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I started charging a $25 consult last fall, with no effect. So I bumped it up to $50 this spring. I refuse to do design work without getting compensated for my time (once I finish a few lingering designs from the winter. No design fee equals no motivation). Visits with previous customers are gratis.
Most of my calls are from referrals and past clients. It has lowered the number of people that leave a message, but the clients who do are more serious and 'discriminating'. It gives me the opportunity to approach them bright eyed and bushy tailed.
I screw up on occasion and forget to mention the consult fee, especially on small jobs or paver and retaining wall jobs. I must realize that my knowledge of this subject is worth paying for my time. It may take me a while to put them in, but they are done right!
It's not yet May and I'm fried from running around. Without the consult fee I would be extra crispy.
All consult and design fees go toward the job if hired.
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As a father I was always aware that I was raising my sons to leave home, marry, establish families, and be men who could stand on their own two feet. We must fulfill our own destiny. I really wasn't concerned about what they might 'do' but I wanted them to 'be' good men.
- David Epps
Last edited by jwholden : 04-21-2006 at 09:58 PM.
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