How many hours

[Dean Lofthouse]

that is not how I want things to continue...

 

You were as stressed as me at the show Tom. Things cant continue like that mate

[NI Tree]

You were as stressed as me at the show Tom. Things cant continue like that mate

 

dean you do your own servcing and i find that can be very anoying at times as it eats in to your time very easly.

it can corurse lots of stress as you know you got to do it.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

You've hit the nail square on the head Rupe, I am that type of person that trys to please everyone and often get taken advantage of.

 

Funny you should say, but last week i did walk away from a job telling them to get someone else it was too much hassle

 

Those of us that do a clean profesional job should not have to be doing so much that were killing ourselves. Think your getting close to the mindset you need dean, chill, do a good job and dont feel you need to justify it to anyone.

 

your rate is the rate you need to be happy and fullfilled which also equates and spills into your work.

 

quality is appreciated, trust me. I did some freelancing today for a mate, he had priced it £300 for a murder of a leyland topping. I said thats cheap, he said he wouldnt get the jobs anyhigher.

 

after I had spoken to the client about the pros and cons of getting this now monster width hedge into shape over the years he would be better off losing it and replacing with a nicer easier maintained western red cedar hedge.

 

were now going back to fell later, 750 for that, 300 for the roots and me a days freelance to plant the new hedge.

 

My mate was scratching his head, I said that is the difference between you and me, I have nothing to lose in losing this job, and also have the knowledge to provide sound advice that even the client can see makes long term financial sense, we wont be killing ourselves on this job like the topping operation not by a long chalk.

 

I find that MOSTLY if your professional and as you say do a nice clean tidy job (which goes a LONG LONG way) people will pay a little extra for that service, not everyone, but i can live without those folk as customers.

 

I used to think it was all about cutting it down to the wire, going like the clappers and living a hectic hard grafter lifestyle but then I started saying NO, I aint living this way and started to deal with it all like a pro and charging as a pro.

 

you need to do the same Dean, old dog like you and me have earnt our rights!

 

wanna see a happy face when I see you next:thumbup1:

[skyhuck]

Those of us that do a clean profesional job should not have to be doing so much that were killing ourselves. Think your getting close to the mindset you need dean, chill, do a good job and dont feel you need to justify it to anyone.

 

your rate is the rate you need to be happy and fullfilled which also equates and spills into your work.

 

quality is appreciated, trust me. I did some freelancing today for a mate, he had priced it £300 for a murder of a leyland topping. I said thats cheap, he said he wouldnt get the jobs anyhigher.

 

after I had spoken to the client about the pros and cons of getting this now monster width hedge into shape over the years he would be better off losing it and replacing with a nicer easier maintained western red cedar hedge.

 

were now going back to fell later, 750 for that, 300 for the roots and me a days freelance to plant the new hedge.

 

My mate was scratching his head, I said that is the difference between you and me, I have nothing to lose in losing this job, and also have the knowledge to provide sound advice that even the client can see makes long term financial sense, we wont be killing ourselves on this job like the topping operation not by a long chalk.

 

I find that MOSTLY if your professional and as you say do a nice clean tidy job (which goes a LONG LONG way) people will pay a little extra for that service, not everyone, but i can live without those folk as customers.

 

I used to think it was all about cutting it down to the wire, going like the clappers and living a hectic hard grafter lifestyle but then I started saying NO, I aint living this way and started to deal with it all like a pro and charging as a pro.

 

you need to do the same Dean, old dog like you and me have earnt our rights!

 

wanna see a happy face when I see you next:thumbup1:

 

Thats the problem, I have mouths to feed and find it really hard to up my rates when I know this means I'll loose a lot of work.

[Dr.Green]

for once i earned enough thurs / fri /sat / sun to basicaly sit in the house the rest of the month , now that for me is great news. still got a busy ish month ahead but all small domestic stuff which soon adds up and doesnt break ya back ----- wedding in 8 weeks thou so cant realy skive all of march , dam.... still , got a holiday coming up

[farmer_ben]

When your in your 20s building a business and trying to pay a mortgage you can work long hours and goes with the territory. Problem comes when you get in your 30s and 40s and you have children. Need a better work life balance or family life suffers. Most people who run a business and are earning a good wage work longer than they realise. It can be difficult to turn off I sometimes find my self online ordering parts at 10pm for kit and vehicles and dont count this as work.

