Actually, it’s been proven by numerous studies that the “comfortabe wage” is always right about 2x whatever the person being asked is currently making… 'Merica 
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Lol I’m sure that’s the #1 answer on all of the online surveys.
Ok, so we agree, but came at it from different angles.
Once again, we agree that you have to figure out your costs. I even calculate my mileage and travel time into my estimate because I live in the boondocks and everything is a drive.
From what I gathered, the OP was adding a service and not doing it full time. This is why I offered my .02, as a small operator. He will be inefficient at first, everyone is that starts out without any experience. If he stays in a niche of only vinyl and concrete, he will adjust his numbers/times quickly.
This might be where the breakdown in communication is coming from. I don’t think many here are really recommending bidding projects based solely on hourly rate.
When I was first getting started, I looked at a ton of different power washers’ websites to see their package pricing for small, medium, and large houses. I got a consensus of what people would get for various types of homes.
My first few houses were a bit of a guessing game, but I eventually got a feel for what was ‘reasonable’ pricing for my market.
As I went along, I took note of what my hourlies were. As my efficiency improved, my hourlies went up. I didn’t drop my pricing just because I was getting quicker.
For my particular market, I started out around $150/hr average and worked my way up to $300+ (Monday for example, I did $350/hr. $1,585 in approximately 4.5 hours labor)
For some other markets, you might start off making ~$100/hr and eventually work your way up to $200.
But personally, I only really see my hourly rate as a metric by which I can track my own progress in efficiency, as well as my consistency in pricing. For example, if I get a project where I only gross $175/hr, I’ll try and diagnose where I went wrong with either my efficiency or my pricing.
This is my philosophy in business:
“Charge for results. Not time.”
(Along with, “under promise, over deliver.”)
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I’ve been shooting for 3 hours at 450. It’s been working in my area near Atlanta. I upped my game with a website and I’m considering doing google ads and targeting the top 20% of income or something like that if it’s possible. What are you guys doing?
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Everything, and then some…lol
Equipment makes money not labor. Charging by the hour is a good way to lose money. I like the tractor analogy. You can hire two guys to come dig up your backyard for a month pay them $25 an hour each and spend $8,000. Or you could call in a contractor with an excavator and a dump truck and he will charge you $8,000 but do it in a day. The psychology of it is that you’re getting ripped off with the tractor. But you feel like if two guys are out busting their butt but five days a week for a month that that’s fair wages. This is why when people call me just to do windows I tell him to call a window specialist. The overhead from my expensive equipment, the higher insurance rate, higher Workmen’s Comp. rate etc can’t compete with them. Same with cleaning out gutters. A guy pulling up in an old Chevy S 10 with an extension ladder, a 5 gallon bucket and a shovel has only the overhead of the gas it took to get there. I’ve literally spent thousands of dollars in just fittings hoses and attachments alone. High pressure equipment always needs maintenance and stuff frequently needs to be replaced. You need to add up how much all of your overhead is including pay for you to afford all of your bills. How much is going to cost to replace all the equipment in the end and then add money for Unexpected problems, and hopefully actually making some profit after you pay yourself a fair wage
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I’m curious, when y’all calculate what you’re bringing in hourly do you factor in drive time or just on site stay to finish?
I base it on onsite time, roughly. Add on trip charge as needed. I’m sure it varies for everyone by area, but I generally figure we’re running onsite(s) about 6 hours a day on average, maybe 6-1/2.
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Yeah, I just meant how people were figuring their hourly production rates not so much what they charge.
That’s mainly what I was talking about…I think they have to be inextricably linked anyway…
I figure revenue for a truck/crew per day, then divide it by about 6 to figure out what to schedule per hour (the breakdown is a lot more complex in CrewCal, which I think you said you used ResponsiBid before…), but that’s the basic #. If guys are routinely ahead of schedule on that plan, I increase their hourly by about $50 so more $$$s fit into their 8=ish hour day, and they make more money a day that way too.
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Really good point.
The challenge is figuring out the equipment 
