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The best way to price your services


 I remember like many years ago I've tried to break into delivery business. I always wanted to be a business owner, however I didn't have enough money to buy an existing business. So,here it goes. Courier business! Low starting cost, relatively easy operation, seems like plenty of work everywhere. Well, like famous Russian proverb says" measure 7 times and cut only 1". My desire to be a business owner blinded me completely. I didn't do any research about  potential competition or need for another delivery company on the market. Actually, I found one article about some courier company located 25 miles away from Boston. Courier industry has been unregulated recently and many guys out of blue started to do deliveries. Thankfully they needed only own vehicle and cell phone, almost forgot about pager and fax machine. It is laughable now, but back there those too things, I mean fax and pager were extremely important. So, his business suffered a loss,because of people who priced their services very low. One of those people were yours truly. I wanted to break into business at any cost. So, I've started to call around and the only thing I could offer a low price for my service. Believe it or not,but I was able to find some customers. Very soon I realized what mistake I've made. I have driven miles for only $15 or $20. It was fun at the beginning, my business have functioned. Wow!

Then, when I've started to fix my car or pay my bills, I understood what proper pricing meant for my business. In modern times, thanks to those so called Internet platforms , many businesses compete on price. The lower the better. I understand that many of those platforms founded by some out of touch with reality college graduates.  For them, the only cost is cost of software they have created. What about you? You who run your business and deal with expenses, weather, angry customers or unreliable contractors or employees? Will lower your rates work fine for you? 

 I have learned  a one valuable lesson, don't cut your prices to win a competition. Always remember, tomorrow another guy or girl can go even lower. So, what are you going to do? Cut your prices again? To the point, that your business will become so unprofitable , it won't make any sense even to run it. Think about your own dignity and find a way how to become a very important business provider for your client, not a commodity. .

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