So far this has been the most straight forward, fair and simple way to price out projects I have come across, thank you for putting this information out there in such an easy-to-understand way.

I'm just a hobbyist. Seeing how you calculated the board ft required for that top is really helpful. Great vids!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

stuart so happy we could help! This work can be very rewarding! Keep with it

@AdamCraigOutdoors

4 жыл бұрын

i try to remember that a 2x6 8ft long is 8 BF. This is a quick way for me at the lumber yard to pick through material. This is not accurate for quoting clients!!

@WilliamDouglasCo

3 жыл бұрын

@@AdamCraigOutdoors bad experiences? 😬

I'm an idiot so I end up losing money on my projects lol

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Seth's Project Woodworking we’ve all been there. It’s a part of it. You just have to keep at it and learn from mistakes.

@roger_001

4 жыл бұрын

Also happened to me when I started, either that or I charged way too much for a project, im no expert but I'm getting a little more accurate with my prices.

@bloodgain

4 жыл бұрын

@@roger_001 If somebody paid you for it, you didn't charge too much. You charged market price. Now if you _priced_ it too high and lost the client, different story.

Classic time and materials pricing, I have always done it this way and like you, I eat my mistakes and learn from them. Subscribed and I look forward to seeing where your channel goes.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Darrel Nystrom thank you very much for the support. Eating your mistakes is how we grow and become realistic with our bids.

I'm just a hobbiest making stuff in my spare time, but just wanted to say I think everything you said makes perfect sense. Keep up the good work/videos (+1 sub 🤘)

the problem is that people who are asking this are generally starting out. Someone starting out cant say $85/hr because it may take them 10 hours to complete a project, where someone who is experienced, already has a large investment in time saving tools etc. can do the same project in 3 hours. People need to make their hourly rate reflect their skill and experience. So if you are having trouble selling your projects, maybe you should only get minimum wage, you start over selling and getting busy, your hourly rate goes up. Guess i should have finished watching the video - you addressed that, take my like ;)

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Andrew Pierce thanks for watching! Haha

@jheiny1231

3 жыл бұрын

My issue is that people don't know what nice wood is. They want a 4 foot long by 2 foot wide coffe table and price them for nice wood and they tell me the material cost is what they wanted to spend total. Then some people want a painted wood base. I would have no income if I used top of the line woods. People around here don't care about the wood material. Jointery. They just want something nice at a marginal price which makes me use cheap wood to make a profit

Feel lost in a world full of imperial standard measurements, quick conversion to metric, a great video really appreciated over here in Europe.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jacob Bell do you guys buy lumber by the board foot over there? 4/4 6/4 8/4 12/4? What is your current cost on rough sawn 8/4 walnut?

@troutqts9736

4 жыл бұрын

William Douglas Co. I’m from the UK so it becomes a little trickier because there’s not a lot of standardisation. Some merchants still use British imperial measurements and some use metric and our generic hardware stores use both. And some yards sell buy cubic feet as well so I’m sure you can see the nightmare that some of us deal with. My father and I primarily turn pieces and don’t buy boards as often as most furniture makers do so buying boarded hardwood is something I rarely do, I’m much more interested in a lump of something interesting to stick in the lathe. A rough sawn board for me is about £70 ($90ish) and then I have to pay for delivery to my shed in central London which is another exorbitant cost I can’t avoid.

Great stuff, thanks! Love the comedic touch!

This might sound strange, but thank you for dropping in the non-stop meme-ry. Everytime my mind would wander while you were stating numbers, a satanic Winnie the Pooh would pull me back 😄

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Elsif Hahaha 😂

Watching your video makes me feel better about what I am charging thank you

Thank you for the simplicity. A lot of videos you see on this subject are way more complicated than they need to be.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

bighead0107 that’s exactly what triggered this video for us!

What you should charge is what the market will support. Raise your prices until business dries up to the point that overall revenue goes down, then back off a bit. Someone new shows up and undercuts you? Undercut them back and defend your customer base. I'm not a carpenter, but a mechanic. Pricing is 100% about what they're willing to pay, not about materials or what you'd like your labor cost to be. Of course, if you're just starting out, you don't really know what the market will bear, except by looking at existing services. So something like he's talking about is still helpful. Still a good vid, and I dropped a like :)

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

travis dunn thanks for the like and thanks for watching!

Just found your channel and I love the comedy+practicality! Thank you for all the hard work.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

So happy you found us! Welcome as we embark on this new journey!

