How to Break down a Landscaping Job- Mulch, Sod, Edging, Excavation, Demolition, Grading, Pricing

I need an elephant this is a concept that I use especially when I'm bidding a landscaping project we're getting sent to do a complete makeover project on this yard we're gonna strip everything out regrade it and reinstall everything brand-new and this is something that I want you guys to get I want it to burn or straight in there and I don't want it to ever leave because you're gonna use this concept how do you eat an elephant for almost everything that you have to do to build your business you will be able to apply this concept on every component of your business especially when you're bidding landscaping you get into these big projects and you're like oh man how do I even begin to build a job like this how do you eat an elephant the answer is one bite at a time and I want you to stop and I want you to think about this concept because it's going to apply to everything you do one bite at a time means you break down the job you break down the bit the very first thing if you feel like you're getting overwhelmed and you're looking at a job you just break it down into manageable bite-sized pieces that you can wrap your head around and if those bright sized pieces you still can't wrap your head around then they're not small enough and you keep going but the beauty of this concept when you break a job down like that not only to can you grasp what has to be done in that project but your customers can grasp what has to be done you are now throwing out the mystery magic lump sum number I hate that concept it any time one of you guys has that magic mystery lump sum number have somebody else kick you in the ass for me because that number scares your customers and it does not protect you breaking it down line item by line item by an item by line item protects you the contractor and that's your customer feel more comfortable with what you are going to be doing when you break each component of a job down into its most basic elements build profit into every component because every component on the job has the potential to change in fact almost guaranteed every component on a job will more than likely change than remain status quo because the jobs we are in landscaping hardscaping they're fluid things they are creative things they're not just creative for you they're creative for your customers needs see your customer is going to have a difficult time perfectly envisioning what you are envisioning and vice versa and at some point in that project you two are going to have to meet in the middle and if you don't clearly outline how much that component of a job cost you well guess what when you meet in the middle instead of going hey how you doing it's nice to meet you yeah this looks great we are all happy yeah yeah you're gonna do this I don't shoot in the contract no I clearly don't like it was a girl that's the difference so make sure that you break every component down so there that's rich from the broom attack but God loved this thing hey what do you think of that tool awesome that thing is slicker than anything dude I absolutely that tool bit what is it the multi-tool for Matt go holy we could put mulch down and you didn't have to put anything in the malt I know that thing is slick now we're gonna switch it over it doesn't take very long and switch over does it so we're switching from the broom to the edging machine right now [Music] and that's yeah right there now it's ready to go nothing else you got to adjust on it now we can go an edge prick that machine is amazing so make sure that you break every component down and that you understand the costs for those components and you build profit into because as they change that's only going to benefit you the customer are you the contractor and it's going to benefit the customer having that control it helps them to understand that if they go ahead and add more sod onto a job or if they add more bushes onto a project or if they want a backyard manicured and landscaped versus the front and side yard that you may have in the contract well guess what it's not in your proposal and now it's going to be an extra it's going to save you an incredible amount of headaches the more complicated the project the longer my proposals are on very complicated jobs I will often give them a three or even a four-page proposal and it's not the numbers that they're worried about it's every single part of that job has a disrupt as a description has a quantity has a price per unit for that portion of the job and it's multiplied by the units on that job to give a lump sum number over here for just that one line item example I have five hundred square yards aside on the gut if the customer wants me to grade another area well maybe I have five hundred and twenty square yards assigned on the job now I have the unit price which has profits for me the contractor in there it also has a clear sense of price for the customer who knows that I'm adding twenty square yards on to this job it's going to cost me twenty times I charged six dollars a square yard for something it's gonna chart cost me twenty times six for an extra a hundred and twenty dollars as simple as that but that math is your backup plan that math is going to land you more account you are going to have a clear of communication when you start eating your elephants one bite at a time what you're gonna find is this concept isn't just great for your landscaping bids and landscaping proposals but it's great for your crew members to understand what has to be done on a project it's great for you when you go back to the office and you're starting to feel overwhelmed because you got 20 calls on the answering machine you got 50 emails going out your phone's ringing nonstop from other people and you stop and you go how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time which means I'm going to then prioritize what is the most important order for me to accomplish anything and do it that way instead of trying to take it all in and letting yourself implode because you can't manage it all because you can't nobody can but when you manage it in bite-sized chunks guess what my friends things don't seem that difficult put that on your wall how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time now lesson never left me and I still use it almost daily and I hope that it helps you guys to run your jobs more efficiently run your business more efficiently get more done treat your customers better throw out the magic mystery lump sum number break each component of the job down clear sense of direction for you clear sense of direction for your customers clear sense of direction for your crew members everybody knows what has to be done you want the customer to fall in love with your work to the point where they're like yes please let's build a patio together yes please let's put another retaining wall in yes please you guys are so awesome and it's so easy to work with you guys and your pricing is so clear and I'm so comfortable with the process that I want you to keep coming back year after year time after time and expanding and that's the way I do it I hope this helps you guys out go [Music]