The moment I realized my pricing was actually scaring customers away

I run a small home repair business in Columbus and for 2 years I priced everything at what I thought was a fair rate for my skill level. Last month a buddy who does the same work said he charges less than half of what I do and his schedule is packed. Turns out people in my area just wanted basic fixes not premium work. I changed my prices last week and booked 4 new jobs immediately. Anybody else find out their rates were totally out of touch with their market?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth_king1mo ago

Undercharge yourself and suddenly you're the hottest handyman in town, go figure.

aaron8961mo ago

Feel like you're leaving money on the table though, right?

kai_bennett17d ago

elizabeth_king hit on something real there. I charged $150 for a simple faucet swap once and sat around for weeks after that. Dropped it to $65 and now I'm turning down work. The thing is, basic home repairs are a commodity. People compare your price to the big box store handyman or the kid down the street, not to a master plumber. Premium pricing only works if you have a premium reputation and people specifically ask for you by name. Otherwise you're just the expensive guy with the empty calendar. You made the right call matching your market instead of fighting it.