The Generalist Trap: Why Saying Yes to Everyone is Sinking Your Agency

By Corey Quinn
inspired by “Anyone, Not Everyone”

Let me guess: You started your agency by saying yes to everyone.

The local lawyer. The fitness coach. That friend-of-a-friend with a “cool app idea.” It felt like momentum. Like you were building something.

But here’s the thing: That “something” was a trap.

Let’s call it what it is: the Generalist Trap.

You know the symptoms:

• Context-switching chaos.
  
  
• Employees pleading with you not to sell another deal.
  
  
• A team stretched thin, relearning new industries every week.
  
  
• You—the founder—becoming the bottleneck, the only one who “gets” every client.
  
  
• Work that’s good, not great. And clients who leave because they don’t see the difference between you and the next agency on Google.

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone. Most agency founders fall into this trap early on. And it makes sense: generalists survive. They hustle. They scrape by.

But they don’t scale.

The Generalist Trap is a Cycle—And It Feeds Itself

Here’s what most agency owners miss: each “yes” sets off a chain reaction that circles right back to more “yeses.” It’s not just inefficient—it’s a loop. And if you don’t break it, it’ll run your agency into the ground.

Let’s walk through the cycle:

1. It starts with “Yes to Everyone.”

That random inbound lead? You take it. That one-off project in a new niche? Why not. But this isn’t building a business—it’s building a time bomb.

2. Next comes Context Switching.

Now you're building a funnel for a SaaS startup on Monday, running local SEO for a dentist on Tuesday, and launching a paid media campaign for a nonprofit on Wednesday. No momentum. No rhythm. Just whiplash.

3. Which leads to Operational Inefficiencies.

No repeatable systems. No SOPs. No leverage. Your team spends more time learning than executing. Your margins vanish.

4. Then the Founder Becomes the Bottleneck.

You know every client’s backstory because you sold them. So you become QA, strategist, firefighter. Growth stalls because nothing scales without you.

5. You Become a Commodity.

Generic agencies get generic results. You’re not known for solving a specific problem, so you blend into the crowd—and clients start shopping on price.

6. Client Churn Kicks In.

Without deep expertise, your results are average. Clients leave. Retainers die. And your team starts wondering if this is really worth it.

7. You Chase Revenue.

Churn hurts. Cashflow gets tight. So you do what you’ve always done: you say yes to anyone. And the whole thing starts again.

And that’s the trap. A hamster wheel disguised as hustle.

Here’s the visual to drive it home:

You Can’t Grow What You Can’t Systemize

This isn’t just a list of problems—it’s a feedback loop. The longer you stay in it, the more it costs you: in time, in energy, in sanity.

And the only way out is to specialize in a vertical market.

Vertical specialization gives you:

• Clear positioning
  
  
• Tighter processes
  
  
• A more empowered team
  
  
• Higher margins
  
  
• Clients who stick around
  
  
• And a business that doesn’t rely on you doing everything

Want Out of the Cycle?

Anyone, Not Everyone is a book I wrote for agency founders who are tired of playing the generalist game. It’s a practical guide to escaping the trap, narrowing your focus, and scaling a high-margin, highly referable agency that clients actually want to work with.

I recorded the audiobook version myself, and I’m giving it away—completely free. It’s like having a private 1:1 strategy session in your ears. You’ll also get the bonus companion workbook and plug-and-play templates to take action immediately.

👉 Grab it here: AnyoneNotEveryone.com/audio

Let’s stop the cycle. And start building the agency you actually want.