Sit down and work out all your business costs for a year, and I mean everything, from printer cartridges, pencils, clothing, new tooling ie: saw blades, trowels, even the depreciation of tools and vehicles, I allow 25-30% a year. You’ve got insurance and accounting costs, plus add in 4 weeks holiday and pension contributions. Once you’ve worked that out add this to what you want a year and divide it by the number of days you’ll actually work in the year. This is my start point, then when pricing jobs I’ll decide how much profit I want depending on the client. Like Kirk has said in previous vids, some people need a hand and some are going to be nightmares, ie: access/time constraints and then the clients who seem nice but you’ve got this little tinkle that says ‘gonna be a prick’. This is how I’ve been doing it, right or wrong it should be a fairly good start point.
as the author of the book that changed my life " how to be a 3% man" said. unless you want to emulate someone else's life you shouldn't take their advice. thanks kirk
When I priced my first job (it was upstairs in a small pub and my tradesmen had recommended me) outside Glasgow..the landlord threw me the pub keys and told me for that price I would be a 50% owner of the pub.....🤣..Needless to say I had to lower my price a bit....Had not a clue about pricing..When I told the tradesmen who taught me (2 brothers) they took me to the pub (they had set me up) and along with the landlord (who was their mate) they ripped the piss outta me....'Oh here's Robert McAlpine coming, pricing a job for 30 men for 2 rooms'..😂.After that they showed me the proper way to do it!.(there is no proper way).but even after that, it took me ages to find a balance!..nb..whey it came to my round (this was the late 70's) of 3 pints of guinnes the landlord said 'That'll be £140'..😂
I always did it with my lads, told them how to price and gave them loads of business advice. One by one they all went on there own. So I get what your saying but most tradies are worried there boys will leave if you educate them too much hence they don’t!
I have experienced the more I charge the more respect they have for my work and they think then ..This fella must be good... It's a psychological game...
The game gets easier once ur not paying rent/mortgage. You just need to make £1000-£2000 a month ur good. But if u start having big house payments + car then you definatly gonna be needing to work all year round just to maintain ur lifestyle. So if u hate the rat race get out now by being frugal, downgrading completely. Start ur journey by taking home cooked meals to work that should save you £5 to £10 a day alone. Make work fun by not needing the money!
Hiya Kirk I’m a sparky and learnt to price and the value of my self working at a big company then scaling down working on my own . Think the smaller contractors would be shocked at what prices are charged and can be a reality when you have a good name and reputation
Top fella your videos are spot on Kirk been on the tools since 16 always something you can learn from your content appreciate the time you put in on your channel great advise 👍
Hey Kirk - I've read the books, taken a few courses much like You have, so I see where You're coming from - You DO feel like You need to pass It 'All' forward for Free! ... But as You learned during Your Own Education .... Nobody really values FREE! - I set up an On-line library of FREE Self-Improvement books some years ago ... The site got next-to-zero traction, even though the PDF downloads were FREE! .... I think it's GREAT what You're doing, and I hope You get a great response from folk who DO want to 'invest' in their OWN Future .... Good luck Mate ......
It's not that mate. Everything on the internet is literally free or can be had for free. The true cost is the time investment. The supply is limitless. For example, nobody pays for porn either
definitely worth the time to listen. Cheers. Congrats on all your hard work to get where you have and admire you for wanting to help people. Hopefully in a position to sign up soon. Cheers now.
I'm dubious of paid coaching groups such as that Lambo grifter Lopez. But you're clearly authentic with a good work ethic and strong family values. Also as a plasterer I've picked up some good stuff from you're channel, even something small like changing to SBR(game changer). Also there seems to be a toxic culture on many plastering forums with a lack of community. See you in the group Kirk👊
its so true mate,as an apprentice i can remember basically having to leave the room whenever my boss discussed money,like i was never to know my worth or how much he made
Kirk ur spot on chap nobody told me yrs ago only a great gaffer did the same he valued us as spreads paid us well in that time me & me mate back then & 1 day he said if I make money then you will make money to which he gave us on most of the jobs all we did was plastering he did all the running about fetchin materials etc & I still phone him now then to see how he is bless him & when he retired passed all the risk accessment stuff to us etc but out of date but bit tweaking was ok there’s not many out there keep it up Kirk mark from wolvo
Ur 100% buddy i was the same as you as soon as i realized i was half the price of everyone else i started to price work diffrent every apprentice i have ever had its been part of apprenticeship to learn how to price work i bring them with me let them give me the price they think then show them the price it should be. I have a video on my channel how to price work for people looking help. Nice video bro thanks.
