Dec '25 • Business & Strategy 🧠
The Pricing Framework That Got Me To $4,200 Monthly Recurring 🔥
First three clients: Charged $600, $800, $1,200. All one-time fees. No recurring.
Made $2,600 total. Spent 30 hours. Felt like freelancing.
Then learned to structure deals for recurring revenue. Changed everything.
THE OLD WAY:
"$1,200 one-time setup fee, you own it"
Client pays once. I move on. No ongoing relationship.
THE NEW WAY:
"$1,200 setup + $150/month includes monitoring, updates, and support"
WHAT $150/MONTH COVERS:
My actual costs: ~$50 (automation platform + PDF Vector + hosting)
My monitoring time: 30 min monthly checking logs, fixing breaks
My value: System keeps working, they don't worry about it
Client perspective: $150/month vs hiring someone = obvious choice.
CURRENT RECURRING BREAKDOWN:
Client 1 (dental): $120/month
Client 2 (logistics): $180/month
Client 3 (accounting): $150/month
Client 4 (legal): $200/month
Client 5 (healthcare): $160/month
Client 6 (real estate): $140/month
Client 7 (restaurant): $130/month
Client 8 (retail): $90/month
Client 9 (consulting): $170/month
Total: $1,340 MRR from 9 clients
Plus I'm still taking new setup projects ($1,200-2,000 each).
THE MATH THAT SELLS RECURRING:
"Here's your options:
Option A: $2,000 one-time, you manage it yourself
Option B: $1,500 setup + $150/month, I keep it running
Option B costs you $3,300 in year one vs $2,000. But year two and beyond, you're only paying $1,800 annually for guaranteed uptime. Plus I handle all breaks and updates."
90% choose Option B.
THE WORKFLOW MONITORING:
Each client gets: Error notifications to my Slack, weekly health check, monthly usage report, quarterly optimization review.
Takes me 3-4 hours monthly total across all clients. $1,340 revenue for 4 hours = $335/hour effective rate.
THE LESSON:
One-time fees cap your income. Recurring revenue compounds.
Nine clients at $150/month = $1,340 monthly. That's $16,080 annually from clients you already closed.
Every new client adds to the stack.
How are you structuring your pricing for recurring revenue?
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The Pricing Framework That Got Me To $4,200 Monthly Recurring 🔥
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