You do things a lot like me for estimates...for example "paint/painting not included" and debris disposal. One thing that I need to get better at is the "while you're here" items. I don't think I charge enough for add ons most of the time.
Man… My business is completely unrelated (We build fences and offer other services such as brush clearing and gravel) But i can still apply these same principles to my business. I find myself making these same mistakes, sometimes more than once. It’s good to hear i’m not the only one and hearing advice to stop it from happening again. Constantly i find my self trying to save customers money, but in doing that the job ended up costing me money or i barely made profit. Those days are over, my time and skill aren’t cheap or free regardless of how friendly the customer is or how long we’ve known each other.
@@iamdrewski39 I appreciate you watching and I’m glad you got something out of it. I’ve been in business for over six years now and I’ve seen many businesses come and go in that time. Most of them started, had a ton of work and still went out of business within two years. I’d rather lose a few customers because my price is too high, then lose all of my customers because I go out of business.
Even if you own that big ladder, scaffold or special tool, you should be charging enough to rent that equipment to yourself. That covers maintenance and replacement of your equipment.
As always Brother Daryl......great video with incredibly useful content and delivered in a real way ---- from your experiences! Back when I had less work and less confidence, I remember negotiating against myself and constantly thinking.....What would I pay for this? Thankfully, those days are long behind me and the estimates are delivered with confidence and with the knowledge that I won't get them all and that is okay. It means that my pricing is in line with my quality and it is in line with my overhead and profit expectations. Thanks Daryl!
@@DarylTheFINISHER Now that you say it.....I too have done this on occasion. For our addition, Mrs. Spencer convinced me to let a crew hang the drywall in the kitchen while I was teaching during the day at school and for a fellow contractor to finish it. I have a real soft spot for her and find her hard to refuse. In fact, it got done in a fraction of the time it would have taken me working nights and weekends during the school year. AND...it got me to cabinet installation way quicker (which I did).
Great video well said when I did roofing and siding I would take down payments and I will take down payments if materials are thousands of dollars as a handyman but 98 percent of my work I only take payment when complete and I find that gives me a lot more control over my jobs because once people provide you with money it is almost like they bought you and now they have some sort of control over you. One way to estimate if you supply materials is to figure out the material cost and at the very least times materials by 3 but there are a lot of variables usually if materials are cheap I will times it by 5 if they are really expensive I might just times it by 2.5. Another way is always think of worst-case scenarios and price accordingly and explain to the customer this is the worst case and the price may go down if it goes better than expected it is always better to be lower than an estimate than being more but either way always communicate with the customer and most customers are very reasonable with the first set of problem anyways.
I'm with you on not worrying about deposits on smaller jobs. I tend to take deposits from all new customers though. I have a job coming up where I have to tear out the bathroom due to subfloor wood rot. Priced it for the worst case scenario but I'm certain I'll be reducing the price in the end. I agree with you, always set expectations for the worst case.
Great video and awesome tips. What happens if you do this kind of work on a part time basis. How would you price out the jobs if you can only do it certain times of the week and weekend?
I definitely charge extra for priming. Just like if I'm doing two coats on the walls instead of one or if someone wants half the room one color and the other half a different color. It's all extra time and materials.
Daryl, your videos have inspired me in my own handyman journey. I appreciate all the gems that you dropped for us. You're the greatest
I'm glad that you got something from the videos. Wishing you much success.
Keep up the good work and the good videos. Been in the business for two years, still learning. Love your message man, your energy and your passion. 🤙🏼
Thanks, there's plenty more to come!
You do things a lot like me for estimates...for example "paint/painting not included" and debris disposal. One thing that I need to get better at is the "while you're here" items. I don't think I charge enough for add ons most of the time.
Yeah those add ons add up. I had one lady really push me to my limit with those and ever since then I've been kind of ruthless about them.
The original contract is usually a sail boat and the change order a yacht. Feast on those add-ons.
I couldn't of said it better myself! Right on point... Daryl the finisher!
