Jenny Slingerland

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.

@liz.dickson Hi Liz, is the 9,000 sq ft home 2-story? If so, you could do the spec book based off the first level? This should give you a few bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, etc.

Q: Diana: Oftentimes, especially when working on a renovation, we have not done the design yet. Clients always want a cost from the builders, but builders want to know what we’re doing. I find it’s a chicken and the egg type situation. How do your clients get accurate pricing estimates to decide in order to choose someone to work with? How do you start working with clients without any ballpark pricing?

A:
1. Some builders/general contractors will give the client a budget and expect the designer to work within it. This is the situation we talked about at the beginning of class. Sometimes they under bid to get the job, which puts us in a difficult situation. When possible, it’s best to sit down with the builder and discuss the budget together, so you are on the page when it comes to the budget and meeting the client’s desires/expectations. If possible, it would be good to have the client at the meeting to determine the budget. This way they are getting you expertise and the builders. If they have given you a budget and you just need to meet with the builder to break down the big overall budget into the specific selection categories (i.e. flooring, countertops, lighting, etc.) the client does not need to be there.

2. In some cases the builders will want the completed finish schedules before they give a budget so that they can get actual bids from the vendors and give the client a more realistic budget for exactly what you and the client have selected. In this case it is still important to sit down with the builder to get ideas of what the budgets will be. Usually the builder has discussed with the homeowner what the budget (in general) will be for the build and has an idea of what the selection budgets should be. This allows the client to choose the occasional higher priced selections, like we discussed, but without having to pay a change order fee, because the budget hasn’t been set and approved yet.

3. When a client goes to a builder to interview them, they may give a ballpark number of their fees to the client. The most common fee structures are (1) a flat fee based on square footage or (2) cost + a percentage on top of trades and materials (this is called “cost plus”). In the meeting, the client will not only learn about how he prices his jobs but also get to know their personality and understanding their build process. All will contribute to the client making an informed choice.

Hopefully that helped!

Q: Tina: I understand for legality to not draft floor plan while in a project. But we can draft our own for the class though? And our own elevations?
A: Yes! 1. Feel free to develop your own floor plan! I would just say that creating your own floor plan will take more time for you to do if you are wanting to keep up with the homework for the class. Totally up to you though! 2. Yes, we will be creating all our own elevations for the class.