Most new founders price too low, then burn out doing work that doesn't pay. This guide gets you to a number you can say out loud without flinching. You'll need a piece of paper and about an hour.
The one rule
Your price is not what feels polite. It has to cover three things: your costs, your time, and a profit that keeps the business alive. If it doesn't cover all three, every job quietly costs you money.
Step 1: Find your floor
Your floor is the number below which you lose money. Add up, for one typical job:
- Materials and supplies you use up
- Drive time and gas to get there
- A share of your fixed costs: insurance, phone, software, tools (add these up for a month, divide by the jobs you can do in a month)
- Taxes: set aside roughly a quarter to a third of what you take in, because nobody withholds it for you
Then add your hours on the job times the hourly wage you refuse to work below. The total is your floor. You never quote below it, not for family, not "for exposure."
Step 2: Find the market range
Find what three real competitors near you charge for the same work. Check their websites, their Google listings, or call and ask for a quote like a customer would. Write the three numbers down. Most healthy prices sit in the middle of that range, not at the bottom. The cheapest provider in town attracts the hardest customers and has no room when costs rise.
Step 3: Pick your number and practice saying it
Pick a number between your floor and the top of the market range. Then practice saying it out loud until it comes out flat and calm: "That's $250." No apologizing, no explaining, no "but I can do less." Customers take their cue from you. If you sound unsure about your price, they will be too.
When someone says it's too expensive
Some people will say no. That's the system working: a price that everyone instantly accepts is a price that's too low. If you want to give a break, shrink the job, not the price: "I can take the smaller package down to $180." That protects your rate while giving the customer an option.
Raise prices as you fill up
When your schedule is mostly full for two months straight, raise your price for new customers by 10 to 15 percent. Existing customers can keep their rate for a while if you choose; new demand pays the new rate. Full and cheap is not success. Full and priced right is.