Forum Discussion

mims01's avatar
mims01
Builder 1
1 month ago
Solved

Finding the Right Price: How Do You Charge Fairly While Still Making a Profit? As A Small Business

One of the biggest challenges for many small business owners is knowing how to set prices. You want to be fair to your customers while also making sure your business is profitable and sustainable. Ho...
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  • travisshepherd's avatar
    travisshepherd
    1 month ago

    Pricing comes down to knowing your exact cost to operate—not guessing or copying the guy down the street.

    ​Here’s the fast breakdown:

    1. ​Know Your Break-Even: Factor in labor, fuel, insurance, software, and equipment wear. If your total cost to run for an hour is $60, charging $65 isn't "fair"—it's bankrupting you.
    2. ​Price the Job, Not the Hour: Hourly rates penalize you for getting faster. Flat-rate or package pricing protects your margins and gives clients clarity up front.
    3. ​Target a 40–50% Close Rate: If you’re landing 80%+ of your quotes, your prices are too low.

    ​Cheap prices attract high-maintenance clients. Price for the business you want to build—with proper margins for maintenance, upgrades, and growth—not just today’s gas money.

TurfT's avatar
TurfT
Verified Community Coach
1 month ago

One framework that changed how I think about pricing: when you're new and have no clients, do the work cheap or even free to build experience and reputation. As you get busier, start charging more. Fill your schedule, then raise prices again. Keep raising until a meaningful number of people say no — but you still have enough work. That's your real market price.

What's "fair" isn't what your competitor charges or what feels comfortable. Fair is what's profitable for you. You have to be fair to yourself first or you won't be in business long enough to serve anyone.

I went through this myself. Started low to build a client base, kept raising prices as demand grew, and I'm still raising them. The clients who leave when prices go up were never the clients I wanted to keep anyway. At this point my focus is finding high-value clients who will pay top dollar for the best results. That's where the progression leads if you stick with it.