Setting Prices

J&J Home Imp.

Well I am still kinda getting my company rolling and not really sure how I am doing. I have only had my company going for about 2yrs but I have been in the business for about 10yrs. Some people are telling me I am way to high and some have told me that I am a great bargain. I don't want to be either I just want to do quality work and a competitive price. Most of my work is for homeowners and remodel stuff. Not enough money in new houses but I do some if I am slow. Heres my current prices:

Ceramic tile: $3.25 per ft plus material
Hardwood 3/4: $2.50 includes paper and nails
Laminate/ click together: $1.15 plus material
VCT: $1 plus material

Thats just what I base stuff on and custom jobs and horable floors and to the price of course but I'd kinda like to know where I am with everyone else. Is there a website that has the going rates for certain areas and such?

Eric K

Seems cheap to me. Alot cheaper than what I would do them for.

J&J Home Imp.

Well I noticed that you are from PA and I know that the prices are a little higher up north. The guy I used to work for said that starting pay for him when he was in MI was like $18 per hour and down here you do good to get $10. To me estimating and getting the price set right is the hardest part of the job. The work is easy.

Ken@K&R

seem's cheep to me too. BTW interested in 55,900 sf laminate in Greeneville, TN.?

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Ken

J&J Home Imp.

Man I would be but I don't if have the man power for that big a job right now. What kind of building? How long of a window would I have to get it done? When will it be ready?

Murphy

Sounds like you are doing sub work with those prices. Direct to customer? Crazy low.

J&J Home Imp.

Well I do a lot of sub work but most of it is direct to customer. I was charging a little more but I was losing a lot of jobs because the price was too high. So I dropped my prices and I am still losing jobs because the price is high but if I go any lower I might as well go back to work for someone else. Thats kinda why I wanted to see where I was at. The guys down here that are covered up are charging about half what I do and they do just as good a job but they don't have the insurance and everything and most of them hire illegal mexicans to do all the work. I refuse to do business that way but if I don't do something I am going to get put out of business.

Murphy

Some folks want the lowest price you have to differeciate yourself by the product you deliver. Illegal immagrants aren't coming back to fix tile jobs that they screw up. Charge what your time is worth not what some shmucks time is worth without a license and insurance. If you are losing jobs it is because you aren't selling yourself or you aren't in the right market. Just My rookie opinion. But I wouldn't touch a tile for less than 6.50 a foot.

dsnAK

No matter what you charge if you do not make enough to sustain your business - you'll be out of business. My pricing is derived from my costs, market and desired profit. I do not get every job that comes into my field; but I only work under my conditions.

If you act and preform like a professional you should be able to charge like one. There is tons of business information in the world - go after it and you'll create a sustainable business.

I'd start with these -

Mark Up And Profit
By: Michael Stone

Running a successful Construction company
By: David Grerstlel

The Contractors Legal Kit
By: Gary Ransone


Good luck and like all good business base your model on realities in your life and not what 'joe blow' is charging.

dsnAK

Here is your chance to educate your consumer and provide value that your competition can not. Educate them that they are liable for that uninsured employee getting hurt in their house. Don't bid apples to apples when you are clearly not. Take the chance to show your value and jusification of your higher legitamite prices......

Mike Finley

Things to consider J&J

Where is your work coming from? You should notice that certain sources produce different types of customers. Like you said, some of your customers think you are a bargain some think you are over-priced. The difference is the type of customer and most likely where they are generated from.

The best thing you could do if your market is large enough to support it, is to figure out what type of customer you want and go after only them. The problem is if the market won't support this because of it's size then you get sucked into the lowest common denominator if you want to stay in business and you have to compete with your competition which as you described are a bunch of cut throats.

Ken@K&R

I have sent both a pm and email to you about the job.

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Ken

J&J Home Imp.

Cool guys thanks for all the replies. I will chack that pm and email and get right back to ya.

I sent ya back another PM and I haven't yet recieved your email.

Grainywood

Prices range so much geographically. I met a guy from Chicago who said his company charges 90 cents per square foot to refinish hardwood. As far as I know he is a legitimate company with a store front that pays it's taxes, insurance and workman's comp. In the San Francisco area it ranges from the unlicensed idiots who charge $1.50 to reputable companies that charge $4.50 maybe more.

With the cost of sandpaper, other materials, taxes and insurance I can't see how charging less then $2.00 for anything is worth your while unless you are also charging a line item for things like baseboards, demolition of existing flooring, delivery and disposal fees. Your time is money.

Check around to see what other companies are charging, figure out the different markets they are catering to and decide how you are going to get into the higher markets. The problem with cheap homeowners are that they think there is no bottom to how low a price can go but they also wouldn't know quality if it hit them in the face.

Good luck.

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"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."