Those are the greatest moments for me when I finally bid one right and make extra bank! Then I get spoiled and hate life when I underbid the next one lol..
U hit that one on the money!!!!!! I got a text Friday from an old estimate I did for a 200 amp electrical panel upgrade. Already 200 amp service i just have to replace the old with a new one, 1400 for 4-5 hrs of work and 180 in material I almost feel guilty about it, but after she showed me 2 bids at around 3200 I felt better about it. Luckily she showed them to me first because I normally charge 900. And sometimes out in three hours. I can't justify charging 3k for half a days work just because they live in an affluent neighborhood. Now I wouldn't call that low balling, I would call that being honest. I was referred to them and I have a very good feeling that they will also spread my name around. But your absolutely right I'll kick myself on the next one. Lol!
I way underbid the first ever aggregate driveway I sealed. But I learned from it. I kept track of how long it took me to pressure wash it, how long to seal it, and all my materials, fuel, soap, etc. I then decided how much I wanted to make per hour, figured how many sq ft I could do per hour, and came up with a per sq ft price. From then on, I could come up with a price in minutes and made profit on every job. So, just because you screw yourself on one job, doesn't mean you should see it that way. Its a learning experience at how to be more efficient and profitable.
@@randymikhaiel933 you people should feel guilty, you guys are robbing people blind and taking advantage of them, it takes us 80 hours of work to make what you made in 5 hours, that is a shame.
I recently bid a job @ $800 the friend of owner told me I way under bid the job should've been $1-1,500k but I learned big time now and have upped my rates plus learning a ton about bidding.. nice video - you really made some serious profit on that wall job, god damn Stan! haha
Great video! I do lump sum 99% of the time... I find that customers are a little sticker shocked at first and want second and third bids... 75% of the time they come back to me (the first bid) because 1) other companies never show up for a on site evaluation and 2) they are comparable to my bid... Thanks for the great videos It has helped me get my business up and going on the right track!
Thank you so much I been doing concrete landscaping all my life I live in saint paul Minnesota I didn't know that rate can be up to 65 hour I just started my own business little different from bidding concrete thanks again lee you your family have bless day.
around here landscapers get 8$ but I take care of mine I pay 15-20depending on experience because workers are willing to do more if they get more. and my competition charges like 80$ a hour
That's right. It's better to pay good wages for good workers who do good work and allow you to charge good prices. Then everybody wins. Or you can pay bad wages for bad workers who do bad work and you can't charge good prices.
Stanley, I would like to offer some advice on the wall cap project. This comes from a construction point to of view which most of your experience has been working for a commercial general consensus tractor. One tube of adhesive for 300 linear feet means there is not adequate. maybe up north you can get away with that. but that would never fly down here in Florida. If I was going to skimp on the adhesive I would say maybe 3 rubes. 100ft per tube. But a single tube for that length should be checked out in a year for loose caps.
That jungle. Quoted one today for a DC man that just moved to Australia. He wanted that lump sum figure. 2 people $80 hr including tip fees. $960 there's about a day and half. He liked it as the guy before me quoted $3000. Now that is what I call "I don't want the job quote". I've done those kinda quotes too, landed only one. But was happy as I was well paid for slashing grass that covered the cloth line and the fences. btw that job had a trailer in it too. Had to 4x4 it out.
The young bloke with me. His Dad had bought a little home trimmer that he wanted to use. lol No guts. It was rough. I'm watching a lot of your videos and learning heaps. Glad Greg plugged you.
Hey Stanley! How do you deal with customers complaining about the price after the job being done? It hasn't happened to me too often and I've been able to explain that we price the service and value to the customers and not the hours put in. Just wondering how you justify it when it was done faster than expected
I've done a lot of clean ups just like that... normally if you're talking just along that fence line it'll be about 10 hours for 1 person to knock it all down... but more than likely since everything is grown so tall, the roots are more than likely going to be breaking through the retaining wall... So then you run into if they want the retaining wall fixed/ replaced depending on how bad the damage is. Chances are with all that growth, that retaining wall is going to be crumbling which mean they probably won't have much of a choice whether to replace it or not. public safety issue.
Hi Stanley; great advice. this is my 1st post. Much sadness at the loss of the freak. Have been quietly following him for a few years since starting my biz and wish him much happiness and peace. Easy to get in over your head bidding these unknown time type jobs especially if just starting out. Do you have any advice/vids regarding removing hedges? Just in terms of time it takes to cut everything flush to the ground and or remove the entire bush...Any advice on how to price and techniques you recommend is much appreciated. Seems like a job that could easily get under quoted. Jim
Hi Jim. Try bidding hedges on a time and material basis at first. This will cover your costs. Then as you learn more you can switch to a lump sum bidding model which will have more profits.
North Dakota work 2 months a year landscaping. Phoenix Arizona 70 in winter 110 summer rains 8 days inna year. Doesn't rain in 4 months. work 52 weeks a year. Dude your RUclips vids are great if you work hardly ever work and live in Alaska.
