well i’m just killing the last half hour before i hopefully go and sign up my first BIG job.
AFAIK i’m the only bidder.
i’ve done loads of smaller jobs in the past for these people so i reckon if the price is right i reckon its a goer.
the thing that is worring me is that 2 1/2 years ago i gave them some rough costs on a similar job, but in the mean time they have lived in Sweden for 2 years and incresed the size by 30%!!!!
i just hope that they haven’t got the first costing stuck in their head too much.
wish me luck
aleks
PS my bid is about £60,000 inc taxes etc…. about 3 times more than anything else i’ve done
Replies
good luck.
well i just got back (5 hour meeting) things went well only a few changes to the spec and we're good to go.
i feel much clamer now.
aleks
congrats, aleks....
that sinking feeling is very recognizable.. i've learned to ignore it over the years... go with your proposal, the wrost that can happen is that they say no...
even worse is cutting your price because they MIGHT say no...Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
i must admit to cutting the price whilst typing the spec up but i thought that if they said no then i'd have a couple of months to work on my house.
i'm a firm believer in if they don't want to pay me, i can stay at home and not get paid.
aleks
i like to keep telling myself that there are only 3 possibilities..
one: my bid makes a profit..
two: my bid makes no profit , but i " break even"
or three: my bid loses money
most times , reducing my estimate to fit what i THINK may win the job , will automatically put it into category 2 , but more than likely category 3.. and a good percentage of the time .. i can lose money even without reducing the price... since i am, by nature, an optimist..
i always try, nowadays, to put on my pessimist face when i'm bidding.. it usually gives me more smiles in the end..Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
yeah as i tell people things never take less time than you think!!!!!
and you never get in front with work only behind
aleks
PS i can't sleep (its 2:30 am in the uk) its a mixture of excitment and trepidation
So 60,000 funny L's is how much in Colonial money...120,000 greenbacks? I know just how you feel. I got a reference from a very good friend for a lady who wants to remodel her second home. She had already talked with a contractor who had done work for her in the past, but his price was too high...never have found out how much it was. So we walk though the house and talk about possibilities. A week later I present a really rough proposal broken down into about 12-13 items...we meet and talk, either me & her or me & the designer friend, about 5 more times...finally present my final proposal, still a little rough because of the still undefined items, and it totals around $125k plus cabinets. Client says lets do it. Talking with my frind who made the referral, and she reports that they had dinner and the client is excited but said the cost has now increased significantly. I guess breaking the project proposel into sections helped them undersatnd where the money was going. Of course my good looks and suave debonair style had to be a plus :) This will be by far my biggest project, by a factor of 10.
Do it right, or do it twice.
£60,000 is about $105,000
i think that getting a bit of exictment and anticipation in the client is a good thing. so they can't wait to get on.
having said that i know that i am very ecited (and frightened) by the whole thing.
didn't get to sleep last night ntil after the birds started the dawn chourus ( about 4am here) and it 8am now.
i've got to get on with our house today otherwise it'll never get finished.
aleks