How many figures does it take for you to pass out?

Have a very special client. I like to call him the Sheikh. He does not mind. In return, he says that I am a Petrol Writer. This client is generous when it comes to pricing and payments. I have never been greedy. Just like Tom Cruise used to say in the Oblivion: We are an effective team! This gentleman is born and raised in Kuwait. He earned his degree in some prestigious London business school. Yet, when it comes to the business culture, he obviously follows the region of his origin. We do not discuss the price. We do not negotiate. Never. He orders the work. I deliver. Then, he asks how much needs to be paid. I get my money. That is it. Smooth and simple. For what is worth, so far, we have worked only on relatively small projects. Until recently.

This was a client only to wish for. Guess, it is not only in my nature, but I was not quite satisfied. I wished we could do some more work. And, you know what happens when you wish for something. It happens to you, but not exactly the way you wanted to get it. So, one fine day, the Sheikh approached me with an unusual proposal. Like I passed all the test, and the time has come for the real thing. What he had on his mind was a book about his personal and professional journey, somewhere around 200 to 300 pages. A brand new website. We are talking about a few dozen pages at least. Then, there was a package of 30 blogs, give it or take. He also needed some scripts for promotion videos, but he was not quite sure how many of them.

The numbers were flying around my head. When a 4 figures client comes my way, I call it the whale. So, this time the heard of whales headed my freelance way. Even with the wildest discount policy I can possibly imagine and offer, there would be more than enough work and money to keep me both occupied and satisfied for the next couple of months. This is always a good news for any freelancer. You work. You know you will get paid. You do not have to run around looking for new projects. It is an ideal situation.

Honestly, I was a little bit concerned. So, I asked what were his budget expectations. As you might have expected there is no such a word as the limit in his business vocabulary. I thought that this situation just could not possibly become any more surreal. Then, it happened right out of the blue.

How much you want to work only for me? At first, I did not realize what he asked me. I replied that I treat him as my VIP client, which was true. He has always been given priority regarding my other clients and project. Obviously that was not enough. I want you to work only for me. I was still confused. It was the time for him to do some explaining. Imagine that you run a production factory. I want to buy your entire production line for the whole year, or two, or five. How much do you want?

I always keep a precise record of all of my projects and submitted work. I know how much I can earn per year, usually, under the normal circumstances. Just like in any other business. One year is great, then the other one to follow is not so great, and so on. He proved his reputation of being a flawless businessman. He encouraged me to name my price with no hesitation. He also asked from me to decide how I want to be paid? At the beginning, or at the end, in the middle, of a month or a year, or periodically? It was all the same to him.

I was still shaking. I he was to ask me this question five or then years ago, I would say yes in a blink of an eye. But, after all of my corporate 9-to-5 nightmares were finally over, I was still hesitating. So, I said no. No. And, the worst thing about it is that I still do not know why I said that. Maybe because of some foolish ideal of freedom that does not even exist in the first place. Am I going to regret it at some point in time? I am not sure. What would you do, if you were to find yourself in my position? Five years of the stressful and insecure freelance life. Maybe I could have matched his offer. Maybe I could have earned more or less. I will never know. I did not sell my writing production line.

When the drought hits me hard every now and then, and there is no job to be found, I remember what I said and did. Yet, I made a promise to myself the last time I got fired that no man nor company will ever determine my fate and life. Maybe the Sheikh was offended. I was not sure. He would not tell. And, I could not read him. We were back to our old volume of work. The promising heard of whales and who knows what more obviously ended is some other freelancer's hands. Would the fate reward or punish me for my bravery or foolishness? This is something I would like to know.