Why I don't do retainers
Retainers reward slow. Fixed quotes reward shipping. I sell fixed quotes per automation, not hours per month, because that's how a $1M business owner would want to buy from me — and it's how I've always wanted to buy from anyone else.
The first question a prospective client asks me is almost always: "What's your monthly retainer?" It's usually delivered like they already know the answer — probably $2,500 to $8,000, probably billed for the year, probably auto-renewing.
My answer disappoints them briefly, then delights them:
"I don't do retainers. I sell you a system for a fixed price, I build it, you own it. If you want me to keep building more, we do the next one the same way."
Why the industry defaults to retainers
Because retainers are how agencies fund payroll during slow months. An agency needs 12 clients paying $5k/month whether or not they're actually being served that month. It's a business model, not a delivery model, and it quietly reshapes every project into something billable-for-a-long-time.
What fixed quotes change
- I get paid to finish, not to be busy. Every hour I take past the estimate is a margin hit for me, not a line item for you.
- You keep the receipts. When we're done, you own the automation, the credentials, and the documentation. If you fire me tomorrow, everything keeps running.
- Scope creep dies. Big changes get a new line item, not a padded next-month invoice.
When a retainer actually makes sense
There's one lane where I do bill monthly: the Ongoing Partner arrangement. That's when a business owner wants me acting as their systems person on a standing basis — building new things, watching the existing systems, replacing them before they break. That's a real service that repeats. It's not a discovery retainer disguised as a real one.
The pricing page has the specifics. TL;DR: single automations from $450, a full 4-automation starter stack from $3,500, and the ongoing partner arrangement from $1,500/month. No annual commitment on any of it.
Want your business audited like this?
Twenty minutes on the phone. No pitch. You leave with a ranked list of what to automate first in your business — whether or not you hire me.