hedge trimming rates..

[Hawk83]

On a daily basis, i operate with one helper and myself. for side work, odd jobs and the landscaping stuff, that is anything other than lawn maint, I get $35/hr/man, $70/hr total, which i know is standard if not somewhat low in the industry, or at least in my area. now i feel totally justified in charging $350-400+ for 5-7hrs for say a lawn install, a clean-up or mulching, but something inside me still feels bad chargeing upwards of $400 for maintaining hedges/bushes in that same amount of time. i know that my time is valuable and worth at least the industry standard as the skilled scaper that i am (i'm not trying to sound conceited, but our profession is not always as simple as cutting grass, nor is it the type of work that can be done well by just anyone, we all can say that if you're skilled, you know it), however, are some jobs just not worth as much as others, no matter how long they take? or is the heat finally getting to me and this is all crazy talk?? :p

just thought i would bring up this subject since it is often on my mind when i write out certain bills of larger amounts for less than a full day of work.. any thoughts or comments would be interesting to hear.
Hawk

[steve-o]

if you get x # of $$$ for mowing or other jobs then why should you charge any less for anything else. i have every job i do averaging out to what i want to make an hour from pulling weeds, edging, mowing or whatever. you are in it to make $$$ .

steve

[GrassMaster]

You must believe in yourself first...

I know that my time is valuable and worth at least the industry standard as the skilled scaper that i am (i'm not trying to sound conceited, but our profession is not always as simple as cutting grass, nor is it the type of work that can be done well by just anyone, we all can say that if you're skilled, you know it), however, are some jobs just not worth as much as others, no matter how long they take? or is the heat finally getting to me and this is all crazy talk?? :p
Hawk

It's Ok to think you're #1, you'll never make it until you know 100% you are #1. That's what it's all about!

You say you're charging $350-400+ for 5-7 hrs for say a lawn install, mulching & cleanups. You're probably getting as much for cutting grass too. As far as I can remember doing Bushes & Hedges is just as hard of work in fact, it's a hell of a lot harder than cutting grass.

Always charge as much as the market can bare, then some & if you're getting paid that... Well you must be worth it!

Trust me, when you get older you'll never lay in bed at night feeling guilty about what you charged folks years ago. LOL, you'll probably wish you had charged more!

Hang in there & keep on doing what you're doing Now! Good Luck to You, I Wish You the Best!

PS: Drink plenty of water!

[Scaper-S2k]

One thing to remember that GrassMaster has said before....but skipped in his post:

It goes something like this:

If you aren't slightly embarassed at the total $$$ when handing them the bill, you probably didn't charge enough.


Well, it was something like that anyway!






P.S.- I usually just bill an even figure for shrub trimming and they don't know the hourly rates.

[Hawk83]

One thing to remember that GrassMaster has said before....but skipped in his post:

It goes something like this:

If you aren't slightly embarassed at the total $$$ when handing them the bill, you probably didn't charge enough.


Well, it was something like that anyway!






P.S.- I usually just bill an even figure for shrub trimming and they don't know the hourly rates.

HAHA, i am starting to get the feeling that the professional job i do should be accompanied by professional rates, and knowing some of the bigger "pros" in my area (several crews, 100's of thousands in equipment, doing 30+ lawns/day) and what they charge, there is no reason i shouldn't be charging comparably. after all, they are my competition!-- almost none of regular customers know my hrly rates, and absolutely none of non-reg customers know the rates, so i've gut billing the even number down