Agency Freedom: The Shift From Overworking to Sustainable Growth

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August 23, 2025

On August 26, 2025

Agency Freedom: How to Shift from Overworking to Sustainable Growth

Discover how agency freedom transforms scaling from constant firefighting into sustainable, profitable growth.

When scaling past seven figures, many digital agency owners realize profit doesn’t equal freedom. Broken systems, unclear handoffs, and constant bottlenecks keep them working harder instead of smarter. In this episode of The Catalytic Leadership Podcast, we explore how agency freedom becomes possible when you shift from overworking to sustainable growth — with the right systems, teams, and habits in place.

🎧 Listen to the Full Episode on Agency Freedom

Listen to the Full Episode

Agency Freedom and the Path to Sustainable Growth

In this episode — Agency Freedom: The Shift From Overworking to Sustainable Growth — I sat down with John Henao, Founder & CEO of Go Staffy and builder of the seven-figure agency eWiser.

John shares how he scaled his own agency from $15k MRR to seven figures in just over two years with a fully remote Colombian team, and why he now equips other agency owners with staffing, SOPs, and AI-compliant systems to create true agency freedom.

What John demonstrates so clearly is that freedom doesn’t come from chasing revenue — it comes from refining systems that stop breaking at every new revenue ceiling, choosing the right next hire, and building a culture that sustains both profit and purpose.

For Agency Owners Scaling Past Seven Figures

If you’re leading a digital agency and building toward lasting freedom, this conversation was designed for you. You may recognize yourself if you’ve said:

“Margins are getting squeezed — how do I scale profitably without bloating payroll?”
“Our ops and automations keep breaking as we grow — is it a people problem or a systems problem?”
“I don’t know who the next right hire should be or how to onboard them effectively.”

“I’ve scaled revenue but lost the freedom I thought I’d gain.”

Why Freedom Is the True Measure of Scale

As I work with high-performing leaders, I see a consistent trap: they equate growth with freedom. Yet when you scale past seven figures, you quickly discover that profit without freedom is simply another form of captivity.

Freedom is not an accident of revenue — it is a product of intention. It’s built when leaders design systems that work without their constant input, delegate at the right level, and build teams capable of carrying the vision forward.

If your systems keep breaking, that’s not a sign of failure — it’s a signal of growth. Every ceiling reveals whether the limitation is in your people or in your processes. Wise leaders treat these breaking points as opportunities to refine what will carry them further.

The goal is not to grow an agency that consumes your life, but one that funds and fuels it. True catalytic leadership asks: “Am I building a business that serves my values, or am I serving a business that demands all of me?”

Agency freedom is not found in working harder. It is discovered when you build the structures that allow you to lead from strength, sustain your health and family, and focus your energy on the work only you can do.

Episode Highlights and Key Takeaways

00:02 – Introduction to John Henao and Go Staffy
01:17 – Why small actions create outsized results
03:42 – The leadership habits that compound over time
04:50 – From print marketing to a full digital agency
06:32 – Scaling eWiser from $15k MRR to seven figures
07:54 – Why a Colombian remote team became the profit advantage
10:31 – Go Staffy’s origin: from agency lessons to growth partner
12:09 – SOPs, onboarding, and making teams AI-compliant
14:44 – How to identify your next right hire
15:22 – The Freedom Agency book: practical blueprint for time and profit
17:10 – Go Accomplish More: John’s new podcast
18:36 – How faith informs resilience and leadership
21:13 – Masterminds, peer counsel, and learning for agency leaders
26:36 – Solving systems vs. people problems in scaling
28:18 – Breaking points as growth signals in business and life

Top Books for Sustainable Growth & Agency FreedomBooks Mentioned

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Bible

Connect with John Henao

You can connect with John on Instagram or Facebook at John Henao, or visit GoStaffy.com to explore how his team can help your agency scale sustainably. Keep an eye out for his upcoming book The Freedom Agency and his podcast Go Accomplish More.

Ready to Get Your Time Back Without Breaking Your Team?

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Want to Be a Guest on the Show?

If you’re a 7- or 8-figure agency owner with a story of growth, systems, or leadership evolution, we want to hear from you. Join past guests from top industry groups like Seven Figure Agency, Hite Committed Mastermind, Prospecting on Demand (POD) and GoHighLevel power users on a platform trusted by high-performing founders worldwide.

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About Dr. William Attaway:

Dr. William Attaway is a seasoned Executive Mindset and Leadership Coach who helps 6-, 7-, and 8-figure digital agency owners scale their businesses with clarity, systems, and confidence. With over 30 years of experience, he equips growth-driven entrepreneurs to build high-performing teams, implement scalable systems, and transition from freelancer to CEO.

He hosts the Catalytic Leadership™ Podcast—ranked in the Top 1.5% of podcasts globally (source: Listen Notes)—with a weekly reach of over 50,000. Each episode features elite agency owners and top digital entrepreneurs sharing what actually works when scaling a service-based business.

From leadership development and visionary thinking to mindset transformation and team optimization, Dr. Attaway empowers agency leaders to build a business that thrives without their constant oversight—and a team that flourishes under intentional, scalable leadership.