Its because you want to keep the worker to yourself, after you have trained them up. If you teach them how to market themselves, they will market themselves....
Kirk weve all had them.the customer from hell....the rogue customer. How do you handle them? Non payers, ghosters, customers who want to pay less after the jobs done or finding little thingsto try and use to chip down the price. Even customers asking if you can just do this "little extra" once youre on site expecting it for free etc.
I'd like to sign up but as it stands atm I'm currently renovating properties up and seeking plastering jobs in-between so really for me maybe generating too much work could be an issue lol but would be good to learn how to maximise profit on the few jobs I do take on 🤷🏻♂️
Kirk i dont know about you ,I'm a painter ,but on private jobs ,when the customer asks how long is the job 😢gonna take as soon as they get the price i no longer wanna do it ,also if you get every job you price for ,your to cheap
Kirk you're a legend mate. You've just saved me £30 a month by me not signing up to your course. Thanks a lot buddy 😁 On a serious note good luck on your adventure 👍
Most bosses/business owners see "their" employees as slaves that they want drain as much work out of for as little monatry invest as possible!The old saying comes to mind '' You Don't Educate the enemy" I trained in the the car repairs industry and the guy who Trained me seen I was a quick learner! worked me to hard in the donkey work aspects of the job. kept certain things/aspects ie paint/pricing from me so I would never have the full Arsenal of skills to go out on my own steam! basically Tried to keep me a slave and not become a potential competition! Probably comes down to a EGO based deep routed fear of losing his precieved status!
You can teach it. It doesn't come with age, it comes with experience, they aren't the same thing. And you can't string a coherent sentence together. Leave the lad alone and let him pass his knowledge on.
Great video once again Kirk… I’ve been plastering for nearly 2 years… mainly boarding and skimming. I’d like to get onto site to earn more money whilst im young. I know you’ve touched on site work in one of your videos, are you able to maybe go into more depth onit and your opinion on site work? Cheers
Hi mate. Just watched your videos on Krend on thermalites. Have you found an alternative method since or would you still recommend hpx as a base coat? Also what topcoat did you use? Thanks
Ive listened to what you said but let me tell you from experience as im retired from the game now but! Its far more productive to have a string of£100 jobs than rather one £300 job cos in the long run you will have loads of work when your mates and others wont! This way you pay your bills and employ yourself and others! Dont get carried away cos the interest rate is rising! ADAPT! 👍
That mentality totally cripples the trade why? Il explain, you have boys running around pricing low to keep the work coming in but what you’re doing is lowering the value of the plastering game because others hear the low prices an tell others an other plasterers end up needing to lower their prices because you guys are doing cheap work to stay in work when that’s the wrong mentality. When it’s hard to find something, value increases an plasterers are indeed in that bracket. We should be rising our prices for demand a rightly so.. it’s a hard graft when done well. If we all had the mind set of this we raise the game for us all an will all benefit as customers have no choice, it’s called business. 👍
Whats crippling the trade is its called dot and dab and dry lining! Modern building is now the norm and new building regulations are coming into force with labour who need to be trained for its inception,this will change everything,trades will have to adapt as a single skill will not sustain within whatever trade you are in. Gone are the days of houses and buidings being rendered and navies and hod carriers. Its everybody for themselves in this modern world and if you have a family and mortgage you will need work everyday to pay for it and you wont do it by not being competitive and adaptable. All customers have family and friends and help when they need it and who knows somebody. The recession of the early 80s is repeating itself i was part of it being made redundant,big builders out of business and big unemployment! This is a time to hang on or move on like i did or your left behind with your mates down the pub and loaning money that youll never get back!👍
First half of the video im %100 the same. Price private jobs the same i would get paid on a site working my absolute c*#t off without stopping. 🤔if i knock myself in id do that in a day" That being said I've been told twice im to cheap. But also given advice of being quiet cheap as to pass your name around of being realy good at what you do for reasonable price therefore generating more work and over time put your rates up.
