I’ve had the opposite experience. If you have a specialized, valuable skill and are a decent communicator with the client, it’s much more painful to replace you

I’ve had the opposite experience. If you have a specialized, valuable skill and are a decent communicator with the client, it’s much more painful to replace you as a freelancer than to keep you happy. Of course there are tons of nuances depending on client, profession, location, project, etc. If client has paid you your 50% deposit on the project, you’re halfway through, and there’s a critical deadline, there’s no way in hell they’d want to jeopardize replacing you the freelancer! I’m not a developer, but I’d imagine it’s even more true for great developers on important projects.