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Yes. Try and do them six monthly at least. 10% on everything last year - this year VAT on top - that'll be some fun explanations - means some customers will be paying double what they were for the same service 5-6 years ago....
Totally agree Adam. My customers are all getting letters early January informing them of big increases some as much as 50% 😬 been way too cheap for way to long now. Recently had a chat with a gardener in next village around 7 miles away & I was quite shocked at his prices I'd imagine I'll lose quite a few but the business needs to survive long term.
Certainly need to plan well ahead to replace a van with some used prices higher than the same van cost new Three years ago such is the demand .
Difficult decision if you live near a Caz or ulez zone and have to pay over 12 k for a used euro 5 van .
You almost need a crystal ball to try and predict where the van market is going and put sufficient funds aside to replace .
As I've said before on here (this may not apply for those of you running large commercial companies) - but worked for me, largely on small residential. Each Spring Summer new people knocked at my door wanting gardening - All would get a new uplifted price, if they accepted that price (which would be around £5 to £10 per hour more than anything I had previously charged... (the old price still made money by the way) that would then be the new price - It made sure these newcomers got good service - then the following Spring all (bar a very few) would be moved to the new price. I would then repeat the process the following year.
It meant that I had to run 3 sets of prices, clients on:
Yes I lost some, if I really liked that client/garden, I could always make an exception - but there were always a few that I didn't enjoy, or were in the wrong location, that I was pleased to let go..
The big positives were that the new price had 6 to 12 months to settle in and prove to me that it worked, and . I wasnt sending a nasty letter to my whole client base at once.
It also produced a set of accounts that allowed me to easily sell the business and retire early - becuase the business was very profitable. The fact that the chap who bought it hasn't kept the Customer Service and Quality of service going, despite me telling him how to , is not my issue!
Ok so I've done a basic run down of my running costs.
On average i take about 6 weeks off a year so I'll divid my running costs over 46 weeks working on a 5 day week.
Van insurance £330
Public liability insurance £280
Machinery maintenance £400 a year
New tool purchase/replacement/oils £500 a year
Road tax and fuel for 12 months £3000
£4510 ÷ 46 weeks = £98.04 a week
£98.04 ÷ 5 days = £19.60 a day
So £20 a day to cover my main over heads. That's obviously a relatively basic working out, but it's there about.
Interesting it's the first time I have had so many enquiries from people planning ahead for next season and their only question is how much do I charge ?
Obviously they are working out their own household /business budgets or perhaps received notification from their existing gardener of intended price increase
Impossible to give anyone a price over the phone but I always ask them what they would expect to pay or have paid previously .
Their answer is always around the hourly minimum wage rate which doesn't surprise me .
I tell them my prices are higher and in line with business overheads .
I have managed to reduce my business overheads considerably because I know my market working nearer to home .
My overheads increased considerably after I took the decision to travel miles to more affluent areas but looking at the maths and time travelling it was not really worthwhile .
Just really adapting to what works and less hassle .
Your costs are very, very low in the scheme of things - luckily for you!
I see many not taking into account vehicle depreciation as a running cost too because eventually you'll need a new van too
Those tool machinery costs and maintenance costs seem very very low , a great thing to remember to tell the customer is that your reinvesting a good chunk of the money back into the business , for tools and machinery which gives them the best looking gardens and at the same time makes your job easier and more efficient
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