What are the wrong assumptions that someone who doesn’t know anything about your industry might make? (like me, I’m an indoor-gal and I don’t know much about manual labor/constructiony stuff) For example, my roommate had a friend over last week to paint our living room and they finished the whole room in just a few hours. I think they only did one coat, but still it looks a lot better. I would have expected it to take all weekend at least, because anytime I’ve seen contractors at work, it’s like watching paint dry (hyuk).
Do you alter your rates based on your client’s ability to pay? Meaning if you paint a roachy place, do you charge less? or is that just your “baseline” rate and you charge a Mcmansioner more, because they can afford more? Or is it strictly by the square foot, regardless of the economic class of your customer? Do you maybe even charge more for the roachy places because they’re more disgusting? Have you ever turned down a job because the house was too dirty or nasty or cluttered with trash?
How much would you charge to paint one 15x15 bedroom? Let’s say I hired you (or someone like you in my area, since I dunno where you work). Would I have to move my furniture into the center of the room to keep it paint-free, or do you guys do that? Do you charge per wall, counting the ceiling as a wall (as in, would it be significantly cheaper for me NOT to have the ceiling done)? Do you do anything besides “just paint”? Like, would you put up a roll of that sticky decorative trim around the top of the ceiling if I wanted you to?
How did you adjust your rates over the years? Are there guidelines for what to charge, or do you just kinda eyeball it per job? Have you ever (maybe in your younger years) ended up making less than minimum wage for your work because you planned wrong? Do you guarantee your work (I assume so)? What’s the biggest mistake you ever made, both in terms of cost and size? Have you ever made a mistake that a customer didn’t catch? Or would you rectify those things out of a sense of ethics/personal pride?
Did you have to apprentice under anyone when you started out? Is it hard to break into your industry? Do you have to buy insurance? Do you hire people? Or do you do all your work yourself?
If you do hire people, have you ever hired laborers you suspected were illegal? Do you see a lot of that? My uncle and ex-stepdad worked for a large concrete contractor in NW Indiana when I was a kid, and they talked about how their boss hired illegal coworkers all the time. Sometimes under the table, or sometimes with fake SSNs. I just wondered if you ever saw that, too.
You can ignore any of these questions if you want to. I asked a lot.