@@adinkraartscollective yeah bro, you've got to charge that much per person working. If you don't, then you can't afford to get worker's comp so you don't get sued by an injured worker or charged for taxes for income that should have been on employee payroll. You'll need more equipment and trucks to support extra employees and repairs, etc.. If you don't charge that much, you can't grow your biz & will likely fail when you need your second truck repair. Find customers that will pay what it's worth & pay employees well, so you won't need to look for new help all the time, and so they can live too. Even when customers act cheap, often they will agree to higher prices if you explain in a nice way. They're just trying to get a deal, but if they truly can't afford it, they shouldn't even be calling a landscaper.
How you been? I watch your channel alot. Im hurting myself alot. Currently i work two full time jobs and tring by my equiment and get busines going. I had it going from 2012 to 2015 then got real sick. Had take a year from it. But im not getting anywhere. Look forward talking to u
Hey stan, When you talk about labor hours, does that include just one person, and if it doesn't, would 2 hours in a day with 3 workers count as 6 labour hours? Thanks
I only lump sum quote because I am building a patio or deck or concreting a trick i have figured out over the past few months is have a square meter rate or square foot rate. I know exactly how much it will cost me per square meter for every type of patio roof, deck, concrete and i end up making a little more on materials too because i use a set rate per meter i have to allow for c sections and gutters that are just factored in on the meter rate so instead of working out the materials piece by piece and then adding it all up i can work out a price for the job in 30 minutes and have a built in 15 to 20% on top of materials then just add my man hours to it and get my quote in because in the busy season I don't have time to spend hours working it out for a quote I might not win.
Stan I like your videos and enjoy watching also have a landscape company. Don't like being negative but if the customer sees you there for an hour and gets a bill for $450 dollars don't you think that's how you get a bad name?
id like to know how you come up with the prices. is like to get into this business on the side but i have no clue how you estimate something this big or bigger thanks . got to love jeeps
you said 7hrs to do the job which was $455 but it only took him 1hr. do you tell the people how long you think it will take? or do you keep that in your head and just tell the customer what the price will be for the job?
Anthony Casa am I the only one paying attention. He quoted it at 7hrs. He did the calculation s in his head. If the job looks like its going to take time, u quote that. He specifically said, u can't change it later. If the worker goes and does it faster, hey, it is what it is. That has nothing to do with the quote. U quote smart,not by how fast u can get it done.
Hope your doing good Stan and thanks for the reply's. What other favorite podcast to you subscribe to other the the art of charm? Any other podcast with content like yours? Just finished all your podcast, really great content!! I highly recommend it.
I'm just curious- do u worry about the folks u did that job for seeing this RUclips video and not sending anymore work your way because they feel you overcharged them after u explained all your prices and profits to the world?
Lawnfarmer It is possible. But I also honor my prices firmly-both good and bad. So for instance. I rebuilt a window well for them. Found that the footing was deeper than anticipated and what should have taken me a week with 2 guys took me 2 weeks with 4 guys. I didn't charge them more for the project. I honored my written bid in this case-even though it was a loss. I could have came back and asked for more money-but that is not how I treat my customers.
+Stanley Genadek Landscape and Construction Business Pro True, but be careful, in my experience it's a rare customer, and I do have some of them, that understands this, most of them don't care u screwed yourself on the other job and would still be upset because they thought u screwed them on this one. Thanks for the vids I enjoy them.
Lawnfarmer +Mitch Tasker Lawn care Your questions/comments actually inspired me to make a video called" A tour of Landscaping Jobs I have lost my Ass on." Its not all big wins and thanks to you guys I realized how important the losses can be to better understanding how a business really works. I just started working on the vid. Thanks!
hey stan, this is my first year in business . I want to ask you If i should go ahead and register my business or how much should I wait to do it? and also is there a book you can recomend about taxes? I think this a good topic for you to make a video of. I hope you read this message. thank you!
Mario Arellano Yes- register your business ASAP. Tax book- No. I have a good accountant and even interviewed him for the podcast. I have a one tax video out now and plan on doing one more real soon as it is about that time to start the Pre-Season Tax Planning.
Just finished a job where a contractor is said to have abandoned the job. The guy had trimmed like 50 large crape myrtles, I bid 1,000 to just haul it off. I thought It would take about two half days for 2 people. We finished it in 1 day and they were happy it was gone sooner.
Yeah sir now I'm seeding their lawn and I'm glad you put that video about the pine tree. Your videos help a lot Stan. I mean I'm 20 and I'm with my twin doing jobs like we're expert because of you and Keith. It helps alot and it doesn't fall on empty ears man.
