PSA: Fired my cheapest client to take on a retainer instead

I had a client paying $50 per tiny project who would email me 8 times a day, and another offering a $1,200 monthly retainer for the same weekly hours. Dumped the first one last month and my stress level dropped by half. Anybody else found that one big client beats five small ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_murphy23d ago

Is dumping a cheap client really such a huge life-changing event?

the_robin23d ago

OH MAN congrats. You basically traded a screaming toddler for a quiet adult who pays you. That's a HUGE win. Nothing beats the feeling of hitting "archive" on that one cheap client's millionth email while your retainer check clears. It's amazing how much easier life gets when you're not nickel-and-dimed to death.

paulnguyen23d ago

Totally feel you on this one. I dumped a client who paid $75 a month but expected same day replies to their 5pm Friday emails. It's like they thought my time was worth nothing. Now I have a retainer that pays me what I'm actually worth and I don't jump every time my phone buzzes. The constant nickel and diming adds up to way more stress than the money is worth. Some clients just don't respect your time no matter how good your work is.