When things feel slow inside an agency, it’s tempting to look for new tactics.

A better lead magnet. A revamped website. A new service offering that sounds more exciting than what’s already on the menu.

But underneath all that noise, there’s usually a quieter truth at play:

You haven’t figured out your flywheel yet.

Focus Is What Makes the Wheel Turn

Author Jim Collins uses the flywheel as a metaphor for what happens when you apply focused, consistent effort in one direction. At first, it’s tough. The wheel barely moves. But you keep pushing. Eventually, the wheel gains momentum. Then it spins on its own.

Agencies aren’t much different.

In theory, your flywheel is simple: create value for clients.
In practice, that’s rarely enough.

You have to define:

• Who you're serving

• How you're serving them

• Why you’re the best option

And then you have to keep pushing that same wheel, over and over, without getting distracted by every new opportunity that lands in your inbox.

What a Working Flywheel Actually Looks Like

At Barrel Holdings, we’ve seen this up close across our agencies.

BX Studio is focused on being the premier Webflow agency. That means saying no to WordPress and Shopify work. It means investing heavily in the team’s Webflow expertise, educating clients about the platform, and designing services around it. Everything reinforces that identity.

Barrel centers its flywheel around CPG commerce. The partnerships, the services, the events, they’re all designed to serve CPG brands. That level of focus allows the agency to build deep expertise and strong positioning.

Bolster, our design agency, is building a reputation as the go-to for B2B brand design that’s high-impact and cost-effective. That means turning down consumer brand projects, even if they look interesting. Every yes or no adds or subtracts from the flywheel’s spin.

Discipline Is the Difference

Where things fall apart is usually not in the vision, but in the discipline.

It’s hard to say no to revenue that’s just a little outside your lane. It’s easy to make exceptions. You tell yourself it’s just this one time.

But every detour slows the wheel.

Momentum only builds when you make the same push, in the same direction, for a long time.

The Harder Question Worth Answering

So if your agency feels stuck right now, don’t jump to the latest growth hack.

Start with a harder question:

Do you know what your flywheel actually is?

If not, that’s the work.
Define it. Commit to it.
Then keep pushing.

The early phase will feel slow. But if you stay focused, the day will come when the wheel starts to spin on its own.

And when it does, everything gets easier.