Overheard a freelancer say 'retainers are the only way to survive' and it clicked

This girl at a coffee shop in Austin was talking about how she went from chasing $500 one-off gigs to signing a $3k monthly retainer with one client. She said it took her 6 months to build the trust but now shes got stable income and can actually plan. Has anyone here made the switch from project work to retainers and felt like it was worth the effort?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia_gonzalez13d ago

That's awesome for her but I gotta say the "$3k monthly retainer" part made me chuckle a little. 3k is great for one client but that's still really low if you're trying to live in Austin, especially after taxes and whatever software tools you're paying for. I think people hear "retainer" and think it's some magic bullet but honestly you need a few of those or a way bigger one to really feel stable. The trust building part is totally true though, that's the real work.

the_wendy13d ago

She's right though, you need a few of those to really feel stable.

spencer78213d ago

Have you tried starting with a smaller retainer while still taking on project work? I did that for about 4 months, kept one retainer for basic maintenance and monthly updates, then slowly added on project fees on top. That way I wasn't risking everything on one client but could see how steady the retainer income actually felt. After the first month of that $500 retainer I realized how nice it was to know exactly what I'd make that month, even if it wasn't much.