Had to choose between a steady retainer and a big project

A local agency in Phoenix offered me a $2k monthly retainer for ongoing content, but a startup wanted me for a one-off $8k website rewrite. I took the retainer for the security, but the startup's project blew up and got featured in TechCrunch. Anyone else pass on a project that later took off?

3 comments

3 Comments

david8212mo ago

Yeah that's the classic freelancer's curse lol. I once turned down a logo job for a cafe that later became a huge chain. Still kick myself over that one sometimes.

matthew_owens92mo ago

Ever read that thing about how most big brands started with cheap logos? Makes you wonder, @david821.

alice_reed471mo ago

Man I feel that pain. I declined a $500 logo project back in 2012 from a guy starting a food truck. He called it "Bite Box" or something like that. Next thing I know it's a whole franchise with 50 locations and a branding agency got paid 6 figures for the "refresh." I swear every time I see their logo on a billboard a little part of me dies inside lol.

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