Jenny Slingerland

10. Q: When you give the 15-25% for change orders, is that of the overall budget for that iem – ie all plumbing budget, or is that percentage of the cost of particular item item that is over budget?
A: I do not give the change order fees, the builder/GC does that. It’s up to them how they charge that if it’s per item or on the total amount they are over.

11. Q: Do you use software like Materio with QR codes for selections to place onsite?
A: Great question, we discuss this week 5!

12. Q: Have you ever handled procurement for contractor and contractor pays you a fee from the trade discounts they get?
A: I would never do this. In my opinion it’s a way for them to put all the work, time and liability on you. They should never ask you to do that. They get paid for running the job and they should not ask you to handle one of the largest parts of the job, ordering, procurement, tracking, delivery, handling damages, etc. Our job is to design the home, create a spec book and move on to the next project (and paycheck), not get weighed down in orders or to take on the liability of the materials getting damaged or walking off the jobsite. I would be very leery of working with a contractor that does that.

13. Q: I’ve heard Brad Leavitt talk about “Design Book” – is that the same as a “Spec Book”? He’s probably referring to what you created! A: Yes! Same thing! Maybe I should call it the Design Book now. 😉

14. Q: Will we see an example of the detailed drawings you include in the spec book?
A: Absolutely! Week 4.

15. Q: Where is most affordable place in town (I’m in Scottsdale) to have architect’s plans printed? A: If you ask the architect for a set of plans they will usually provide those for you at no cost. 🙂 Happy to have a fellow Arizonian in the class!

4. Q: How do you discuss your fees at this meeting? Per sq/ft or hourly rate?
* I responded to this question thinking it was in reference to a client meeting. After further thought I think you may be referring to the meeting with the builder, when you are meeting them and showing them your spec book. The answer, although now directed for the builder meeting, not for the client, is still relevant and can be discussed in the same way.

A: My process: In general our fees have been discussed in our Discovery Call, when a client first reaches out and we let them know how we price. I ALWAYS price by the hour for remodels because there are so many unknowns. For a build I do a flat fee based on the hybrid of the square foot & time estimate. Once the plans are finalized I prepare my spreadsheet with all the rooms and all the selections that need to be made for those rooms. I also have a column to estimate how long I think it will take me to select those items and a column that multiplies the amount of time by our hourly rate . I will go more into that in a future class.

So to sum it up I would tell the builder, “For remodels we charge $x per hour. For new builds we charge a flat fee based on the scope of work for the home. Once we have floor plans for the project we carefully develop a scope of work based on each room including the design, selections, drawings and documentation required for each space to help determine the flat fee.”

Hopefully that helps.

5. Q: Do you track the budget on client’s behalf and report on update calls?

*I misread the question AGAIN! But that’s okay, both answers will be helpful.
A: Tracking budget for client: I do not do this. It’s impossible for us to track a budget because we don’t know the cost of labor, drywall, nails, lumbar, etc., we know the prices of the things we select for the home, but that’s it. Also, we may be in budget when we select the items but if it takes 18 months to get to the point they are ordering an installing the item, the prices will likely have gone up, so best to let the builder handle the budgets.

Answer for what I thought it was asking about tracking time for the client (don’t ask me how I got there!) 😉
A: If you are doing a flat fee, the time tracking is for you so that you can run the report of hours at the end of the project to make sure your estimate was accurate and you charged enough and were profitable.

If you are charging hourly, in Timely you can export your hours into a PDF and send that off as your invoice. If you want to record all your hours (to run reports at the end of the project) but don’t want client to see the entries for time you’re not charging for, you can export only “billable hours.” You have the option to make entries “not billable,” which means you can still have an accurate accounting of your time at the end of the project but the client doesn’t see and isn’t charged for the extra hour you spent at the lighting showroom meeting your rep and learning about their products and finishes.

*This is like we discussed in class that as you’re starting out it may take you longer to select items, but you don’t want to charge the clients for the time you’re spending learning more about materials, that’s time you are investing in your education, not necessarily billable. Hopefully that makes sense.

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@carol.borowski I am so happy you found the class helpful! That’s the best feedback I can ever hope for! Good lucking as you take your spec book to the next level!
You’re correct, we typically don’t print them to scale, instead using the dimensions for reference. I found that the books were getting so thick when we printed them at 1/2″ scale, you almost needed a page per elevation. Some people will do it to scale, so totally up to you!

Hi Everyone,

I know most of you will be watching the class on video, it was a small class today, probably due to the change of day. I want you to know that I will be answering questions here in the conversation board, so feel free to ask any questions you have! Today we covered QR codes, a little more on spec books and then it was open to Q&A. We discussed pricing, how to get the furniture package at the same time they sign the contract, social media, estimating hours for proposals and lots of other goodies. I want to make sure that eveyone has the opportunity to ask their questions, so don’t be shy! I’ll be answering questions from the conversation thread for another week and a half or so.

Lu’s team is going to upload new slides for this week and a document about the spec book to dropbox for you that pertain to today’s class.

Please follow through and make sure that you complete your spec book! The spec book will be your best sales tool as you reach out to general contractors and builders. Use it to sell yourself to builders AND clients! Show them what you are able to bring to the table that the majority of designers aren’t able to! They will be so impressed with your skills and organization. If you make their lives (builders or clients) easy you will be referred time and time again! Show your spec book of on your IG feed or any social media. So when potential clients are checking you out, they can see what you bring to the table in addition to your beautiful designs! Don’t feel overwhelmed, you can do this!

Thank you all for being so amazing I have loved teaching you! If you would please fill out the questionnaire they send out so I know how I’m doing and where I can improve.

One last thing to note: If you feel like you need a little more help with your process, the spec book, etc. I am available for one on one coaching. If you click on the “book now,” button on the website it will take you to a questionnaire. You can let me know you were in the class, to avoid filling out all the sections and then let me know how I can help you. https://www.blackinkinteriors.com/coaching

Best of luck to everyone! Get your spec book completed and kick some booty!

Jenny

There should have been a “pre-class” folder you got access to. It had the homework download and the workbook. I’m guessing it would be in the same area as the weekly class slides. If you can’t find it, email hello@luannnigara.com and they can help you. I don’t have access to see what they sent you, so I can’t be of more help. Let me know if you have any trouble getting it.

@liz.dickson Typically the budget we’re given is for decorative lighting. The electrician usually includes the cans in his bid. But it’s a great question to ask the builder if you’re not sure of their process.