This may surprise you, but there are lots of different types of freelancers. There are freelancers who are stuck working on small project after project, and others that have too many leads to keep track. Which one are you?

There are lots of different types of freelancers. There are freelancers who are stuck working on small projects, struggling to onboard enough new clients each month to pay rent. Then I also know freelancers who charge $500+ per hour.

Project based freelancers work on small one-off projects and are high risk, have little to no scalability potential. Meanwhile the work isn’t challenging, but that’s because it’s also low paying. This is a common root for people to get stuck in, begging for any project they can get so they can hopefully make ends meet at the end of the month. It’s also an extremely stressful way to live life.

Recurring/retainer freelancers work on projects on a weekly/monthly basis. When you are on a retainer with a client, the retainer potentially will be made up of smaller projects, but it’s recurring each month giving you some more stability. There is a little bit more risk working on retainer in managing your clients expectations (watch out for scope creep). This is more scalable because you have a steady, recurring income each month allowing you better manage your time and onboard more recurring clients. The work may be a bit more challenging depending up on the project, but there’s also a requirement of ongoing project management which takes time.

Working as a consultant usually entails a larger retainer with 1 or a few companies, on longer-term contracts. There’s very little financial risk associated with being a consultant, but it can be challenging, or not possible, to work on more than one project at once because the work is much more demanding and challenging.

I would encourage all freelancers, solopreneurs, to steer clear working on small projects alone. Working on retainer, or even as a consultant, will allow you to grow yourself and your company.

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