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If you have kept up increasing your prices in line with inflation previously then it's usually a small increase which is generally acceptable if your customers are happy with your services .
If however you have set the bar too low initially to win work and now realise and have regrets it may mean a massive price increase to keep up and you can expect push backs from customers so you may have to compromise or use it as an opportunity to part company and reset your rate with new customers to make the job viable .
Retired now...but I always (every year) sent a letter to all clients, around April, May time when they really needed me, setting out the jncrease. To those big residential customers I wanted, who kept me busy for half day plus a week, 12 months a year I would send them a very similar letter, but ask them to consider the increase. Most paid up, those that didn't where on the dispensible list when new clients wanted space on a higher rate. If one didn't pay up I would find an opportunity to tell the ones that did pay, that I am losing a client and did they want additional hours? Often they did.
Thanks adam, grest advice. A change to see a different approach ie apr/may time to launch the depth charge ! Like it.
Hope retirement is keeping you fun busy!
All fine here...currently on a beach in Thailand 😁😁
😎👍
Wholeheartedly agree!!
Actually keeping the same prices from last year for this year here (first time in six years) as last year I put 5% on fortnightly and 10% on monthly where previously it was always 3% on both and although it's very coincidental but I lost a good 20 jobs (albeit most were because of people moving, injured clients unable to work, divorces, deaths and new family members) but have never lost so many jobs in one year before. Yes, I gained lot of new work... but even so! Don't get me wrong, things are still great, but logic dictates to keep the ship steady this year and that's after so much inflation we're facing along with my major upgrades for net-zero this year and MTD.
Increase prices every year, costs go up every year both on business and at home so otherwise your taking a pay cut, i dont get greedy i make small increases annually but as I do it every year and customers have learned thats part and parcel of it, just as my broadband goes up £2.50 every year ive learned to expect it
I just tell them.on my first visit of the year, take it or leave it it's not like there's a shortage of work. You charge the price you charge because that's what you feel you need to make it worth while, if they don't want to pay let them go I had a space last spring for 2 hours that's the first space I've had for 7yrs and it was filled in 1 hour