Page 24 - Demo

22 The Nevada Traverse Vol.51, No.3, 2024When Anna finds herself really struggling with a boundary analysis, she will sometimes reach out to several surveyor connections in order to gather different perspectives. Having multiple sounding boards is important, because sometimes answers aren%u2019t clear. %u201cIn boundary there isn%u2019t always a black and white answer. And if I disagree with a surveyor and they disagree with me, I want to arrive at the best location of that corner,%u201d Jeanette said. One last tip is that you should think about networking even beforeyou found your business. Eric got involved with the New Hampshire Land Surveyors Association two full years before going out on his own. There are only 320 registered land surveyors in the state of New Hampshire, and he now knows all of them.%u201cWhen I started the company, they did a press release and it sent it out to the association. I was really fortunate to get flooded with referrals and other surveyors trying to help the general public out and saying: this guy may have availability, he just opened up,%u201d said Eric.Today, Eric%u2019s company is just as booked up as every other survey firm in the area. How to bill for work Perhaps one of the most intimidating tasks as a business owner is trying to determine how to estimate projects and charge appropriately for your time. There are several ways that you can bill clients for work, the most common of which are lump sum or hourly. Sometimes, you can build wiggle room into your estimates to account for unforeseen changes. James is a fan of doing assumptions in his estimates. He gave the simple analogy of taking your truck in for an oil change. If all the truck needs is an oil change, he can provide a clear price for that work. But if it turns out that your truck needs a new timing belt, you%u2019re going to have to pay for the additional out-of-scope service. Eric tends to go the lump sum route. Even though he recognizes this method can be a gamble, he likes the transparency for his clients. %u201cThere are times when I%u2019m in the basement of the town hall reading a road layout from 1812, and I%u2019m sitting there going %u2018I didn%u2019t have this budgeted.%u2019 But it is what it is,%u201d Eric said. Anna and Farrah alternate between lump sum and hourly. Anna feels safe quoting lump sum project work when she has thoroughly vetted the project in advance and anticipated the problems that might arise. Farrah likes to quote a %u201cnot to exceed%u201d price, meaning it%u2019s a lump sum capped at a certain dollar amount. If all goes well, the client will end up paying less.%u201cWe give ourselves a nice cushion, say a $3,000-$5,000 cushion, not to exceed $10,000. If we get out there and we find everything and it%u2019s all peachy, then you%u2019re going to save the client some money,%u201d Farrah said. The most important thing to remember is that you don%u2019t have to be the cheapest surveyor out there, especially in today%u2019s high-demand environment. It%u2019s always better to focus on doing an excellent job so that you can build your reputation.%u201cWe will literally tell people that if you%u2019re looking for the cheapest, we%u2019re not going to waste your time looking at your job,%u201d said Jeanette. %u201cWe want to do what%u2019s best. We want to do what%u2019s right. And we want clients that want to achieve that outcome and that are going to trust us to get to that outcome.%u201dA solid reputation and the resulting word-of-mouth referrals will guarantee you steady work for years to come.How to finance your businessIf the thing holding you back from starting your own company is financing, think again. It can cost less than you think to get started.Most of the young business owners on the round table panel didn%u2019t take out big bank loans. To avoid them, popular tactics were to get financing help from family, start with used equipment, keep operations small and scrappy, and have clients lined up before you quit your day job. Equipment can be the biggest expense to starting your business. That%u2019s why you should do things like:1. Get equipment financed before you quit your job 2. Seek out used equipment3. Make friends with vendorsThe reason you want to try to get equipment financing while you still hold a traditional W-2 position is because in order to get loans, banks want to see that you have regular income coming in. When you have a long-term job that you can provide paychecks for, financing is simple. When you%u2019re a brand new business owner, it%u2019s not so simple. Consider making a 6 or 12-month plan in advance where you come up with a list of the items you need and the associated costs. Then, slowly start to chip away at purchasing the equipment, computers, and software that you need while you have the security of a regular paycheck.Eric started by calling around for quotes so that he had concrete numbers to plan for. He was lucky to have an investment property to sell to help start his business, but he still needed to be smart about finances. His approach was to apply for a line of credit at the bank, buy a van, and purchase a Trimble GPS%u2014all within 24 hours so that his credit score remained high for all three purchases, giving him the best financing possible across the board.Jeanette started her business with used equipment. When it was time to upgrade that equipment, they needed financing. But they were able to soften the blow by getting to know their vendors, who offered lightly used demo equipment at a reduced price.How to Stakeout... continued from previous page