Posted by M. W. Myers, D.V.M. on July 01, 2003 at 20:44:57:
In Reply to: Raising prices.... posted by Edith on July 01, 2003 at 11:00:32:
: OK last year we went up 5$ for basic shoeing no frills deal.
: Since then cost of doing business/ living and FUEL have gone up horribly. We want to go up another 5 $ end of August. We are only at 65 and should be at 70. One of those cases of underestimating your abilities and starting to low to begin with.
: The top guy is only 75 and should be at 90.
: I am working on the letter to our customers right now but do not feel great about jacking it up 5$ two years in a row.
: We went through the customer list and it seems the only clients we might loose are the SAME clients we have been trying to get rid of.
: Thanks
: Edith
Two pieces of advice:
1-Easy one - do not raise $5.00, raise 7 or 8 so it does not look so arbitrary. Gas prices went up a lot faster then this and this is a major expense for you. To soften the blow, explain to clients that a price increase has been delayed for far too long trying to help them out and this is a necessary evil of doing business.
2- Hard one - calculate what you want to make and how much you want to work then deduct your overhead costs and you should be able to accurately figure out how much you should really charge.
M. W. Myers, D.V.M.