Grand Opening Special?

[sjm]

Newbie here who is considering hanging out a restoration shingle.

But I'm not sure about pricing my services. Does this sound workable?

for $20.00

* moderate restoration/retouching
* 5 x7 dye sublimation print
* one CD with retored picture.

100% satisfaction guanantee. If you don't like it, you don't take it or pay for it.

[DJ Dubovsky]

Hi Sjm,
Beautiful work!! Your have a real talent for detail. Very impressive.

To answer some of your questions, I do work out of my home and I love it. I would say if you are comfortable working at home then go for it. At least you can work when the inspiration hits you. There are some draw backs though. I think you are more liable to be taken seriously if you have an office even though the prices will reflect your overhead. I have had to work around that sometimes.

In pricing, only you can know what you feel you are worth. In my own opinion, I would say your work is worth more than you listed in this thread. What I did to get a ball park range was to go online and check out my competitors price lists and I also got ideas by what services they broke down and charged for. Sometimes you may overlook something or you may get ideas you never considered. Hope that helps. We may not always be the most knowledgeable group but we are quick to lend a hand. Hope that helps.

DJ

[Doug Nelson]

$20 is too cheap. If you're feeling insecure, double it and offer a half-off sale (but still too cheap).

Hang onto that ALPS. I found plenty of links offering supplies (like here and here) and die-sub is the print medium for transferring to other objects (mugs, t-shirts, etc.).

[thomasgeorge]

Sjm, Pricing your work is the biggest headache there is. (Next to the "client from the infernal regions" but thats another thread). Basically what you are selling is your TIME. To that end several things come into play. Is this a hobby and not intended to provide the sole source of income? If so you have some wiggle room although pricing too low makes it very hard to raise prices later on by very much at any one time. Something to be avoided if possible. Big price jump=customer stampede in the opposite direction. Next to consider is how many photos can you do during a typical work day and what are your costs for materials? If you are spending say $10 to$15 to produce a restore and only charging $20 and you only can do say 3 or 4 per day, there isnt much profit there. If you can do a volumn business and put out say 20 per day, the bottom line looks a little better but not much. I think the key here is to remember that the client is paying for the skill you had to develop thru hard work, study and practice. Dont sell yourself short. Only you can decide what your time is worth and the figures I threw around are only hypothetical. But take into account electricity costs and supply costs plus postage, vehicle costs and so forth. I think working out of your home is a good idea. I do and I wouldnt do it any other way. The savings you realise from avoiding rent, utilities etc., are substantial. Also look at diversifying your business--offer other things besides straight restore work.Dont get Discouraged either!!! Business, like all things has its down side and the nitty-gritty details are a pain. Everyone in business has had to confront them so just keep moving forward and keep the joy and awe alive that this business rewards you with. Sounds to me like you are on the right track and good luck. Tom

[Ed_L]

I think Tom covered it pretty well. It is easy to think that you can sell for a lower price than "ABC Restorations", but if you take everything into consideration, you might find that it's not as easy to do as you thought. Selling too cheaply, in my opinion, is a big mistake if you hope to make a business out of it. Potential customers don't know you, so let's look at a hypothetical situation. You are new to the United States, and you want to buy a car. You have no clue as to which car is the best, so you go shopping. You find a Cadillac for $42,000.00, and a Chevy for $22,000.00. You might assume that the Chevy is not a very good car, or that the Cadillac *is* a very good car. You have an impression made by price alone. You can't really tell by looking at them which is the best, so you have the same information to go on as the person looking for restoration work (assuming that the work is comparable). Now, who gets to do the work on your prized photo of your great great grandfather? Just something to think about.

Ed

[thomasgeorge]

Smj, One more thing--Some potential clients are going to complain that ANY price is TOO HIGH. Ignore the provication and carry on, as there are many more who consider what you charge to be well worth the money. It is disconcerting to "loose" a sale but many times that is really a blessing,keeping you from making the mistake of "variable pricing", a poor practice at best, which WILL come back to haunt you as sooner or later someone will walk in with a job, you will give them a price and they will say"SO-and-SO had that done and it was not near as high as you just said." Loosing an occasional sale is a normal part of business-dont dwell on it-just carry on with a shrug. I dont know of very many Auto repair places which lower their prices for Mechanical work just to "please" a potential customer! Why should you? Just some musings to consider, good luck, Tom