I am running a small one man NYC practice, residential and light commercial, and things are going fairly well. I've gotten to the point I have referral clients and can pay my bills while saving a little. So life is progressing in an adequate direction.

Having said that, I'm having trouble getting to the next step. Some of issues:

• I've got little issue getting clients, but I am still having some trouble getting 10-12% of construction cost on jobs. I'm still getting in the 7-8% range, or sometimes a bit less even.
• I'm still in the point where most of my work is 'I need an architect' or 'I need a permit', not 'I want to hire you'. 
• I've reached the limit of 'hard work' and need to figure out a way to maximize design/knowledge and not simply be willing to work more and longer than the competition. I'm getting a little older now and can't simply drink a Red Bull and grind 7 days a week.
• I am still writing a potentially weak standard proposal and occasionally I'll define the work poorly and that costs me money and time.

I'm sure most of the problems above have been dealt with by professionals on this board, to varying degrees. 

I guess my question is:

Has anyone found a good consultant to streamline the issues of:

• Setting good budgets that maximize revenue while not scaring off clients
• Writing a proposal that is fair to the client while protecting the architect's interests.
• Differentiating the architect's studio to get better work.

Obviously, I don't think my issues are uncommon. Anyone found a wise old hand consultant to help them out of similar issues?

Many thanks!