I picked the model that makes me less money.
By George Barnett Reid 👀 · September 21, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I picked the model that makes me less money.
Per client, anyway.
An agency retainer is $6k a month, forever, for a slice of a person.
We charge $2,600 to $6,000 a month all in, and you get the whole person. The good version of this ends with you not needing me again.
That's a worse business on paper.
It's a much better one to be in.
Because the agency version had me managing the gap between what clients paid for and what they actually got. Every month. For years. And I was on the wrong side of it.
I don't miss it.
Turns out the thing I was good at wasn't running ads.
It was working out who could.