When I tell people $40 per man hr here in Texas, I have customers balk at the price. When I lump sum it, I can easily bump into the $50-65 an hr range and rarely have to haggle or explain my pricing.
people even my dad said I would not make money off landscaping. first 2 months I already have my zero turn/blower/stringtrimmer/and the echo multitool paid off.
i'm soon finished with the landscasping education in denmark, and i had a couple of projects already, but want more. My biggest problem with lump sum is that people often get surprised by the number i "come up with". So any advice on how to get to a cheaper price and still protect your self, and delliver good work? Also great videos=)
No LUMP Sums. Break the number down into manageable understandable pieces with profits built into every component. Then when a change occurs its easy to understand how to formulate that change.
But, doing a lump sum quote. And quoting more than doing the job in actual time. Doesn't that get the client wondering why he or she spent that 440$ when it could have gone to doing more work? I do tractor work in Oregon. And I upped my rates at the beginning of the year. I don't have the experience to bid jobs lump sum. So I do hourly. Getting some good tips from your vids. Thanks for making them.
So i realize that you made a sweet profit on that retaining wall maintenance but how would i explain that to the client when they know it took me only an hour????
Yes. In fact I gave habitat for humanity a bid for $12,000 on a project then they increased the size of the job part way through and I was still able to give them a final invoice for just above $11,000
So with that comment in mind by David as if someone is getting ripped off-what of the under valued jobs for reasons beyond your control. There's no revaluations to be done for those.So its like all companies and one takes the good with the bad. Its not an exact art and as many Im sure know-can go very wrong as Stanley has showed. So I don't get the comment. Its nice you felt to give something back mate-but your hardly a greedy company unlike the construction guy you did the retaining wall for. So Im interested to know David-if you pay to little for an immense amount of fun at a park-I hope you go and offer them more money to back what you ask??Or if a meal is really amazing-you pay more than the menu states.rediculous question!!
something don't add up here, you said 300 ft of wall cap had to be lifted brushed clean and re-glued, plus your 1 hour travel time, you bid it at 7 hours but he was done in an hour, well he only went there and came back, if what you say is true, you also say it only took 1 tube of glue for 300ft, huum was the job even done and done well is what I need to know, or you really messed this vid up big time
Have you ever had a customer feel cheated because you were in an out in an hour when you told them 7? I have some clients who maybe wouldn't be the happiest haha
Yeah you just don't tell them how long you expect us to Sara Lee you can tell him what it could take but it could be simpler than that I feel like this job wasn't necessarily accurately bid he didn't investigate the true shape of the wall and if he would have looked closer he would have realized it wouldn't have taken 7 hours
Just a question ? How would your customer feel if they watched this video ? I understand they agreed to It, but if I was the customer I can cop an hour maybe 2 ...but 6 hours...I'd be pissed
Mitch Tasker Lawn care Thats the difference between a lump sum and Time and Material. You the contractor take all the risk. If it takes an extra hour or 2 or 6 your still getting paid the same. Its a loss for you. How would the customer feel then.- They wouldn't care -a bid is a bid. You have to stick with your price-good or bad.
Mitch Tasker Lawn care Lawnfarmer Your questions/comments actually inspired me to make a video called" A tour of Landscaping Jobs I have lost my Ass on." Its not all big wins and thanks to you guys I realized how important the losses can be to better understanding how a business really works. I just started working on the vid. Thanks!
The home owner doesn't have to accept a lump sum bid. Once the home owner has looked at your lump sum bid and accepts that bid as long as you completed the job in full that you've quoted then there is nothing wrong with what your costs are to complete the job. You can't just make money to put in your pocket as a contractor. You have to make money to pay the business, have a rainy day fund, new equipment funds, etc.......and also pay yourself. Not to mention paying taxes, insurances, and workers comp. Stop looking at profit as something you merely put in your pocket and on off you go.
I never hourly quote never a good Idea in my experience, nore do I give a break down, so they can have there "son in law" do the easier parts of the job
So here is the reality. No homeowner is going to pay a landscaper $65/hr to do these jobs and its the reason I don't bid residential work. Not saying $65 isn't a fair rate given the overhead, labor burden, trucks, equipment and profit, etc, it is very fair. The reality is they will get your FREE quote and then hack it apart, maybe even pick your brain in how do to the job then go hire somebody directly for $15-20 cash. Its happened to me so many times I simply don't price residential anymore. By the time I calculated my time and fuel driving around to give out free estimates the one in a million job I did get didn't pay for my costs for all the other residential jobs I didn't get. Also remember you are giving out a free quote, there is nothing stopping them from calling 20 contractors just waiting for the idiot who makes a mistake and prices it too cheap
You need to learn salesmanship, sounds to me like you can't negotiate your way out of a wet paper bag. I bid residential property and never get turned down, sales are apart of your world and knowing how to close is a high priority. Btw my guys make 100/hr but our work is quality and people have NEVER gawked at my prices. I worked as a salesman for years before I started my business and was very successful and it has made me wealthy because when I pull up at job site I walk away with a check and a start date and time. Learn your trade my friend....
