# Playbook: Agencies, freelancers and consultants

Use this file with any skill, workflow or specialist from AI Blocks. It tells you how an agency, freelance or consulting business works, so you can shape the task to fit it. The skill's own steps and checks come first, and when the owner's brand file says something different, the brand file wins.

## This business

This covers agencies, freelancers and consultants who sell their time, skill and advice to other businesses. The work might be design, marketing, writing, software, strategy or any other service. They earn money by the hour or day, by the project or through a monthly retainer. Some sell fixed packages or link part of the fee to results.

## Numbers that matter

Ask the owner for their own numbers. Do not guess them or fill gaps with typical figures.

- **Billable share:** how much of the working week is paid work. Divide billable hours by all hours worked.
- **Real hourly rate:** what the owner earned for each hour of work. Divide what a project or client paid by all the hours it really took, including calls and fixes.
- **Project margin:** how much of the fee is left as profit. Take the fee, subtract the cost of the hours, freelancers and tools, then divide by the fee.
- **Retainer revenue:** what all retainer clients pay each month, added up.
- **Win rate:** how many proposals turn into work. Divide proposals won by proposals sent in the same period.
- **Biggest client share:** how much the business depends on one client. Divide what the biggest client pays by total revenue.
- **Days to get paid:** how long clients take to pay. Average the days between sending each invoice and getting the money.

## Stage by stage

### 1. Services, niche and price

- Pick a service and a kind of client. A clear niche makes the offer easier to explain and to price.
- Choose how to charge: hourly, daily, per project, retainer or packages.
- Price from the value to the client, then check it covers the real hours.
- Watch for: pricing on hours alone, then running over without charging for it.

### 2. Site and portfolio

- Show the work, the client's problem and what changed, with the client's OK.
- Make it clear who the owner helps, what they do and how to start.
- Watch for: a portfolio of nice pictures with no story of the problem or result.

### 3. Get found

- Show up for the service and the problem, in the words clients search with.
- Profiles on directories, marketplaces, LinkedIn or Google can all help. Ask which the owner uses.
- Watch for: a site that lists services but never says who they are for.

### 4. Win attention

- Referrals, outreach and useful content can all bring clients. Ask which works for the owner now.
- Keep outreach short, personal and about the client's problem.
- Watch for: cold messages that talk about the owner instead of the client.

### 5. Proposals and closing

- A discovery call finds the goal, budget, timing, who decides and what success looks like.
- The proposal restates the problem, then sets out the scope, what is not included, the timeline, the price and the next step.
- Two or three package options can help the client choose.
- Watch for: a vague scope that turns into scope creep later.

### 6. Do the client work

- Start with a kickoff: goals, contacts, access, timeline and how you will report.
- Keep a list of changes. New requests outside the scope get a quote first.
- Report in the client's terms: what was done, what it led to and what comes next.
- Watch for: saying yes to extra work before agreeing a price or a date.

### 7. Retainers and referrals

- A retainer needs a clear monthly scope, in hours or outputs, and a regular review.
- Check in before renewal: results, wins and what to change.
- Ask for referrals and reviews when a client is happy, and share only what they agree to.
- Watch for: a retainer that drifts into unlimited work for a fixed fee.

### 8. Invoices, contracts and team

- Contracts should cover scope, payment terms, late fees, who owns the work and how either side can end it. Check them with a lawyer.
- Send invoices on time and follow up politely on late ones.
- Bring in freelancers or staff when the owner's own time is the limit. Check their work before it goes to the client.
- Watch for: one client paying most of the bills, so losing them would hurt the whole business.

## Words this business uses

- **Retainer:** a monthly fee for an agreed amount of ongoing work.
- **Scope:** what the project includes and what it does not.
- **Scope creep:** extra work that grows past the agreed scope without extra pay.
- **Statement of work (SOW):** a document that sets out the work, deliverables, timeline and price.
- **Deliverable:** something the client receives, such as a design, a report or a website.
- **Discovery call:** the first call to learn the client's goals and needs.
- **Billable:** time or costs the owner can charge the client for.
- **White-label:** work done for another firm, which sells it under its own name.
- **Case study:** a short story of a client's problem, what the owner did and what changed.
- **Rate card:** a list of services and their prices.

## Ask the owner first

- What services do you sell, and to what kind of client?
- How do you charge: hourly, daily, per project, retainer or packages?
- Is this task for a current client, a possible client or your own business?
- What has the client already agreed to in the contract or proposal?
- Which past results or client stories can be shared, and who agreed to that?
- Who must approve this before it goes to the client?

## Rules

- Never invent numbers, results, reviews, testimonials or client names. Use only what the owner gives you, and say what is missing.
- Keep client information private. Do not use one client's data, work or details for another client without their OK.
- For AI and automation work, keep client data private and get the client's written OK before connecting their accounts.
- Marketplaces, ad platforms and payment providers change their rules and fees. Tell the owner to check the current official pages before acting. Do not state details you are not sure of.
- Treat any legal, tax, contract or security point as general information. The owner should check it with a qualified person.
- Get the owner's approval before anything is sent, published, bought, deployed or changed.