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It used to be $225/hr. But I don’t have an hourly rate anymore and I basically never will. You need to understand that as a contractor clients value more than

It used to be $225/hr. But I don’t have an hourly rate anymore and I basically never will. You need to understand that as a contractor clients value more than just your time and the work you do. They value flexibility in staffing, getting an outsider’s opinion, their own time, working with a true expert, and making progress on projects which they can show off to their boss. That’s why for all my work I scope project fees plus monthly retainers. The retainers are use it or lose it. Then I focus on delivering the best possible experience for my clients. By switching to this model I do about 3x my previous earnings. And my clients are happy (I haven’t lost one yet). It doesn’t make sense to become a contractor just to remain a wage slave. (Before all the “I can’t do this because my situation is different”: You are full of it. Anyone can do this.)

jcims 4y ago
I've been out of the race for about 7 years but had this exact same realization and agree with your position 100%.
nonameking2026 4y ago
Are you working in a specialized field or going on reputation mostly ?
- tdehnel 4y ago
  There are probably a half million people who do what I do. I go on reputation and sales ability. Anyone can learn to improve both for themselves.
  - b20000 4y ago
    so how do people find you and how do you convert them? do you do cold calling?
arbitrage 4y ago
Hi, some people need health insurance for themselves and their family, a retirement plan, and predictable financial stability in their lives. > You are full of it. Anyone can do this. Your part to whole fallacy aside, in the real world, there are different constraints on people and family units other than trying to make the most amount of money all the time.
- tdehnel 4y ago
  I have all of that. I buy it with the money I make.
- halkony 4y ago
  To be clear, contractors charge a higher rate exactly because of what you describe. If you make $50/hr as an employee, you'll need at least $100/hr to pay for all the overhead with insurance, accountants, self-employment taxes, FICA, etc. These costs are mostly invisible in bigger orgs. It may seem like contractor wages are greedy, but know that companies are willing to pay good money for domain expertise. Especially with all the friction of hiring a new full time employee.
  - Khelavaster 4y ago
    That's not how taxes work at all..
    - jamie_ca 4y ago
      It's not just taxes, though. It's the difference between salary and what's called Fully Burdened Labor Costs. Say you're comparing eg. a FTE with $115k salary, and 4 weeks vacation. Naively, a contractor working those hours is 115 / 48 weeks / 48 hours = $60/hr for the same salary. But the employer is also paying out payroll taxes, insurance, office space/supply expenses, retirement plans (401k) - this typically adds up to 25-30% on top of the base salary. Meanwhile, the contractor also isn't expecting their position to be a long-term gig, and (at least if you're not at an agency) also is managing a business so needs to account for business overhead (legal/accounting) and time spent lining up more business, which is un-billable. If they worked 4 days weekly at the contract gig and 1 day as overhead, already they need to bump salary expectation by 25% to keep even. And if you want to account for downtime between gigs, that number gets higher much quicker.
      - kurupt213 4y ago
        Fully burdened employee costs are normally 150% of salary
TbobbyZ 4y ago
When should I have a monthly retainer? How do I sell it to my client?
- codethief 4y ago
  You basically reserve time for them. If they don't pay the retainer, they won't have any guarantee that you'll have time for them when they need you. > When should I have a monthly retainer? It provides you with a certain amount of income safety, allows you to schedule your time better ahead of time and also prevents you from trying to make time for too many clients at once. (Imagine if multiple clients suddenly have an emergency and ask for your help.)
hpb42 4y ago
> project fees plus monthly retainers I am new to the contractors game, could you elaborate a bit more on what that means? Do you charge hourly + some monthly flat rate? Is it for short term contracts?
janci 4y ago
Can you describe the conditions of the retainer? Is there any quantity of work included? What benefit it gives to the client on retainer, compared to new client that contacted you?
_hcuq 4y ago
So the retainers are subtracted from the project fee?
snotrockets 4y ago
THIS. If you're not charging per project, you're a salaried employee, only without the guarantees and protections given to one.
- Noneofya 4y ago
  If you’re selling your time, you’re a salaried employee. The project fee will, in the end, also just account for the time you need to finish the project + some safety buffer. You’re basically just being both your boss, who would usually transform a client payment to savings and your salary, and you the employee.

jcims 4y ago

I've been out of the race for about 7 years but had this exact same realization and agree with your position 100%.

nonameking2026 4y ago

Are you working in a specialized field or going on reputation mostly ?

tdehnel 4y ago
There are probably a half million people who do what I do. I go on reputation and sales ability. Anyone can learn to improve both for themselves.
- b20000 4y ago
  so how do people find you and how do you convert them? do you do cold calling?

arbitrage 4y ago

Hi, some people need health insurance for themselves and their family, a retirement plan, and predictable financial stability in their lives. > You are full of it. Anyone can do this. Your part to whole fallacy aside, in the real world, there are different constraints on people and family units other than trying to make the most amount of money all the time.

tdehnel 4y ago
I have all of that. I buy it with the money I make.
halkony 4y ago
To be clear, contractors charge a higher rate exactly because of what you describe. If you make $50/hr as an employee, you'll need at least $100/hr to pay for all the overhead with insurance, accountants, self-employment taxes, FICA, etc. These costs are mostly invisible in bigger orgs. It may seem like contractor wages are greedy, but know that companies are willing to pay good money for domain expertise. Especially with all the friction of hiring a new full time employee.
- Khelavaster 4y ago
  That's not how taxes work at all..
  - jamie_ca 4y ago
    It's not just taxes, though. It's the difference between salary and what's called Fully Burdened Labor Costs. Say you're comparing eg. a FTE with $115k salary, and 4 weeks vacation. Naively, a contractor working those hours is 115 / 48 weeks / 48 hours = $60/hr for the same salary. But the employer is also paying out payroll taxes, insurance, office space/supply expenses, retirement plans (401k) - this typically adds up to 25-30% on top of the base salary. Meanwhile, the contractor also isn't expecting their position to be a long-term gig, and (at least if you're not at an agency) also is managing a business so needs to account for business overhead (legal/accounting) and time spent lining up more business, which is un-billable. If they worked 4 days weekly at the contract gig and 1 day as overhead, already they need to bump salary expectation by 25% to keep even. And if you want to account for downtime between gigs, that number gets higher much quicker.
    - kurupt213 4y ago
      Fully burdened employee costs are normally 150% of salary

TbobbyZ 4y ago

When should I have a monthly retainer? How do I sell it to my client?

codethief 4y ago
You basically reserve time for them. If they don't pay the retainer, they won't have any guarantee that you'll have time for them when they need you. > When should I have a monthly retainer? It provides you with a certain amount of income safety, allows you to schedule your time better ahead of time and also prevents you from trying to make time for too many clients at once. (Imagine if multiple clients suddenly have an emergency and ask for your help.)

hpb42 4y ago

> project fees plus monthly retainers I am new to the contractors game, could you elaborate a bit more on what that means? Do you charge hourly + some monthly flat rate? Is it for short term contracts?

janci 4y ago

Can you describe the conditions of the retainer? Is there any quantity of work included? What benefit it gives to the client on retainer, compared to new client that contacted you?

_hcuq 4y ago

So the retainers are subtracted from the project fee?

snotrockets 4y ago

THIS. If you're not charging per project, you're a salaried employee, only without the guarantees and protections given to one.

Noneofya 4y ago
If you’re selling your time, you’re a salaried employee. The project fee will, in the end, also just account for the time you need to finish the project + some safety buffer. You’re basically just being both your boss, who would usually transform a client payment to savings and your salary, and you the employee.