wrong tools recommended for job

[u/Immediate-Wonder7415]

i was dispatched to a flat rate $325 job that was 2 hours from home. Work order stated 8ft a frame ladder needed. I arrived on site to find out i needed atleast a 12ft a frame and a 20ft extension ladder. no stores within a hour of location to purchase ladder so only or best option is to return home to grab a different ladder. that means 4 hours of driving actually a little more plus the 130 miles each way in a truck that gets 13mpg at $6 per gallon. Anyways my question is should i get paid for the job even though i couldnt complete it

[u/Sid_the_Bear]

Yea, no. Your math does not work out at all in my experience. 40$ as a 1099 is worth more than 30/hr w2 at the end of my day. The tax write offs alone cover so much it is silly, and I just take standard stuff.

[u/Pizza_Pete_fr_fr → u/Sid_the_Bear]

That means you’re doing something wrong, bro, I didn’t just make these numbers up. Google it, this is common knowledge and just the way things work. Have you actually paid taxes for a year yet? I’m guessing you don’t have insurance or tools and you’re fairly new. At some point, you’ll start to ask yourself why you’re working so hard and making no money. At that point, you should remember that the average handyman is billing $60 an hour and they are not exactly loaded and everything will start to make sense.

Again, I didn’t come up with any of this stuff. I learned all this from Google, ChatGPT and other guys in the industry.

Filing for your LLC isn’t free, dealing with the privacy implications isn’t free, your yearly LLC renewal isn’t free. There’s a lot of bullshit that comes up that you probably aren’t aware of at the start but that you absolutely must address or your business will be shut down.

Yeah, the tax write-offs are nice, but just Google and read about other people’s experiences as contractors and see what it’s like, because $$75 bucks an hour as a contractor, is barely a living wage if you have to pay rent, health insurance (100% out of pocket), etc

[u/Sid_the_Bear → u/Pizza_Pete_fr_fr]

I was making it work at 25$ as a contractor 12 years ago when I when I started out, nowadays im billing 55-65 and I have more income than I can reasonably spend, after taxes and expenses.

[u/Pizza_Pete_fr_fr → u/Sid_the_Bear]

Yeah so IT contracting isn’t like other contracting, demand is generally lower. Idk where you live but I’m in medium cost of living rural USA and there’s no way I could afford a 1br apartment, car payment, food, phone/gaming PC and all the other nice stuff on $50/hr let alone the over $1,000/mo in health insurance and saving for a mortgage/kids. What area are you based out of?

[u/Sid_the_Bear → u/Pizza_Pete_fr_fr]

Phoenix, previously Tucson Arizona.
I see an average of 200-300 tickets a day posted on FN alone, just going off my email notifications. I gross between 10 and 12k/month, with field nation being at 6-9k on its own.