Know which work actually makes you money

Not all jobs are equal — some make you great money, some quietly lose it, and most owners can't tell which is which. Margin is simply what's left after the costs of doing that specific work. Find your winners and your losers and you can do more of the good stuff and fix or drop the bad.

Do this

1. For each type of job or service, subtract its direct costs from its price — that's the margin.
2. Compare them. You'll almost always find a few that earn far more per hour than the rest.
3. Do more of the high-margin work, and raise the price on (or retire) the low-margin stuff.
4. Recheck when your costs change — a margin that worked last year may be gone today.

A quick margin check

Line your services up side by side:

SERVICE PRICE COST MARGIN PER HOUR ---------------- ------ ------ ------- -------- Oil change $95 $45 $50 ~$50/hr Brake job $340 $140 $200 ~$65/hr Fleet contract $1,200 $900 $300 ~$25/hr

Same shop, very different earners. The fleet work looks big but pays the worst per hour. Push the winners, fix or drop the laggards, and your income climbs without working more hours.