That can work, as long as either you or the workers know exactly what to do and how to do it. What you're paying the middle man for it expertise, knowledge, and the commitment to finish the job and do it right. In this particular case, what if every single one of the bricks had to be moved, scraped and glued down? What if he found that the glue didn't stick the first time and had to be redone with a different product? He still would have honored his quote and it would have been the homeowner who made out like a bandit, not the other way around. So it goes both ways.
Go for it, and then let me know how it works out for ya. If someone gets hurt with no workers compensation and you get stuck with the medical bill, now your really saving. What about warranty on workmanship? Not happening on low bid, and someone who’s work truck is their office to.
Sorry to say this, but there are a lot of people that do landscape and charge way to much, so we basically get ripped off. Some of you over charge and it is not right. You estimate 7 hours and 65 dollars an hour for yard work. It takes you 1 hour or so to complete, then you add the time travel and your 15 dollars you spent, that is 470. So you ripped those people off and payed yourself 400 dollars for your hour of work? That is just not right. Some of people work their butts off for 25 dollars and hour, and you get 400 dollars for that, insane, and a rip off. I hope you realize what you are doing, you are cheating people of their money, it takes people about 20 hours of work to make what you did in one hour. That is stealing from people man. Repent. How you would like to have someone overcharge you like you do them. And for doing the work you do, wow, that is pretty low.
It's not like he pockets the 400. He's gotta pay for equipment, overhead, maintenance, repairs, gas, taxes, labor. That's the tangible stuff. He's also taking the risk that his business might fail, unexpected job site problems, workers not showing up, losing money if he bids too low. Go ahead and try to run a landscape company, that is hard stuff and risky stuff. He should be making more than his employees, he's taking all the risk. As a former landscaper, 20-25 dollars an hour is solid pay.
Have you ever had a customer feel cheated because you were in an out in an hour when you told them 7? I have some clients who maybe wouldn't be the happiest haha
+Grant Goatley I have. I wrapped up a 5 day job in 3 days-but it was bid as a lump sum. The customer complained-but no one complains when I have to keep working for an extra 1-3 days and eat the extra labor.
Stanley ....IS....the great and wise business Guru lol
You and Keith are my favourite landscaping guys.
Thanks for the video bud
I agree
John Ryan Glad your enjoying the videos!
Da King RT Thanks!
No problem
Those are the greatest moments for me when I finally bid one right and make extra bank! Then I get spoiled and hate life when I underbid the next one lol..
U hit that one on the money!!!!!! I got a text Friday from an old estimate I did for a 200 amp electrical panel upgrade. Already 200 amp service i just have to replace the old with a new one, 1400 for 4-5 hrs of work and 180 in material I almost feel guilty about it, but after she showed me 2 bids at around 3200 I felt better about it. Luckily she showed them to me first because I normally charge 900. And sometimes out in three hours. I can't justify charging 3k for half a days work just because they live in an affluent neighborhood. Now I wouldn't call that low balling, I would call that being honest. I was referred to them and I have a very good feeling that they will also spread my name around. But your absolutely right I'll kick myself on the next one. Lol!
And that's why you were referred.. Your honesty, that's good business.
Mow's Lawncare It goes both ways- sometimes you win and other times a lump sum bid can bite you in the butt
I way underbid the first ever aggregate driveway I sealed. But I learned from it. I kept track of how long it took me to pressure wash it, how long to seal it, and all my materials, fuel, soap, etc. I then decided how much I wanted to make per hour, figured how many sq ft I could do per hour, and came up with a per sq ft price. From then on, I could come up with a price in minutes and made profit on every job. So, just because you screw yourself on one job, doesn't mean you should see it that way. Its a learning experience at how to be more efficient and profitable.
@@randymikhaiel933 you people should feel guilty, you guys are robbing people blind and taking advantage of them, it takes us 80 hours of work to make what you made in 5 hours, that is a shame.
You got the presentation down 😎👍 you look the part, you know your stuff 👍
I recently bid a job @ $800 the friend of owner told me I way under bid the job should've been $1-1,500k but I learned big time now and have upped my rates plus learning a ton about bidding.. nice video - you really made some serious profit on that wall job, god damn Stan! haha
+Maui Landscape & Lawn Don't be afraid to charge more. Landscaping is a skilled trade and should be paid as such.
"What you'll see, is the jungle." Lol classic
Great content as usual. Thanks!
Great video! I do lump sum 99% of the time... I find that customers are a little sticker shocked at first and want second and third bids... 75% of the time they come back to me (the first bid) because 1) other companies never show up for a on site evaluation and 2) they are comparable to my bid... Thanks for the great videos It has helped me get my business up and going on the right track!
Good to know! Glad you have a high call back rate.
Thank you so much I been doing concrete landscaping all my life I live in saint paul Minnesota I didn't know that rate can be up to 65 hour I just started my own business little different from bidding concrete thanks again lee you your family have bless day.
Good one clear explanation, thank you
Glad it helped -Thank you!
around here landscapers get 8$ but I take care of mine I pay 15-20depending on experience because workers are willing to do more if they get more. and my competition charges like 80$ a hour
That's right. It's better to pay good wages for good workers who do good work and allow you to charge good prices.
