to ensure the best result is achieved for my clients. Another key is their inclination to share their knowledge and reasoning – A professional knows what can be done within reason and is not afraid to be upfront and admit when client’s desires can create difficulty, thus increased cost. As opposed to non-professionals who can more easily say, “no problem” or “anything can be done!” However, anything comes at a cost and may end up being a much bigger problem than they led off to be. Most things are possible, but at what cost? Estimating This is the process of taking the combined experience of the contractor, their subtrades and suppliers, reviewing plans, completing site visits and determine the cost of all aspects of the project. This requires extensive hands-on experience to accurately estimate the time to complete each task. This is the reason all our estimators are carpenters! An estimate should have details of all aspects of the project, including any specific request from the client and price allowances for all products to
be selected by the client and supplied by the contractor. When we prepare an estimate, the same estimate becomes the work order for our crews, therefore, what the client has seen and approved is the same for the crew executing the project. This helps minimize confusion and ensures the client gets exactly what they requested. I have been asked on many occasions, “Why is your price higher than the other guy?” The simple answer is “I don’t know.” I am confident that our estimate is accurate based on how we plan to complete the project and we use all our combined experience to ensure we cover all aspects of the project. This may result in a comparatively higher price, but in the end, our goal is to be accurate and reduce the unknowns for the client, not just be the low bid.
SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 23 ISSUE 5 21
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator