My worse critic...

[mrhtbd]

I am my worse critic and at times it can be stifling. I have always wanted to do more, accomplish more, strive for more and achieve, but have always been devoid of a mentor. Some things I just plain don't know. Fifteen years of college and 23 years construction experience and still can't price a construction job within $4000 (makes me feel stupid). Losing my shirt! Throwing it away for pittance. I acknowledge there are wise persons here, as I have always benefitted from advice, suggestions and direction. On the one hand, there are things that I know; like racing through traffic at 90 miles per hour on my motorcycle, or saying the right thing to my kids when they have doubts, but other things just make me feel lost and remain a wrench in the works for progress. In that right I appear weak and needy in my desire for mentoring advice. A part of me insists I just pull up my bootstraps and forge on in ignorance, but another side reminds me of what my father said to me on his deathbed the day before he died, "______, I could've gotten a lot more done if I'd only had a partner!" That, my friends, is why I tend to bare my weakness to enlist the prospect of a mentor. In that light, I appreciate and respect any advice shared here, positive or negative, as it all has provided much needed direction. As such, I remain humbled in my plight for competency.

 

[Glycomann]

Go back and examine your mistake.

 

[ozzy69]

It's pretty finite math with construction estimating bro...

 

[bufbiker]

And I was thinking it was someone else.

 

[mrhtbd]

Darn

 

[ozzy69]

Starter cellinoid?

 

[mrhtbd]

replace

 

[HDH]

If all else fails, call a mobile mechanic to look and give you an estimate. If it's something you can do for yourself, just pay the estimate charge unless it's free and tell him to have a nice day

google / yellow pages / craigs list

H

 

[A1food4u]

How comprehensive is your estimators list? Many times, you quote from your head assuming you will catch everything, a checklist which represents you worst case scenarios will remind you of the pitfalls of a project that could go wrong and can be accounted for. Then always over estimate your waste cutting, easier tohave the contract cover extra footage than to make it up outta pocket.... if nothing else it will remind you to be thorough when estimating, you may loose a job or two while you fine tune the additional "could be " costs BUT at least you won't loose money on the jobs you do get... Good luck with the truck, that's way outta my wheel house....

 

[mrhtbd]

Oh the bathroom

 

[mrhtbd]

If all else fails, call a mobile mechanic to look and give you an estimate. If it's something you can do for yourself, just pay the estimate charge unless it's free and tell him to have a nice day

google / yellow pages / craigs list

H

Wish

 

[liftsiron]

Get a new truck. No sense to keep spending money on a pile of junk.

 

[A1food4u]

Oh the bathroom, guess I didn't measure close enough. It has an 8' 2" ceiling (most places), none of the walls were straight or plumb, the floor wasn't level and instead of replacing the drywall of the ceiling I had to put three coats of joint compound on the whole thing (6' x 12') because it was all cracked up from the old paint. That was an extra 10 hours of sanding and everything to make it look right because ther's a window at the end of the room and any flaw would be seen in the light. You know, just one thing after another! Didn't give myself any wiggle room for things taking too long. Live and learn.

That's kinda what I'm talking about with the list. It can remind you to check that walls and ceiling are plumb, helps you to notice the type of things that at a glance go unnoticed..... precisely what you need to avoid these simple time eaters...I know it sounds like a pain to set up and administer the list, but your potential clients will notice it... they will wonder why your estimation time is longer than the other guy who just eyeballs it... it becomes a sales tool.... if they question your price you just go down the list professionally and show them that your estimate is rock solid and well thought out. they will leave the interview feeling confident in how thorough you were... I's a pain, but its a winning strategy... and most of all you keep your profit margin... no surprises

 

[mrhtbd]

The day is grey

 

[bufbiker]

Grammatically, shouldn't it be "My Worst Critic."

 

[liftsiron]

Grammatically, shouldn't it be "My Worst Critic."

He was a school teacher most of his life, he never needed proper grammar or math.

 

[mrhtbd]

I missed that. Won't be the first time I was sabotaged by spell-check!