Some items are flat rate and some are setup and per animal. Sometimes a weekly rate and per animal.
Really depends what you’re after. If you’re driving there everyday or if it something the customer can check.
I got tired of customers worrying that I was going to catch 20 squirrels when I told them I most likely only need 4-5 of them to solve the problem. So I added my setup fee and 4 catches together and came up with a flat rate.
When it is ground animals like skunks, groundhogs, or armadillos it is a set up fee and per animal. The setup fee is to cover the first visit, an in between visit to rearrange traps or something, and then pick up traps on the last day when there isn’t a catch. The rest of the visits should be to pick up an animal and are covered by that.
I shoot for $80 an hour on the low end. That should cover everything you need and enough for you and the business to make money. Get a lot of jobs close together and that number goes up.
Really can’t forget the business needs to be paid as much as you or it’ll never grow. Buying new tools, trucks, gas, and traps shouldn’t come out of your personal pay. Pretend like you’re the employee working for someone else. Hope that makes sense.
When I was an engineer I would get billed to the company’s clients over $100 an hour. I can tell you I definitely wasn’t making that much! Lol. Some guys billed at around $400 and they weren’t either. That covers their pay, supplies, vehicle, and profit.
Your service is worth something, showing up on time is worth something, doing what you say you’re going to do is worth something.
Respect people and they’ll respect you by paying.
Last edited by JoeyHalk; 10/07/22 08:01 PM.