Then everybody wins. Or you can pay bad wages for bad workers who do bad work and you can't charge good prices.
Stanley, I would like to offer some advice on the wall cap project. This comes from a construction point to of view which most of your experience has been working for a commercial general consensus tractor. One tube of adhesive for 300 linear feet means there is not adequate. maybe up north you can get away with that. but that would never fly down here in Florida. If I was going to skimp on the adhesive I would say maybe 3 rubes. 100ft per tube. But a single tube for that length should be checked out in a year for loose caps.
Maybe I missed something but we don't use 1 tube of adhesive for 300 linear feet. We use between 5-10 tubes of adhesive for that length of run.
Bro
You rule, thanks for your wisdom
That jungle. Quoted one today for a DC man that just moved to Australia. He wanted that lump sum figure. 2 people $80 hr including tip fees. $960 there's about a day and half.
He liked it as the guy before me quoted $3000. Now that is what I call "I don't want the job quote". I've done those kinda quotes too, landed only one. But was happy as I was well paid for slashing grass that covered the cloth line and the fences. btw that job had a trailer in it too. Had to 4x4 it out.
Trooperandcooper Ale Haha-wow sounds like you really had some rough conditions on that jungle job :)
The young bloke with me. His Dad had bought a little home trimmer that he wanted to use. lol No guts. It was rough. I'm watching a lot of your videos and learning heaps. Glad Greg plugged you.
Thank you sir for your time.
Thank you!
Great videos as always!
Hey Stanley! How do you deal with customers complaining about the price after the job being done? It hasn't happened to me too often and I've been able to explain that we price the service and value to the customers and not the hours put in. Just wondering how you justify it when it was done faster than expected
So what do you tell the homeowner when you quoted for 7 hours and it only took one?......
Great video thanks
Thanks for watching :)
I've done a lot of clean ups just like that... normally if you're talking just along that fence line it'll be about 10 hours for 1 person to knock it all down... but more than likely since everything is grown so tall, the roots are more than likely going to be breaking through the retaining wall... So then you run into if they want the retaining wall fixed/ replaced depending on how bad the damage is. Chances are with all that growth, that retaining wall is going to be crumbling which mean they probably won't have much of a choice whether to replace it or not. public safety issue.
Shannon Cornthwaite Yes- that is a possibility and a great way to offer repairs as an additional service.
Cool video thanks keep up with the videos I lorn a lot from it
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Hi Stanley; great advice. this is my 1st post. Much sadness at the loss of the freak. Have been quietly following him for a few years since starting my biz and wish him much happiness and peace. Easy to get in over your head bidding these unknown time type jobs especially if just starting out. Do you have any advice/vids regarding removing hedges? Just in terms of time it takes to cut everything flush to the ground and or remove the entire bush...Any advice on how to price and techniques you recommend is much appreciated. Seems like a job that could easily get under quoted. Jim
Hi Jim. Try bidding hedges on a time and material basis at first. This will cover your costs. Then as you learn more you can switch to a lump sum bidding model which will have more profits.
If I could give this a second thumbs up I would!
Thanks!
North Dakota work 2 months a year landscaping. Phoenix Arizona 70 in winter 110 summer rains 8 days inna year. Doesn't rain in 4 months. work 52 weeks a year. Dude your RUclips vids are great if you work hardly ever work and live in Alaska.
I just have a quick question for you, when you say 45-65 and hour, is that per man hour or actual hour? thanks
Per man per hour
@@Dirtmonkey $130 an hr? i thought u mentioned $12 for your guy. tryin to gather a 1off team but that rate aint gonna work for the client.
@@adinkraartscollective yeah bro, you've got to charge that much per person working. If you don't, then you can't afford to get worker's comp so you don't get sued by an injured worker or charged for taxes for income that should have been on employee payroll. You'll need more equipment and trucks to support extra employees and repairs, etc.. If you don't charge that much, you can't grow your biz & will likely fail when you need your second truck repair. Find customers that will pay what it's worth & pay employees well, so you won't need to look for new help all the time, and so they can live too. Even when customers act cheap, often they will agree to higher prices if you explain in a nice way. They're just trying to get a deal, but if they truly can't afford it, they shouldn't even be calling a landscaper.
what should be a general price quote for lawn maintenance?
Didn’t realize this was 8 years ago haha what are you charging now? I’m doing 130 in the PNW
How you been? I watch your channel alot. Im hurting myself alot. Currently i work two full time jobs and tring by my equiment and get busines going. I had it going from 2012 to 2015 then got real sick. Had take a year from it. But im not getting anywhere. Look forward talking to u
what do you think is a good hour rate to charge in North Texas the dfw area to be exact? I hope to hear from you.
here in the UK most like a one off quot not hr rate nice info. keep up the good work
Here they like the same thing.
Hey stan,
When you talk about labor hours, does that include just one person, and if it doesn't, would 2 hours in a day with 3 workers count as 6 labour hours?
