Pricing for Profit

Too many tradies are stuck in the cycle of undercharging and wondering why their profit margins aren’t where they should be. The truth is, pricing your work too low might get you more jobs in the short term, but it’s eating away at your profit in the long run.

It’s not enough to simply cover your costs—you need to understand your numbers, account for overheads, and make sure you’re pricing your jobs in a way that brings real value back into your business. This isn’t just about boosting your hourly rate—it’s about quoting properly for every job and knowing the true cost of delivering your service, from labor to materials.

At Lifestyle Tradie, we talk a lot about shifting away from ‘Treadmill Tony’—who’s stuck charging low hourly rates—to ‘Profitable Pete,’ who quotes all work and ensures every job contributes to growing his business. We focus on teaching tradies the importance of not only covering costs but also increasing the average dollar sale on every job by understanding where those profit gaps are.

If you’re still pricing based on what you think the market will bear or just to keep up with competitors, it’s time to rethink. Pricing shouldn’t be a guessing game, and the longer you wait to adjust, the more ground you’re losing. The key to a profitable trade business lies in pricing smart and regularly reviewing those numbers so you’re always on top of market changes and cost fluctuations.

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