Much appreciated 👊🏽
invaluable info as i continue to push myself into starting my journey with all of this. Thank you very much man for your time and effort.
I'm just glad you got something out of it, thanks!
Yeah man. That paint story hurts. Been there. So glad to hear your story so I don’t feel alone in this!
That paint story is just the tip of the iceberg. I have plenty of stories from jobs that didn't go how they were supposed to lol.
Man… My business is completely unrelated (We build fences and offer other services such as brush clearing and gravel)
But i can still apply these same principles to my business. I find myself making these same mistakes, sometimes more than once. It’s good to hear i’m not the only one and hearing advice to stop it from happening again. Constantly i find my self trying to save customers money, but in doing that the job ended up costing me money or i barely made profit. Those days are over, my time and skill aren’t cheap or free regardless of how friendly the customer is or how long we’ve known each other.
@@iamdrewski39 I appreciate you watching and I’m glad you got something out of it. I’ve been in business for over six years now and I’ve seen many businesses come and go in that time. Most of them started, had a ton of work and still went out of business within two years. I’d rather lose a few customers because my price is too high, then lose all of my customers because I go out of business.
Great video sir! Thanks for the content. Based on the video I have some work to do on my estimates haha. Having the additional info really helps. 👊
We all learn one way or another. Good luck!!
Even if you own that big ladder, scaffold or special tool, you should be charging enough to rent that equipment to yourself. That covers maintenance and replacement of your equipment.
As always Brother Daryl......great video with incredibly useful content and delivered in a real way ---- from your experiences! Back when I had less work and less confidence, I remember negotiating against myself and constantly thinking.....What would I pay for this? Thankfully, those days are long behind me and the estimates are delivered with confidence and with the knowledge that I won't get them all and that is okay. It means that my pricing is in line with my quality and it is in line with my overhead and profit expectations. Thanks Daryl!
The funny thing is that now that I actually make good money from doing the jobs , I've paid for services that I wouldn't have paid for before.
@@DarylTheFINISHER Now that you say it.....I too have done this on occasion. For our addition, Mrs. Spencer convinced me to let a crew hang the drywall in the kitchen while I was teaching during the day at school and for a fellow contractor to finish it. I have a real soft spot for her and find her hard to refuse. In fact, it got done in a fraction of the time it would have taken me working nights and weekends during the school year. AND...it got me to cabinet installation way quicker (which I did).
Great video well said when I did roofing and siding I would take down payments and I will take down payments if materials are thousands of dollars as a handyman but 98 percent of my work I only take payment when complete and I find that gives me a lot more control over my jobs because once people provide you with money it is almost like they bought you and now they have some sort of control over you. One way to estimate if you supply materials is to figure out the material cost and at the very least times materials by 3 but there are a lot of variables usually if materials are cheap I will times it by 5 if they are really expensive I might just times it by 2.5. Another way is always think of worst-case scenarios and price accordingly and explain to the customer this is the worst case and the price may go down if it goes better than expected it is always better to be lower than an estimate than being more but either way always communicate with the customer and most customers are very reasonable with the first set of problem anyways.
I'm with you on not worrying about deposits on smaller jobs. I tend to take deposits from all new customers though. I have a job coming up where I have to tear out the bathroom due to subfloor wood rot. Priced it for the worst case scenario but I'm certain I'll be reducing the price in the end. I agree with you, always set expectations for the worst case.
Yes, we are own worst enemy as what we do is what we do! The people are amazed by us because why they call us! God bless!
So true!
Great video and awesome tips. What happens if you do this kind of work on a part time basis. How would you price out the jobs if you can only do it certain times of the week and weekend?
That shouldn't matter. Most people are just happy when somebody actually calls them back.
Hi Daryl, on painting estimates, if having to prime due to existing dark paint & going in with light color, how do u price such jobs?
I definitely charge extra for priming. Just like if I'm doing two coats on the walls instead of one or if someone wants half the room one color and the other half a different color. It's all extra time and materials.