Thanks
+Jonathan Davison That would be 6 hours yes.
Per man per hour.
I only lump sum quote because I am building a patio or deck or concreting a trick i have figured out over the past few months is have a square meter rate or square foot rate. I know exactly how much it will cost me per square meter for every type of patio roof, deck, concrete and i end up making a little more on materials too because i use a set rate per meter i have to allow for c sections and gutters that are just factored in on the meter rate so instead of working out the materials piece by piece and then adding it all up i can work out a price for the job in 30 minutes and have a built in 15 to 20% on top of materials then just add my man hours to it and get my quote in because in the busy season I don't have time to spend hours working it out for a quote I might not win.
andreweasty Perfect. I use the same formula for retaining walls and patio pavers.
Thanks for the videos they really help a lot I’m 15 I turn 16 In April so I’ll have have my license spring and summer hoping to be able to hit it big
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Every video I want u have so cool
Awesome!
Stan I like your videos and enjoy watching also have a landscape company. Don't like being negative but if the customer sees you there for an hour and gets a bill for $450 dollars don't you think that's how you get a bad name?
id like to know how you come up with the prices. is like to get into this business on the side but i have no clue how you estimate something this big or bigger thanks . got to love jeeps
I made a video on how to break down a landscape proposal and price out each portion of a job. It was released just last month-that should help you.
thanks sir
When you make a hourly rate does it change depending on how many employees are on site or for every landscape job to you charge that $65 rate?
Devin Malloy $65 per hour is per man. So if I have 2 guys on site- its $130 per hour
you said 7hrs to do the job which was $455 but it only took him 1hr. do you tell the people how long you think it will take? or do you keep that in your head and just tell the customer what the price will be for the job?
Anthony Casa am I the only one paying attention. He quoted it at 7hrs. He did the calculation s in his head. If the job looks like its going to take time, u quote that. He specifically said, u can't change it later. If the worker goes and does it faster, hey, it is what it is. That has nothing to do with the quote. U quote smart,not by how fast u can get it done.
Hope your doing good Stan and thanks for the reply's. What other favorite podcast to you subscribe to other the the art of charm? Any other podcast with content like yours? Just finished all your podcast, really great content!! I highly recommend it.
Steve Mederos Thanks- I like Entreprenuer on Fire and the Bryan Callen podcast. EOF is for business- Bryan Callen is entertainment.
Does this content still exist? I cant find it. Anyone?
thx Stanley.... ur the man... or the boss I need quotes on pavers can you help me....
+Rhyan Tsinnijinnie I have a paver bidding video that explains the process.
subscribed
I'm just curious- do u worry about the folks u did that job for seeing this RUclips video and not sending anymore work your way because they feel you overcharged them after u explained all your prices and profits to the world?
Lawnfarmer It is possible. But I also honor my prices firmly-both good and bad. So for instance. I rebuilt a window well for them. Found that the footing was deeper than anticipated and what should have taken me a week with 2 guys took me 2 weeks with 4 guys. I didn't charge them more for the project. I honored my written bid in this case-even though it was a loss. I could have came back and asked for more money-but that is not how I treat my customers.
+Stanley Genadek Landscape and Construction Business Pro True, but be careful, in my experience it's a rare customer, and I do have some of them, that understands this, most of them don't care u screwed yourself on the other job and would still be upset because they thought u screwed them on this one. Thanks for the vids I enjoy them.
Lawnfarmer +Mitch Tasker Lawn care Your questions/comments actually inspired me to make a video called" A tour of Landscaping Jobs I have lost my Ass on." Its not all big wins and thanks to you guys I realized how important the losses can be to better understanding how a business really works. I just started working on the vid. Thanks!
This is Minneapolis? Sick represent MN
hey stan, this is my first year in business . I want to ask you If i should go ahead and register my business or how much should I wait to do it? and also is there a book you can recomend about taxes? I think this a good topic for you to make a video of. I hope you read this message. thank you!
Mario Arellano Yes- register your business ASAP. Tax book- No. I have a good accountant and even interviewed him for the podcast. I have a one tax video out now and plan on doing one more real soon as it is about that time to start the Pre-Season Tax Planning.
Do you itemize everything on your bid?
Just finished a job where a contractor is said to have abandoned the job. The guy had trimmed like 50 large crape myrtles, I bid 1,000 to just haul it off. I thought It would take about two half days for 2 people. We finished it in 1 day and they were happy it was gone sooner.
Jordan Garcia Sounds like you made some bank on that job. :)
Yeah sir now I'm seeding their lawn and I'm glad you put that video about the pine tree. Your videos help a lot Stan. I mean I'm 20 and I'm with my twin doing jobs like we're expert because of you and Keith. It helps alot and it doesn't fall on empty ears man.
When I tell people $40 per man hr here in Texas, I have customers balk at the price. When I lump sum it, I can easily bump into the $50-65 an hr range and rarely have to haggle or explain my pricing.
James Stewart Great example- Thanks!
