Cost Of Doing Business

[CSPURGEON]

Well I have searched and searched, looking for someone with the same mindset as I, Accounting. Sorry to bring business into the CW forum but I figure thats why most of the owners have one either to supplement or to do small projects and make money. So my question is has anyone done the math to what they charge for design, carve, or finish time. I understand that the area where you are located depends greatly on your price structure as I am in Northeast Indiana and understand my prices aren't going to be the same as someone in NY or NJ. I was just curios if what everyone charges.

The main reason is I just sold a sign for $60 and realized after getting into the painting time that it took a lot longer than what I expected making it so the next one I do will most likely be double.

[c6craig]

Well I have searched and searched, looking for someone with the same mindset as I, Accounting. Sorry to bring business into the CW forum but I figure thats why most of the owners have one either to supplement or to do small projects and make money. So my question is has anyone done the math to what they charge for design, carve, or finish time. I understand that the area where you are located depends greatly on your price structure as I am in Northeast Indiana and understand my prices aren't going to be the same as someone in NY or NJ. I was just curios if what everyone charges.

The main reason is I just sold a sign for $60 and realized after getting into the painting time that it took a lot longer than what I expected making it so the next one I do will most likely be double.

Do a search for "pricing" and "costs", things like that. There have been plenty of posts on this with many opinions. Like you mention, many areas is what the market will bear. Your skill level will also play a part. If it takes you a day to paint and finish a sign and somebody else can do it in 2-3 hours, you may not be able to compete with their pricing.

That doesn't mean you can't charge what you believe to be a fair price, just that you may not be able to charge what a pro does, that can knock out things like signs in their sleep.

Good luck to you in your venture.

Craig

[Metalhead781]

I usually charge and average of $30 a shop hour which includes my time, machine usage, utilities etc. I just painted a sign for myself and it took a total of 15 min. with two colors. I masked soft maple with duck brand shelf paper, Carved a recessed boarder with background and some v carved text. The text is one color the background is another. I hit it with a sanding brush on the drill to get rid of any feathers left from the carving. Sprayed the boarder, cleaned the gun and sprayed the text with the second color. Including cleaning it took the 15 min. It's an interior sign so i used acrylic paints. The gun i use is one from Harbor Freight it's called a Detail Sprayer. It was on sale for $10 few weeks ago. Before that i used spray cans to paint. This little gun does a much better job and i only use a little 4gal compressor to run it. It's more like an airbrush on steroids then a spray gun. I have a slightly larger one for spray finishes.

MH

[CSPURGEON]

Craig- It's really not taking me long (3hrs) to paint the sign it was just a matter of I didn't calculate for that much time. I do appreciate your view on it though so I am sure in the future when my skills are tuned I will be able to do things a little faster. Also as far as the search goes I will continue to look but I have tried many keywords and with the broad range of postings its hard to identify one certain topic sometimes.

MH-Thanks for the information. I will check further into the spray painting but just getting into the commerce Im trying to keep cash output low and pay cash for "upgrades" to my shop as I go. I find it interesting you have a flat rate for all factors of the job but I see where it makes things easier!

Again thanks for the information and I hope a few more post their views on the subject

[Metalhead781]

Craig- It's really not taking me long (3hrs) to paint the sign it was just a matter of I didn't calculate for that much time. I do appreciate your view on it though so I am sure in the future when my skills are tuned I will be able to do things a little faster. Also as far as the search goes I will continue to look but I have tried many keywords and with the broad range of postings its hard to identify one certain topic sometimes.

MH-Thanks for the information. I will check further into the spray painting but just getting into the commerce Im trying to keep cash output low and pay cash for "upgrades" to my shop as I go. I find it interesting you have a flat rate for all factors of the job but I see where it makes things easier!

Again thanks for the information and I hope a few more post their views on the subject

Only thing i can add is, get a process down for your shop. Steps from start to finish no matter what you're doing. It will increase productivity. After a while you'll be able to accurately estimate how much time certain projects will take. This gives you the ability to quote prices. If i run into something i've never done before which is rare i give the customer my hourly rate explaining to them that it may take more time then i've quoted and require a non refundable deposit for materials.

Good luck
MH

[c6craig]

Craig- It's really not taking me long (3hrs) to paint the sign it was just a matter of I didn't calculate for that much time. I do appreciate your view on it though so I am sure in the future when my skills are tuned I will be able to do things a little faster. Also as far as the search goes I will continue to look but I have tried many keywords and with the broad range of postings its hard to identify one certain topic sometimes.

MH-Thanks for the information. I will check further into the spray painting but just getting into the commerce Im trying to keep cash output low and pay cash for "upgrades" to my shop as I go. I find it interesting you have a flat rate for all factors of the job but I see where it makes things easier!

Again thanks for the information and I hope a few more post their views on the subject

Hi,

I didn't mean to insinuate that you were not a "pro" or anything, 3 hours to me is pretty darn good! Way faster than me.

When you try the search function on this forum it helps alot if you put quotes around the word, such as "pricing".

Try this post, it may be what you are looking for:
http://forum.carvewright.com/showthr...pricing&page=4

That one has people talking about pricing pros and cons for by the BF, by the hour, finishing costs, etc.

Good luck,
Craig

[TerryT]

If you haven't already seen this one you might want to take a look. Hope it helps.
http://forum.carvewright.com/showthr...ghlight=charge

[CSPURGEON]

Craig- Dont worry about it I didnt take it that way no biggie. It's great to get such quality information from you all!!

Thanks

[Kix]

Just a note, on one of my other far flung ventures I quote pricing based on a "not more than" basis. That way you can hedge your bet a little, and the buyer has a reasonable expectation of cost and can only be pleased when it comes in a little under that price. And i almost always come in under that price by about 10% or so unless the whole deal really hit the crapper. And of course that 10% rule of thumb has some flex in it based upon customer attitude and overall pleasantness.

As you get repeat business you can see that this approach gets very comfortable for the customer.

[CSPURGEON]

Hey thanks for the tip I have never thought of wording it like that. I understand how coming under a certain price range could make people happier.

CHRIS