80% of my jobs are hard bid, so I mostly get judged by my number, which seems to define the perceived value when its juxtaposed against everyone else’s number. When work is good and labor is short the price goes up, but when there is not much work and guys like me get hungry the price goes down. I am not really getting around the perceived value, I am just aware that it fluctuates and there is a sweet spot between the floor and the ceiling that I constantly try to work and hit.
The problem with playing the market like this is new contractors, and hacks who come along and lowball. Granted if a contractor comes along and does the work for less money then he redefines the perceived value, but what happens when he does this and in the process puts himself out of business?
Remember going belly up does not always happen on one job, it may take an inexperienced contractor several bad jobs to exhaust his resources or he may be able to cash flow his way into trouble over a 6 month period, then go out of business. So what does all that mean to the first client who got his project done for less than cost? Not a damn thing, he only remembers that he got it wired for $5 a square foot, and damn was that a great electrician.
Keep in mind I am not taking about bidding service calls, I am taking about hard bid commercial jobs $5k and up. I do not work the residential or service market.
Last edited by ITO; 04/26/07 03:00 PM.
