On the other hand, there are many self-employed workers here who are pushing the limits of what they charge or think they can charge due to the population explosion. The last time we hired a company to trim our shrubs two men worked four hours. They charged $400, or $50 per man per hour. They started out working for us more reasonably at a property outside of TV a few years ago and we, in a sense, introduced them to the bonanza of TV.
I called a carpet cleaner we had used several times and asked what the charge would be to steam clean the tile floors only, without having to treat the grout. He replied $400. If he spent four hours running his machine around, and it shouldn't take that long, that's $100 per hour.
I realize that these people have overhead, mainly their vehicles, cell phones and a few tools, but those jobs are unskilled labor. My husband balked at the thought that they are earning more per hour than he did as a highly-skilled self-employed individual in a dangerous job.
Last edited by Carla B; 10-15-2019 at 09:23 AM.
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