Showerthought: I was wrong about never taking retainer clients

For years I thought retainer clients were a trap that would box me into undervalued work. Then last March, a graphic designer named Maria in Austin showed me her books where she made $4,200 a month steady from just three retainer gigs, plus project work on top. I realized I had been chasing $800 one-off jobs that left me stressing every single week about where the next check was coming from. Anyone else stubbornly avoided retainers and later found out you were missing the whole point?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinross1mo ago

Did you factor in the stress of managing three different clients who all think they own your time? I had two retainers a few years back and ended up spending more hours on meetings and revisions than I ever did on flat fee work. The steady money is nice but I found it harder to grow or pivot when I had those monthly commitments hanging over my head. Maybe it works if you set super strict boundaries, but I couldnt make it feel worth it.

aaron_wilson171mo ago

One angle nobody's really talking about is how retainers can actually trap you in a pricing corner. Once you set that monthly rate, clients get used to it and it's brutal to raise it later without them feeling like you're gouging them. I've watched friends get stuck at the same retainer price for two or three years because they were scared to rock the boat. Meanwhile their costs went up and they were doing way more work for the same money. Seems like flat fee work at least resets the negotiation each time, so you can adjust.