How to Stop Working for Free

Lesson 1—Realize that You Have an Option

Too many contractors do too much extra work—for free—and this probably includes you! Sure, you probably already know this. And if you aren’t positive you know it, then you at least suspect it. After all—isn’t that the reason you wanted this course on getting paid for your change orders?

Almost every contractor out there instinctively realizes that his company seems to do way too much extra work for free. You’re out there, trying to get the job done: get in, get out, get the money.

The job is bid right. The crew is good. Things are going along pretty well. Then—just like that—it happens! Something changes. Somebody wants something different. What the plans showed is not what can be built. The site conditions are different. The model number called out in the specs is no longer available.

Do I have to go on and on? Because I can—and so can you. My guess is that you know exactly what I’m talking about. This happens to you, and it happens to everyone, and it happens too often. Everybody is looking to you to solve their problem. And you—nice guy that you are—don’t want to delay the project. So you come up with a solution.

However, the solution has a cost to it. What does your client say? “Just git ‘er done!” Maybe words to that effect. And then you say that it might cost a bit more. What does your client say? Here’s a list I’ve heard over the years:

  • As my contractor, I thought you had this covered. You’re not going to charge me for this, are you?
  • Come on now. This is the first project we’ve done together. Help me get through this one, and you’ll get my other work. I’ve got a nice job coming up.
  • You’re not going to slow down the project, are you?

You’ve got your own list, I’m sure. How about this one—my all-time favorite: “Go ahead and do the work. We’ll settle up later.” First time I ever heard that one, I had a different idea on what it meant to “settle”! I ended up having to choose between a court/claim battle or just taking what was offered. Sometimes, that’s not very much.

The Solution

There is one, believe it or not! And it’s very simple. I’ll give it to you in a few moments, but first, let me tell you who I am, and why you should take my advice. Make sense?

I’ve been involved in the construction industry for over 20 years, as an owner of a small, State-licensed general engineering company, as an estimator, as a superintendent, and even as the guy in the field who does the actual work. I’ve seen a lot, just as you probably have.

Today, my main claim to fame is that I am a working project manager. I live this stuff. I’m in the same trenches you are: from public works, to commercial, to industrial, to institutional. With a little private work thrown in, as well. My projects range from $30,000 to $300,000, and often run into the millions. Dealing with my fair share of changes to the work, and getting my company paid for it.

I’ve even been writing about this stuff, and my articles have appeared in four industry magazines, as of today: Masonry (now in my third year); Site Prep; Coatings Pro; Construction Purchasing. And I’ve even been featured in the Kimmel Construction Newsletter. The potential readership for those publications, over the months, has probably topped one million. I’m known as “Coach” Gary.

My book on this subject, “Get Paid for a Change!”, was published in 2007 by Supreme Word Publishers. Its sub-title is, “The Contractor’s Blueprint for Turning Extra Work into Extra Money—through Change Orders”. The book has the complete and full version of how to deal with changes, so if you need to know—today—what to do, go to the website and order the book–now.

Finally, there’s the website, itself: www.FullContactTeam.com, which hundreds and hundreds of readers access every month, and where you can also buy the book and get all of this info right away. You don’t really need to wait until this course is over! If you’re getting hammered today by a nasty change, and need to do something now, “Get Paid for a Change!” will really help.

Okay—enough about me. You have probably figured out by now that I know what I’m talking about. So we’ll just leave it there for awhile.

So, let’s get back to the main point of today’s lesson: the solution to all of this. Because there is one and, as I said, it’s simple. If you pay attention to nothing else in this lesson, please pay attention to the next paragraph, because it’ll change your business. Here goes.

  • We change our attitude. From now on, whenever we get asked to do work that really isn’t in our scope, we adopt this mentality: “It’s not ours!” That’s it—I told you it was simple.

Now, believe it or not, you’ve just been given a huge insight into how you can impact your project profitability more significantly than any other method. And you might, like lots of others, not want to believe that something so simple could be so effective. For the moment, I’m going to ask you to trust me on this, and then tell you what to do immediately after you tell your client, “It’s not ours!”

See you the day after tomorrow for Lesson 2.

Copyright  2009 Gary Micheloni

www.FullContactTeam.com