Redsy,
you're last line is the crux of the issue. New construction and service work are 2 different animals.
I get upset with guys who don't understand the service industry, telling those of us in it that we are greedy, and telling customers that we charge to much.
If you want to do new construction with yourself and a couple of helpers, that is your decision. But, please don't equate your costs/overhead/etc with those of a service contractor. They are different.
Read Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine (Randall Hilton, Maurice Maio, Frank Blau - he retired, but his old columns are archived-, Ellen Rohr, etc) They are light years ahead of the electrical industry for service work.
Read them, understand service work. Then decide if it's for you or not.
But to take a new construction mentality and tell people to never believe a contractor. That there is some mythical going rate - who set this rate and based on what?
Redsy, your business is your business. You will run it how you see fit. But please read the people I mentioned, it will give you an incredibly different perspective.
Good luck.
