marketing is targeted

• Referrals are specific (”Oh, you need a roadmap? Talk to [Name]”)

• Pricing power is high

The narrower you go, the stronger your position.

Why people resist:

“But I’ll miss out on opportunities!”

The reality:

You’ll miss out on low-value opportunities. High-value ones will increase.

Because when you’re known for one thing:

• The right people find you

• Referrals are precise

• Your reputation compounds

• You can charge more

You don’t need everyone. You need the right 20-30 clients per year.

The Subtractive Audit

Here’s how to run the audit:

Part 1: Client Analysis

List every client from the past 12 months.

For each one, document:

• Revenue

• Hours spent (honest estimate)

• Effective hourly rate (revenue ÷ hours)

• Energy impact (1-10, where 10 is energizing)

• Referral quality (did they refer others? what kind?)

Sort by effective hourly rate.

The bottom 20% are candidates for elimination.

Part 2: Service Analysis

List every type of engagement you’ve done.

For each one, document:

• Average revenue

• Average hours

• Effective hourly rate

• Scalability (can you do more without linear time increase?)

• Strategic fit (does this build toward where you want to go?)

Sort by effective hourly rate.

Services below 50% of your best service are candidates for elimination.

Part 3: Client Type Analysis

Group your clients by type (industry, stage, size, problem type).

For each group, assess:

• Average effective hourly rate

• Average energy impact

• Referral quality

• Your expertise depth

• Market opportunity

Which group is best across all dimensions?

That’s your focus.

What to Do This Week

Here’s your subtraction action plan:

Day 1: Run the client analysis

List clients. Calculate effective hourly rate for each.

Identify the bottom 20%.

Day 2: Run the service analysis

List services. Calculate effective hourly rate for each.

Identify services below 50% of your best.

Day 3: Run the client type analysis

Group clients by type. Assess each group.

Identify your best-fit client type.

Day 4: Make subtraction decisions

Based on your analysis:

• Which client types will you stop accepting?

• Which services will you eliminate?

• Which existing clients will you not renew?

Write down your decisions.

Day 5: Update your positioning

Based on what you’re keeping:

• Revise your positioning statement

• Update your website/LinkedIn

• Adjust your referral brief

Make it clear what you do and don’t do.

Day 6-7: Practice the “no” scripts

When misfit opportunities come in:

• “I’ve gotten more specialized over time...”

• “That’s not quite in my wheelhouse anymore...”

• “You might have better luck with [alternative]...”

Have the language ready.

By next week, you should have:

• Clear picture of your highest-value work

• Subtraction decisions made

• Positioning updated

• Ready to say no to misfit work

This is how you make more by doing less.

The Truth About Less

Here’s what people miss:

Less isn’t settling. It’s focusing.

When you do less, you can do it better. When you serve fewer clients, you can serve them deeper. When you offer fewer services, you can deliver them excellently.

The world rewards depth, not breadth.

The consultant who does one thing exceptionally makes more than the consultant who does many things adequately.

Subtraction isn’t about lowering your ambition.

It’s about concentrating your ambition on what actually matters.

Next week, we’re closing out August with lifestyle design. Building a business that fits your life instead of a life that fits your business. Revenue goals vs. freedom goals. The “enough” number. And sustainability over growth.

See you next Monday.

—Aurobinda Mondal

The Workplace Genie