Great video buddy. I never knew how to price jobs . Still learning now after 20 yrs lol . But i charge for labour now and they get the gear . As been stung to many times on the gear . But you defo need a better camera buddy
Whatever your hourly rate is (or what you want per hour) x 8hrs is your day rate plus materials, and if there’s a half day just half the day rate, not rocket science 😀
My advice; if you run a business as a Tradesman, a business of any size. Do Estimating & Accountancy courses. You’ll rarely fail with that knowledge. But you know what, if you do fail - which loads of us do. Start again, never ever give up!! You must learn the basics before you make the £billions.
Interesting video mate. Me and a friend are in the process of setting up a pressure washing / exterior washing business. Your course might be if use to me!
Sit down and work out all your business costs for a year, and I mean everything, from printer cartridges, pencils, clothing, new tooling ie: saw blades, trowels, even the depreciation of tools and vehicles, I allow 25-30% a year. You’ve got insurance and accounting costs, plus add in 4 weeks holiday and pension contributions. Once you’ve worked that out add this to what you want a year and divide it by the number of days you’ll actually work in the year. This is my start point, then when pricing jobs I’ll decide how much profit I want depending on the client. Like Kirk has said in previous vids, some people need a hand and some are going to be nightmares, ie: access/time constraints and then the clients who seem nice but you’ve got this little tinkle that says ‘gonna be a prick’. This is how I’ve been doing it, right or wrong it should be a fairly good start point.
valuable comment mate!
You've actually help me by just me listening to you
Thanks for the chat ❤
Made my day, nice to know there is goodness out there! Well done 👍🏻
as the author of the book that changed my life " how to be a 3% man" said. unless you want to emulate someone else's life you shouldn't take their advice. thanks kirk
When I priced my first job (it was upstairs in a small pub and my tradesmen had recommended me) outside Glasgow..the landlord threw me the pub keys and told me for that price I would be a 50% owner of the pub.....🤣..Needless to say I had to lower my price a bit....Had not a clue about pricing..When I told the tradesmen who taught me (2 brothers) they took me to the pub (they had set me up) and along with the landlord (who was their mate) they ripped the piss outta me....'Oh here's Robert McAlpine coming, pricing a job for 30 men for 2 rooms'..😂.After that they showed me the proper way to do it!.(there is no proper way).but even after that, it took me ages to find a balance!..nb..whey it came to my round (this was the late 70's) of 3 pints of guinnes the landlord said 'That'll be £140'..😂
Your storytelling is great Kirk, thanks for the insights.
I always did it with my lads, told them how to price and gave them loads of business advice.
One by one they all went on there own.
So I get what your saying but most tradies are worried there boys will leave if you educate them too much hence they don’t!
I have experienced the more I charge the more respect they have for my work and they think then ..This fella must be good...
It's a psychological game...
Just dont work for a muslim, they fool you in their own home.
It's not a psychological game if you're work and work ethic is shit
The game gets easier once ur not paying rent/mortgage. You just need to make £1000-£2000 a month ur good. But if u start having big house payments + car then you definatly gonna be needing to work all year round just to maintain ur lifestyle.
So if u hate the rat race get out now by being frugal, downgrading completely. Start ur journey by taking home cooked meals to work that should save you £5 to £10 a day alone.
Make work fun by not needing the money!
Kirk I reckon you could do a travel show on TV where they drop you in unusual place and see what stories happen
I would tune in lol
This is invaluable advice for anybody just starting out.
Thank you for making these videos they are incredibly genuine. 👍🔝
Glad you like them!
Hiya Kirk I’m a sparky and learnt to price and the value of my self working at a big company then scaling down working on my own . Think the smaller contractors would be shocked at what prices are charged and can be a reality when you have a good name and reputation
Lol...I do the same thing...its always hush hush!🤣
Top fella your videos are spot on Kirk been on the tools since 16 always something you can learn from your content appreciate the time you put in on your channel great advise 👍
Hey Kirk - I've read the books, taken a few courses much like You have, so I see where You're coming from - You DO feel like You need to pass It 'All' forward for Free! ... But as You learned during Your Own Education .... Nobody really values FREE! - I set up an On-line library of FREE Self-Improvement books some years ago ... The site got next-to-zero traction, even though the PDF downloads were FREE! .... I think it's GREAT what You're doing, and I hope You get a great response from folk who DO want to 'invest' in their OWN Future .... Good luck Mate ......
It's not that mate. Everything on the internet is literally free or can be had for free. The true cost is the time investment. The supply is limitless.
For example, nobody pays for porn either
definitely worth the time to listen. Cheers.
Congrats on all your hard work to get where you have and admire you for wanting to help people.
Hopefully in a position to sign up soon.
