Well a guy my crew has built a house for asked me Thursday if I could build him a shed, so I went home and have come up with a fairly accurate estimate, so all I have to do now is call him and see if he accepts! Just thought I would share my enthusiasm with all of you.
Quality before Quantity
Replies
Congrats, as I'm a newbie to being on my own I can relate. As I'm learning, don't forget to charge for moving material, cleaning up, setting up jobsite, and specing out what you will be doing as accurately as possible.
Good luck!
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
Just thinking....Maybe you should run this by your boss or the contractor that hired him/her to make sure they don't feel like you're going behind their back and taking potential work from them. It just might save you some bad blood later.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
I agree with you, the only reason this guy is asking captain strap to do the shed is that he thinks he will do it alot cheeper than his boss! bad move,bad blood.
I think it will be a good learning experience for him.
Al,
Fortunately, such is not the case...from what I understand, my boss gave him the "I don't normally do that stuff" spiel. In either case, the client is free to choose whomever he wants--business is business.Quality before Quantity
the client is free to choose whomever he wants--business is business.
I don't know what the law is in this case, so I can't say that your boss could "legally" fire you, but even if it was "illegal" chances are he could get away with it. That is if he cares or believes that you might be competing with him.
In our employee manual, and from the boss's mouth, we are not allowed to bid on, or take side jobs that would be in either direct or implied competition with our company.
On the flip side, he usually doesn't care if we work side jobs, it's never come up with anyone in the year I've worked there, and everyone does side jobs in one fashion or another, but I'd be careful with the business is business thinking around the boss....
I'll quit rambling on now.
and seriously, good luck on your side job, be sure to let us know how it all works out.Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic.
from what I understand, my boss gave him the "I don't normally do that stuff" spiel.
From what you understand...from the customer, right?
Check with your boss, unless you're ready to make it on your own from now on. Whether or not you've got a written employment contract with him, you owe him a certain allegience as long as he fulfills his side of your deal with him. So does he to you. If you go to the boss and tell him what the customer said, one of two things will happen: (a) the boss will tell you it's okay, he really isn't interested in the shed, and his respect for you will increase; or (b) the boss will tell you he never okayed that to the customer and point out that the customer is starting out his dealings with you by lying to you so what can you expect from him as the job goes on? And his respect for you will increase. Win/win.
If you don't check with him, even if he really okayed it to the customer he'll figure you for some kind of a sneak and his respect for you will decrease. And if he didn't okay it, he oughta fire you and probably will, either right away or soon after. Lose/lose.
It's great you want to go out on your own. But don't start off by being a sneak--your reputation will get around faster than you will....
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
That's a good way to get a leg up.
But
You won't know how accurate it is until you are done finished and compare job costing back to it. get in the habit now before it's too late
Excellence is its own reward!
That's what I thought when I read this, too. Last time I thought I had an accurate estimate on something I built, I missed by 50%. Both hahaha and boohoo! Now I look to the builders-of-record for numbers for a project, cross-reference with historical data, and verify with R S Means.
I fully intend to do so Pif! I made the materials and labor estimate as accurate as I could; I will note the actual amount of each and comparfe it at the completion. BTW right now I'm waiting for him to find a slab sub.Quality before Quantity
Don't let 'em through cold water on ya, Cap'n!
Even doing the job and not making much on it is a learning experience. Gotta start somewhere...
As for running it by your boss: You should know whether or not it would matter. I doubt if the boss would care, but only you know the type of boss you've got.
And when you're done, you can celebrate by accelerating some tubers... ;)
Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Because this is your first time, you will have the dilema of pricing the job. You will find that there are numerous ways to do this and what I susspect you will do first is accurately add up all the materials plus waste and unexpected "oops" then add to that your labor based on how long you think it will take multiplied by what you want to make per hour. I think we've all done this in the beginning and it will work OK if you're just doing a side job, say two or three times a year.
