11/08/2026
The economy is getting tougher by the day for Victorians. For all of us in business — my customers, the customers I want, my competitors and myself its tough out here.
This is where we need to be staunch.
When work gets quiet, the easiest lever to pull is price. Drop the rate, win the job, keep the wheels turning.
But working for nothing just to stay busy is a sure way to go broke. Worse than that, it slowly dismantles the business you spent years building.
Because margin isn’t just profit.
Margin pays for good people. Good equipment. Maintenance. Training. Safety. Insurance. Backup. Service. And the ability to answer the phone when something goes wrong and actually do something about it.
Strip enough margin out of a business and eventually something has to give.
I’d feel completely defeated if, after all these years in business, the only tool I had left to compete was price point. I’d feel about as useful as the government trying to control inflation with the same old tool of raising interest rates.
We’ve spent years building relationships, investing in equipment, developing our people and constantly refining the business to make it a weapon at what it does.
We want to give our customers the best value and the best opportunity to achieve their goals through the crane service we’ve developed.
So it would be remiss of me to forget all of that now and jump aboard the bandwagon of sinking ships around us — dropping rates, cutting corners and slowly diluting the product just to keep busy.
Ain’t gonna happen.
Now is the time to be savvy and do it better for our clients, not cheaper.
Recently I had a lot of pressure from a good client to hold our old rates. I did the maths. It wasn’t possible. We had plenty of discussion around it. Ultimately, that client decided they couldn’t afford to lose the standard of people, equipment and service we bring to the table because it contributes to the success of their own business.
That’s an important distinction.
They weren’t buying a crane for an hourly rate. They were buying an outcome.
So instead of dropping our rates, we negotiated a higher one. I don’t enjoy putting rates up. But sometimes it’s absolutely necessary.
You can’t demand the best equipment, experienced people, reliability, safety and service while simultaneously demanding the cheapest price. Eventually those two things collide.
And right now isn’t the time to be making compromises.
When the market is flying and everyone is busy, businesses can get away with plenty. When things tighten up, customers suddenly have more choice and every weakness becomes visible.
That’s why I think this market will expose businesses at both ends.
Those that were never delivering enough value will struggle. And those that panic and destroy their margins trying to buy work will eventually struggle too.
Price absolutely matters. There is nothing wrong with being competitive. We have to be.
But being competitive and being cheap are two very different things.
If the only reason somebody chooses your business is because you’re the cheapest, then the bloke who comes along tomorrow $10 cheaper has just taken your customer.
That’s not much of a business strategy.
Hard markets aren’t the time to forget what made your business valuable.
They’re the time to prove it.
Your Thoughts?
Cheers, Ben.
