Business Making A Living – Not A Charity

We all like deals. Right? I do not advocate price gouging, but I believe in paying a man his fair wage and dues for the valued professional craftsmanship of his trade. As the title of this blog post suggests, We are in a business to make a living. An honest legal living just like you. To get respect, one must give it. Respect our job and business and please, quit insulting us about what you think we should make without any knowledge of how much things really cost us.

I’m using a post from a forum to illustrate a point on what is a fair price for a service call. It’s well known to many contractors and other small business owners that the majority of the public, to which I’ll refer to as average HO (HO is contractor shorthand for homeowner), have not a clue on what it costs to run a legit business or how much the actual time and expense even a small project may take. These folks are too unindated with marketing media shows on many of the DIY channels and HGTV. What the general public fails to realize is these shows are heavily funded – subsidized by big corps pushing their Right Tools & Equipment For Home Improvement. Most materials are donated or sold at a drastically reduced price. Much of the labor is free or heavily subsidized also in one way or another. It’s TV folks not the reality!

Nevertheless on to the post.

HO complaint

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A member of my communty Yahoo group posted a comment about a local handyman. I think it will make for some great fodder in this forum. The title is not accurate as it’s the HO’s friend making the complaint. Give me another 90 seconds to finish popping my popcorn.

Hi, All.

I just wanted to share a short story with all of you. Recently, some friends of mine contacted a handyman who advertises in the All ******xx Bulletin, (name withheld), about a small job they had: the shower stall in the basement of their unit had a water leak in the area near the wall and needed to be caulked. They thought it would be best handled by someone with experience who knew which caulking material would be most reliable and long-lasting.

They also asked that the basement toilet, which often ‘runs,’ be fixed. This was to involve merely replacing the tank ball.

Mr. ****** left that day without providing an estimate, but my friends figured that the work is not complex, should be completed quickly, and thus how much could it be?

Surprise! The total bill turned out to be $310.

Here’s the breakdown: the charge for the caulking job, which took 45 minutes, was $175. Mr. ******x then left to procure a tank ball, which he had not brought with him. He returned an hour and 15 minutes later and took 1/2 hour to replace the tank ball. My friends were charged $45 for the part (which they later priced at $11.49 on the internet) and $90 for procuring the part and installing it.

WOW! That’s like highway robbery, What a rip!!

To which Leo replied:

You are missing a few things here.

• First was the initial call where he drove out to the clients house to look at the problem.
• Second was the caulk, before he got to the clients home he needed to go to the store to get the caulk that was required for the job. Both of these have to be paid for.
• 30 minutes to install and 75 minutes to obtain

He probably paid about $18 for the part. I know my truck uses 4 gallons per hour of driving. I assume it took him about 15 minutes in the store, so that means he was on the road for an hour. So $20 for the part, $10 gas, an hour 15 of his time, lets say $40 (cheap) and half hour to install it ($20). That’s $90 of direct costs right there. $45 for profit on the job, which includes the time for the initial call.

People really just don’t have a clue on how much it costs to do a legal business. They look at how much it costs if they did it themselves and then charge $0/hr because there time is free. No thoughts about vehicle maintenance, insurance, overhead, profit, advertising and everything else that goes into operating just a small business. Every job needs to have all those costs in it or the business will be no longer in a short time.

Sounds like they wanted the guy to work for free. So lets see, $5 for a tube of caulk, $11 for the part (off the internet) 105 minutes of his time at $8/hr so the bill should have been in the range of $30. Right? Is that what they think would have been a fair price?

Sure some HO’s may get defensive and get an attitude from this blog post. They are are usually the kind of HO’s that haven’t a clue and their overly sensitive toes got stepped on. I don’t do cheap, but I am not outrages either. WE aim for affordable value and cost effectiveness. It is not outrages when things unknown to the ignorant are brought into light. Well, we do have those that do know better, but they will still try to nickle and dime a guy to death and chew them down on a fair deal.

Interior decorators know that color & psychology are closely related. Ever walk into a room and feel totally uplifted? How about ready to run out of the room? Colors effect our moods and even our outlook on life.

