Hourly rate ?

[lefthanddrive]

Simple question - what is a reasonable hourly rate I can ask for ? I live in a rural area in the North.
Thanks

 

[binky]

Simple question - what is a reasonable hourly rate I can ask for ? I live in a rural area in the North.
Thanks

You need at least £30 hour to run a business, probably more these days.

 

[poni]

You need at least £30 hour to run a business, probably more these days.

£40-£50 hour
you should be on £25 hour on PAYE,
or is that just me?

 

[Sharpend]

Which part of the north?

 

[Murdoch]

It’s not an hourly rate you need.

this all rather depends on the type of work you are doing, where and for whom.

and you need to consider, if SE, the impact of no holiday or sick pay, or pension calculation.

have you calculated your fixed and variable overheads?

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Simple question - what is a reasonable hourly rate I can ask for ? I live in a rural area in the North.
Thanks

At the end of the day you can ask for whatever you think you are worth...?
But key considerations should include:-

Your personal qualifications, skills, experience, and/or any unique or specialist services you can offer..?
And how much your overheads are just to allow you to work.. (buildings/vehicles/insurance/advertising/scheme memberships/tools replacements etc)..?
And how much you need to cover your basic living costs.. (food/clothes/mortgage/rent/heating etc)..?
And how much you need to be able to save each month to go towards the "rainy-day" contingency pot if you are unable to work, (holidays/sickness etc)..?
And how much you want to start putting away towards your personal retirement pension pot..?
And how many hours "On-Site" each week you think you will do -vs- how many off-site hours doing admin/answering messages/booking appointments/ordering/collecting materials/filing tax return data etc..?

Side Note:- I do know of others who just like to go out and do few jobs here & there a few days a week to get themselves out of the house to earn a bit of beer money... meet few people... but they don't need to work, as they have enough dosh... One guy I know was an only child who inherited a fair whack of dosh when his parents passed away 8+ years ago... and although married, has no children and their partners income covers all of their essential monthly bills with room to spare... so he can do jobs a stupidly cheap rates!!!!

The reality is that its not much use any of us on here saying we charge, £30/£40/£50/£70/£100+
as it would probably not be a like-for-like comparison?

If you are a skilled person. who is qualified and competent to work with an invisible substance that can kill healthy persons within seconds..
And design, install, test and certify your work as compliant with BS7671 to fail safe so as to not endanger any people property or livestock...
Then DO NOT under-sell the product/service that you are offering!

I think BT/Open-Reach charge stupid amounts per hour to fix a phone/internet cable fault!
Plumbers charge a stupid amount per hour to ensure water flows down-hill!
Some domestic appliance repair technicians round here charge £60+ for the first hour call out to fix the washing machine!

Two ESSENTIAL golden rules for good business and keeping customers happy are:-
(1) DO NOT overcommit, if you cannot realistically keep an appointment do not say you can be somewhere at an unreasonable time schedule.
(2) ALWAYS keep your appointments.. (AKA NEVER fail to turn up on time)!!!

Reality is...
Once you have proved yourself..
Customers are very willing to wait for when you can arrive and pay a premium for your "reliable" service.

In this day and age with vehicle fuel costs are higher..
Office heating costs are higher..
Tool replacement cost are higher..
Meter calibration costs are creeping up...
Insurance is creeping up... etc.. etc...
And loads of other workers are going on strike for higher pay..
It would be gross stupidity trying to run a business by failing to cover your essential costs...

As long as you are NOT running at a loss...
and you have a bit left over for some savings....
Then you are probably charging a reasonable rate...

ALSO... I would avoid any cheap rate offers to try and win new customers tactic..
As it is generally best to keep any reductions/discounts for regular/bulk purchase customers..

Sometimes if you go in too cheap for a new customer..
They can automatically expect cheap for all further work, then be disappointed when you have to charge the proper rate!
Better to charge proper rates for new customers...
Then make them even happier at a later date when you can offer them a better price as they are a good customer!

I have no idea what the general living costs are like up where you are....
but I am down in the Midlands and anything less than £40, is probably pushing it...
(maybe £35 at a pinch!? BUT.. also note.. I have paid off my mortgage which is one helluva big expense I don't have to worry about!)

