I think anyone that's basing prices off their competitors is making some really big assumptions that could get themselves in trouble. If you base it on someone else's price you are basically assuming they are saavy business people that have a firm understanding of their P&Ls and are pricing themselves for growth. I'd guess that 9/10 contractors are not like that.
Basic rule of thumb - for every $1 you spend, your should be charging $2. Obviously you aren't going to get your overhead back on one job but you need to come up with an hourly rate or day rate for labor that will help you get that back over the course of the month.
our minimum rate is a half day - $550. It works out to $137.50/ hr. What I learned years ago when my min charge was less, people would run my guys around trying to accomplish as much as possible in 2 hours then we'd get callbacks then poof! There goes any profit. I'd rather have ample time to accomplish tasks, only work with people who can afford quality services. I'd rather have my guys not work and make no money then have them work at someone's house, have to coordinate everything, and give me stress - AND make no money.
