My tax guy made me laugh

[hondo1892]

Wife dropped off our info for the tax guy Monday. He looked over my stuff and told my wife I had a nice profit margin. I made less the 12K before all my overhead was deducted. I figure I make less than minimum wage right now. I know I do on all of my small jobs because I just can't see asking the price I need to make a profit. I have 160 hours or more in a rifle because I work slow to not mess anything up. Still doesn't work but it does keep the number of mistakes down. I don't know what this guy thinks my time is worth but must not be much. I told my wife when I decided to do this that I would give myself three years to get fast enough to make money. This is year two and I figure this will be a better one but still aint going to be no windfall. So many people out there don't understand how long it takes to make one off hand made items. Don't know how many times I've had guys try to dicker over my prices and I'm on the low end of full time makers. I've always wanted to ask if they would be willing to work sixty to eighty hours a week and take a pay cut and get no overtime pay either. But I just smile and say have a nice day. I will never get rich doing this but I sure do enjoy my work and best of all I get to take shooting breaks when I want.

[Pete44ru]

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Some folks, equating hand workmanship with what they know (production clones), just have no respect for real handwork.

I'm retired now, but in my working life (when a customer offered less than I was asking), figuring I'd lose the customer anyway, I replied with a higher price.

Have you tried posting a readily-visible labor cost list, like some repair garages do (like, $75/hr) to "qualify" whomever as a viable customer ?

Qualification cuts down on tire-kickers.


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[hondo1892]

I know that posting cost per hour would eliminate tire kickers. But it would also have negative effects on my sales also. I usually know in less than thirty seconds who is serious. Its hard to figure prices making hand made items when I'm doing new to me items so often. I never know how long it will take and sometimes I have to do it more than once to figure out how to make it. But after a year I am getting better a figuring prices. I also won't charge for any remakes I have to do because of my lack of knowledge. I'm not as well known as guys like Hershel House, Ian Pratt and many others and this makes it hard to charge more also. Ian has been my mentor since I've been serious about building and has helped me bunches. I also know I can't cut my throat and other full time builders and charge to little. My prices have went up almost every rifle that I have made because with each I gain more knowledge about time and building.

[Rusty]

The problem is people want a custom rifle at a mass produced price. I've seen your work and I've also seen H.House rifles and a few others. You don't need to hang your head about anything. I'd put your work along side any of them. Do what makes you happy.

[AJMD429]

Similar to health care. People don't understand why their $20 'co-pay' isn't enough to get a doctor to spend an hour with them, when the overhead the doctor has to pay is over $200/hour. Of course that's the same crowd that feels 'entitled' to their quadruple bypass and chemo, but wonders why they can't find insurance for less than a thousand dollars a month; I guess they aren't good at basic math...

[Griff]

Sorta like when that goofball asks you to take a load of lumber out of the Port of Jacksonville to LA for $0.64/mile, average fuel costs are over $0.54/mile & other variable expenses are at a daily average of $107/day, for a 4-day transit time. And they got upset when I told them I hoped their lumber rotted on the dock in Jacksonville!

[Ysabel Kid]

Funny, my tax guy made me cry again this year!