Loving the videos so far! Great channel!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Robert J. Keller thanks so much! We really appreciate it!

Great breakdown. Makes things much simpler. KISS is always your best approach. Thanks for sharing. Keep the videos coming.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Pat Donovan thank you for watching!

I'm 2 videos in and I appreciate your knowledge. It's not always easy to pass on the information you worked so hard to figure out yourself.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

I’m an open book and want to help with the things I struggled with!

Subscribed. I really like your approach to doing business its honest and fair. Much like a few others that commented I'm trying to take my woodworking hobby to the next step and make it a side hustle. Thanks for sharing.

That’s great advise.. as you said everyone has a method and finding the method that works for them is the key to success.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Macdelt Torres that’s the ticket

We have all at one time, myself included, made well below minimum wage on some projects and have even eaten a loss on a couple projects. You live and learn as you said! Great video!

I live on Oahu , honolulu and search craigs list for Wood working tools every day. Ive been seeing more and more wood working shops folding here and selling off equipment . Its a tough business unless you have talent and are fair and consistent in your products and give the customer Exactly what they want for a fair price. 85 hr is very fair... and your work is phenomenal !!! keep going brother your on the right path.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

SA that’s so much! The first time I went to Oahu I tried to find a way to move out there! Never worked out obviously but the last time we went to Hawaii we went to Maui and I couldn’t find a lumber yard anywhere! I found this hardware store and they had a small selection of lumber. I ended buying some mango wood and brought it home in my luggage haha one day it’s going to be a knock box for my espresso machine.

Great video. I appreciate the detailed explanation for how you break it down. I love building things around the house and my wife is trying to convince me to start an etsy shop and expand from there. This is extremely helpful. Love your content and the what customers say video was hilarious.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jeffrey Monarch thanks so much for following along with us! I’m glad to hear this was helpful and you’re getting a few laughs out of it!

I have owned and operated a custom Millwork business since 1987 and made pretty much every mistake you can being self employed. Something I heard about 15 years ago was that this industry has many great craftsmen that are terrible business people which is so true. Your so busy fabricating under time restraints that you don’t make time for the paper work part of it. As far as hourly rates, usually you will figure that out quickly after loosing money on a few jobs. If your skilled, don’t sell yourself short, there are people working in factories making over a hundred thousand a year with no investment out of there own pockets, with little stress. Great video William should help people new in the business.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

hammerhead99140 thank you for all of the insight. At the end of reading it all I wanted to work at a factory 😂

@hammerhead99140

4 жыл бұрын

I here ya

What a great channel - I am enjoying all of your videos and look forward to seeing more! Great content.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

MrTooljunkie thanks tool junkie! We really appreciate it! We were not sure how our approach would be accepted into the community but everyone has been awesome!

I'm currently a hobbyist. I'm taking steps now to make this a part time job. Your videos have been helpful. Subscribed!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the sub Patrick! We appreciate the support

Very helpful video. Thank you!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Happy to help! Thank you for watching

I love K.I.S.S it’s the best philosophy. Great video

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Ronald Barber thanks for watching! Simple is always safe

Pretty much. My pricing structure is nearly identical. And I think doing it this way is the easiest way for clients to understand. So when I give them an itemized list for a quote, they don't just speculate I'm trying to take them out to the cleaners. Especially when it's super big projects... Thinking about spending as much for woodwork as you would for a nice lightly used car is a daunting thought. The readable list the way makes people feel more comfortable I think. By the way... I appreciate the fact that you are accurately answering people's questions with experience and wisdom. A lot of people on KZread answer with speculation to feel smart lol. Great work. I think your channel will grow quickly. Subscribed.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Mayday's Custom Woodworks thank you so much for the thoughtful comment. I’m the type of person who doesn’t talk unless I know what I’m talking about. I will happily sit quietly and listen to others when I’m not educated on a subject. Woodworking / design / build etc are one of the very few things i will confidently speak my mind about. Otherwise my MO is to find the smartest guy in the room and just ask questions.

Really liking what you're putting up guys. Showing a lot of promise and I think what your doing is great. Good, solid content delivered well. All the best!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Benny Doodson thank you so much! We love the community and want to help as much as we can. Furthermore we want to create some humor for everyone!

