the psychology of giving estimates..

[Barry-QDCC]

Working 15 jobs a week at a 1/3 of working 2 jobs you will make more money.

So in that case lower your price to 2/3 and work 30 jobs instead of 2??? I understand your formula but I'm wondering about your reasoning. I guess we are debating numbers here because if you truly mean you'd rather work 15 jobs than 2 jobs, I'm not really sure that's a winning combo. If you made $200 more by working those 15 jobs than the 2 at a higher price - is that worth it? For me it wouldn't be.

I'd hang in there with my pricing and try to do marketing or whatever to increase it to 3-4 jobs. Then you have to work 30 - 40 jobs to match me!

 

[steve_64]

Im not sure what daves situation is but that was an exaggeration on my part to make a point to mike that im sure he already knows.

I pretty much did what dave figured out. Once I came down on prices to a point the masses could afford I got as busy as I could handle alone and income went up.

The down side is I still do most of the work myself and its kicking my but.

So now that ive made it to this point ive been raising prices as well as quality and service. Ive lost more work over price this year since I lowered them but I dont mind.

 

[Dave Rampage]

I used to charge much more than I do now but we still do the same quality we did then with one exception The carpet is not 100%dry before We are done. If you want to run 1 truck be the most expensive, do the best job and don't leave until its totally dry. If you want to grow, find a way to deliver mind blowing quality but be more efficient.

We now have 2 people in each truck and are able to be more efficient. Most carpets are still dry in a couple hours. For me it was great being an owner operator but I'm turning 50 in a couple weeks and it's time to grow. My kids don't want to be on the truck for 30 years so they are working hard and setting up the systems to get off the truck in a short time. I haven't been involved in the business in the last couple months because I'm focusing on my weight loss. In June I'll be back and ready to start marketing. I'm real lucky to have such great kids that are driven and eager to learn.