Repeat Business!!!

[SeanMurphy265]

This is the fourth job I have done for this company. I put 5lbs of 7018ac on this coupler with my power arc 200. It takes about 3 hours from start to finish. The first one took me 4 hours; after each one I seem to finish a little quicker.

[sportbike]

Cool....Must be doing something right.

Do you have to add brackets / braces, etc for the frame attachment or is it a pretty straight forward weld job?

[SeanMurphy265]

It's fairly straight forward. Sometimes the frame does not match the frame of the home, and there can be some gaps to fill in. It's a mixture of flat and also vertical overhead. Crawling underneath the house and welding the back side of the frame can be a pain. This one I could sit up and weld; which is always better than laying flat. Most every weld has three passes, but the ones on the front of the trailer I run several passes. When they move the trailer the tend to bounce going down the road; so I make sure I chip away the flux and brush every weld.

[undercut]

Always good to have repeat business. Sounds like you know the work really well and have gotten really good at it. Nice!

[redbeard]

after each one I seem to finish a little quicker.

Experience has a way of doing that to you. All the better if you are charging piecework.

Glad to hear you are making some bucks and getting a reputation.

[bobwills]

For jobs like that do you charge by the inch or do you now just have a set rate for that person for each mobile home.

[SeanMurphy265]

I charge this customer $200.00 this job was $250.00 for gas money. I have a floating rate that I charge $45.00 per hour for something that's straight forward, just show up and weld. If it's more complicated $60.00 an hour. If I fire my tig welder up it's $85.00 an hour because my operating cost go up. I don't do much tig welding, but I'm OK with that; I find my profits are lower tig welding. To show up and weld for one hour I charge $85.00 minimum. Some jobs you will look at and just know how much work/time is involved, but that is something I have gotten better at over time. If someone brings something to me then I have a minimum charge of $40.00; even if it's something very simple. I'm getting better at quoting jobs. I had to sit down and figure my break even cost and that helped me figure out what I need to charge. Welding rods, wire, grinding disc, cuttoff wheels, safety glasses, gloves, gas, etc add up to a lot of $$$ quick. If you think about it you can go to a Northern Tool and get just basic shop supplies and spend $65.00 - $75.00 very easy. The one thing I have not done well is walking away. Sometimes you need to walk, but I've let the need for money make that decision.

[Rodsmachineshop]

did they put the tow assembly in place for you or you had to .

[SeanMurphy265]

They try to have it ready to go when I get there. I have helped them clamp it in place, but they always line everything up.

[Alaska]

Sean,
Nice write up. A lot of my business is trailer repair - seems like the tilting two place ATV/snow mobile trailers are always bending the toungs or bashing the edges when making corners. Pretty straight forward stuff usually done out in the driveway. I find myself bidding each job, and usually at rock bottom pricing trying to establish my service and get the word out there. Now that I am doing more and more work, I think it is time to bump the quotes up and have a more consistent price range like you have. Thanks for explaining how you do it.

[SeanMurphy265]

Sean,
Nice write up. A lot of my business is trailer repair - seems like the tilting two place ATV/snow mobile trailers are always bending the toungs or bashing the edges when making corners. Pretty straight forward stuff usually done out in the driveway. I find myself bidding each job, and usually at rock bottom pricing trying to establish my service and get the word out there. Now that I am doing more and more work, I think it is time to bump the quotes up and have a more consistent price range like you have. Thanks for explaining how you do it.

I think there a difference between people who say they can get you business versus repeat business! This guy will always have a cheaper price because he calls me when he needs me. I cannot stress enough to figure out your bottom line. My first job was welding two four inch plates on a piece of square tubing set in concrete. It took an hour by the time I unloaded my tools and then packed everything up. I charged the guy $50.00 which is a good rate even though the job was not difficult. When I got home I added up my cost for welding rods, grinding wheels, gas in my car, and generator; I realized that I probably put $20.00 - $15.00 in my pocket! I realized then to make it worth my time I needed to charge a minimum of $85.00 to weld for one hour on site. I'm slowly learning that you can de-value you work if you undercharge.