I decided to explore entrepreneurial ways of making money about 2 years ago and it’s been a bumpy ride, had a lot of failed ventures, but it’s finally starting to work out! I recently got a job as an aircraft mechanic at a small airport and got to know a lot of the pilots fairly quickly.
The guy that washes people’s planes was overcharging them but there was no competition, so most people just left their airplanes dirty. He was charging like $150 per wash! So I spread the word “I’ll do an initial wash for $120 to knock off all the caked on grime and bugs” and then I’d offer to let them opt into basically a wash subscription. $80 per wash if I wash the plane monthly. Takes me less time to wash it anyways and it keeps the cashflow steady.
Basically, I charged almost half what the competition was doing it for. It’s been 20 days and I already have 6 planes subscribed to my monthly wash program, one of which is a twin engine so I charge $120 for it, bringing in a garunteed $520 a month excluding other odd jobs, and averaging about $45 per hour of labor with very low overhead. Feeling pretty good about it!
Congrats!! Try to find a way to eventually raise your rates. $45 an hour is great especially when you are starting but it may not be enough once you account for other things. Try to find a way to add bells and whistles that add value but cost you little.
Repeat customers are the way to go and you’re doing it right. I make good money but since I have to get new clients on a regular basis, making $100-$200 an hour is still a grind for me.