Thanks for reading / commenting on the post. Just wanted to say I massively agree with you; it's exactly how we got started, and could afford to test these various business ideas and our agency business is what funds our tech. Everyone else has already mentioned the issues with focus, maker/manager schedule, etc, which are all valid in my experience.
However I have one more for you: the businesses that buy from you as a consultant are very unlikely to buy your product.
Why? Because if they need a freelancer / consultant / agency to do the work for them, they don't understand the work enough to do it themselves (or don't have enough time). Therefore any self-serve solution tends to be met with blank stares and confusion. Likewise, the people who use our product on a self-serve basis are typically not a good fit for our agency.
However I have one more for you: the businesses that buy from you as a consultant are very unlikely to buy your product.
Why? Because if they need a freelancer / consultant / agency to do the work for them, they don't understand the work enough to do it themselves (or don't have enough time). Therefore any self-serve solution tends to be met with blank stares and confusion. Likewise, the people who use our product on a self-serve basis are typically not a good fit for our agency.