Retainer!
Two clients in two days have contacted me to ask if they can put me on retainer as a freelance copywriter. One of them said she had money to hire another person and wanted to offer me a position, but she knew I wouldn’t take it. So she’s going to ask me to handle one of their big monthly projects (and possibly a whole other division) while she hires someone for admin. Her board chairperson suggested she offer me the job!
The same woman told me she had received an email from my former company when I left. “Beth is no longer with us, so if you need help…” blah blah blah. My client said, “When I saw that, I said to myself, ‘They have no clue what they lost.’”
How great a week is this?!!?
Though D.J. is in the South Pacific on vacation, he took the time to send me an email pointing out that just last week I was asking him to make sure I had the money to get back to my parents’ house when I needed to move into their basement.
One of my characteristics: I have a bad memory for bad memories.
Being on retainer sounds great in theory. I’d have guaranteed income each month. The downside may be making sure I price things correctly. I could end up doing more work than they paid for if I don’t really think this through. On the other hand, perhaps some months would have more and some less. I’m also excited because it’ll be easier when I don’t have to worry about tracking my hours. I find myself answering questions here and there and not charging for them because it’s almost not worth the time to track it. That will never get me anywhere.
Yahoo!
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D.J. on 16 Jan 2008 at 6:15 pm #
Being self employed I know what conflict is all about. Do I retain my autonomy, or do I go for the dependable and give some of it up? Tough question. I do not proport to know anything about being a freelance copywrite, but I do know this, take the time to think it through and weigh all options before making a decision.
As my stroll down Ave. Z continues from afar, I still remain curious and hopeful that Beth stops, takes a deep breath, counts to 5, then depersonalizes it. That is a sign of a business person.
From Micronesia,
D.J.
EST on 17 Jan 2008 at 6:54 am #
“I’m also excited because it’ll be easier when I don’t have to worry about tracking my hours.”
But if you don’t track your hours, at least in the beginning, how will you know that you are pricing correctly or that the “incidental” phone calls aren’t taking an inordinate amount of your time?
Beth on 17 Jan 2008 at 7:06 am #
D.J. — Trying to breathe now… This is the “sigH ” of a business person.
I’ll figure it out — don’t worry.
EST — you make an excellent point. One of my weaknesses is letting little things suck up my time. But I’m aware of the problem, and I strive to figure out how to overcome it. Thanks for visiting…
Romi on 17 Jan 2008 at 9:00 am #
Congrats to you! Success is all the sweeter when you’re doing something you love
…that being said, time for me to go back to my AWESOME advertising analyst work…woohoo! right…