#profit margin

TW: money, faux pas

here's where it actually goes:

the estimate was off from the start. underbid the labor hours, missed some materials, forgot the sub markup. the job is already behind before anyone shows up on site.

the change orders didn't get billed. client wanted something extra. crew handled it. nobody wrote it up. that cost lives in your job now and the revenue doesn't.

overhead isn't in the bid. insurance, software, office, admin salaries — if that's running 18% of revenue and your markup is 20%, your actual net margin is 2%. before anything goes wrong.

labor costs went up and the pricing didn't. field wages are up ~4% year over year. if you didn't build that in, it came out of your profit margin.

the fix isn't complicated. it's just not automatic.

tighter estimates. weekly job cost reviews. change orders billed the same day they're approved. overhead calculated annually and priced into every bid.

contractors who hit 10%+ net margins consistently aren't the best negotiators. they're just the ones who can see where the money is going before it's gone.

Within moments of the man hitting the floor, Sam said a woman ran over and began performing chest compressions. The woman began to cry and screamed out for someone to help her.

Sam, who has CPR training, asked her supervisor if she could assist. The supervisor watched the woman heaving her weight into the man’s chest and gave no response.

“I start sobbing and said, ‘I want to help, please!’ I know she’s going to get tired and need to be subbed out,” Sam told The Western Edge.

The supervisor, who Sam perceived to be in shock, had a simple reply: “It has to be management or safety team. Please get back to work.”

“I need to help,” Sam said.

“Just turn around and not look. Let’s get back to work,” Sam recalled the manager saying.

Sustainable companies pay close attention to this. They track cost trends, build flexible pricing strategies, and avoid relying on suppliers that introduce constant price swings.

Stability in costs often matters just as much as growth in revenue.

#VariableCostInstability #BusinessStrategy #CostManagement #ProfitMargins #Entrepreneurship

Let's talk about the secret sauce of a thriving smoke shop. 💸 Swipe through the five product categories that aren't just accessories—they're your profit engines. We've watched these heroes consistently drive the healthiest margins for shops that know what's up.

Think of this as your cheat sheet for a smarter, more profitable shelf.