This time of the year, the weather may keep you inside a lot but there are benefits. Sure, you can get all your blades set and sharpened, then what? It is a good time to evaluate your income and expenses for the previous year.
Go through your costs like mill payments (or replacement funding), insurance, fuel, maintenance, blades, support equipment, rent, and employee costs (if you have them). Divide that number by the number of board feet produced (or hours worked if you don't track bf production), and you should have the basis for setting what your costs of production are. Then you can add in what you want to pay yourself, and come up with what your rates should be. If you sell lumber, add in the costs of log acquisition (if you use your own logs, what would it cost to buy similar logs?).
What if the guy down the road sells or works for a lower price? Well, you know what it costs for you to operate so cutting your price means working for less, or finding ways to reduce your costs. Cutting costs should not mean cutting corners; paying employees in cash, going without insurance, etc. is a recipe for disaster, even if you don't go broke.
