Starting Out

JAMEY K

Hey guys. Im just starting out on my own and i was hopiing for some help from the pros. Just in general things to look out for. Tips on bidding jobs. Anything would be greatly appreciated. I would imagine like most of you im sick of working for some one else and getting treated like dirt.

genecarp

tip#1-- dont treat your employees like dirt, remember what it was like.

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Meetre

3-2-1 for everything!! Plan, plan, plan....measure, measure....cut!! take that mindset to running your buisness. get in front of the curve, see problems before they start or get out of hand. and treat your employees like they are a part of your company, a very important part of it.

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DavidC

We've met some customers that might make you miss being so well treated.

You'll find these forums to be a great help for starting right and staying there. Use the search function first and post questions for clarification.

Here's your first bidding tip, ask how instead of how much.

Welcome aboard.

Good Luck
Dave

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antnepi

Don't mess around when it comes to money. There is nothing worse than chasing money or working for free or working for less than you discussed. Keep to your contract. Make sure your employees feel valued. Use the term "we" when you talk about work with them. A team atmosphere goes a long way.

Aggie67

Chasing after money sucks. Early on we took on whatever was there, even with risky clients. After getting burned a few times over the years, now we do a check on them, and have a signed contract. And do written field change orders (and add verbage in your quotes on how you handle changes). We also look for coin up front on new clients, whether it's a GC or a fortune 500 company. We just did work for a major, major personal products maker, and you'd think they were safe. But crappy people are everywhere. Now we're fighting tooth and nail over money for the past 7 months. I'd love to send you a proposal template. It has all the good language in there that we've learned over the years.

Also watch your overhead. Don't let it get out of sync with your work force. We've been very careful, and we know our hourly break even rate to the penny, so we know what we can charge and how much we should make. That also helps assembling rates for prevailing wage work. Also don't be afraid to charge the money. What's the point of doing it if you won't make money. We made the mistake of charging low, getting super busy, and just barely making a profit. We got up to a decent level of business, but it was not profitable.

Roundtable

What do you do and where are you from, have you joined any local home builder chapter? They are a good place to network and check out the competition.

dirtdiggler pt2

... yeah .... priceless.

Spectatorz

[QUOTE=Aggie67;490036]Chasing after money sucks. Early on we took on whatever was there, even with risky clients. After getting burned a few times over the years, now we do a check on them, and have a signed contract. And do written field change orders (and add verbage in your quotes on how you handle changes). We also look for coin up front on new clients, whether it's a GC or a fortune 500 company. We just did work for a major, major personal products maker, and you'd think they were safe. But crappy people are everywhere. Now we're fighting tooth and nail over money for the past 7 months. I'd love to send you a proposal template. It has all the good language in there that we've learned over the years."


That sounds like a Very Generous Offer to share your developed Proposal Template !!! From the way you describe your background, I would like a copy of that myself.
You seem to be a New Member here and maybe have not made enough posts in order to receive private messages, but if you make an offer like that around here, Don"t be surprised if people start asking to take you up on it.

Cheers

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"Success" Is The Ability To Go From Failure To Failure,
Without Losing Your ENTHUSIASM.
The Only Place that Success comes Before Work is in The Dictionary.

JAMEY K

THANKS GUYS! I DIDNT EXPECT SUCH A WARM WELCOME. IM FROM ILLINOIS. I DO JUST ABOUT WHATEVER THE CUSTOMER WANTS AS LONG AS IM COMFY WITH IT. I HAVNT JOINED ANY CHAPTERS YET. IVE DONE A FEW JOBS AND RIGHT NOW IM PRETTY MUCH AT THE STAGE WHERE I GIVE THEM A LIST OF MATERIALS THEY EITHER GET THEM OR I DO.(USUALLY ME) AND THEY JUST PAY ME BY THE HOURS IM WOKING. DRIVING HOURS ARE PAID BUT ARE QUITE A BIT LESS HEN THE HOURLY RATE. ALL YOUR ADVIE WAS GREAT AND THERE IS ALOT MORE TO THINK ABOUT THEN I HAD INTENDED, AND THATS OK. I DEAL WITH CUSTOMERS PRETTY EASY. I WAS IN RETAIL MANAGEMENT FOR TEN YEARS, SO IVE SEEN THE GOOD THE BAD AND FOR SURE THE UGLY. THE TEMPLATE OFFER IS VERY GENEROUS AND I WOULDNT MIND TAKING A LOOK IF YOUR OK WITH IT. THANKS AGAIN GUYS AND HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.

Mellison

Every job folder should have a page dedicated for "extras". The larger the job the more there will be. Use your own discression as to what will be billed as an exta and how much to charge. Discuss this with your customer and there should be little or no problems. You will be amazed as to how much labor cost can be accumulated on the items that pop up or because of changes made during a project. It can make or cost you thousands of dollars.
Good Luck

Evapman

Where abouts in Illinois Jamey?
I'm in East Central Illinois, between Kankakee & Danville.

JAMEY K

other side of the state more towards the quad cities