The bidding process becomes a little more involved as you do more work until you can eventually come up with "The going rate" for your product and service. That's a little easier for me since I build commercial and residential casework and cabinetry. I'm at the stage now where I bid the "going rate", my overhead is extremely low and I only take the work that is profitable. I've noticed over that last few years that I get about 50% of the bids I put out and that's just fine with me. It tells me that I'm not giving my work away and I'm almost ensured profitability.
Go ahead and have fun at it, but be very realistic with yourself at the end when calculating how long it REALLY took to complete the job.
I have to ask, is the "going rate" usually less than the Labor+ Materials estimate? You hit the nail on the head with my method of calculating, BTW.Quality before Quantity
So Capt, How's it going?Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic.
Neil,
I had given him the estimate and I called him back after one week of waiting for him to arrange to have the slab poured. His wife answered and said he'd call me back when he was done mowing the grass. Never called back. I pass him every day going to work, so he knows when I'm working in his neighborhood.
I think he was expecting something for nothing...either that or he went to HD and bought one of their pre-fab sheds. Oh well, the take-off and estimated labor costs/times are still in my file book.
BTW, I'm starting a new job next week for a remodeling firm...see my post above entitled "Finally, A Different Job" under General Discussion.
Quality before Quantity
so call the guy again(Or stop when you see him) and ask what's up....am I getting the job or not.....but saw it nicer! "I was just checking back....I have a clearing in the schedule...is next week a good start time for ya...I can stop by and pick up the start check on Thurs evening...yada..yada..yada...."
You're talking about taking side work..and probably thinking about someday working for yourself.....so the time to learn sales is now.
80% of sales calls end without the salesmans asking for the sale.
The purpose of a sales call is to close the deal.....so this means 80% of the time.....the close isn't asked for!
No wonder close ratios are low.
Hey.....ya gotta find out sooner or later...no time like the present.
And if ya ask while your both sitting at the table.....you have the chance to "overcome their objections"......can't do that later over the phone to any degree of success.
If you want that side job ...then ask for it. That's your job. Not the customer.
Lotsa people starve waiting for the best client in the world to come knocking on their door......almost never happens like that. People rarely walk up and throw money thru the mail slot.
I'd say this is a perfect time to get a little more agressive. Call the guy and find out for sure he doesn't want you to do the work. Ain't gonna kill ya...and he just may be waiting to hear from you.
What's the worst that could happen? Either you get the job for your price or you don't.
Have at it.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Jeff,
Thanks again for the heads-up, and I may very well do exactly what you said. Other than minor adjustments for the material price fluctuations, my estimate still stands and my helper is still ready for the opportunity as well.
I had another HO ask me if I could build him a shed as well, and I gave him my name and number. Later when I was reading through David Gerstel's book on Running a Successful Construction Company, I realized I had made a mistake: I should have asked the guy for his name and number so I could call him back periodically and see if he still had stuff he wanted me to do. Live and learn right?
-The CaptQuality before Quantity
That's a good lesson to remember....
always get their contact info.
most people don't like to be "pushed"....
but lotsa folks out there need to be "reminded".....
It's a fine line...but one that's pretty easy to stay on the right side of.
Remember.....we do this remodeling stuff every day ...they don't.....some people just don't know the next step to take.....even if they definitely want U to do the work.
I prefer the "assumption close"....works well with my personality....basically you just "assume" the job is yours and they love your price...unless otherwise noted...and make that presentation as such....
"This is what ya wanted..this is what I can do for ya...this is how much it'll cost total...this is how much I need down to get ya on the schedule.....
Is middle of next month a good start date for ya...
Just sign here and we can get ya booked...."
Makes it real nice and easy for them....and also helps ya know right from the get go if they're serious...trust me..if they have a problem with something...money...design...U....it'll come out when you slide the contract across the table and hand them the pen!
Read up on some sales books...it's a pretty basic science.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite