If an LSA secured a knowledgeable business mentor or hired an experienced business consultant, one of the first things they'd tell someone who presented the points listed above is that they need to change their thinking or go get a job working for someone else.
Just for starters, there are lots of other non-variable expenses exclusive to an LSA business that weren't factored in, such as maintenance, repair, and replacement of equipment. For example, the more miles you put on your car, the greater those costs will be and the sooner they will be needed. Same for printers, etc. Plus, you presumably have E&O insurance, annual BGCs, business cards, taxes, etc., etc.
Also, do you advertise and promote your business? If you're just sitting around when you don't have an appointment, maybe your time IS worthless. But what if you used that time productively to market yourself and try to generate new business?
Most importantly, to be a viable business, a reasonable profit MUST be factored in. If one's business activities are not producing a profit, then they don't have a viable business model. Period. Any worthwhile business consultant would tell you that if that's what's happening, it's time to pursue something else, not continue slowly going broke until it's obvious. Constantly lowering your profit margin per signing is a recipe for failure. [And if this is your sole source of income, we haven't even talked about covering your cost of living. That's a whole other issue for people who don't have another source of income that pays for food, housing, etc., etc., etc.]
Years ago, I think it was Marian Harmon who did a great comparison of doing X number of signings at one fee vs. doing Y number of signings at a higher fee. In both examples, the total gross revenue is the same, but the profit margin is significantly higher for the person who did fewer signings at a slightly higher fee. It was extremely eye-opening! I've tried to find that post in the past, but was unsuccessful. (I think I've posted about that myself, but I got the idea from her. Now I can't find either.) If anyone can find those posts, I think we're way overdue for that info to be posted or linked again...
As for what fee I would accept, I agree with the others that it varies greatly, depending on the circumstances. It will also differ from one person to the next.
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