Contractor hourly rate

[Blurock]

Tradesmen deserve to be paid for a good job. The same applies to entertainment. Some people think that musicians have to perform for peanuts or even for free.
Planning for a concert, a guy once asked me why it is so expensive to hire an artist if he performs for only 2 hours?

Well, to perform for 2 hours, you have to be able to play your instrument well, sing and perform well and keep the audience captivated and satisfied.
To be able to do that takes years of practice. (They say to be a master at any profession or task takes 10 years).
Before a concert, you have to first choose your material, then rehearse for a week or even a month, depending on whether its new or old covers.
You have to check your instruments and equipment and then transport it to the venue.
Setting up and getting the acoustics right takes time. You have to check and set up electricity connections, lighting and tune your instruments.
Often the venue is not well equipped and then you have to improvise so that the show can go on.

For any profession there is behind the scenes work, training and preparation required.
Or as a wise man once said, "I do not charge for hitting the the nail into the board. I charge for knowing where to position the nail".

[Justloadit]

I get this often,

I can get it cheaper at China Mall.
So why are you here?
Because the stuff fails and there is no after sales service, and no technical advise. They tell me to buy a new one. Can you fix this one?
You know what, it will be cheaper to buy a new one from me, at least you have a warranty and after sales service if needed!

I usually don't see them again, but the worst is that I still don't get the sales

[ians]

I get this often,

I can get it cheaper at China Mall.
So why are you here?
Because the stuff fails and there is no after sales service, and no technical advise. They tell me to buy a new one. Can you fix this one?
You know what, it will be cheaper to buy a new one from me, at least you have a warranty and after sales service if needed!

I usually don't see them again, but the worst is that I still don't get the sales

Thats the problem ... people who do cheap work last just long enough to put the qualified person out of bussiness ... then all I hear all day is "there is no servce" ... workmanship is so bad ... what happened to skilled labour" the answer is simple it is your fault not the tradesman ... you put the skilled tradesman out of bussiness by always taking the cheapest quote.

I did a job last week ... had to use blinkers and dark glasses so that I could just do what I was asked to do ... someone might say ... but you shouldnt have done the job if the rest of the installation was so illegal ... I am over worrying about illegal installtions ... I have bills to pay ... and right now I am doing whatever it takes to feed my family.

besides that I am always seen as the "bad person" ... the one who always complains about the illegal stuff ... no more ... now the blinkers go on and dark glasses if it is that bad ... I put a note at the bottom of the invoice " please note your electricial installation requires urgent attention" what the customer does with the information I dont care ... the owner user is responsible for the electrical installation ... not me ... I will issue a COC for the work I did once a coc is issued for the rest of the installation ... done next job.

[adrianh]

I usually don't see them again, but the worst is that I still don't get the sales

Could it be that the problem is not your products but rather the psychology of the client (and of a large number of people) - They see their immediate problem and the cheapest solution to that problem in the present.

How do you sell the notion that money will be saved in the long term by buying a more expensive product (This has actually been disproved with AA batteries - cheaper batteries actually perform better in terms of cost vs energy supplied according to ProjectFarm on YouTube)

I am that client today - my compressor threw a hissyfit yesterday....It looks like it may have seized up (I will look later) - I would love to buy a super quiet 100L machine but it is out of my budget, I have to finish a project now...I need a cost effective solution today though I might buy the more expensive machine later...

The eternal toss up between immediate reward and possible greater long term reward....

[ians]

Someone mentioned that I am expensive ( I should be charging around R950 - R1200 per hour taking into consideration my skill level and years of hands on experience) I am actually really cheap ... considering what you get for the pocket money you spend ... its simple ... I have been using spanjaard cold galv spray paint for years @R155 a tin ... I decided that a R35 tin of the same stuff from Gelmar surely does the same thing ... I threw the tin away and went to SA fastners and bought a box of tins of spanjaard.

[Sparks]

@ Adrianh: Depending how much still needs to be done an alternative consideration might be to rent one for the project then get a quality one later.