when you charge by the hour you limit your income/worth because you can only work so many hours.
Funcolors nailed it right there. For example, the thread I posted recently about a mural I hung. It took me right at 3 hours. Now, if I charged only an hourly rate (IE $60), I take home only ($180). Sorry, I can't afford to start my truck in the a.m. for that. My time/expertise is worth much more than that, plus I have to pay taxes out of that, and recover my overhead expenses. How's this for a pricing strategy: Price= 10% labor, 10% materials, 80% knowledge/experience.
Someone above said they charge $20 per hour. With all due respect, that is what is killing this industry. There is hardly no way to charge that, and pay taxes, and justify overhead expenses, and make even a crappy, poor living. Seems we are plagued with many, many great tradesmen, and very few businessmen. I suggest to anybody that if they want to do anything for a living, learn to run it like a business. Do us all a favor, and buy some books, take some classes, whatever, but figure out how to charge the right price, or become one of the many businesses that fail every year. Or, drag down the rest of us who DO run a legitimate, tax-paying business by trying to compete with the low ball pricing.
And yeah, I drive a pickup too.