@bendoodson5208

4 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo No worries at all. Credit where credit is due! It's great to see you making the effort to get involved with your community as well as your viewers, and everyone can do with a bit of a laugh. Keep up the good work!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Benny Doodson I appreciate that! Thank you

Great point on charging the entire material cost. When I first started my business, my early spreadsheets calculated board foot based on the project, but as you said I'd eat the 'scrap' cost. I do believe it made me think carefully on what projects you can make with your leftovers to optimize cost on other projects, but for a long time I had a few shelves of wood that I didn't want to discard, but wouldn't really have a reason to use. I guess that's what cutting boards and coasters are for lol

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

No joke. I used to price countertops by the Sq ft. Sometimes you make good money that way and sometimes you don’t. This method is a safer bet for you to not lose. We don’t make a killing doing woodwork and it hurts when we miss bid.

@lyncheddie8257

3 жыл бұрын

This woodworking book *TopFineWoodworking. Com* contains a great deal of details about woodwork. There are some designs in the book but it is primarily explaining the procedure of how to do various things and what tools to use to accomplish them. In general, this book fulfilled my basic desire to learn about wood working.?

Video was awesome and I really enjoyed the shop tour video as well. After watching this video I'm curious to understand what natural finish you use for all of your projects. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Pancho Brown I typically use Rubio Monocoat on most of my work. Thanks so much for the sub!

Awesome video! SUBSCRIBED!

Fantastic, im subscribed!!

Great video, subbed. Great production in your content. Hope you guys continue to grow.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jon Bower I’m so happy to hear you like our videos! We will keep them coming!

Thanks for the info. Really appreciate your work.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Joe Devine we’re happy to help!

Keep them coming,Really enjoy your show no bullshit fake crap!

FINALLY!!! Math that I can actually do! Thank you

@WilliamDouglasCo

3 жыл бұрын

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

This video is clear and helpful. There is an “art” aspect to what you do, but the expectation you set out in the video makes minimum pricing predictable as a maker/business. The other video I saw saying 59,000 had me really confused. This video cleared that up

Great video! Subbed just because of how interactive you have been with questions in the comments.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

NPC Blacksmith I do my best. I really want to help people and our videos seem to be inspiring other woodworkers. 🙂

Very informative. Thank You for showing and sharing that you do not have to minimize pricing to those bargain shoppers something that took time to craft and care for. Your delivering quality work to a customer that will appreciate what they are receiving. This gives me the motivation on why I love creating. Thank You

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Really glad to hear this is being received well! Quality craftsmanship is something we want to see values more in our community. When did we stop caring about the landfills and wasteful goods? We spend an incredibly large amount of time refining our craft and we should be able to live a descent life on that.

@dannyvillar9493

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@dannyvillar9493

4 жыл бұрын

You have a real solid insight and look forward to seeing everything you will be sharing with us all.

Great, simple explanation. Folks newer to pricing, however, may find that the real important stuff is how one arrives at that hourly shop rate.

@JasperJanssen

4 жыл бұрын

Even more important is how you estimate how many hours it takes you. You can always adjust your hourly rate if you’re finding that the cash flow does not support buying enough new toys, I mean tools, after you pay rent and electricity.

@berthahawkins9121

3 жыл бұрын

Guys i found a good website about woodworking that is *TopFineWoodworking. Com* you can find more than 16000 woodworking projects and plans their

I like your presentation and attitude, I subscribed because of that, thanks for the content!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Dave Scott we appreciate you David! Thanks for leaving a comment!

All the weekend pinterest warriors have flooded the market here so bad with there river and 2x4 farm tables that I'm lucky I haven't shut my doors yet. I miss the oak and brass of the 90s

@jonnyboy1116

4 жыл бұрын

For real... I'm not even a pro and I still agree with this. It's ridiculous. Everyone thinking their dimensional construction lumber furniture is quality.

I have only done smaller projects and did them in batch. In that case, I charged a flat fee but knew that if I spent a complete day or two that I wanted to net a certain amount. I divided that amount by the number of items I needed to make at a reasonable price. Thanks for the clear and simple pricing breakdown!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Hey I'm a Maker I hope it was helpful to you!

@heyimamaker

4 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo Absolutely!

Thank you.

Awesome video. Thank you for sharing.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for leaving a comment! We appreciate the love!

Great channel thank you

Subbed watching all the videos what people say to woodworkers is spot on lol keep up the good work man shop your was really cool to see someone work out of a small space

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jacob Chamblee thanks so much Jacob! Your support means a lot to us! Glad you got a good laugh!

