You craved freedom…
So you said goodbye to the 9-5, and set out on your own.
You started your business, because in addition to chasing your passion, you wanted to be able to travel, spend time with your family, and pursue long overdue self care interests.
Sarah Masci – Day Rate Mastery
So you bootstrapped and hustled, and when the clients started rolling in, you thought, “Yes! The elusive dream is in sight!â€
As the years have passed, you’ve served wonderful clients, and made lasting friendships with some of them, while others send you a steady stream of referrals and are always tagging you on social media.
But somehow, somewhere along the way, you lost the freedom you set out to find.
You spend tons of hours on non-billable work. You dread posting on social media, answering complex emails, writing proposals, and getting on “connection†calls that don’t always turn into clients…
Clients expect you to live by their deadlines, but they can’t meet yours. Late files means you can’t start on time. They give feedback when they get around to it. Projects just keep getting delayed…
You overextend yourself. After talking on more clients to fill the gaps the delayed clients have created – suddenly the delayed client is ready, and you have no choice but to work double-time to keep everyone happy.
Scope Creep is out of control. Revision after revision, email after email, week after week. Your projects are never-ending…
Your bank account suffers. When you finally DO finish a project, it takes weeks or months longer to actually get paid…
Maybe you’ve even found yourself daydreaming about going back to a real J.O.B. because then at least you could clock out at 5:00 every day and get paid consistently.
That was my exact story until three years ago.
Isn’t it ironic that we call ourselves freelancers, yet our business model actually leads us away from freedom?
Let me ask you – what would change for you if….
You only had to work 2 or 3 days per week and you knew exactly what days they would be, so you could plan months in advance, spend more time with your family, travel frequently and do more of what you love.
You didn’t have to waste hours on discovery calls, writing proposals and calculating how long an entire project will take only to be let down when the client comes back and says you’re too expensive.
You knew exactly how much money you were going to make each month and you could control whether or not to make more or less, depending on your life’s circumstances for the month.
You no longer had to deal with frustrating or demanding clients who started out fine, but then turned into the never-ending scope-creep client, leaving you both uninspired by the end of your time together.
You had a steady stream of DREAM clients raving about the work that you’ve done for them – so much so, that you no longer need to spend hours inside of Facebook Groups promoting your services.
You no longer worry about whether or not you were going to be able to pay the bills next month because you’re charging premium rates for your services and no longer chasing down late payments and invoices.
My guess is that this would be life-changing for you!
I’m here to tell you it’s TOTALLY possible, and it can happen sooner than you think!
I began my entrepreneurial journey in 2005…
I spent most of those years chasing shiny objects and creating dead-end businesses, in pursuit of that magic pill that would give me time with my family, financial freedom, and a work-life balance that every new business owner dreams of.
Instead, I found myself working insane hours, constantly struggling to make ends meet.
The numbers just weren’t adding up….
Even though I had established myself as a good designer, had great clients, and had invested in the best coaches and programs, hoping for that magic pill, I still found myself working endless hours, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed from all the hustle, and yet barely able to make ends meet each month.
I was stuck in a vicious feast or famine cycle.
I knew all about “scaling†with products, and how to do it, but there was no way “I†could do that because I spent ALL my working hours on client work.
Scope creep, inconsistent timelines, and delayed payments had taken their toll on me, and I was burnt out.
One cold day back in February 2018, a former client came to me with a unique request that nearly put me over the edge.
Not wanting to deal with another proposal and back and forth emails, I thought, ‘Why not test out the possibility of offering her a day rate to get it all done?’
She agreed to my day rate offer, and it was the most fun I’d had in a long time – I wanted to do more of these!
After testing with a few more clients, I announced this new service, and my audience went crazy for it!
I booked three day rate clients from that very first Facebook post, and went on to continue booking more each month!
News about my Book Me For a Dayâ„¢ intensives quickly spread, and clients were coming to me.
I became consistently booked out, 4-6 weeks in advance.
Over time, I went from working 7 days a week, often 10+ hours per day to being able to choose exactly what days I wanted to work – FAR in advance, and far fewer than 7 days per week.
My income rose… From averaging $4-6K months, to steadily over $10K every single month.
I finally stopped stuffing my Mac into a giant suitcase every time my family wanted to go on vacation… I could finally go away and ENJOY our family vacations, and not think about work.
I finally stopped scouring Facebook Groups and Instagram all day, every day, replying to posts about branding and design, in search of my next client or project.
These days, I spend usually a few days per month doing Book Me For A Dayâ„¢ client work, and the rest of my work hours are spent speaking on this topic, and supporting fellow creatives, via my course, Day Rate Masteryâ„¢ and my high-level coaching program, Momentum.
When I’m not working, I’m enjoying time with my husband, our four sons, our 2 dogs, Mabel and Maverick, and our new pandemic hobby – raising backyard chickens! I’m able to take tons of time off and travel as often as I want…
Thanks to the Day Rates business model, I finally have the freedom lifestyle I chased for so long…
So you might be wondering, what exactly is a day rate, and what type of client buys them?
Also known as VIP Days and One-Day Intensives, Day Rates are the practice of working with clients one day at a time, and charging a flat fee for the day – not the deliverables.
There are plenty of clients’ who desire a quick and efficient process that is as stress-free and drama-free as possible.
While this process isn’t for everyone, the fact that I’ve stayed consistently booked out for almost 3 years, with premium rates, tells me that there IS a market out there.
There’s a market for being GREAT + FAST, and it’s called Day Rates.
Once I developed and mastered the Day Rate formula, I shifted my entire business model so the only way clients can hire me for my design services, is through my Book Me For a Dayâ„¢ offer.
I’ve stayed consistently booked out for the past 2+ years, which validates that there’s a need for more people doing this sort of work!
I can honestly say that offering one-day intensive services is your one-way ticket to becoming a HAPPIER & more fulfilled (and financially free) creative business owner!
If you’re ready to….
Stop spending hours writing custom proposals, only to be told you’re too expensive…
Stop spending hours scouring social media, worrying about where your next client is going to come from…
Stop bringing your computer on vacation with you, just in case a client emergency comes up…
Stop spending your weekends working on client deadlines…
Put an end to all of those “final_final_final_clientname.jpg†files…
Then you need to have Day Rates as part (or even better, ALL) of your business model!
I get that it feels overwhelming, and dare I say ‘daunting’ to figure out how plan and prepare for such a huge pivot in your business!
The questions are neverending!
How do you know what services to offer?
How do you estimate how much you can get done in a day?
How do you find the clients who will believe in you and trust your process?
How does this fit in with your other services? Do you even still offer the other services?
What tools do you use to make the process more effective and efficient?
How do you ensure your client is satisfied and doesn’t waste the entire day with wishy-washy indecisiveness?
How do you deal with difficult clients who fail to prepare or show up or give feedback when you need it?
What proactive measures do you take to ensure the client is properly prepared for the day of the intensive?
How do you handle clients who have questions or want more support once their intensive is over?
What sort of contract do you need to have in place?
After nearly three years of running intensives, I’ve experienced (or) been asked ALL of these questions (and plenty more) by fellow designers and service providers who want to know my secrets.
So I created the first digital course that’s all about Day Rates!
Day Rate Mastery™ includes everything you need to effortlessly pivot to a Day Rate business model – I’ve left no stone unturned.
FINALLY have the freedom-filled lifestyle that you’ve been chasing for so long!
Work just a handful of days per month, and make more money that you ever thought possible!
Take up a new hobby, spend time with your kids or create that digital product you never had time for!
Re-discover the long lost JOY in business that you’ve been missing for so long!