James Stewart there like i don't make 40 an hour how can he justify it
thanks for your broseph
people even my dad said I would not make money off landscaping. first 2 months I already have my zero turn/blower/stringtrimmer/and the echo multitool paid off.
That is awesome. Success is the best revenge haha
i'm soon finished with the landscasping education in denmark, and i had a couple of projects already, but want more. My biggest problem with lump sum is that people often get surprised by the number i "come up with". So any advice on how to get to a cheaper price and still protect your self, and delliver good work? Also great videos=)
No LUMP Sums. Break the number down into manageable understandable pieces with profits built into every component. Then when a change occurs its easy to understand how to formulate that change.
Thanks so much for the fast answer. just seen another of your vids, and pretty much found the same answer there. great stuff these videos!
@@Dirtmonkey bro this is exactly the compromise in pricing I need to be more profitable. Thanks!
So do did you tell the customer that it would take seven hours and he saw it only took 1 hour I'm confused
You definitely know what you are doing. I use the same adhesive on my caps(Eyelash Lol). Pl 3x Premium
I do landscaping. But how can you quote 7 hours at $65 but only took one hour to do? I just dont understand this part.
Shows up to work with a tight Kermit shirt on hahahaha
LOL
But, doing a lump sum quote. And quoting more than doing the job in actual time. Doesn't that get the client wondering why he or she spent that 440$ when it could have gone to doing more work? I do tractor work in Oregon. And I upped my rates at the beginning of the year. I don't have the experience to bid jobs lump sum. So I do hourly.
Getting some good tips from your vids. Thanks for making them.
+Drew6709 That is part of the risk you transfer to the customer. Don't take on that risk yourself.
So i realize that you made a sweet profit on that retaining wall maintenance but how would i explain that to the client when they know it took me only an hour????
I landscape in the morning b4 I go to my night shift job and thats how I bought my brand new 2017 rubicon.
So how so you deal with a customer that is upset when you estimate it at 7 hours but it only tool u 1 hour?
this is what I want to know
Do you ever lower your final price when a job like this takes a fraction of the time estimated? Such as only charging them $350 instead of the $450.
Yes. In fact I gave habitat for humanity a bid for $12,000 on a project then they increased the size of the job part way through and I was still able to give them a final invoice for just above $11,000
That's great.
So with that comment in mind by David as if someone is getting ripped off-what of the under valued jobs for reasons beyond your control. There's no revaluations to be done for those.So its like all companies and one takes the good with the bad. Its not an exact art and as many Im sure know-can go very wrong as Stanley has showed. So I don't get the comment. Its nice you felt to give something back mate-but your hardly a greedy company unlike the construction guy you did the retaining wall for. So Im interested to know David-if you pay to little for an immense amount of fun at a park-I hope you go and offer them more money to back what you ask??Or if a meal is really amazing-you pay more than the menu states.rediculous question!!
Gotta remember to add in your cost of doing business in what you say you net off a job.
I didn't know John Travolta was a landscaper!
something don't add up here, you said 300 ft of wall cap had to be lifted brushed clean and re-glued, plus your 1 hour travel time, you bid it at 7 hours but he was done in an hour, well he only went there and came back, if what you say is true, you also say it only took 1 tube of glue for 300ft, huum was the job even done and done well is what I need to know, or you really messed this vid up big time
he had to check 300 feet- not fliip and glue it all. Just report back what he found and fix the bad areas.
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Have you ever had a customer feel cheated because you were in an out in an hour when you told them 7? I have some clients who maybe wouldn't be the happiest haha
That is why you do not tell them how long it is supposed to take you.
Grant Goatley how does one know how a customer feels? Clearly the customer gave him the job, so it is what it is. Quality always wins.
Yeah you just don't tell them how long you expect us to Sara Lee you can tell him what it could take but it could be simpler than that I feel like this job wasn't necessarily accurately bid he didn't investigate the true shape of the wall and if he would have looked closer he would have realized it wouldn't have taken 7 hours
Damn only one hour. That's just to fix an glue the loose ones. That's it. Cuz there no way he did every cap with that
Just a question ? How would your customer feel if they watched this video ? I understand they agreed to
It, but if I was the customer I can cop an hour maybe 2 ...but 6 hours...I'd be pissed
Mitch Tasker Lawn care Thats the difference between a lump sum and Time and Material. You the contractor take all the risk. If it takes an extra hour or 2 or 6 your still getting paid the same. Its a loss for you. How would the customer feel then.- They wouldn't care -a bid is a bid. You have to stick with your price-good or bad.
Mitch Tasker Lawn care Lawnfarmer Your questions/comments actually inspired me to make a video called" A tour of Landscaping Jobs I have lost my Ass on." Its not all big wins and thanks to you guys I realized how important the losses can be to better understanding how a business really works. I just started working on the vid. Thanks!
