b'PRESIDENTS LETTERChris WalkerHow much is enough?Ifyouspendanytimeontile- that are not clear and qualify how relatedsocialmediasites,youllyou are going to complete the work. noticethatthequestion,HowKnowing what each activity is worth much should I charge? is a com- isamovingtargetforeachproj-montopic.Peoplearefrequentlyect. That explains why there is not askingforaffi rmationorinforma- onecorrectnumberforanysingle tion on how to price their work. task. It is diffi cult for someone else In a previous letter, I mentionedto tell you how to price a project. that someone will always be will- You cant price your project if you ing to do less, for less. I have beencannot place a value on your tasks. asked what defi nes doing less, forYou need to know your costs. Then less. It is when someone knowinglycharge what you know are the costs orperhapsworse,unknowinglyofthetask(materials,laborover-doeslessthantherequirementshead, profi t). You need to be able to oftheplansandspecifi cations.support your price when evaluated Anticipating all of a projects costs,by an informed buyer.contingenciesandneedsisafi Preferably,allquestionsarene artgainedwithexperienceandaansweredbeforeyouprovidepric-thorough understanding of the risks,ing. If you say you are interpreting opportunitiesandcostsinvolveda projects requirements to provide with any/all task on a project. Eachpricing, STOP. You have just stepped task has a value. If you are doingoff the ledge into uncontrolled risk. less,forless,tasksnotcompletedThe key word is interpret because or completed poorly with productsthis is where we can all get in trou-ormaterialsbelowthespecifi ca- ble.Helpingthebuilder/GC/owner tionsrequirementsprovidesomeresolveinconsistenciesbeforepre-an opportunity to do less, for less. sentingyourproposalisthebest This is true whether you are pric- opportunitytobringquestionsto ingaresidentialbacksplashorathetablethateliminateanyneed new hospital. Provide pricing whenfor interpretation and eliminate risk. youhavein-depthknowledgeofThisshouldensurethateveryone what is included in the project. Yourwillbeaskedaboutinconsisten-proposalshouldidentifyanyitemscies and eliminate the necessity to 20 TileLetter | April 2019'