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Posted by claireowen on January 10, 2007, 9:41 am
Sharon Hays a écrit :
>> 1) Is $6-$10/hem a fair price?...If not, how do I approach my new boss
>> about it with tact?
> Jane,
>
> It's fair....to your client. But it wouldn't be worth *my* time to do hems
> for that. Remember that you are doing this as a Business. Not a hobby that
> sort of pays for itself.
>
> How I always priced alterations was as a portion of my hourly rate.
> Customers like a flat rate structure for alterations. But they also like an
> hourly rate for custom made clothing. Works for me. If a hem took me 15
> minutes the first time I did it, that's 1/4 of an hour. So decide how much
> you want to make per hour. Remember to add in your costs. You have
> electricity, wear and tear on your machines, etc. (and that's where your
> thread cost comes in too.) Pick a number you like for your hourly rate.
> Figure that 1/3 will go in your pocket. The rest will go back for taxes and
> operating costs. Time yourself over the next few items. If it takes you 20
> minutes to do the next pants hem, then that's your time. That's 1/3 of an
> hour. So if your hourly rate is $30 (I like easy math) then your charge for
> those pants would be $10. Then the rest of the math is that $4 of that goes
> in your pocket, and $6 goes in the savings/business operation account. Is
> that enough to make it worthwhile to you? You really are the only one that
> can answer that. When I was doing alterations in a very small, rural town,
> pants were $7, lined pants were $12, jeans were $7, jacket sleeves were $10,
> and skirts were $20 per layer if they were full. For example, a prom gown
> with a lined satin skirt with a chiffon overlay would be $60 to hem. ($20
> for the lining + $20 for the skirt + $20 for the overlay = $60.)
>
> If I were to start up alterations here in the city where I live now (it's a
> long story why I'm not working from home now, and involves a WHOLE lot of
> bureaucratic red tape) I would have to double my prices to make it
> profitable for me. My old pay structure was based on $15 per hour. I would
> have to go to $25-$30 per hour to make it worthwhile now. My market in the
> old town would only pay $15 per hour. (matter of fact a $10 per hour job
> was a Really Good Job in the little town.) Out here, I could very easily
> raise my rates to a more comfortable range for myself, and still have plenty
> of work.
>
> Keep in mind too, that your work time will get faster the more you do this.
> When I was in full swing, I could do 8 or 10 pairs of jeans in 90 minutes.
> (That was $56-$70 charged to the client, not $45.) That will help increase
> your profits. Because you Do Not reduce your prices to reflect that. You
> will still (even after months of doing nothing but hemming) find one pair of
> pants or one skirt that will drive you bug nuts. The hem won't lay in the
> way you want it; the crease won't press well; something weird will happen.
> When it does, you will go over your time on that job, but you won't raise
> your price on that one job to reflect that overage. You will eat it on that
> one. That will usually always happen when you are buried under with work
> waiting on you too. (notice I did not say If, I said When. Trust me, it
> happens to all of us.)
>
> As for how to approach the shop owner... Remember you are a Business
> Person. Handle it in a professional manner. Look into having a formal
> contract drawn up between you and the shop owner. I never did ANYTHING
> without a signed contract. I don't care if it was one pair of jeans hemmed
> for a person I would never see again. I didn't touch it without a contract
> signed between the two of us. One copy stayed in my file. One copy went out
> the door with the client. In your case, a signed contract between you and
> the shop owner should be enough. A signed contract will protect Both of you
> in this, so no one should be opposed to it. (if the shop owner balks at
> something that formal, it's time to find someone else to work with/for.)
> The contract is where you line out Everything. Your pay structure, your
> turn around time, your pick up/delivery terms and times, and also what you
> expect the shop owner to do. Will they be marking the hems? Will they be
> fitting the actual clients? (and if so, you need to figure how much of your
> time that is worth. It's not unusual to state $XX dollars as your normal
> base with at % discount given to this shop owner if they do the fittings.
> That is, however, entirely up to you.) You can write all this up yourself,
> or you can hire an attorney to do it for you. If you write it yourself, you
> need to check state laws to make sure you are writing it within those. If
> you decide to hire an attorney, look at it as a very wise investment in your
> business.
>
>
>> 2) Should my travel time, my lugging the suitcase (on wheels, to be
>> fair) full of dresses to and fro and my thread supply (which I had from
>> being a sewing junkie) somehow be accounted for in my pay?...And if so,
>> how do I bring that up in a nice way?
>
>
> Ok. This can be handled a couple of different ways. You can either charge
> your hourly rate for the travel time, or you can claim travel expense on
> your taxes. Totally up to you. Your thread (and needles, and razor blades,
> and serger cones,) like I said above, needs to just be accounted for in your
> operating costs. Yeah, you had it on hand, but you will have to replace it
> eventually. That's why you sock 2/3 of the money you bring in away.
>
> As for how you bring it up, go back to your contract. Figure out how to
> write that in with your other terms. And Stop worrying about being "nice."
> Nice is overrated sometimes. I'm nice to people I like. My neighbors, my
> friends, my family, folks on here. I'm not worried about being "nice" to
> people I do business with. Am I rude? No. Am I polite? You betcha. Do I
> chat with clients? Well sure, they are usually standing in front of me in
> their underwear. Ya gotta do something to take the edge off that, right???
> lol But I don't worry about being "nice." I am professional, I am
> businesslike. Because when I work with a client, first and foremost, they
> are coming to me looking for a Professional who has a skill set (and the
> equipment needed for that skill set) that they need. They are not looking
> to be my pal. They are just looking for me to dress them well. Make sense?
> In your case, the shop owner will probably value you more if you worry more
> about keeping this a Professional relationship rather than a Nice
> relationship. One business owner to another, not a coupla pals hanging out.
> Make sense?
>
> Sharon
>
Beautifully explained Sharon
(clap,clap, clap)
Claire in Montréal France
http://claireowenperso.free.fr
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