I just got in the mail today William Asdal’s new book Defensive Estimating: Protecting Your ProfitsView Image and while I am only a third of the way through it I have to shout out loud. Buy this book. Really I’m only a third of the way though it and if it keeps up standard of what I have read so far I think I can say this is the most valuable book on estimating for builders, remodelers and trade contractors that I have read to date and I have read a lot of them.
Flipping ahead from time to time I can open the book virtually anywhere and find a real important gem. In fact as I was walking back up the hill from the mailboxes the first page I opened (Chapter 6 Using Retail Pricing at Every Line) had a bold heading that read “Put the Risk into the Line Item Not the Bottom Line”. Given that something that I’ve been advocating and arguing for in many discussions here and over on JLC I liked the book instantly. But seriously it full of great stuff everyone who estimates need to think of.
It’s not about how to estimate a kitchen, a roof or some other project in the literal sense in terms of what items to include and look for but about how to think about and approach estimating which is the thing I think all the other books on construction estimating that I’ve read seem to lack.
Excellent book.
I’ll put it on my list of the four most valuable books a contractor can have in his library.
| View Image | Defensive Estimating: Protecting Your ProfitsView Image by William Asdal, CGR |
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| View Image | How Much Should I Charge?: Pricing Basics for Making Money Doing What You Love I think Ellen Rohr’s book is the simplest and quickest book to read out there for contractors (and other service based businesses for that matter) that explains how to set a price for their services based on the billable hours a company will generate. |
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| View Image | Where Did The Money Go?- Easy Accounting Basics for the Business Owner Who Hates Numbers View Image The excellent companion book to Ellen Rohr’s How Much Should I Charge. A must for every aspiring contractor as well as many experienced ones too. Finances and financial language explained in colloquial language that makes sense. |
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| View Image | Running a Successful Construction Company (For Pros by Pros)View Image For the general all-around overview of the contracting business. |
Replies
Thanks for the tip. If you recommend it, it has to be worth every penny.
I'm halfway through now. Hopefully I be able to give a more complete review real soon. This is tough though trying to read and highlight the book while watching a baseball playoff game.
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You just added one more to my list.
I have the others on your list (though I haven't finished the Rorh books yet).
I always appreciate your input in the Business forum.
thanks
Hopefully soon there will be enough people that have picked up the book and have read it so that we can start discussing some of the material that's in it. I finished it just the other night and I made a bunch of notes regarding some of the ideas in the book that I think are really worthwhile looking at in a group discussion.
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It's on order but Amazon has to restock. I bet their wondering why the big surge in orders all of a sudden.
I have the other three must haves. I keep trying to get DW to read "How Much Should I Charge". She needs it for her business. Good stuff in there.
TFB (Bill)
When I first ordered the book I was told I wouldn't be getting it until mid-Novemeber but I ended up getting it only four days later so lets hope it the same case I experienced for everyone.
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Thanks for the recommendation! "Much Appreciated"
chipper
We just ordered some books from amazon that were suposedly backordered for a month. It turnes out that some are actually in stock, but reserved for orders with faster shipping. We changed from free shipping to other options and the book shipped that afternoon. Go figure.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
To all,A little late getting in this discussion.Don't forget to check abebooks.com.They have all 3 books.Ellen Rhor $13 plus $3-4 shipping
David Gerstel $1.14 plus $3 shipping
Asdal only showed one bookstore had it and it is around $23..Pete
Ok Jerrald ...
I have Gerstels book: 2 thumbs up!!!
putting the other 3 on my must get list...
any chance you will give me your HIGHLIGHTED copy???
#$&%(*$#
Please excuse our mess....
Tagline under reconstruction...
Ordered it moments ago. looking foward to it. I've been trying to hone my estimating skills for years now. I do ok but always room for improvement and MORE INCOME.
Thanks
"it aint the work I mind,
It's the feeling of falling further behind."
Bozini Latini
Thanks for the lead ...I'm in transition to starting out on my own, and recently aquired Gerstels book.
I will check out the other ones....thanks again.
So have any of you guys had a chance to buy and read the book yet? I got my copy on Thursday and read it cover-to-cover that night. There's some pretty good stuff in there.......
Bob
So, whadja learn, Bob?
Give me a short synopsis. I'm thinking of springing for a copy.
The book is definitely not a "how to estimate" book, which is fine, since there are several of those out already. It's more about strategies for:
- Determining how much "profit" you need to generate based on what you want out of life (and a little on determining what you want)
- Passive vs active income
- How to generate the pricing structure within your estimate in order to preserve profits
I know that all sounds very vague, but if you read the book, you'll get a feel for what I'm talking about, and why it's important.
Bob
Passive vs active income
Care to comment on what you learned?
blue
Passive income is better?
