You Are Probably Calculating Gross Margin Wrong

The Real Cost of Going Legit with Chris Hag | Business Unscripted Ep. 63

Most people don't fail at business because they're lazy. They fail because they price from anxiety, lead from old habits, and underestimate what "legit" really costs. We're joined by Chris Hag, owner of High Standard Hauling and Junk Removal, for a candid conversation about the jump from a stable CDL career into entrepreneurship. Chris walks through hitting the ceiling in traditional jobs, the turning point that pushed him to go all in, and the hard truth behind the freedom myth: early on, you often trade a 50-hour week for a 100-hour week. We also get into the personal side of business growth, including legacy, the ripple effect your choices have on family, and what kids actually learn when they watch you build something from scratch. Then we go deep on the practical fundamentals: the sticker shock of commercial vehicle insurance, workers' comp, and overhead, and why competing on low prices can trap you in a race you cannot win. We break down how knowing your gross profit margin changes everything, especially when you're negotiating a major contract and need the confidence to hold the line. Finally, we talk leadership and hiring: how transparency can backfire with the wrong team member, how to think about capacity thresholds before you're overloaded, and how to build resilience when equipment, employees, and liability make every decision feel high stakes. If you're growing a service business and want better pricing strategy, stronger leadership, and a more durable business mindset, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a business owner who needs it, and leave a review with the lesson that stuck with you. Episode 63 Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2461667/fan_mail/new] Visit www.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro to learn more about our services and our Profit First Cash Clarity Programs. Learn more about Triumph Business Solutions www.triumphbusinesssolution.pro Receive a Complimentary Business Stability Snapshot and see how your business stacks up again 100,000+ successful businesses. https://triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/triumph-assessment Schedule a 30-Minute Cash Clarity Conversation - Guaranteed Value or full refund - $97: https://stan.store/TriumphBusinessSolutions Want to be a guest on the podcast? Register for a future episode here:  https://calendar.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/businessunscriptedguest

You Are Probably Calculating Gross Margin Wrong

Most business owners think they're running a 40% margin. The math usually says otherwise — and that gap quietly costs them thousands. In this episode, Dave and co-host Duarne break down how to actually price for profit: the gross-profit-margin formula most owners get wrong, why anything under 30% leaves almost nothing to run the business on, and how to quote bigger projects without giving away the work. Then they get real about AI for small business — why most owners have tried it but only a fraction actually use it, and the simple priority shift that separates the two. Plus two hard-earned cautionary tales: a scraped API key that burned $500 in 20 minutes, and 600,000 bot signups that took down a domain. In this episode: - The gross-margin mistake that turns a 40% target into 28% - How to price so every job actually pays the bills - Why "I don't have time for AI" is really a priorities problem - Real security lessons from two expensive mistakes If you've ever competed on price and felt the squeeze, this one will change how you think about your numbers. Episode 62 Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2461667/fan_mail/new] Visit www.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro to learn more about our services and our Profit First Cash Clarity Programs. Learn more about Triumph Business Solutions www.triumphbusinesssolution.pro Receive a Complimentary Business Stability Snapshot and see how your business stacks up again 100,000+ successful businesses. https://triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/triumph-assessment Schedule a 30-Minute Cash Clarity Conversation - Guaranteed Value or full refund - $97: https://stan.store/TriumphBusinessSolutions Want to be a guest on the podcast? Register for a future episode here:  https://calendar.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/businessunscriptedguest

How Clear Agreements Let You Raise Prices Without Losing Clients

Most pricing problems aren't pricing problems — they're agreement problems. This episode shows how clear agreements and upfront expectations let you raise prices, enforce late fees, and keep clients happy doing it. Dave Worden breaks down the systems behind durable, profitable client relationships: building price increases into your agreements so they're expected, why every contract needs a late fee, and how to set expectations that kill scope creep before it starts. He also gets practical on AI for small business — why you're not as behind as you think, and how to use it as guardrails instead of a crutch. In this episode: • The pricing approach that makes clients comfortable with increases • Why a late fee belongs in every contract — and how to frame it • Setting expectations that stop scope creep • Using AI as guardrails (and why you're not behind) • The three levels of service and landing your first advisory clients Episode 61 Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2461667/fan_mail/new] Visit www.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro to learn more about our services and our Profit First Cash Clarity Programs. Learn more about Triumph Business Solutions www.triumphbusinesssolution.pro Receive a Complimentary Business Stability Snapshot and see how your business stacks up again 100,000+ successful businesses. https://triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/triumph-assessment Schedule a 30-Minute Cash Clarity Conversation - Guaranteed Value or full refund - $97: https://stan.store/TriumphBusinessSolutions Want to be a guest on the podcast? Register for a future episode here:  https://calendar.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/businessunscriptedguest

