How to grow my business, how did you grow yours?

[Mark Wileman]

I think I misread your original post, I understood it that the little guys should charge as much as the big guys (and probably not get the work) to keep the big guys in business. ?

[Chris Day]

Just decide what you want and where you want to be and go for that. You run your own gig so it's up to you where it goes. But how to find work.... Follow every lead tell everyone you meet what you do even the person on the checkout in the supermarket. Be as aggressive and proactive as you need to be in finding work to get the amount you want. 

[oldwoodcutter]

Do self employed bricklayers or electricians go onto the big sites and work for way under others doing the same job?
Do petrol tanker drivers (British) chug up and down the country for peanuts?
Of course they don’t, there’s enough trees in the country for all of us to make a good living, and if you underprice every job day in day out the only people that are winning are your customers, who will let you work for the crumbs off their table all day long, while you’re on their property with the sweat rolling off your back.

[Mick Dempsey]

It’s a free market economy, charge what you like.

 

The comparison with bricklayers and electricians is not valid because they have a fixed job to do, easily quantifiable.

 

I’ve been ‘that’ guy undercharging compared to other more experienced, better equipped outfits, now I’m the other side of the fence, getting undercut by startups with tiny chippers thinking €200 in your pocket is a result.

 

I’m not going to tell people to charge more, I don’t suppose they’d listen anymore than I would have.

 

I will often lose easy stuff to the little guys, they get knocked out of the ball park by me on the larger scale work.

 

In 10 years I’ll wager they’ll either have geared up or got pissed off with the hard graft and left the business.

[WesD]

People need to remember/realise that pricing up is an art in itself and takes experience before you get to where you need to be. 

 

Id wager most of us have underpriced out of naivety/inexperience in our early days. 

 

What will be will be is how I look at work, you can’t win them all but the ones you do win make sure your not resenting yourself for underpricing yourself and your set up. 

[benedmonds]

2 hours ago, Mick Dempsey said:

 

I’m not going to tell people to charge more, I don’t suppose they’d listen anymore than I would have.

 

 

My post to Dan at gardenscape may have come across a bit harsher than intended..

I had just come in from driving 40 mins away to look at at job that would take one of my teams of  3 men a day.

The client had been quoted £300. 

 

The point I was trying to make is that if you win EVERY quote you must be on the low side. IMO better to push up your rates, yes you may lose a few jobs but the ones you win are going to be worth more.  There are too many people in this industry who undervalue the work.

 

 

[Mick Dempsey]

39 minutes ago, benedmonds said:

My post to Dan at gardenscape may have come across a bit harsher than intended..

I had just come in from driving 40 mins away to look at at job that would take one of my teams of  3 men a day.

The client had been quoted £300. 

 

The point I was trying to make is that if you win EVERY quote you must be on the low side. IMO better to push up your rates, yes you may lose a few jobs but the ones you win are going to be worth more.  There are too many people in this industry who undervalue the work.

 

 

We all understand, it’s frustrating when you waste your time. But it comes with the territory I guess.

 

I related a story on here a while back where I drove a similar distance for some hedge removal and felling a Lombardy, they told me they were going to do it themselves, but wanted to know how much money they were saving!

[Rich Rule]

That would annoy the shit out of me.

 

You should have said, "why didn't you tell me that on the phone and it would have saved you a trip to the dentist!!!  Bosh!"

 

Obviously the above is a joke, but those sort of antics certainly boil my pee.

[Gary Prentice]

22 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

We all understand, it’s frustrating when you waste your time. But it comes with the territory I guess.

 

I related a story on here a while back where I drove a similar distance for some hedge removal and felling a Lombardy, they told me they were going to do it themselves, but wanted to know how much money they were saving!

So you told them £100? 

[Mesterh]

4 minutes ago, Gary Prentice said:

So you told them £100? 

Or, you would have paid them £500 if they let you keep the timber.