Nothing really earth shattering, unless the reader doesn't understand the concept of passive and active income. There's a graph that shows income from active and passive activities, and as time goes on, the idea is to derive more income from passive activities, which leaves less need for active income. The passive income can be in the form of stocks, investments, rental properties, or whatever.
The author derives siome of his passive income from a project he developed a few years ago. He converted an old home into a bed and breakfast/hotel.
Bob
Got mine yesterday.
Mine arrived a few days ago. Its by the chair (not the throne) but have not read it yet.
TFB (Bill)
Mine has "Shipped" as of friday....
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If you are sensitive or become offended when you are shown to be WRONG!!!!
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I have my copy, and am about 3/4 of the way through it.
I have a question though. If we are to discuss this, how much can we quote out of it, being that it is copyrighted material? I'm thinking a paragraph at the most in any situation, but don't want to step on the wrong toes.
The sections that direct the contractor/builder/remodeler/estimator to set financial goals, and to take a broader view of your work/income and life situation should be mandatory reading before being allowed to go into business.
This is the kind of information I would have liked to have when starting out. It is the direction I would have expected from SCORE, and the SBA, and didn't get.
Bowz
Bowz - "I have a question though. If we are to discuss this, how much can we quote out of it, being that it is copyrighted material? I'm thinking a paragraph at the most in any situation, but don't want to step on the wrong toes."
While there are some real long passages I myself would like to quote I think quoting a paragraph here and there and perhaps more importantly commenting on it to say what I find relevant and important in it is okay and really the way to go.
"The sections that direct the contractor/builder/remodeler/estimator to set financial goals, and to take a broader view of your work/income and life situation should be mandatory reading before being allowed to go into business."
I'm thinking you're talking about Chapter 2 Establish the Company Profit Number Based on Your Income Needs. That was my thinking too. I bruised my forehead hitting myself over the head with the book reading that chapter. There was stuff in there I knew but somehow I was still managing to ignore in how I think about my own operations.
"This is the kind of information I would have liked to have when starting out. It is the direction I would have expected from SCORE, and the SBA, and didn't get."
My thinking again too. I got absolutely nothing from my experience with SCORE years ago. In fact some of what those folks said to me back then I would challenge and argue against knowing what I know today.
And ya know I'm not in total absolute agreement with everything that is in this book (Defensive Estimating) either but 98% is still a damn good score.
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Jerrald,
I am going to skip over the chapter 1 highlights, and quote from chapter 2.
"when a speaker asks seminar attendees, "How many of you have a personal budget?" the response is regularily less than 10%. The number of attendees who confirn the existence of a company budget is only slightly higher. Creating and managing your personal finances ia a significant personal step. If you can't quantify, manage, and be accountable for yourself financially, you are unlikely to do so for a vaporous entity such as your company."
The reason I find this appropriate is a sad example of someone I am aquinted with. I'll call him Max. Max's dad was a carpenter/builder. Good at what he did, but not the business end. Max's dad saved a little, but not nearly enough, and was still working at age 70. One day that persistent cough was diagnosed as lung cancer, and Max's dad lived less than 3 more months.
Sad as that is, Max's parents never considered what would happen if Max's dad died first. His mother now tries to get by on less than $1,000 a month in Social Security. Max has a pretty good factory job and helps out as he can, but the lack of planning was shocking.
" The core work of business is initially to create active income, stabilize it's flow, and minimize the risk to it's ongoing production of future dollars."
"Financial freedom can have a life-changing impact on a small-volume business owner who has managed with active income for years."
Both of these statements wrap around the story of Max's dad.
This book is the first non-financial book that I have read that brings up this point. OK, it's the second one if you count the Ellen Rohr books, but I think this book makes the point better.
Bowz
This book sounds interesting but I'm wondering if it is aimed at general contractors and/or builders only, or would it prove helpful to someone (like myself) who runs a job shop that manufactures wood products?
AndyCharron1 - "This book sounds interesting but I'm wondering if it is aimed at general contractors and/or builders only, or would it prove helpful to someone (like myself) who runs a job shop that manufactures wood products?"
Well Yes and No. While the book is aimed rather broadly at anything from a trade contractor to a GC/builder with respect to a wood products manufacturing job shop I would say it might fall short but then again I don't know of any book at all that really does a good job of exploring estimating and pricing methodologies for a job shop manufacturer (yet,.. I keep looking). There are books and papers out there with bits and pieces of what applies to a job shop but nothing really specific that I've seen. Still You might very well find Defensive Estimating still worth the read.
I hope this doesn't sound entirely out of the blue but have you read The Goal: A Process of Ongoing ImprovementView Image and/or know anything about the Theory of Constraints?
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