Really enjoying your channel man! Keep up the good work 👊🏼 This is essentially the same method I use and much like Will Walker I too am terrible at estimating my time 😆 it’s a tricky honestly mostly because I typically build completely bespoke one of a kind items. But as you mention in the video - you’ll get it wrong a helluva lot before you finally get the hang of it!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Benjamin Butler Company Maker Shop yeah just know that you aren’t alone. I’ve had to live on ramen noodles many times because I would never dare raise the price on the customer after the fact. We learn. We grow. We sink or we swim. Building custom furniture is really really hard. No one is going to get rich here that’s for sure... I mean.. unless our culture changes and we start valuing lasting craftsmanship but that’s a different convo.

Nice, that’s exactly how I do it. It’s also important to account for material procurement and delivery of the final product.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

M Chill yeah I forgot to talk about those things. Delivery / installs / templates all have separate charges

@michaelglaser1669

4 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo we charge $2.00/mile and add that to delivery and material cost. My lumber yard is a solid 15 mile drive. Someone north of the city is a good 19 miles away.

Subbed... The Alder stained like Walnut skit made me spit out my taco! Excited to see future videos. Thanks for the laugh and great content.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I owe you a 🌮. Full version of the skit is coming VERY soon. 😉

@jeffreysmith5018

4 жыл бұрын

the 'is it funny' gold standard = 'made me spit out my taco!' = very funny :)

@lcsquared8937

4 жыл бұрын

William Douglas Co. I laughed so hard at this. Recently had to try and match a maple door to a cedar table for a client. Good info, subbed.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jeffrey Smith takes a lot to make me spit out a taco

Really enjoying your videos and your work - I think that this channel is going to blow up quickly. What finish and application method do you generally use for most of your projects?

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

cmess77 thank you so much! We love all of the feedback we’ve been getting! For indoor applications we typically use Rubio monocoat. It’s kind of expensive but we love the finish quality we get from it.

Thanks!

Thank you so much! This gave you a new sub!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jeroen Hak thanks for the sub! We appreciate the support

love!

Excellent job, really appreciate your content here and in your other posts. Charging a bit less here hourly as I am refining my craft. This is a fun gig, not my primary source of income. Am profiting and getting better with each project. Thanks for keeping it simple. Thank you so much for your time and effort, really appreciate you. God Bless.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark! What a refreshingly kind comment. I wish you the best man. You seem like a good dude.

Great info! Thanks

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

My Garage Woodshop I hope it was helpful!!

I use your method almost exactly but my hourly rate is a little lower, because that was just a decision I made when I started my business. Simple is a huge benefit to customers as well, especially not marking up materials. Great video!

@danyforand4128

Жыл бұрын

As far as I'm concern, for a woodworker hobbyist, working alone in is shop, 85$ per hour os ridicously too high

This is perfect. Subscribed ✅

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thanks so much for the sub!

Great job.

Super helpful! People always tell me I don't charge enough.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Ron Vickers if you don’t value your time no one will

I learned my lesson in a indoor bench time and materials we're way off. The owner showed up I showed her all the receipts how everything was way off price wise, she said thank you and drove off hahaha

Nice video! I don’t build furniture for a living, but I love carpentry and woodworking on all levels.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching!

@jksconstructioninc.3396

4 жыл бұрын

William Douglas Co. yeah! Thanks for the reply!

BEAUTIFUL

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Dmtrump3t hope it was helpful!

Thumbs up for the kids in the hall bit and the good info. Don’t undercut yourself.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Can’t afford to! Just trying to pay our bills!

Thanks alot

Subscribed. Thanks for the break down. Hobbyest looking to go with a side hussle/small business. Looking forward to singing into your channel. Love the stash

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Josh Dill thanks so much! We’re happy to have you on board as the channel grows!

@josilasik

4 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo I've watched some of the bigger channels grow. Glad to help out someone smaller in a position that is closer to me

Killer breakdown ✌

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Hayden Pappas happy to hear it was helpful!

Great video! You're very good at presentation with a good personality. Don't ruin your videos with so many gif's! Consider me subscribed!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Adam Oldaker thank you Adam! We appreciate the feedback. Our newer videos don’t have any gifs or memes. We will drop some in here and there but we’re really trying to read the crowd.

Hobbiest looking to make some money on the side, here. Very helpful and entertaining. Thx folks! (Now to figure out how to move my entire garage workshop 6.5 hrs away as we're relocating...)

