Raise Your Prices or Bury Your Business

Most cabinet shops run on fumes and call it “business.” They hover around 10% profit and convince themselves that scraping by is normal. It isn’t. It’s a slow-motion bankruptcy.

At 10% profit, your business isn’t stable—it’s one bad month, one delayed payment, or one mispriced job away from bleeding red. That isn’t entrepreneurship—it’s roulette.

The Math They Don’t Teach You

Raising prices by 10% feels dangerous. What if customers push back? What if you lose work? But here’s the irony: that same 10% bump can double your profit margin overnight.

Take a shop doing $1,000,000 in annual revenue at a 10% margin. That’s $100,000 in profit. Raise prices by 10%, and revenue jumps to $1,100,000. If your costs hold steady (and they should, because material and labor don’t magically increase just because you charged more), your profit becomes $200,000.

That’s a 100% increase in profit for a 10% increase in price. The work didn’t change. Your systems didn’t change. Your marketing didn’t change. You just had the guts to charge what you’re worth.

Why Most Cabinetmakers Won’t Do It

Because pricing cheap is easy.

When you don’t know how to sell, you let price do the selling for you. When you don’t know how to market, you hide behind being “the affordable option.” Underpricing becomes a crutch. It spares you from having to get better at persuasion, branding, and differentiation.

But cheap is not a strategy—it’s an excuse. And it guarantees you’ll stay trapped in low-margin purgatory while your competitors with stronger positioning eat your lunch.

The Hidden Cost of Staying Cheap

Here’s what underpricing really buys you:

• Longer hours because you need more jobs to hit the same revenue.

• Worse clients because bargain hunters always demand more for less.

• Stalled growth because you never have the capital to reinvest in better tools, people, or marketing.

Cheap pricing doesn’t just limit profit—it strangles your future.

How to Raise Prices Without Losing Your Shirt

• Position First-Raising prices without repositioning is suicide. Make sure your brand signals premium: your website, your showroom, your proposals. If you look like every other shop, a higher price just feels like gouging.

• Bundle Value-Don’t just quote cabinets—quote solutions. A “Seamless Kitchen Install” package with cabinets, installation, project management, and warranty justifies higher prices. Bundling reframes the conversation from “what does it cost?” to “what’s included?”

• Use Social Proof-Collect testimonials, before-and-after photos, and case studies that scream value. A client saying, “They finished on time and transformed my kitchen” is worth more than any discount.

• Phase It In-Test your increase. Try 10% higher on the next three quotes. Track acceptance rates. You’ll be surprised how little resistance you face when the offer is framed correctly.

The Real Question

Are you in this to survive, or to build wealth? Because survival shops die broke, and wealth-building shops charge unapologetically for the value they deliver.

If your margins are at 10%, you’re digging your own grave. A 10% price increase can double your profit and give you breathing room to invest in better people, better processes, and a better future.

So the choice is stark: raise your prices, or bury your business.

David W Baker

The Business of Cabinetry

Ready to Stop Digging a Grave for Your Business?

The path to building a profitable cabinet shop isn't a secret—it’s a choice. You can choose to get off the "fumes and slow-motion bankruptcy" treadmill and start building real wealth.

If you're ready to stop making excuses and start charging what you're worth, here’s how to get started:

• Get personalized help. The best way to accelerate your growth is to have a guide. If you’re ready to dive deep and transform your business, consider joining The Business of Cabinetry.

• Learn the system. Want a proven roadmap to profitability? Grab a copy of The Profit System. It will show you exactly how to build a business that works for you, not the other way around.

• Join the conversation. Connect with us and other ambitious cabinetmakers on our Facebook Page.

You have the choice to either stay trapped in low-margin purgatory or build a business that gives you financial freedom. Which will you choose?