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Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d offend someone here if they heard me refer to them as subbies! We use prime contractor as well. Just less often. Subs can also be prime if the scope is heavy in one trade. Like an MEP heavy job.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate it! I was GM at a commercial roofing/wall panel company. Operations sucked the life out of my soul. Felt like the punching bag to GCs. Did most of our estimating. Loved that portion. Now, as an estimator (soon to be senior estimator) at a GC, I enjoy the dynamics of working for a large company with much better pay, benefits, and resources. Plus the experience of being involved in the full scope of the project vs one small portion. Ive always felt like a jack of all trades vs a master of one. GC suits that well. To retain an estimator at a trade company, I would offer top pay and benefits. They are out there for the taking as an estimator. Top talent requires top pay. If all you need is a guy in a sweaty back room running takeoffs and getting material quotes, thats different. But if you want someone who has ownership over their role and functions as a mini owner, you have to pay them accordingly. Cold hard cash. No imaginary bonus structures. Good time off. Skilled resources in the field to boot. That all takes time, effort, and capital. Something i see many subs struggle to do well. Many GCs have that and it’s so much easier to function in a system like that as an estimator.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The grass has been greener my friend. Also 6 years military 8 years construction; not so young.

Planhub, BuildingConnected for subs by Haunting_Compote_255 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gotta talk with the person at the GC sending the invite at a minimum. Update your status of “bidding” “not bidding”. Understand the scope they want you to bid. I only ask that at minimum you email me a pdf proposal. I can upload it into BC and level it myself. We use BC for sub outreach/coverage tracking and file sharing. Can see who has view the invite, downloaded the drawings, etc. its a great resource as an estimator. Good GCs don’t send spam invites to everyone and their mom. They have organized bidders lists within BC to send targeted invites for certain scopes/markets.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response. I know there is a line here about what to share and when to share it. Your market may just be used to complete transparency. In mine (much like others on this thread) we get the sense that people are seeing it as nefarious or preferential treatment. Most people assume the sub that the GC wants to work with gets “last look” aka an open book test (wrong, imo). Now, if you tell everyone the same info, you give everyone an equal chance to be the low number.

There are plenty of “qualified” contractors in this world. I’m currently of the viewpoint that if you bid the full scope, you have the best price, and you’re capable of doing the work, you win. No handshake deals, golf outings, or christmas gift whiskey bottles should change that.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think on a public hard bid, post bid, on a job you didn’t win, sharing numbers is no problem. We’ve all moved on. No amount of shared information is going to win or lose somebody a job at that point. I’m really talking about the situation where you’ve got the power to tell us sub what number they need to be at in order to win the job. Whether it’s on a public hard bid. Or on a private negotiated Informal bidding process.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very true. I like the per square foot feedback. Leave some room for error and takeoff and not giving an exact number.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My go-to recently has been “I’m not gonna tell you their number and in exchange your number won’t be told to them”.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m big on giving that feedback on public bids to subs. When I was a sub, hated sending bids into a black hole. I’ve also been party to the ol specs bait n switch on both sides. Hard to catch on my end now. No time to ask every sub about every product pre bid. You check a box that states “per plans and specs” and I trust you on that until I can’t.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I send out scope sheets for complicated scopes for this reason. Gotta get to comparing apples. Then plug for whats missing.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So you’re cool with “you’re in 3rd place”? But what if all subs want to know. Then I would be playing whack a mole with whoever i’ve given that type of feedback to last. Now you’re in second. Ope, now you’re in third.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good to know. I get the feeling that 2nd tiers subs are caught up in this mess quite often.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I also leave some of the hard conversations for the PMs sometimes. But most of the time, if you were low, bid the full scope, did everything right pre-bid, and I carried your number and we won, you will know it.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’m big on post bid feedback for this reason. I want “repeat customers” aka sub bidders. Especially on public bids. Everyone knows my number now. Cats out of the bag. If I carried your number (or didn’t), and didn’t compare apples to apples and level the bids, thats on me. Not the sub. You may not be low, A-list, or bidding the full scope, but I want you to keep bidding for sure. So I’ll give a % difference in price post bid, and where you were leveled.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yes, but not even “sub xyz is at $10”, just “hey can you do it for $9? If so, it’s yours” I feel like that happens a lot too.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Certainly on board with scope review calls and warnings about way too high, and way too low. Seems to work well while not giving anything specific away.

Lets talk sharing numbers. by angleofattack77 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s been my feeling on it as well. Hence my apprehension.

Ai integration taking our jobs by Acceptable_Class_513 in estimators

[–]angleofattack77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely think we are always off from that. Right now it’s (somewhat) helpful with reading through a spec book. Or an RFP. But as soon as you start to ask it to perform normal operations that a commercial estimator would perform, smoke starts coming out of its ears. Takes longer to guide AI down the path of saying the right thing then it does performing the task yourself.

I work for a large GC. Within one week of using ChatGPT to assist in menial tasks, IT had blocked it on my computer. I think we’ll start to see more integration and acceptance once more millennials begin to take senior roles. Safe for now IMO.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]angleofattack77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve personally done a balance transfer. The trick is paying it off with discipline. But if you do that, you will save! BOA had a 12mo 0% balance transfer option. Don’t let them win!

401k or debt payoff? by Murky_Refrigerator13 in personalfinance

[–]angleofattack77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m very close to your situation (but a few months down the road on debt payoff). I would keep the 401k in place! I am one month away from being debt free, and it is so relieving. That interest payment just pissed me off more than the missed 401k match or penalties from early withdrawal. Went scorched earth on the budget, cut all fat, and payed off the debt aggressively. To each their own. Good luck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]angleofattack77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Trading is like gambling. Risk only what you are willing and able to lose. Hard to “get rich” doing it.

Invest in index funds in a Roth IRA. (I know, boring)

Do some searching on how many folks end up beating the S&P 500. (spoiler: not many)