[mav]

Hello I have finally got the very basic kit together for driveway cleaning(although some will disagree) and I have been approached by a local company who say they may be getting some commercial work coming up soon and would I be interested I said yes as I have not had one job yet so he said I should get a day rate sorted but I don't know the pricing structures for day rates or driveways or anything (this seemed like a good idea but now I have bought the van and pressure washer and sold my bike to pay for it it just feels like I am out of my depth a bit lol.
If anybody can help with what basic kit I should have I have a honda 13 hp pressure washer built onto a 1000 liter tank flat surface cleaner and turbo lance oh and van of course.
Oh and I forgot to mention I am in Lancashire if the location affects the pricing not sure if it does or doesn't.

[sherco]

What you need to do is sit down and work out your living and running costs for a month, mortgage, insurance fuel etc and work out a price you need a day to pay all these things don't forget things like depreciation on van and tools, as these need replacing every 3, 4 years. Hope this helps.

[mav]

For the moment I am doing this on my days off I work 4 on 4 off so the living costs are being offset by the day job at the moment

[steve doyle]

where abouts in lancashire are you, near any cities towns etc or out in the sticks?

What commercial work is it, walls? floors? that will affect the day rate.


steve

[Mrs Nicholls]

Could you not pretend you dont have a day job and then work it out from scratch, Put yourself in the scenario that you have no other work coming in, you will soon realise how much you need to survive on.

when i got a loan from the princes trust i had loads of paperwork to complete, start up costs, break even analysis, and there was a form about current bills and expenses in with it and it all tied in with the break even bit. looks a bit like when you write up a budget for yourself.

i think as you have the day job you arent pushed enough, give it up and you know what you will have to do  scary business when cash flow is non existant.....

Lisa

[mav]

I'm in Burnley decent sized town,don't know what kind of work it is he just said commercial ? sorry Lisa I just cannot take the big leap of faith and give up my day job I personally need the security of that wage until I build the business up I was talking to someone today and he said you shouldn't work for less than £100 a day
Thanx for your replies,
 Ian
                     

[steve doyle]

I would think you need to be min £130+ for 8 hours (say £20 costs and £110 on the job+) only if they can guarantee lots of work for you. I wouldent give a day rates unless they have plenty for you and you have too, otherwise your going to do yourself out of profit by not  pricing up as per job. Aim for £200 a day when pricing up by the job (will take you a bit of time to get upto top speed).

I agree with starting part time. it can take a while to get the work in so growing organically isnt a bad thing.

good luck
 
steve

[Andy Foster]

Giving out day rates to work towards is a dangerous thing in my opinion.
It depends on where you are... I hope you are not around my neck of the woods if you are charging £100 a day!!!
Take off your insurances, fuel, maintenance etc and you would be better off in a job at that rate.
It would help enormously if you filled in your profile.

Andy

[Paul Kettless]

Im not in the jet washing business, but I am also not a fan of day rates.  I think that you can easily sell yourself short.

For example, what you might think has been a good days work, may not be to your customer.  Inspect the job (when you know what it is) work out your costs, antisipated time that it will take and submit your price.  Simple.

Your pricing must reflect others in your area, especially if you are new to the job.  You cannot go in top dollar at the beginning, as your pricing should reflect you experience and knowledge.

Best regards
Paul