Believe it or not, there is a method to this madness.  And this is were the science of color & psychology comes in.

Debbie Zimmer, color expert at the Paint Quality Institute, says, “Color psychology can help you choose paint colors that create the right mood in a room, affecting not just your own feelings, but those of everyone who enters the space” She further went on to say, “In fact, paint color is so powerful that it can influence not just our state of mind, but even our physiology,”

Yes, she said what I too have suspected.  ‘Affects Physiology.’  Perhaps some need a friendly reminder. Most well established interior decorators and even remodelers have this basic concept in mind when planning your remodeling project. For a simpler term, we may use ‘feel’ to described the overall effects and aesthetics.

Remember those mood rings?  Color choices are used for healing and mood setting. This works folks! This can also be used as a good indicator in analyzing your peers.

“The ancient Egyptians, Native Americans, and many other peoples used color to heal,” Zimmer points out. “In doing so, they often favored the blues and greens found in nature, colors that have an emotional association with peace, harmony, and tranquility. In these trying economic times, paint colors in these same hues can help calm our nerves at home.”

Now we get to the information that you’ve been waiting for. Just how does the color choice, uses and affects work on our perspective on life?

Favorites

Blue, often ranks at the top of surveys in exploring “favorite” colors. Has been shown to slow the pulse rate and lower body temperature. The implications for interior painting:  that blue is a terrific color choice for bedrooms, but less so for dining rooms, according to Zimmer.

Green, is also among the most popular colors. It’s a little more versatile also. While it, too, has a soothing effect, it can also represents renewal, youth, and vigor. Says Zimmer: “Because it is calming, green paint is a good color choice for bedrooms, and since it’s the color of many appetizing fruits and vegetables, it can work in dining rooms, too.”

There’s no equivocation with red. It bespeaks energy and excitement, actually raising the blood pressure and making the heart beat faster. Because red is associated with desire and passion, it’s a perfect paint color for dining rooms and adult bedrooms, says Zimmer, but wrong for children’s rooms. Yet, ironically, pink — a very light tint of red — is one of the most calming colors, and is a fine choice for a baby’s room, she says.

Mellow and happy

Yellow is a great interior paint color. Like sunshine, it imparts happiness, hope, and optimism. Studies have shown that the brain actually releases more seratonin when the eye takes in yellow — creating positive psychological vibes. According to Zimmer, yellow can even stir our creative juices. What better color to use in a master bath or dinette to get your day off on the right foot?

Orange is also a happy color. More attention-getting than yellow, orange has an energy and warmth about it. Muddy shades are useful in many parts of the home, but vivid tones may appear raw and flamboyant. Zimmer’s advice: “Orange is clearly not the color of calm, so it’s best to bypass it when painting a bedroom or any other area where you want to relax.”

Purple is a tricky paint color wherever it’s used, but it is the overwhelming favorite of adolescent girls, according to Zimmer. She suggests that you reserve use of this color for your daughter’s room to create a win-win situation: “Odds are, she’ll love it, and you can take comfort in purple’s proven ability to stimulate brain activity,” she says.

‘Non-colors’

No discussion of paint color would be complete without mentioning the “non-colors”, black (the absence of light, and thus, color) and white (the confluence of all the colors in the spectrum).

Black is a great accent color indoors or out, according to Zimmer, imparting elegance, formality, and sophistication to a paint color scheme. But don’t get carried away with it, she cautions. Too much black can be depressing.

White, on the other hand, conveys peace, simplicity, and spaciousness. It can provide a crisp finish to almost any paint job by adding sharp contrast to the wall color. Used throughout a room, it can give the illusion that the space is bigger than its physical dimensions.

What do you like?

“Color psychology should play a role when selecting an interior paint scheme, but it’s only one factor to consider,” says Zimmer. “Personal color preference should be given at least as much weight.

“No one will spend more time in your home than you will,” says Zimmer, “so it’s important to paint with those colors that are personal favorites. Choose colors that you love, and you won’t go wrong.”

Cite for this post: Freedom Builders & Remodelers: Paint Colors And Psychology Decorating Tips