$50/hr charge out rate doesn't mean making $50 an hour - even if you have all your furniture and test equipment and space paid off (say, a basement shop), you still will go through consumables, still have to pay for power, etc. Plus nobody is billable 40 hours a week, if you work 40 hours maybe 30 At best would be chargeable directly to a customer. I think one would be lucky to get a $50k annual income out of a $50/h charge out rate, and that assumes business is consistently good all year long. To be honest if I could make $50k a year doing nothing but fixing tube electronics I would do it in a heart beat, but I think gregb has the market locked up around here
I think a $100 flat rate for that TV is more or less pure charity, spreading enthusiasm for the hobby , etc. Nothing wrong with that but like others said, a good tech is worth way more.