This is a good point. Cheap skate clients bring more cheap skate clients. Don't work for cheap skate clients. It's hard when your just starting out, but you need to figure out how to cater to the higher end clientele in your area. This will allow you to charge enough to afford equipment upkeep/upgrading and still pay yourself a nice wage.
This. Some jobs you need to quote like you dont want to do them. Never work for free or cheaper than you set your rates at, unless you are doing it as a charity type situation. My wife and I had this discussion when we started out. I told her that we are better off selling our premium product for a premium rate and maybe have a 65% closure rate than to work even harder for the same money.
Yep I call it going for "no." It takes some experience but you will be able to tell what the "no" price is. If you go over their no price you can always offer a cash discount, first time client discount, hey its Tuesday discount... you get the idea. The client will also give you clues if they are lowest bidder shopping. Statements like "I have a few people coming to look at this" I usually give my price plus a bit and plan on never hearing from them again.
I appreciate all the advice everyone!!! Although I am new to the tree company game, I'm not new to owning a company. We had a family business for 20 years doing contracting. When my father started it, I was amazed how busy we stayed pretty much 90% of the time in our little town. As I got older and started looking at jobs, bidding jobs, providing quotes, etc I quickly realized why. Although we did excellent work, my father tended to be overly accommodating and lowered prices. I'm sure a lot of those jobs we made hardly anything after expenses. We've known each other for our whole lives, I don't have much money, my brother in law said his buddy would do it cheaper, sharpen your pencil, this will lead to other work, etc, etc. I heard them all. I have an easy time saying no though. In his defense though, he wanted to make sure at least the guys got paid and had somewhere to go. Can't say that for a lot of bosses. I'm in a good spot, I wont have any money tied up upfront like in construction. No ordering 10k worth of materials, to have them cancel the job a week before we start. I have a full time job, so I don't have to do any job I don't want to do. It isn't going to make the difference of putting food on the table. My plan is to collect half up front, so if I get screwed, at least I made something plus got the wood. I will not be charging by the hour, as I feel it hurts you if you work faster than others, and people argue over the hours, not taking into account setup hours at home, transporting equipment, etc. I will be charging prices for the whole job. Any of the "Can you do this to while you're here?" Will be answered with a no, unless you want to sign this change order and agree to a new price.
