It's good to decide what you want to charge by the hour for a particular job so you, figuring how long it wil take you, can come up with a estimate to quote a price for a JOB (as mentioned a post or two ago). I agree that letting the customer know you are chargning by the hour just opens up a weakness for them to pick at. After all, they don't know what your expenses are, only you do and only you know what it takes to break even and then earn a profit. I guess it boils down to the delicate balance of: what you can do it for and make the profit you desire, competition, and what it is worth to the customer to not have to bust their butt in 100 degree heat for 4 x the amount of time one of us can do it for (for a small fee, of course

). But remember, McDonald's doesn't tell you how much it costs them to build your cheeseburger, and you don't have to explain why you charge what you charge either

.