pedrobedro
Man at Matalan
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- 12,753
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- CX near Chesterfield
A friend of mine always says it's better to do one job at full price than two jobs at half price, he sells and fits carpets and is never short of work.
Thats very true ,,, one of the finest skills in life is knowing when to say NO.My time is worth the same regardless of what the job is.
If a rusty old gate needs fixing and I’m doing it because you can’t then I’m having to take time out of my day to do that then the rate applies.
Good points.Thats very true ,,, one of the finest skills in life is knowing when to say NO.
Being , rather having been self employed its very hard to say no , when you need the wages , the job really wont add up but you need the cash , you work ,,, you know you shouldnt , but you do ,,, as I often say
Have to makes a hard master.
trouble is once you set the price thats it , no going back ,,, the other saying that took me a long time to learn and stick to is
May as well stay at home for nothing as work for nothing .
Its very seldom lack of work that kills small business its lack of cash flow ,,, simply put , its not easy .
Fully understand ,,, sometimes its just easier to say the job will cost XXX and thats it ,,, how long it takes is your business , if you do it quicker you win , if it takes longer they win ,,, but even thats not easy as most jobs need something else doing or sorting along the way ,,,, some days a civil service job polishing a chair with your ar*e looks inviting ,, but if its in you to work , then work you will.Good points.
The Staying at home for nothing part takes a long time to learn and to justify in your mind.
Looked at a job the other day, doing a clutch in a truck. Bloke is nice enough but an absolute pain in the **** when it comes to paying.
With that in mind I told him £40/h. He said he only wanted to pay me £20 as that’s what he thought it was worth.
I said we’ve a deal but it’ll take twice as long. Possibly three times depending on what mood I’m in.
He’s agreed to £40.
It’s hard to price things up here. People just work in hours.Fully understand ,,, sometimes its just easier to say the job will cost XXX and thats it ,,, how long it takes is your business , if you do it quicker you win , if it takes longer they win ,,, but even thats not easy as most jobs need something else doing or sorting along the way ,,,, some days a civil service job polishing a chair with your ar*e looks inviting ,, but if its in you to work , then work you will.
A friend of mine always says it's better to do one job at full price than two jobs at half price, he sells and fits carpets and is never short of work.
its the 80/20 rule ,,,,,Very true. Why do twice the amount of work for the same money.
Took me a while to twig, due to the peculiar way he worded it, but an old boss of mine used to say: "It's the jobs you don't do which make money". He basically meant doing the time-waster & tight-arses jobs negated the money you made from proper payers & work.
true ,, but the advice offered is easily carried . and best of all it was free.This thread has gone way off track (surprise) The op (who seems to have run away) is 21 years old just starting out, unlikely he has a huge customer base or loads of feathers in his cap at this age. He will end up watching rather a lot of daytime television if he was to start out by asking for £40-50 an hour, its the sort of figure you work your way up to.
Have at it
Bob
This thread has gone way off track (surprise) The op (who seems to have run away) is 21 years old just starting out, unlikely he has a huge customer base or loads of feathers in his cap at this age. He will end up watching rather a lot of daytime television if he was to start out by asking for £40-50 an hour, its the sort of figure you work your way up to.
Have at it
Bob
It’s hard to gauge the right rate when you’re starting out but it’s even harder to put it up after people know you as cheap.
I was told once that if you are winning every job or your diary is full months ahead then it’s time to put your prices up. That’s about all he can do really. Price a few and see if they get accepted.
The same person told me you should expect to lose about 20% of quotes. Give or take. That means you’re about right, money wise.
He has made far more money than I ever will so I assume he knows what he’s on about!
I feel the rate at the early stages is almost irrelevant, building up a customer base to a point where you can pick and choose who you work for is far more important.
Bob
its a very fine balance a lot of the time. Lets face it , if it was easy everyone would do it. A lot depends on the job and the customer ,,, if its a high pressure steam line in a fast moving food manufacturing plant your not going to the self employed farmer who welds a bit on the side ,,, now if you want a sheep gate made .I feel the rate at the early stages is almost irrelevant, building up a customer base to a point where you can pick and choose who you work for is far more important.
Bob
Problem being though, if he starts doing work now at lower rates, for people who may become customers for years, he'll have a hard time ever raising his prices with those folk.
You can look at it both ways. They provided him an opportunity to start, but if/when he does become more versed & established, keeping to those prices will hold him back.
This's why it's better to go down the path of SE when you're already versed in some trade. You're starting as you intend to go on.
That's where mutual trust comes into play, without that there is no point in carrying on. It's the egg and chicken scenario.
You are right, but you can do this once you are established, have a customer base, and have proven to be good at it. Also allows you to pick and choose.My time is worth the same regardless of what the job is.
If a rusty old gate needs fixing and I’m doing it because you can’t then I’m having to take time out of my day to do that then the rate applies.
Just ring the local Range Rover garage or BMW Merc etc and ask what their hourly rate is ,,, that soon gets you an education.This day and age anyone worth their salt is £45 an hour minimum.
Doesnt matter if im on site, travelling, only doing simple labour. The fact of the matter is there is a workshop sat behind the scenes costing whether im in it or not.
Bear in mind also, if you work on one job a day, you might spend an hour setting up and an hour tidying away. You charge 6 hours say, you spent 2 hours you havent charged for. Thats before any head scratching, ordering materials, searching for parts, drawings etc.
Insurance is now £100/month, 3 phase £180/month, rental on bottles £100/month. Thats days money gone before you take into account consumables, equipment maintenance, any payments you have on equipment/van etc.
People may say thats too expensive, some people have. No ones got a gun to their head, don't like it go elsewhere - theyll soon be back when its not done right.