Latest / Solopreneur Sessions with Fexingo: One-Person Businesses, Freelancing, and Independent Work / How a Solo Freelance Designer Built a Productized Retainer
Transcript
- Lucas: So there is a moment in every freelancer's life when they look at their calendar and realize they are basically a temp worker with a nice laptop. You're billing by the hour, juggling five different clients, and your income looks like a heart monitor. Luna: And not the healthy resting heart rate kind. More like the 'I just sprinted up a flight of stairs' kind. Lucas: Exactly. And today I want to talk about a designer who decided to stop playing that game. Her name is Maya Chen, she's a solo brand designer, and she built what she calls a productized retainer. The result? Her revenue doubled in about six months while her hours per client dropped by a third. Luna: Wait, that sounds almost too good. Doubling revenue while working fewer hours per client? What's the catch? Lucas: The catch is that she had to completely rethink how she packaged her work. Before, she was doing the classic freelance thing: hourly billing, scope creep, 'can you just also do a social media graphic?' requests that eat your whole afternoon. Now she sells a fixed package: a set monthly fee for a defined scope of design work, delivered on a predictable schedule. Luna: So it's like a subscription for design services? I've seen those, but they seem to work better for agencies or bigger teams. How does a solo person pull that off without drowning? Lucas: She's very specific about the boundaries. Her retainer includes a fixed number of design requests per month, usually three, with a defined turn-around time and a maximum number of revisions. Anything outside that scope is a separate project. And she uses a simple client portal built in Notion to manage requests and approvals. It's not fancy, but it makes the process feel professional and keeps everyone on the same page. Luna: And that fixed fee — how did she decide what to charge? That's always the hardest part for me. Lucas: She told me she looked at her average monthly income from her best three months of hourly work, then added about twenty percent on top. She also analyzed the types of tasks her clients repeatedly asked for, so she could price the package to cover the real work. And she positioned it as a 'growth plan' for clients, not just a discount on her hourly rate. Luna: I love that framing. 'Growth plan' sounds like a partnership, not just a transaction. But what about the clients who want to keep it flexible? Did she lose anyone when she switched to this model? Lucas: She did lose a couple of clients, and she admits that was a bit scary at first. But she replaced them with clients who were a better fit — businesses that wanted ongoing design support and valued the predictability. One of her clients, a small SaaS company, told her the fixed fee made it easier for them to budget, because they didn't have to worry about surprise invoices. Luna: That makes sense. And I imagine it also helps her own cash flow. No more chasing invoices for hours worked two weeks ago. She knows exactly what's coming in each month. Lucas: Exactly. And that predictability is a big deal. She told me that the mental shift alone was worth it — knowing that her base income was covered each month meant she could turn down projects that weren't a good fit, and even invest some time in marketing her retainer to new clients. Luna: It's like she built herself a safety net that also helps her grow. But I'm curious — what about the scope creep issue? You mentioned a maximum number of revisions. How does that play out in practice? Lucas: She's strict about it, but flexible within the bounds. For example, her retainer includes three design requests per month, each with up to two rounds of revisions. If a client wants more, they can either wait until the next month or pay for an overflow project. She said it took a few months to train her clients, but now they respect the structure, and it actually reduces a lot of friction because everyone knows the rules up front. Luna: That sounds so much healthier than the classic 'just one more tweak' dance. And the Notion portal — what does that actually look like? Is it a shared database where clients submit requests? Lucas: Pretty much. She has a database with views for pending, in progress, and completed requests. Clients add their design brief, attach any files, and she moves them through the pipeline. It also tracks how many requests they've used in a month, so there's no awkward conversation about 'you've used all your requests.' The system does the reminding for her. Luna: That's clever. And it also makes her look super organized, which is half the battle in client relationships. Lucas: Right. And it's not just about looking organized — it's about building trust. When clients see a clear process, they feel more confident that you'll deliver. That's part of why she could double her prices for new clients. She's selling a system, not just her time. Luna: So for someone listening who is a freelancer and wants to try this, what's the first step? Is it just about defining the scope, or is there a bigger mindset shift? Lucas: Maya's advice is to start by writing down the top three things your clients ask you for on a regular basis. Those become the core of your package. Then, price it based on the value to the client, not just the hours it takes you. And then — this is key — create a simple service agreement that spells out the scope, the process, and the boundaries. You don't need a lawyer for that, but you should have it in writing. Luna: And what about the people who say 'I'm a writer, not a designer' or 'I'm a developer, not a designer'? Can this model work for any service business? Lucas: I think it can, as long as the work is repeatable and there's a defined output. A writer could offer a monthly blog post package. A developer could offer a maintenance and bug-fix retainer. The key is that the client knows exactly what they're getting, and you know exactly what you need to deliver. It's about trading 'I'll do whatever you need, whenever' for 'I'll do these specific things, on this schedule, for this price.' Luna: That's a great way to put it. And it also makes it easier to say no to the projects that don't fit, because you have a clear framework for what you do and don't do. Lucas: Definitely. And that's something we talk about a lot on this show — the idea that constraints can actually be liberating. When you're not trying to be everything to everyone, you can be really good for a specific set of clients. Luna: And that's also why we love doing this show without ads. It keeps us focused on what matters: giving you practical, actionable ideas without any noise. Lucas: Right. And if you've found value in these conversations, you can support that ad-free choice at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to say thanks and help us keep doing what we do. Luna: Yeah, we really appreciate that. But let's get back to Maya — she also mentioned that she had to change how she marketed herself. What did that look like? Lucas: She stopped leading with her portfolio and started leading with the outcome. Her website now says something like 'Brand design on a monthly plan — get a consistent visual identity without the hourly billing games.' She also put together a one-page PDF explaining how the retainer works, with a simple comparison table of her old hourly model versus the new plan. That made the decision easy for clients. Luna: So she's selling the deliverable, not the process. That's a smart angle, because clients don't really care how many hours it takes you — they care about getting the results they need. Lucas: Exactly. And she found that by being so clear about what she offers, she attracted clients who were already aligned with her way of working. Less back and forth, less negotiation, and more mutual respect. Luna: Have you seen any other solo professionals do something similar? I feel like this concept is spreading beyond design. Lucas: Oh, absolutely. I've seen copywriters offer a monthly content package, social media managers offer a set number of posts and engagement reports, and even virtual assistants are moving to retainer models. It's a trend that fits the broader shift toward subscription-based services, and it works particularly well for solo pros because it gives them a stable base to build on. Luna: It's like the gig economy is getting a little less gig-like. And I have to think that's a good thing for people who want to build a sustainable business, not just a series of one-off projects. Lucas: That's the whole point. And Maya's story is a great example of how one person can take control of their income and their time. She went from constantly putting out fires to having a clear, repeatable process that serves both her and her clients. Luna: So if you're a freelancer listening to this, what's the one thing you should take away? Is it the fixed scope, the pricing strategy, or the Notion portal? Lucas: I'd say the mindset shift is the most important. You have to believe that you're not just selling hours — you're selling outcomes. Once you internalize that, the packaging and the pricing follow naturally. And you can start small: pick one client, offer them a monthly retainer, and see how it feels. You don't have to overhaul your whole business overnight. Luna: That's a good starting point. And I bet even if you don't switch completely, just thinking in terms of outcomes will change how you approach every project. Lucas: For sure. And who knows — maybe you'll find that you enjoy the predictability as much as Maya does. She told me she's never going back to hourly billing.