Comments on: Gas Prices and Product Costs vs. Service Costs

By: Staying Positive During Hard Times - General Discussion

Staying Positive During Hard Times - General Discussion — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:05:52 +0000

[...] know times are rough these days not only for entrepreneurs, but for nearly everyone. Gas prices are still hurting businesses, people are afraid of spending too much, credit companies have tightened their lending rules; heck [...]

By: John Hoff

John Hoff — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:48:39 +0000

@ Theresa - my little 4 cylinder car went from $32 to fill it up to yesterday I broke the $50 mark! That’s some increase.

Meanwhile, only some hourly employees have managed to get a raise of maybe $.25 in their paycheck.

What I’m getting at is maybe you’re right. Maybe this article is a gastrointestinal problem!

By: Theresa

Theresa — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:54:45 +0000

Hi John,
Gas has become a major part of business planning now. With no control over the price of gas people are forced to think about alternative ways to cut costs without sacrificing their product and workmanship. You know your budgeting strategies have helped our landscaping company during these stressful times. I don’t know John maybe it is a gastrointestinal problem, I know I feel nauseas after I get gas for my car!!
Theresa

By: John Hoff

John Hoff — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:19:27 +0000

Hey Barbara. Our landscape company is the same way. It’s slow. People still want landscape work, but at half the cost it seems.

From a contractor’s point of view, yes we look for ways to be more efficient. From a buyer’s point of view, they should make sure the contractor is not cutting any corners.

Being more efficient like driving to bids in a smaller car and not a truck is one thing, but there are some (many) contractors out there that will buy cheaper products that won’t last and never inform the customer.

And yes . . . it is a vicious cycle. Especially for those entrepreneurs who sell things that people don’t need to survive on. In this case, one has to ask themselves, what other methods or changes should I do to supplement income?

I suggested to my brother (a guy who knows any and everything about landscaping) that while it’s slow and he’s home a lot he should write a “Guide To Las Vegas Landscaping” eBook and try selling it on the website. Then why not shoot for the moon and go for transposing it into a book?

When times change, our thought processes have to change - and so does our marketing.

By: Barbara Swafford

Barbara Swafford — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:27:38 +0000

Haha John, Gas

What an informative, and true post. It’s a vicious circle, and the increased costs do get passed on to the consumer.

Being self employed, in excavation, we too have seen a slow down. Can we raise our prices? No. But we can become more efficient.

And yes, consumers should be asking, “do I really need this”. Often, the answer will be “no”

Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Blogging - Secretly Affecting Lives