[q]I picked an hourly rate based on cost plus profit based on what an employee would cost per hour plus company profit, even though I had no employee's at first, cause when I finally had them, it would have been an uphill battle to raise rates.[/q]
tom, you hit the nail on the head with that statement. too many guys think that they can go real cheap when they start (since it's only them and they have no overhead) the problem comes when they need to hire help. The help won't perform at the level the owner performs at. The low rates won't cover the help. How do you go to a good customer that you've been working with for years and say
"I know my new guy isn't as good/fast/neat, efficiant/etc as me, but I have to charge you more for the lower level of competance"?
I haven't figured out how to do it without PO'ing the customer.
