Most designers are stuck in the project-to-project cycle.

Finish a website. Send an invoice. Start hunting for the next one.

Every month feels like starting over.

You're always looking. Always pitching. Always wondering if the pipeline is full enough.

It's exhausting.

I used to live like that too.

Then I switched to retainers.

Not because I wanted recurring revenue (though that's nice). Because I wanted to stop thinking about where the next client was coming from.

When my first kid was born, I scaled back to 20 hours a week.

That year I still made over $150k.

Not because I worked harder. Not because I got lucky.

Because I wasn't spending half my energy hunting for the next project.

The work was already there. The clients were already locked in. I knew exactly what I was doing next month and the month after that.

Retainers gave me something more valuable than money - they gave me confidence.

Confidence that I could take time off without my income disappearing.

Confidence that I could focus on the work instead of the hustle.

Confidence that my business could support the life I actually wanted.

Most designers think retainers are hard to sell or only work for certain niches.

They're not. And they don't.

You just have to know how to position them.

P.S. I'm going to start teaching designers how to do this. If that's something you'd want to hear more about, just reply and let me know.

👋🏻 Have a good one!

Noah 🟠