The Right Way To Estimate Home Improvement Projects | The Only Way To Make Big Money | THE HANDYMAN

For those of you trying to do the math. I'm 44 years old. I started in high school working for a small construction company building additions, kitchens, bathroom, decks, roofs and siding. I mostly cleaned up and move materials around. I moved to cut man doing roofing. I was the guy hauling the roof decking up to the roof and cutting it to the right size. The list goes on for another 25 years.

#thehandyman #thehandymanbusiness

[ColeChesnut]

Yes. Great video.

Value is subjective. That’s of the most useful economic theories that I know. Not that I know much about economics, but that part is definitely helpful in understanding how to earn more money doing the same thing.

Appeal to each individual customer’s values and price your work accordingly. For example some customers may be most concerned about low cost, cleanliness, communication, or highest quality. Figure out what matters most and emphasize that. You can charge more for that.

Once in a while I charge for time and material, but usually it’s better to quote a fixed price, and make sure that it’s enough to deliver excellent value and get paid well for it.

[cluelessgamer]

I set up mobile homes for a living . I work for a company, but I do a lot of side work. I figured out over time (2 years), that I don't want to work for under $100 an hour.
I have no problem making that . Because as it turns out, in Florida, what I'm charging is way cheaper than what the contractors charge, and I'm doing the same work!
Sometimes I even make $200 an hour. It just depends on the situation. And even at that $100 an hour price point, I can still hire helpers and pay them $100.
I just did a job today that I charged $250 for. It took 1 hour and 15 minutes. Seems good to me!
The point is, I spent some time to learn a skill. Now I have that skill. As not great as that skill is (hard work) I still have it. And I'm going to run with it...

[liers]

My price also changes depending on if I need or want the work. I’ve landed a couple jobs that I bid extraordinarily high because I didn’t want the job but the customer only wanted me to do it. I’ve also done jobs for less than normal just to keep the guys busy. At this point I only take on the jobs I want to do and am capable of doing by myself.

[NITZO]

I started working at an apartment community doing maintenance before I went out on my own. I gained experience in every field to help me feel more comfortable doing jobs on my own.

[Warrencarpentry]

I love bidding jobs that (don't) have a common pricing unlike sheetrocking or roofing! I like jobs that you can bid for what your time is worth! Not what someone else does the job for!!

[abdcontractingltd]

After two years in business, I've found the best way for me is to look back at my hours for each job, the labour quoted and see if I came ahead/broke even/lost on the job.

[SharpestBulbs]

I don't want to do ANY work ever so I charge a shitload (in texas). The people that accept are the best customers and I do much less work for more money.

[timtucker]

Wow. Thank you. Started doing carpentry in 1996, started subbing in 2001. Been completely independent since 2018...estimating jobs is not easy, and I always sell myself short. That was excellent advice. Thank you my good man.

[tlacahetl]

I've been working for my dad's remodeling company since I was a teenager, on and off. I know how to do everything but don't have any licenses or knowledge on making estimates I'm so ready to do my own thing. Great firts video to watch!!!!

[happyaspea]

I’m a self employed plumber .
Some guys price jobs with the thought of how many hours it should take / material take off
. I do this some times
I was showed a method that for each pipe we put in, there’s a labor unit involved . Simply figure out pipe lengths and times by the labor unit .
Fittings then are a % of the pipe . This method has proven to never loose if you can figure out your lengths and obviously expensive fittings ( extra )

[psychotogen]

I look forward to these videos when I get off work every day. I'm in Handyman training and running crews of drywallers and painters at the same time. Thanks for all you do!

[alsworkshop]

Well said... I do wish I had started in the trades a much younger man... but what I did learn from my first career was how to run a business, and how not to run a business. I used to be a loan officer right out of college and worked with several medium to large construction companies, I learned how to read the financials and yada yada. But the biggest lesson I learned was the seeing the attitude the really successful owners had. It wasn't all about the top line (revenue). It was all about the bottom line and how they got there. They knew that by having that bottom line tight, they were able to keep their crews working, and when times got really hard, yes they had to let some go, but they were able to weather most of the storm because of what they were able to put away for the down turn. Those guys that drove the beaters but had 7 figures in cash.
Fast forward and I was put into a situation where I had to sink or swim, I decided to go out on my own and work with my hands. Like you said, I wouldn't recommend anyone do it this way, there was a very steep learning curve on figuring out what to charge and how structure my prices. I have made it 5 years now, I still have a lot to learn, which is why I keep watching the "Best Home Improvement Channel in the... World." and the "Best Handyman Business Channel... in the... World." Great video as always, keep 'em coming.

[timkaldahl]

I've been teaching for 31 years. I used to roof in the summers for other businesses. I now do handyman work independently. I got an independent contractor exemption so I don't have to have workman's comp insurance. Pay for business licenses in each city or town I work in and have general liability insurance. I've been thinking about transitioning full time, but I still enjoy teaching. Summer is awesome though, because I love being outside and I love seeing the fruit of my labor immediately.

[GotTwins]

I agree completely. Always give an estimate and never hourly. I had a job for my small commerical window treatment business a couple years ago. Ended up making almost $1, 000/hr for the two weeks it took me to do the job. If they knew that they might have gotten a little upset but the company I did the work for is a multi multi million dollar company.

[PetesShopMakes]

Welcome back to the Handyman business YouTube channel. The number one Handyman business YouTube channel...In the world.

[lexxb]

There are certain area's I can charge double the rate for a job. At times it's a few blocks over and the rates double.

[dixiehandyman]

I'm in North Carolina. I've been doing my own projects for years and love it. I retired and now I'm doing it professionally. The time it takes is my biggest challenge in bidding. I work a little slower than some anyway but the quality is there. I've picked up a couple bathroom remodels recently and your videos are very helpful my friend. Thanks!

[thehandymatt]

This is what I was doing already, so thank you for solidifying it. People over-think this kind of stuff.

[Moksoory]

As an electrician I noticed the real big money is in commercial work. Homeowners can get annoying and cheap sometimes, especially if they bargain. With commercial work big companies are who you deal with and most of the time they don't care how much a repair will cost as long as you fix the issues in their stores ASAP. They care about their image, marketing, etc. For example they see a lighting outage as something that prevented a customer from seeing a product and thus money they lost out on.

[majorintherepublick]

I do T&M all the time, I am an electrician, plumber, and HVAC along with remodeling. Get it all the time.