The day I learned what 'mutual' actually means in a partnership

Three years into running my small web design shop outside Columbus, I kept chasing bigger agencies for white-label work. I thought landing a 5000 dollar monthly retainer from one of them meant I'd made it. Turns out they were just using me for overflow when their own team got buried, and I was eating all the risk. The tipping point came last April when they demanded a 2-week turnaround on a site rebuild with zero input on the brief and no extension clause. I said yes, pulled two all-nighters, and then they told me the client backed out and they were only paying 60 percent of the agreed rate. That's when it hit me that I was a vendor with a friendly email footer, not a partner. I started asking every potential partner how they handle scope changes and kill fees before signing anything now. Has anyone else had that moment where you figure out you're just a cheaper version of their in-house team?

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1 Comment

terry_lewis2111d ago

Stop taking work from people who won't sign fair terms.