How do you determine the total cost of a job? This is a question we get asked all the time. The answer is truly very simple, and it should sound familiar to any independent contractor. When estimating a job we take into consideration: 1) The amount it costs us to provide the service, which includes materials and overhead (employees' wages, liability insurance, work comp insurance, unemployment insurance, vehicle maintenance and gas, to name a few); and 2) Profit. Yes, we need to make a profit!
We must bid jobs appropriately to ensure a profit so we can feed our families, ensure job security for our employees and ourselves, and ensure the business can continue to exist so we can stand behind our work for our customers.
We look at the current market for things like labor costs and we always strive to be fair, but we cannot sacrifice our own livelihoods to score jobs. If we run at a loss, we're not doing anyone any good. Too many people depend on us. We are responsible to our own families, to our employees and their families, and to our customers. We can't be running ourselves into the ground.
We tell ourselves and each other every day: we are in business to add value to our customers' investments. That is how we give back to our community. In order to do that, we need to charge a price that is going to allow us to deliver the quality service you've come to expect from us. Plus we need to stay in business so we can stand behind our work for years to come.
Something to keep in mind as you get your estimates from different contractors. We do understand that you have an obligation to make smart choices for your family, and so do we.
Hey, thanks for visiting the site, and thank you for your business!
God bless you, folks!