I kind of think I am to cheap. I have the rates in my add, and I get calls and put hour estimates out and people are almost giddy with excitement to get me to do their work. That is starting to throw off alarms to me. Add money to the hourly rate! I turn down more work than I take though. I advertise for small work with a small/light weight machine. I get emails or calls saying that they have a simple job.... then you get there and they want an acre of ground landscaped into multi level terraces, retaining walls built between the 3 levels that they want cut into the slope, shed/outbuilding foundations put in and a 12 foot wide road created to go back 500' to the outbuilding. Then I am told no material will be dropped on the property, all will triaxles dropped on the street in front of the property and that I would need to carry 80-100 yards of topsoil, 70 tons of #4 and 44 to 66 tons of 2A.... one LA534 60" bucket at a time on a B2650. And that was all one job request!!!!.... and the email that started it all was "I need some topsoil spread and ground leveled."
I drove a half hour away, listened to the fellow, then tactfully backed away and ran like my butt was on fire!
The sad part is that he was really wanting me and my small/light machine to do it. He does not want his new driveway damaged from triaxles, heavy machines, or black tire marks from skid steers. So those bucket full of soil, #4 and 2A would be a 10 minute round trip... per bucket. I told him, I could eventually do it, but it would cost him enough in hours paying me that he could EASILY go buy himself a NEW tractor and attachments, do the work over the course of the summer, sell the machine 1 year old and maybe 400 or so hours on it and be WAY further ahead than me doing it. He said that his time is to valuable, and he does not have the time to do it.
Guess what, same here buddy! I'm a full time engineer, I do this for a hobby job on weekends... I do not have unlimited time to devote to your insanity project. But anyways, my goal is to bid and take 6-8 hour jobs. 1 day, in and out. If you want bigger jobs done, call bigger equipment in.
You've got to know when to fold em.