But at the end-of-the-day... it really is down to your personal circumstances.



P.S.
Welcome to the forum..
How North is North?
East or West?

We ALL want to know?

 

[Murdoch]

When you say rural area. Does this mean lots of travelling time between jobs?

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

When you say rural area. Does this mean lots of travelling time between jobs?

Is this the polite way of asking if Postman-Pat & Jess deliver his mail??

 

[binky]

£40-£50 hour
you should be on £25 hour on PAYE,
or is that just me?

£17 seems to be the rate in Devon, last time I looked.

 

[Murdoch]

Is this the polite way of asking if Postman-Pat & Jess deliver his mail??

Ha ha

No more a way to see how far potential customers are apart.

Driving time = lost time = needs to be considered when working out costs

 

[lefthanddrive]

At the end of the day you can ask for whatever you think you are worth...?
But key considerations should include:-

Your personal qualifications, skills, experience, and/or any unique or specialist services you can offer..?
And how much your overheads are just to allow you to work.. (buildings/vehicles/insurance/advertising/scheme memberships/tools replacements etc)..?
And how much you need to cover your basic living costs.. (food/clothes/mortgage/rent/heating etc)..?
And how much you need to be able to save each month to go towards the "rainy-day" contingency pot if you are unable to work, (holidays/sickness etc)..?
And how much you want to start putting away towards your personal retirement pension pot..?
And how many hours "On-Site" each week you think you will do -vs- how many off-site hours doing admin/answering messages/booking appointments/ordering/collecting materials/filing tax return data etc..?

Side Note:- I do know of others who just like to go out and do few jobs here & there a few days a week to get themselves out of the house to earn a bit of beer money... meet few people... but they don't need to work, as they have enough dosh... One guy I know was an only child who inherited a fair whack of dosh when his parents passed away 8+ years ago... and although married, has no children and their partners income covers all of their essential monthly bills with room to spare... so he can do jobs a stupidly cheap rates!!!!

The reality is that its not much use any of us on here saying we charge, £30/£40/£50/£70/£100+
as it would probably not be a like-for-like comparison?

If you are a skilled person. who is qualified and competent to work with an invisible substance that can kill healthy persons within seconds..
And design, install, test and certify your work as compliant with BS7671 to fail safe so as to not endanger any people property or livestock...
Then DO NOT under-sell the product/service that you are offering!

I think BT/Open-Reach charge stupid amounts per hour to fix a phone/internet cable fault!
Plumbers charge a stupid amount per hour to ensure water flows down-hill!
Some domestic appliance repair technicians round here charge £60+ for the first hour call out to fix the washing machine!

Two ESSENTIAL golden rules for good business and keeping customers happy are:-
(1) DO NOT overcommit, if you cannot realistically keep an appointment do not say you can be somewhere at an unreasonable time schedule.
(2) ALWAYS keep your appointments.. (AKA NEVER fail to turn up on time)!!!

Reality is...
Once you have proved yourself..
Customers are very willing to wait for when you can arrive and pay a premium for your "reliable" service.

In this day and age with vehicle fuel costs are higher..
Office heating costs are higher..
Tool replacement cost are higher..
Meter calibration costs are creeping up...
Insurance is creeping up... etc.. etc...
And loads of other workers are going on strike for higher pay..
It would be gross stupidity trying to run a business by failing to cover your essential costs...

As long as you are NOT running at a loss...
and you have a bit left over for some savings....
Then you are probably charging a reasonable rate...

ALSO... I would avoid any cheap rate offers to try and win new customers tactic..
As it is generally best to keep any reductions/discounts for regular/bulk purchase customers..

Sometimes if you go in too cheap for a new customer..
They can automatically expect cheap for all further work, then be disappointed when you have to charge the proper rate!
Better to charge proper rates for new customers...
Then make them even happier at a later date when you can offer them a better price as they are a good customer!

I have no idea what the general living costs are like up where you are....
but I am down in the Midlands and anything less than £40, is probably pushing it...
(maybe £35 at a pinch!? BUT.. also note.. I have paid off my mortgage which is one helluva big expense I don't have to worry about!)

But at the end-of-the-day... it really is down to your personal circumstances.