The home owner doesn't have to accept a lump sum bid. Once the home owner has looked at your lump sum bid and accepts that bid as long as you completed the job in full that you've quoted then there is nothing wrong with what your costs are to complete the job. You can't just make money to put in your pocket as a contractor. You have to make money to pay the business, have a rainy day fund, new equipment funds, etc.......and also pay yourself. Not to mention paying taxes, insurances, and workers comp. Stop looking at profit as something you merely put in your pocket and on off you go.
take the trailer add it to your stuff from the hoarder houses you demo.
david brunner Trash Trucks and Lawn Care Yeah- I have more than enough ;)
Did my first retaining wall this week and made $6/ hour. 😭 Should have done T&M
Ouch
Look at how young Stan was
I love jobs like that:) small shrub removal, limited number of shrubs 1 truck a few chains hello dolla' dolla' bills
michael durham Those are the jobs that pay the bills :)
I never hourly quote never a good Idea in my experience, nore do I give a break down, so they can have there "son in law" do the easier parts of the job
Hourly *
So here is the reality. No homeowner is going to pay a landscaper $65/hr to do these jobs and its the reason I don't bid residential work. Not saying $65 isn't a fair rate given the overhead, labor burden, trucks, equipment and profit, etc, it is very fair. The reality is they will get your FREE quote and then hack it apart, maybe even pick your brain in how do to the job then go hire somebody directly for $15-20 cash. Its happened to me so many times I simply don't price residential anymore. By the time I calculated my time and fuel driving around to give out free estimates the one in a million job I did get didn't pay for my costs for all the other residential jobs I didn't get.
Also remember you are giving out a free quote, there is nothing stopping them from calling 20 contractors just waiting for the idiot who makes a mistake and prices it too cheap
You need to learn salesmanship, sounds to me like you can't negotiate your way out of a wet paper bag. I bid residential property and never get turned down, sales are apart of your world and knowing how to close is a high priority. Btw my guys make 100/hr but our work is quality and people have NEVER gawked at my prices. I worked as a salesman for years before I started my business and was very successful and it has made me wealthy because when I pull up at job site I walk away with a check and a start date and time. Learn your trade my friend....
Damn you should pay your guys more
I should just drop out of West Virginia University and become ur protégé
hahaha👍
Dont do it
there something wrong if that took 20 hours to do
This is very informative as a homeowner. Now I know to always hire workers directly, pay hourly, and avoid the price-gouging middleman.
That can work, as long as either you or the workers know exactly what to do and how to do it. What you're paying the middle man for it expertise, knowledge, and the commitment to finish the job and do it right. In this particular case, what if every single one of the bricks had to be moved, scraped and glued down? What if he found that the glue didn't stick the first time and had to be redone with a different product? He still would have honored his quote and it would have been the homeowner who made out like a bandit, not the other way around. So it goes both ways.
Go for it, and then let me know how it works out for ya. If someone gets hurt with no workers compensation and you get stuck with the medical bill, now your really saving. What about warranty on workmanship? Not happening on low bid, and someone who’s work truck is their office to.
1300 to remove that!!? That’s a seal for the customer if so
1300 is good???
Skimping your employees
I know people that would charge 17 an hour because that’s what they got paid at work.
that entire wall only took 1 tube of glue and 1hour of work! where the fuck you get your employees I need some
I use indeed. com Great results finding good help.
Sorry to say this, but there are a lot of people that do landscape and charge way to much, so we basically get ripped off. Some of you over charge and it is not right. You estimate 7 hours and 65 dollars an hour for yard work. It takes you 1 hour or so to complete, then you add the time travel and your 15 dollars you spent, that is 470. So you ripped those people off and payed yourself 400 dollars for your hour of work? That is just not right. Some of people work their butts off for 25 dollars and hour, and you get 400 dollars for that, insane, and a rip off. I hope you realize what you are doing, you are cheating people of their money, it takes people about 20 hours of work to make what you did in one hour. That is stealing from people man. Repent. How you would like to have someone overcharge you like you do them. And for doing the work you do, wow, that is pretty low.
It's not like he pockets the 400. He's gotta pay for equipment, overhead, maintenance, repairs, gas, taxes, labor. That's the tangible stuff. He's also taking the risk that his business might fail, unexpected job site problems, workers not showing up, losing money if he bids too low. Go ahead and try to run a landscape company, that is hard stuff and risky stuff. He should be making more than his employees, he's taking all the risk. As a former landscaper, 20-25 dollars an hour is solid pay.
that's stupid you look at the job and you bid experience brother
so in other words you charged you customer for 7 hrs and worked 1 hr 🤔🤔😂
:] I got the jeep.
Cool!
You devalue your employees by calling them names so they don't fill they have value and don't wont a raze
Have you ever had a customer feel cheated because you were in an out in an hour when you told them 7? I have some clients who maybe wouldn't be the happiest haha
+Grant Goatley I have. I wrapped up a 5 day job in 3 days-but it was bid as a lump sum. The customer complained-but no one complains when I have to keep working for an extra 1-3 days and eat the extra labor.