06/08/2021
The day in the life as a Contractor:
As I sit here, I turn my phone off. I shut the door to my home office. I get a cup of coffee & put my head phones on to muffle any possible sounds of distraction although there is no music playing. You see, my second shift is just starting. It starts after a brief 20 minute dinner with the misses. I start by balancing my check books & entering A/P & A/ R, then I enter time sheets from employees. After that is all done, I’ll start to do my billing & invoicing for work done. As I’m doing that, I’ll check time & parts costs against projected costs to make sure the jobs are on track & not over budget. All of while I’m pondering the bids that I still have in front of me to do before morning. In-between all of that, I have people calling, texting & emailing me wanting to tell me this or tell me that. I have to give them my undivided attention for it maybe the difference between getting a job or loosing a job. After I hang up the phone… damit I think, now I’m totally distracted! I find were I was & pick up the pace. Now the wife knocks on the door, she wants to know what my schedule is for next week. It seems that we have a wedding to go to! Damit… why do they have to get married next week. That’s the day that I have the trusses coming in, a new guy starting, meet with a new client to go over plans & 2 inspections! FML! Ok, back to what I was doing. I get all that done so I upload pictures to my computer that I took from a potential job so I can put in a bid. I start to look at the pictures & am trying to decide were I should start. I start looking at my field notes trying to remember that last job I did that was close to this one so I have a benchmark. I get online & start to get prices, make notes to call subs, send a few messeges to whom ever I need too. I start getting into making my bid. The phone rings, it’s a client that wants to do a total change order. Now I have to drop what I’m doing & go over to talk to them because now I have to run to Home Depot before morning because it is the current job that my guys are working on! Now I have to call my leadmen & explain it to them. They’re pi**ed! I already know what they are going to say! They’re going to tell me we are working backwards! FML! Now we have to tear out framing that we just installed. This sucks. Off to Home Depot I go. It’s midnight when I get home. I still have to finish bids before morning. 4am I have 2 bids down, 1 to go. I decide that I can do the other bid in the afternoon. I get to bed to get a few hrs sleep. At 6:30am, I wake up get coffee, shower & start it all again. Welcome to being a “Business Owner”!