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Happy it was helpful to you! Good luck with your move!

Wow! You have a great method. I’m going to give this a go.

@WilliamDouglasCo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I’ve since taken on a lot of overhead and a storefront so as of now our hourly has jumped to $150/ hr

@nickfonseca8488

2 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo I,m charging $85/hr epoxy table work i charge $100/hr because of the level of detail needed to get it right. On-site epoxy work $125/hr I’m pretty happy with that setup. What I learned from your video is taking the material as it is. NOT to estimate material based off the final dimensional piece. I work mostly with live edge table tops. So I for sure have to take longer because its mostly kiln dried so splits and checks are a factor.

@WilliamDouglasCo

2 жыл бұрын

@@nickfonseca8488 good to hear. Sounds like you have a pretty good grasp on it!

Great explanation. In my shop in Texas we don't do by hour on furniture builds. Weather sanding by hand or using a 60K machine the cost still needs to be met. 60K needs to be calculated into cost of running it. We have done well by doubling material plus 25% Double material cost covers time and 25% reasonably covers shop supplies like glue finish and blades machine repair that sort of thing. This covers time materials and still a little profit. King sized Walnut bed, 1100 Lumber cost x 2 plus 25% cost to client 2750 for custom built ship lap bed all traditional joinery. We made our money and cost and the client gets a hand crafted bed for a fair price. This also saves me tracking hours when working multiple builds at once. We charge the material cost up front so we aren't out of pocket on any builds if the client doesn't take delivery for any reason. Hasn't happened but we can recover our cost if it did for some reason.

Question do you include shopping for material in your per hour cost? Trying to start a side hustle making custom furniture and your video is the easiest method I’ve found thanks!

And we all said we weren't going to use math in real life 😂

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Fernando Roque I use math sooo much now. I would have never thought

@TankGunner84

4 жыл бұрын

Said no woodworker ever lol

@MrNateSPF

4 жыл бұрын

The teacher said no calculators on the tests because we wouldn't have calculators in our pockets when we need to do math. I said technology was shrinking so fast we would have whole computers in our pockets and the whole class laughed at me... well who is laughing now, who is laughing now ;-)

I dig it! Simplified,I live in the Bay Area and most of my customers are in San Francisco it’s definitely not cheap and trying to run a shop

This is great!! Thanks for the GOOD video!! Up here in Canada $85US an hour is $112CDN!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

😬😬😬

My issue with a cost + materials price is as you said, if you are hand sanding vs having a 60k widebelt do it for you. In this model, the person hand sanding for 4 hours is going to charge more than the person running a widebelt for 30 minutes, even though that person made the 60k investment into the machine to do it for them. If you have a linear foot or square foot price you are rewarded for getting better/faster/more efficient rather than working yourself out of a job. And in this example you would charge them a square foot price based on the 10' pieces rather than the actual square foot of the top.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

What people are miss understanding is that you are not being punished for moving faster, but you are being rewarded because you can accomplish the same task faster, therefore you are able to price things lower without compromising your hourly.

“Thacknezz” lol

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

😂

I like those words "KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID"

Loved the video - very easy and explained well! In this example though, you went through calculating the BF with the known cost of the wood. Im assuming that is what you give the client as your quote, not as the final cost, correct. I’d think getting the exact cost from your lumberyard invoice and passing that onto the client in your own invoice is the way to go. Glad I found your channel, I quickly subscribed! AZ native living in CA (looking for every way to get back lol)

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Wood Silo Builds hey thanks so much for the comment. I always guess on the high end and I do not pass along invoices from the lumber yard. I trust in my bid and I keep it at that. There’s no way to know how much it will cost until I actually buy the wood. Because of this it doesn’t make sense to pass it invoice on because it leaves you open to them challenging you and complicating the job. Keep it simple. Bid what you think it will cost and stand by your price regardless of the cost being higher or lower. Adjust your bids as you learn.

Do you add the taxes from your materials? And do you have a “constant cost” that you put on your pricing? (Nails, crews, sponges, brush, sand paper etc)?

nice dude, super useful. I've been undercharging but its just been hobby stuff so far, boxes and shelves. I'll definitely be charging more once i start actually making furniture.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Just make sure you are getting paid a fair amount for yourself. It’s easy for people to try an discount the worth of what we do but so much goes into it. Time, money, and passion.