Cheers now.
Thing is mate, the game is cutthroat, I’m not telling my labourer I’ve just made 6k on this weeks work while he’s made £120 a day. He may get ideas….
I didn’t see the advertisement coming… but it was smooth.
Your spot on we should all talk about it
Bloody love these vids... you've helped me out no end when it comes to pricing...Never too old to learn new things. Cheers Lad👍
I'm dubious of paid coaching groups such as that Lambo grifter Lopez.
But you're clearly authentic with a good work ethic and strong family values.
Also as a plasterer I've picked up some good stuff from you're channel, even something small like changing to SBR(game changer).
Also there seems to be a toxic culture on many plastering forums with a lack of community.
See you in the group Kirk👊
Are you joining up mate? Be great to have you on board pal👍
Plasterer's forums are unfriendly and sarcastic places to visit.
its so true mate,as an apprentice i can remember basically having to leave the room whenever my boss discussed money,like i was never to know my worth or how much he made
Kirk ur spot on chap nobody told me yrs ago only a great gaffer did the same he valued us as spreads paid us well in that time me & me mate back then & 1 day he said if I make money then you will make money to which he gave us on most of the jobs all we did was plastering he did all the running about fetchin materials etc & I still phone him now then to see how he is bless him & when he retired passed all the risk accessment stuff to us etc but out of date but bit tweaking was ok there’s not many out there keep it up Kirk mark from wolvo
Omg golden no teaches u how to price what priceless bit of advice
Class vid mate
Great video again buddy. You're a great storyteller!
Fantastic video Kirk.
Ur 100% buddy i was the same as you as soon as i realized i was half the price of everyone else i started to price work diffrent every apprentice i have ever had its been part of apprenticeship to learn how to price work i bring them with me let them give me the price they think then show them the price it should be. I have a video on my channel how to price work for people looking help. Nice video bro thanks.
So true.... thanks
Its because you want to keep the worker to yourself, after you have trained them up. If you teach them how to market themselves, they will market themselves....
Fantastic vid, great info, very insightful, similar to what i am doing. many thanks for a great vid
this absolutely bang on mate, ive always said this about pricing work, my old boss woupdnt even take me to customers
Also do an estimator course. Best bet upfront and honest, customers are often your best way to get more work
Kirk weve all had them.the customer from hell....the rogue customer. How do you handle them? Non payers, ghosters, customers who want to pay less after the jobs done or finding little thingsto try and use to chip down the price. Even customers asking if you can just do this "little extra" once youre on site expecting it for free etc.
Great video Kirk, you should definitely charge wealthy people a lot more too, they can afford it!!!
I'd like to sign up but as it stands atm I'm currently renovating properties up and seeking plastering jobs in-between so really for me maybe generating too much work could be an issue lol but would be good to learn how to maximise profit on the few jobs I do take on 🤷🏻♂️
Hey mate really good podcast. Really good subject to talk about mate. Enjoy your videos mate👍
Nicely done mate 😊
Number 1 👏
How to win friends and influence people. By Dale Carnegie. A brilliant book.
Kirk i dont know about you ,I'm a painter ,but on private jobs ,when the customer asks how long is the job 😢gonna take as soon as they get the price i no longer wanna do it ,also if you get every job you price for ,your to cheap
Kirk you're a legend mate. You've just saved me £30 a month by me not signing up to your course. Thanks a lot buddy 😁
On a serious note good luck on your adventure 👍
I wish I'd seen this 20 years ago!
I would love to be put in your coaching group please I can really relate to u love you content mate
I got myself a ticket . Need to get away from the 110v refina mega mixer . Hopefully i have the wininig ticket
Rich Dad Poor Dad is a great book Kirk if you not already read👍
Most bosses/business owners see "their" employees as slaves that they want drain as much work out of for as little monatry invest as possible!The old saying comes to mind '' You Don't Educate the enemy"
I trained in the the car repairs industry and the guy who Trained me seen I was a quick learner! worked me to hard in the donkey work aspects of the job.
kept certain things/aspects ie paint/pricing from me so I would never have the full Arsenal of skills to go out on my own steam! basically Tried to keep me a slave and not become a potential competition! Probably comes down to a EGO based deep routed fear of losing his precieved status!
Pricing and dealing with customers comes with age and experience you can teach it.
You can teach it. It doesn't come with age, it comes with experience, they aren't the same thing. And you can't string a coherent sentence together. Leave the lad alone and let him pass his knowledge on.