 

couldnt agreee more with this. im 29 and have worked bloody hard last few years so im hoping my 30s will have more direction and the work will come easier and i'll be more efficient in what i do so leaving more time for family and fun

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Thats the problem, I have mouths to feed and find it really hard to up my rates when I know this means I'll loose a lot of work.

 

Huck, I know where your coming from but I was using a todays example of an unjustified fear of overcharging and doing yourself no favours at all!

 

We did a days work for a pittance, that was the end of it, were now going back for a 2 day job that never existed cos he didnt have the sales patter or ability to offer good advice and sell the job, and will not have to kill ourselves over the job because its priced right.

 

sometimes what i am saying is that when were only focused on how hard were working for what were getting out of it and begrudging doing it and doing sub standard or not putting in 100% we suffer in many ways, as do our clients.

 

let go a bit and relax be honest tell it like it is and 9x out of ten the client will realise that YOU are worth the cost of the job.

 

lets face it, this job is hard work, why make it ten times harder on ourselves?

[skyhuck]

Huck, I know where your coming from but I was using a todays example of an unjustified fear of overcharging and doing yourself no favours at all!

 

We did a days work for a pittance, that was the end of it, were now going back for a 2 day job that never existed cos he didnt have the sales patter or ability to offer good advice and sell the job, and will not have to kill ourselves over the job because its priced right.

 

sometimes what i am saying is that when were only focused on how hard were working for what were getting out of it and begrudging doing it and doing sub standard or not putting in 100% we suffer in many ways, as do our clients.

 

let go a bit and relax be honest tell it like it is and 9x out of ten the client will realise that YOU are worth the cost of the job.

 

lets face it, this job is hard work, why make it ten times harder on ourselves?

 

You are totally right Tony

 

TBH, I think I'm fairly near the limit of what I can charge in my area and make good money, so I'm not complaining

 

But times are tough and some are charging stupid rates, some of the prices I have heard are bonkers, fortunately I'm busy this year (last year was touch and go, I got really worried at one point) so I'm not worried when they say I'm to dear, as I have other work.

 

But we all need to value our skill and put a fair price on our time. We set our prices, so we can't really complain if we are making no money.

[Paul Jenks]

My brother, who also runs a company, though not trees, gave me a very sound piece of advice some years ago. Build a professional relationship with your clients not a fiscal one.

 

The emphasis should be on what benefits you are going to deliver to the client. The price is at the bottom. We do a lot of analysis on why we do and don't get jobs. If someone goes for you based on price the only relationship you have with them is that job. If you're beaten on price next time they'll move on. (I know this isn't always the case and I'm generalising a bit.)

 

Also, the clients who try to haggle over the price or ask for your best price are usually the worst and want little extras for nothing.

 

I know that sometimes when work is a little thin on the ground it's easy to price down a bit to get the work. During these periods the focus should be to get more enquiries so that prices can stay where they need to be to allow you to deliver a good service, retain the client, train your guys, buy new kit, allow time for repairs, holidays and beer.

 

Spend a little time each week working on the business (making it work better) as opposed to working in it.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

You are totally right Tony

 

TBH, I think I'm fairly near the limit of what I can charge in my area and make good money, so I'm not complaining

 

But times are tough and some are charging stupid rates, some of the prices I have heard are bonkers, fortunately I'm busy this year (last year was touch and go, I got really worried at one point) so I'm not worried when they say I'm to dear, as I have other work.

 

But we all need to value our skill and put a fair price on our time. We set our prices, so we can't really complain if we are making no money.

 

sounds like you have found the right balance for your zone then, not too cheap not too dear

 

hope dean finds his balance soon, cos he was a right miserable sod last time I saw him and I was so looking forward to having a banter with him!

 

was like someone had kicked his legs out from under him, think we should all get him wasted at the show this year!