@Xenooni

4 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo so true man, so true. Thanks

How do i know how much i should be hourly, ive only been doing woodwork for 1 and a half years and 85h is alot should it be like 40 or 50? Also should i add extra cost per hour for installing things like lights ect?

Glad to hear that’s what you do. I pretty much do exactly the same only difference is I charge 20% on top of the materials which I use to pay any natural costs I didn’t really calculate like glue as well as to account for the ware and tear/tool maintenance. But I guess I can always just add that to my hourly labor charge. Up my labor charge and it does the same thing which is what you do. Love it, keep it simple stupid or keep it stupid simple? Lol

KISS method at it's finest... This is difference between a successful business and one that is gone after 2 years.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

When I looked it up I couldn’t believe how complicated people were making it!

Great

Thanks for making this video. I often find that my pricing ends up being inconsistent as I don't have a set formula to go by. I usually wind up shorting myself as a result. Thanks again.

@WilliamDouglasCo

3 жыл бұрын

Truly happy to help. I look forward to helping as much as I can

Really love this one Will! So good! Helpful! What finish do you use?

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching! We use Rubio monocoat pure for almost everything

@WorkingTimbersCo

4 жыл бұрын

William Douglas Co. thank you!

this was a super helpful video. I like the idea of keeping it simple. you said you use the same finish each time, what type of finish are you using?

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Eric Grady I’m really glad we could be helpful! We use Rubio monocoat for almost everything

Upcharging for wood usually covers the cost of the admin work to calculate, purchase, pickup or receive, pay the bill, do the bookkeeping, storage and overhead, etc. Don't feel bad about up charging. 99.99% of customers don't care or know what you pay, and when you explain it if they ask, they usually understand it. Maybe charge retail price, and the discount you get is for investing into your business. I am a purchaser, so forgive me, it's how my professional business brain works. I hear this from mostly small shops / businesses only. Up charging gets a bad rep, but it doesn't have to be about greed.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jason Quenga I agree with you 100% I markup for materials when I’m busy. When I need work I lean out my prices in hopes to get the job.

@AaronCo29

4 жыл бұрын

When I was going full time with remodeling and cabinet making, I would double the material and cost out the labor. The business made the profit on the material and we broke even on the labor, but like Will said, He knows how long it will take them to do a project, and I found, I was usually right in the same ball park, but with a higher material cost and a lower labor cost, but it was what I figured out as I went along and after doing it for a while and people telling me why I got the bid or didn't get the bid, it's just how I figured it out. Basically, we have to make a certain amount of money, in the market we are in and after years in business, we either figure it out or go away.

@jonathanhooker7560

4 жыл бұрын

AaronCo29 It’s a great idea to ask why when you lose a project. People might not mind paying more for the material but would scoff at a high hourly rate. Even if the end price is the same there is a psychology to what people value

@AaronCo29

4 жыл бұрын

@@jonathanhooker7560 I always landed the jobs prior to the recession. I was and still am, 100% transparent and explain my position on the whole job. I also went as far as to detail the jobs and go through and check them off every Friday to collect payment for the work we completed on long jobs, I built a decent business and had a few real estate companies that would call me and just say do it and bring us the bills on Friday to get paid. I get what you are saying, but the customers always came to me and told me what the other guys were charging and how, so I get the psychology behind it and Thank You for your insight. I know, doing an all inclusive bid and detailing it out isn't how just about all other remodelrs work, they toss out a number and say, well that's just how it is... and if they run into an un-foreseen issue, they then add in the extra cost and that was usually when they killed the customer's pocket book, The usual thing was, my bid, being broken down, usually already had that "un-foreseen" detail in it. See, I have been in remodeling in some sort or fashion since I was old enough to hold a hammer. This business has changed a lot in the last decade to 20 years, at least in my area, it has gotten harder to make a living due to Handymen that come into the trade, don't really know what they are doing and charge $35- $45 per hour and I also hear it all the time, "I paid them $$$ and now I'm calling you back to pay an even higher price to get it fixed right" In short, reputation is what should set you apart from others, not price, and I have walked away from potential customers due to being beat up on the price, like I tell them, when it doesn't work out for you, call me back, I will be more than happy to fix it for you. I have also down sized to just me, the talent isn't around here any longer, the area I live in is dying and we are one of the top 50 cities in the US that is shrinking, so it will get even harder to make a living here. Thanks for your insight though, greatly appreciated!

