In a recession, you need to make smart money decisions. Dropping prices is one of the worst choices you can make. It’s so, so tempting in this economy to price low in order to get what little work is going around. It’s also the fast track to bankruptcy. First of all, let me say that [...]
Note: This article is written from the sign shop perspective, but is applicably to any small business where time and materials are the bottom line. The wrong hourly rate (or “shop rate”) can be like a hidden cancer for your business. How do I know? Because I almost killed my sign business this way in [...]
I was doing an estimate a couple of weeks ago, and had already figured in my head about what the price should be. I knew that a competitor had bid on this job, and the customer had always been ours. Needless to say, my 'in my head' estimate was influenced by the fact that I didn't want to let the customer go to someone else. Common sense prevailed, and I went to EstiMate for a cross-check. The price came out nearly 35% higher than my "guess." Now came the hard part. I had to resist the temptation to override, and tell myself to remember that we do this to make a profit! I went with EstiMate's full price, and got the job. It turned out, in fact, that we were substantially less than the other guy, and the customer questioned why. I showed him the full itemized estimate, and now he is confident about our price AND our PROFESSIONALISM!
-- Doug Gossoo, Prosign, Kelowna, British ColumbiaConnect with us!