Most makers we meet undercharge by 20–40%. Not because they don't know their craft — because the spreadsheet hides the cost of the things that aren't on the spreadsheet.
The formula, honestly
Here's the one we use. It isn't fancy; the hard part is being honest about the inputs.
Price = (Materials + Hours × Rate) × Overhead × Margin- Materials — every board foot, every screw, every rag. Multiply by 1.15 to cover waste.
- Hours — not the hours you'd like it to take, but the hours it'll actually take including design, revisions, install, and follow-up photography.
- Rate — what you need to earn per hour to live the life you want, not survive it.
- Overhead — rent, insurance, tools, software, the coffee you drink while drawing. We use 1.3.
- Margin — this is profit, not income. We aim for 1.25.
The number behind the number
When a client sees your quote, they aren't comparing it to a CAD drawing — they're comparing it to IKEA and their neighbor's remodel. You are selling a story as much as a product. The price is part of the story.
A quote that's too low reads as "this maker doesn't know what they're worth." A quote with confidence reads as "this person is the expert — I'm lucky they took the commission." Same work, opposite client psychology.
A practical check
Take your last three commissions. Work backward through the formula.
- Count every hour including design tweaks and photo day. Be brutal.
- Add up every receipt for materials — not the ones you remember, the ones on the card.
- Include your overhead multiplier.
If your effective hourly rate is below what a journeyman carpenter makes hourly in your city, you're subsidizing your clients' furniture with your time. That's not a business — it's a hobby with invoices.
Raising the number, quietly
You don't have to announce a rate increase. You can simply quote the new rate on the next commission. Most clients don't compare your quotes to your last one — they compare it to the value of the piece they'd get.