This is a very informative video. Out of the profit what is the best way to allocate what goes into more tools and what goes into personal pay. I am starting in a very small garage and my main issue is tools.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

I’m probably not the best person to ask that question to because I’m great at spending money. If my bills are paid and I need a tool.. I will buy it if at all possible. Keep in mind I have a lot of credit card debt and no savings but I’m hungry to grow my company so I always reinvest every available penny. A smart money person will tell you NOT to do that. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Hi this is awesome content and advice! Question, how do you figure the $85/hr rate?

I’ve just recently been able to start doing projects from rough dawn lumber. Found this video very helpful But I’ll also be watching for you to put that video about board footage up. looking at an equation is different than actually understanding it and calculating what you need. Good luck in your KZread ventures!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Nick Johnston thank you for the support! I’ll add this to our list of videos to make 😊

@babyboomtown

4 жыл бұрын

Hey Nick Like anything else, there are some good apps available. However, it is a very good thing to know how to do manually. Thickness x width x length / 144 = BF all done in inches.

@nickjohnston7901

4 жыл бұрын

Matt Harp appreciate that info!

I work for my father, who is a professional electrical contractor. I completely agree with your technique. Never undersell yourself if you can help it.

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

It’s solid advise across all trades

Just wondering if your hourly rate factors in things like profit, reinvestment, maintenance. I’ve seen other makers list those separately to come up with the price. Thanks for the video. Very helpful.

You can make something outnof the cutoffs like endgrain cutting boards or end tables and put them online for sale to not have to eat that cost provided you dont spend overly long to make something like that

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Fair point!

Simple on the surface for sure. But like you said, they're going to get their hourly rate wrong...that's where all the different approaches really come in. I can appreciate the simple method, but prefer the method where you treat the business and yourself as different entities and take into account margin, tho a straight hourly rate can do the same thing if it's set right. Great video, another great tip you mentioned was limiting the wood choice, and finish choice... I've been burned before offering stains and am moving away for sure. That making Al-der look like walnut hits close to home 😂 great video

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Stumptown Woodworks great points! Thank you for watching and I’m glad it was helpful for you!

That Finnish thing was funny 😂🤠🇫🇮

Loved this method! Im trying to grow a small business out of my garage and this is definitely the easiest i've come across. Do you collect a deposit up front and if so is it normally just 50% or different?

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Jesi Gallogly glad you like the vid! We do 50% deposit to get in the queue and 50% due upon pickup / delivery / install. Install pricing is $100/hr per 2 man crew with a $500 minimum.

I'm not a woodworker but I appreciate fine craftsmanship and what you are doing for the community. If at all possible I'd love to collaborate on something in the future!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Axis Paintworks I really appreciate that support and kind words!! I LOVE doing collabs with people in other trades. Let’s connect!

@AxisPaintworks

4 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo I'm down. Lets grab a coffee or something in the next couple of weeks?

Iam so bad at estimating my time. Usuall I am like ahhh 4-5 hours. Then it ends up taking the whole weekend, and i make about 3 dollars an hour. Hahaha!

@WilliamDouglasCo

4 жыл бұрын

Danny Rincon I cant tell you how many times I’ve done this

@jharris3993

4 жыл бұрын

Try using a multiplier to your material overhead. Some projects come in at 3.5 in my shop, say your overhead is $500.00 out the door cost (labor included) would be $1,750.00 then log your hours and grade yourself. You can adjust your multiplier as needed to cover intricate joinery or just having several projects at one time causing delays. I use this method to expedite quotes without the guess work and can easily grade myself on how a project was estimated adding or subtracting from multipliers used. Hope this helps

@rinkelton

4 жыл бұрын

@@jharris3993 Thanks! Very informative. So you are saying you will just establish a multiplier depending on the complexity of the job. Like you say, this is great for fast qoutes. I probley lose alot of buisness cause estimates take so long. Thanks for the tip ill try it on my next project.

@nealpappion4731

4 жыл бұрын

@@jharris3993 This is the most helpful as material cost is nearly a constant by peice with labor being a wild multiplier as this video demonstrates. You can also adjust your variance based on your level (speed / experience) rather than moving your labor rate around. Super helpful, thanks for the reminder.

@holyfreakinguacamole

3 жыл бұрын

@@WilliamDouglasCo so glad to hear I’m not alone. I’m 2 months in (a few days from actual completion) on a “simple garage storage cabinets” build, estimated to take 2-3 weeks. Glad it looks amazing and the (wealthy) neighbors are buzzing about it. Damn garage looks better than their kitchen.