When considering the start up of a construction estimating practice, the business structure of the enterprise is usually the first concern that makes the list. It’s human nature to be concerned about the ramifications of making a mistake on which another person or company makes a cost decision, so this is of course a topic of great concern.
There is nothing as satisfying as payday.
The hard work you have completed since
the last payday is rewarded to you to
maintain your lifestyle.
We are all marketers. In some capacity or another, we all sell. Some are good at it and others not so much. Think back to that sales pitch you gave your spouse … and she bought the whole thing … for some reason or another.
For the most part, we (the folks reading this article) are estimators, right? And many of us are, have been, or may in the future have our own estimating business.
Almost every estimator I have ever visited with has considered what it would be like to start up and run a professional cost estimating consultancy. A lot of contractor employed estimators do some amount of kitchen-table style moonlighting for a couple of clients as a way of picking up spending money. But rightfully, they may be hesitant to give up a sure thing and leave a safe haven for an uncertain business future. You, the professional cost estimator, must have an almost innate sense of how to access risk to do your job correctly in the first place. So how can you determine if the reward is commensurate with the risk?
For the past several years, many involved in ASPE leadership agt the national and chapter level have been estimators engaged in private practice – in other words, consultants.