P.S.
Welcome to the forum..
How North is North?
East or West?

We ALL want to know?

Thanks for a really great reply.
Btw, I live in Cumbria - that's pretty rural

 

[Murdoch]

Thanks for a really great reply.
Btw, I live in Cumbria - that's pretty rural

Cumbria - nice, except when ask the pesky tourists turn up

 

[Fleeting]

At the end of the day you can ask for whatever you think you are worth...?
But key considerations should include:-

Your personal qualifications, skills, experience, and/or any unique or specialist services you can offer..?
And how much your overheads are just to allow you to work.. (buildings/vehicles/insurance/advertising/scheme memberships/tools replacements etc)..?
And how much you need to cover your basic living costs.. (food/clothes/mortgage/rent/heating etc)..?
And how much you need to be able to save each month to go towards the "rainy-day" contingency pot if you are unable to work, (holidays/sickness etc)..?
And how much you want to start putting away towards your personal retirement pension pot..?
And how many hours "On-Site" each week you think you will do -vs- how many off-site hours doing admin/answering messages/booking appointments/ordering/collecting materials/filing tax return data etc..?

Side Note:- I do know of others who just like to go out and do few jobs here & there a few days a week to get themselves out of the house to earn a bit of beer money... meet few people... but they don't need to work, as they have enough dosh... One guy I know was an only child who inherited a fair whack of dosh when his parents passed away 8+ years ago... and although married, has no children and their partners income covers all of their essential monthly bills with room to spare... so he can do jobs a stupidly cheap rates!!!!

The reality is that its not much use any of us on here saying we charge, £30/£40/£50/£70/£100+
as it would probably not be a like-for-like comparison?

If you are a skilled person. who is qualified and competent to work with an invisible substance that can kill healthy persons within seconds..
And design, install, test and certify your work as compliant with BS7671 to fail safe so as to not endanger any people property or livestock...
Then DO NOT under-sell the product/service that you are offering!

I think BT/Open-Reach charge stupid amounts per hour to fix a phone/internet cable fault!
Plumbers charge a stupid amount per hour to ensure water flows down-hill!
Some domestic appliance repair technicians round here charge £60+ for the first hour call out to fix the washing machine!

Two ESSENTIAL golden rules for good business and keeping customers happy are:-
(1) DO NOT overcommit, if you cannot realistically keep an appointment do not say you can be somewhere at an unreasonable time schedule.
(2) ALWAYS keep your appointments.. (AKA NEVER fail to turn up on time)!!!

Reality is...
Once you have proved yourself..
Customers are very willing to wait for when you can arrive and pay a premium for your "reliable" service.

In this day and age with vehicle fuel costs are higher..
Office heating costs are higher..
Tool replacement cost are higher..
Meter calibration costs are creeping up...
Insurance is creeping up... etc.. etc...
And loads of other workers are going on strike for higher pay..
It would be gross stupidity trying to run a business by failing to cover your essential costs...

As long as you are NOT running at a loss...
and you have a bit left over for some savings....
Then you are probably charging a reasonable rate...

ALSO... I would avoid any cheap rate offers to try and win new customers tactic..
As it is generally best to keep any reductions/discounts for regular/bulk purchase customers..

Sometimes if you go in too cheap for a new customer..
They can automatically expect cheap for all further work, then be disappointed when you have to charge the proper rate!
Better to charge proper rates for new customers...
Then make them even happier at a later date when you can offer them a better price as they are a good customer!

I have no idea what the general living costs are like up where you are....
but I am down in the Midlands and anything less than £40, is probably pushing it...
(maybe £35 at a pinch!? BUT.. also note.. I have paid off my mortgage which is one helluva big expense I don't have to worry about!)

But at the end-of-the-day... it really is down to your personal circumstances.



P.S.
Welcome to the forum..
How North is North?
East or West?

We ALL want to know?

TL;DR

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

TL;DR

So why waste even more of your time posting un-constructive "abbreviated" comments?
Some real-world questions cannot always be fitted into one paragraph..

Thanks for a really great reply.
Btw, I live in Cumbria - that's pretty rural

At least the OP was happy and appreciative of some constructive guidance..