Great video once again Kirk… I’ve been plastering for nearly 2 years… mainly boarding and skimming. I’d like to get onto site to earn more money whilst im young. I know you’ve touched on site work in one of your videos, are you able to maybe go into more depth onit and your opinion on site work? Cheers
Go to the channel description mate an email me your number, I'll jump on a call with you 😀👍
Hi mate. Just watched your videos on Krend on thermalites. Have you found an alternative method since or would you still recommend hpx as a base coat? Also what topcoat did you use? Thanks
Definitely joining I am self employed but subbby out 95% of the time and really want to be doing it all myself.cheers kirk mate am exited haha
Be nice to have you on board mate
Ive listened to what you said but let me tell you from experience as im retired from the game now but! Its far more productive to have a string of£100 jobs than rather one £300 job cos in the long run you will have loads of work when your mates and others wont! This way you pay your bills and employ yourself and others! Dont get carried away cos the interest rate is rising! ADAPT! 👍
That mentality totally cripples the trade why? Il explain, you have boys running around pricing low to keep the work coming in but what you’re doing is lowering the value of the plastering game because others hear the low prices an tell others an other plasterers end up needing to lower their prices because you guys are doing cheap work to stay in work when that’s the wrong mentality. When it’s hard to find something, value increases an plasterers are indeed in that bracket. We should be rising our prices for demand a rightly so.. it’s a hard graft when done well. If we all had the mind set of this we raise the game for us all an will all benefit as customers have no choice, it’s called business. 👍
Whats crippling the trade is its called dot and dab and dry lining! Modern building is now the norm and new building regulations are coming into force with labour who need to be trained for its inception,this will change everything,trades will have to adapt as a single skill will not sustain within whatever trade you are in. Gone are the days of houses and buidings being rendered and navies and hod carriers. Its everybody for themselves in this modern world and if you have a family and mortgage you will need work everyday to pay for it and you wont do it by not being competitive and adaptable. All customers have family and friends and help when they need it and who knows somebody. The recession of the early 80s is repeating itself i was part of it being made redundant,big builders out of business and big unemployment! This is a time to hang on or move on like i did or your left behind with your mates down the pub and loaning money that youll never get back!👍
First half of the video im %100 the same. Price private jobs the same i would get paid on a site working my absolute c*#t off without stopping. 🤔if i knock myself in id do that in a day"
That being said I've been told twice im to cheap. But also given advice of being quiet cheap as to pass your name around of being realy good at what you do for reasonable price therefore generating more work and over time put your rates up.
The dude who pulled you to the side needs a pat on the back.
So much meterage were you covering on £150 a day on site ?
Great video buddy. I never knew how to price jobs . Still learning now after 20 yrs lol . But i charge for labour now and they get the gear . As been stung to many times on the gear . But you defo need a better camera buddy
Kirk am way to cheap I’m embarrassed to tell you! Can’t get out the rut of day rate charging .I’ve been plastering 25 years to a descent standard .
I can help you with that mate
Whatever your hourly rate is (or what you want per hour) x 8hrs is your day rate plus materials, and if there’s a half day just half the day rate, not rocket science 😀
Hi Kirk
Will your system work for carpentry and joinery too? Or is it mainly for plasterers?
Work for all trades mate 👍
@@Onthetrowel cheers Kirk
I’ll get signed up👍🏻
No sound Kirk
Didn't let it run checks.
Should be OK now though mate
How do I get InTouch with you Kirk
Hey mate, drop me an email
Mrkirkjohnstone@gmail.com
Your a credit to ya mum & dad mate,I’m from the same estate and you & ya brother have turned out to be gentlemen 👍
"95% of tradesmen keep a secret" ... a thought you were going to say that you are gay then
I wonder why that was the first thing that came to your mind... is that you Philip schofield?
@@Onthetrowel Ha Ha ... I thought you were going to finish off with a verse from YMCA
🤣🤣
and ye wish i saw this 6 years ago when i pa ked my business up, great video Kirk
My advice; if you run a business as a Tradesman, a business of any size. Do Estimating & Accountancy courses. You’ll rarely fail with that knowledge. But you know what, if you do fail - which loads of us do. Start again, never ever give up!!
You must learn the basics before you make the £billions.
Interesting video mate. Me and a friend are in the process of setting up a pressure washing / exterior washing business. Your course might be if use to me!