In my opinion, you shouldn’t feel guilty about markups if you’re providing real value. Customers are not just paying for the physical product — they’re paying for your time, experience, sourcing, transportation, warranty risk, convenience, and the responsibility you take on when you install it correctly.
Most customers are hiring you so they don’t have to spend their Saturday driving store to store trying to figure out which product to buy and hoping it works. That has value.
That being said, transparency goes a long way. I personally think it’s smart to either:
Both are normal in business.
Stores also give contractors discounts, rewards, and rebates because we consistently bring them business. That’s part of operating professionally, just like any other industry. You shouldn't be giving away your pro-xtra dollars or Lowe's rewards points to customers; that's your reward.
At the end of the day, if you’re honest, upfront, and delivering quality work, there’s nothing wrong with making a profit. A business has to be profitable to survive and continue serving people. I haven't been profitable for the last 5 years; this year is the first.
I totally agree with this
I’m over feeling guilty. I know my worth. I know that I will do it correctly. I know that they can count on me. So I put it back in their hands to see if they want to take the risk off my shoulders and go with someone else who can “do it for less”. If they ever come back with a response like, “oh that is way too much!” I normally respond with,” I Completely Understand. Everything is expensive these days. You can always count on me to do it right. So if you ever change your mind, please don’t hesitate to call me back.
One lady called me back 2 hours later and said, I want it done correctly and it wasn’t done right the first time. That’s why we called you. We’re ready to have this headache gone. She was very pleased in the end.
If you're doing a T&M job, the markup directly coincides with the risk of having to navigate the plethora of options for the specific product needed to get the job done. How much does it cost to do the research, order the part, and deal with the possibility that the product needs to be replaced/changed, re-installed with a different product, and finally warrantying it for xx months/years.