Stop Charging By The Hour And Start Selling Outcomes

Hourly pricing feels “fair” until you realize it punishes speed, experience, and good systems. We talk through the real shift most small business owners need to make: stop selling time and start selling outcomes. When you can clearly define the result your client wants, the risk you remove, and the process you follow to deliver it, your pricing gets easier to defend and your sales conversations get a lot simpler. We also get practical about AI for small business. We share examples of AI workflows that save hours, like summarizing client emails, drafting replies in your voice, and turning notes and contracts into a clean FAQ cheat sheet clients actually understand. The big lesson: don’t build ten automations at once. Pick one or two high-impact workflows, finish them, and let that leverage compound before you chase the next shiny tool. From there we move into pricing strategy and sales process design: how to talk about annual increases without drama, why contracts should set expectations around price changes, and how packaging helps you avoid endless negotiation. Then we land on a simple but powerful gross profit margin calculation that many service businesses and contractors get wrong and how fixing it can mean thousands of dollars in recovered profit on every job. If you want stronger margins, better-fit clients, and a pricing model that matches the value you bring, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a business owner who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest pricing sticking point. Episode 60 Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2461667/fan_mail/new] Visit www.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro to learn more about our services and our Profit First Cash Clarity Programs. Learn more about Triumph Business Solutions www.triumphbusinesssolution.pro Receive a Complimentary Business Stability Snapshot and see how your business stacks up again 100,000+ successful businesses. https://triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/triumph-assessment Schedule a 30-Minute Cash Clarity Conversation - Guaranteed Value or full refund - $97: https://stan.store/TriumphBusinessSolutions Want to be a guest on the podcast? Register for a future episode here:  https://calendar.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/businessunscriptedguest

Your Offer Gets Easier When You Sell Outcomes

If your business “does a service” but customers still hesitate, it’s probably not your skill, it’s your offer. We sit down and map out what a real, sellable offer looks like when you stop describing tasks and start selling outcomes. From the milk-aisle pricing analogy to real client examples, we get practical about how to package your work so a buyer can instantly understand what they get, how it works, and why it’s worth it. We walk through the building blocks we use with clients: define the dream outcome, break the work into specific deliverables, then add a couple of smart bonuses that help people get results faster without wrecking your schedule. Dwarne shares what changed everything for his website projects: solving the content bottleneck by including content writing and revisions, which sped up delivery and raised perceived value. We also talk about why “bonuses” are often better than stuffing everything into the core package, especially when a buyer might not want every add-on. Then we go deeper into what keeps offers from turning into headaches: a confidence-building guarantee, a clear agreement that sets responsibilities on both sides, and honest scarcity based on your real capacity. We also connect offers to marketing fundamentals like systems, onboarding, awareness, customer acquisition cost, and customer lifetime value, because more leads don’t help if you can’t deliver. If you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or agency trying to tighten your service packages, pricing strategy, and sales process, this one gives you a clean framework to start today. Subscribe for next week’s conversation on valuing your offer, and if this helped, share it and leave a review so more business owners can find it. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2461667/fan_mail/new] Visit www.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro to learn more about our services and our Profit First Cash Clarity Programs. Learn more about Triumph Business Solutions www.triumphbusinesssolution.pro Receive a Complimentary Business Stability Snapshot and see how your business stacks up again 100,000+ successful businesses. https://triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/triumph-assessment Schedule a 30-Minute Cash Clarity Conversation - Guaranteed Value or full refund - $97: https://stan.store/TriumphBusinessSolutions Want to be a guest on the podcast? Register for a future episode here:  https://calendar.triumphbusinesssolutions.pro/businessunscriptedguest