If deflation continues to take hold, as it appears to be doing, then prices will come down. This will, as Larry pointed out, be a function of the market. The upshot is that during deflation, prices can be lowered while not adversely affecting one's standard of living or profitability, because 1) one's own expenses will also start to decline as vendors also find themselves needing to lower price to remain competitive, and 2) dollars are worth more during deflation than they were during the preceding inflation. This doesn't mean that those who stick to the bulletin board mantra of "you must gross $100-$150/hour "At The Wand" will see revenues decline as other cleaners offer same quality work for less, but it certainly increases their risk of doing so.
Debt-free Lone Wolf owner-ops can gross $50-$75/hour ATW and make book, all the while not giving up on quality by skipping steps. Under the old rules, I was priced to gross right around $100/hour while manning the wand. I now find I often need to work fours hours in the customers home to make what I used to make in three (i.e. my formerly $400 job is now often a $300-$330 job), I'm fine. I'm grateful for the $300, and it sure beats sitting at home making $0 all because I stuck to my guns holding out for 35 pennies/square when the customers new sweet spot is 25-30 pennies.
Would I do three rooms and a hall for $140-$150? Sure. And I see no reason why it matters whether I finish in 1-1.5 hours or if it takes me 2-2.5 hours. My last job today was a Great Room, Dining Room, Breakfast Nook, and Hall. My price was $178 and it took me 2.5 hours pre-vac to final groom - a measly $71.20/hour. Try as I might, I cannot see how I lost out by taking 150 minutes to finish rather than the 106.8 minutes which would have allowed me to claim the magical $100/hour for that job. My bank took the check without even asking me how long it took me to earn it. And I am grateful to have had the opportunity to earn it.
There was a time when I would almost agonize abut the $100/hour - to the point where I would feel that I had been "had" when the time I was spending on a particular job caused my rate to drop below that magic number of the bulletin board gods (and goddesses). As a result, as the economy slowed, I let my business get far slower than I needed to as I "stuck to my guns." Not anymore. I now run my life according to actual reality, rather than internet bulletin boards versions of "reality."
My worst enemy? For a long time it was stubbornly insisting that the reality I learned from the message boards accurately reflected reality in my marketplace, even as the economy weakened. I have slain that enemy, finally. My new worst enemy is clowns. Definitely clowns. And donuts. Clowns and donuts.
