Month: October 2013

If you are a well seasoned freelancer or a creative venturing into this work, you’ll know (or soon know) the important of retainer clients. I was fully unaware of this genius idea until a retainer client came along my path and wanted to work with me. Essentially all this means is that you are a clients go-to when they need help with any creative needs. In my case, my retainer client contracted me to work a certain amount of hours each week for them and each week’s deliverables would change a little bit. If you connect the dots, this means that the client likes you enough to have you on speed dial AND that you’ll have guaranteed work (and money) coming in the door.

Here’s what I’ve learned about retainer clients so far (always still learning)

( photo – Veda House )

I wanted to stop by and talk about something that has been popping up lately in my conversations with other creatives, specifically self-employed individuals. There is always this chatter about how to live a life with a career that you are passionate about. To me, that simply means that you need to turn your passions into your career or a supplemental component to your day job. Blurring the lines between jobs and passions is the key to “living the dream”.

During these conversations with friends, I’ve been asking “So what do you do for fun when you aren’t trying to get paid for surveys?”.  This questions usually evokes a long pause and then something like…”I like to be outdoors. I like to cook/bake. I love renovating my home…” These things are quickly followed by “but I don’t really have any time for those…” I like to turn the conversation around by suggesting a few ways to make a few dollars from those things they do for fun. For example: the friend that loves to cook had  ideas swirling about how to make a cookbook.

(photo for Clementine Daily)