Customer’s Reaction…$1000/day As a Mobile Welder? Real Job Quote & Interacting With My Customer

I had a guy wanting me to put a hitch on his truck to pull a horse trailer i told him 300 hundred and he said i didn't know i was going to charge him gimmie a break

Always need more coffee

Same no response thing happens to me all the time on quotes for a farmer, home owner or general contractor. They usually think any type of welding job is at most gonna be $500 because they don’t understand the complexity and consumable cost of metal work. Every quote I’ve given on commercial, heavy industrial or heavy equipment jobs always gets a response and it’s usually me getting the job.

End of the day I avoid all work from farmers, homeowners and general contractors. There’s way more heavy industry and mining in my area so I stick to that because it much more profitable for me.

Dad sold his welder and oxy torch and lathe and blast cabinet and parts washer. Shop seems roomy.

Its not easy to work for your self!!

Iam going to starting my own welding company mobile .

Be adaptable and a productive problem solver and you charge what you want. Under sale and over deliver

Pretty darned smart. Lot's of people out there don't realize how intelligent blue collar/tradesmen are. My Dad was an industrial blacksmith for 34 years at an American Smelting and Refining smelter in Montana. He was a quick study. Very quick mind, empathetic, could think several steps ahead in all sorts of situations. A man like that is worth more than most employers are willing to pay.

T&M …… I charge my labor rate + materials, I add 45% to material, and give my quote, i no longer reply to “ I have material “ it’s usually some crusty painted garbage that I have to spend 3 hours cleaning, i also send full
Breakdown of rate and materials,

Having been the third generation in a welding fab shop a lot of the knowledge was handed down to me, yet one has to be flexible and open to new ideas, For us it was what the market bore, how specialized the job was ect. we did a lot of exotic welding for industry so we priced according. Fabrication was based on what was out there in the market, I couldn't build a 25 yard dump box cheaper than one of the big box manufacturers could. but custom work where few if any made such an item you could charge time and material for the most part., in the building boom of the 60's we built literally thousands and thousands of feet of iron railing for apartment buildings, all custom to spec. nobody in a 100 miles could compete because of our fab setup and the ability to mass produce twisted bar, ornimental scrolling ect. You are correct sir, experience is most important, not pricing yourself out of the job also important And most of all know when it is time to walk away from a job because you might lose your ass on it, do that to many times and bills don't get payed and you go bankrupt.

Sounds about right man. $1,000.00 a day.

$100hr…..good luck with that, you priced yourself out of a job. But if you can get someone to pay that much then good for you.

afyer 53 years welding I do not believe this.

I try to over quote some that i dont want and still get most of them , best just to say no thanks

Sometimes the guy just needs something fixed, they don/t need the very best job done, its the same with mechanic repairs.

I have a personal belief that if we have to go out to visit a site and do engeering then we should charge for our time.

Heck, a welder need experience in the different types of steel their is and where to purchase it . I see some welder jury rig up some make shift crapy device that will work but look bad because they didn't know where to get the correct items from.

I try to charge enough that I'd be happy to be asked to do the job again.

Any trade you can do this. Im a jorneyman painter and run my own company. I consistently make $500-1200 a day and im booked months in advance. 1 key piece of advice is always first impressions, 2nd do what you're going to say you are going to do with no hidden extras added on at the end (unless they add stuff). if you quote and the price changes at the end it makes it look like you dont know what you're doing. also dont go to quotes or work hung over or smelling like ciggs.

OLD VIDEO?...

WHATS WITH THE SPIKE GATES?.. THIS DUDE EXPECTIN A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE I DONT KNOW ABOUT??

In 1978 I was 24yo and started my own welding shop. Thought I was 10’ tall and bulletproof. Knew quite a bit about welding but nothing about pricing out time and materials. Back then I jumped in with both feet and tried to fight my way out. Lost everything in the gas embargo of 81. I appreciate you putting together these types courses.

Would i be able to do pipeline welding if I’m looking more to do literally any custom job with my welding company ? Or would it not be as worth it if I’m not going to do pipeline as a living

Would you be paid beforehand for materials?

Would taking out a small loan like 15-20k to get the truck and machine be a smart decision?

As a business owner myself, an arborist specializing in tree health and pruning via rope access, I can only say that all of the things you state are relevant in nearly any skilled trade. This whole statement is beautiful. I tuned in because I have been teaching myself how to weld and found your channel. Your knowledge and discussion has been heavily appreciated.

If you're going to start your own business you better have a good work ethic and be self motivated. You can't be one of those people who has to be told to go back to work after breaks and lunches or the beginning of the day.

Why would you make a video explaining your billing process? Personally I would be more likely to watch you welding cool stuff. You seem like a good guy, best of luck

Always watched your vids for advice, keep on keeping on brother respect to you

God bless brother you are a true inspiration 🙏 I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your story and lots of people look up to you including myself.

Down here trades persons will actually charge money yo give a quote. If they have to go out to the jobsite they will charge an evaluation fee up front then deduct if they get hired.

My old man was a trim carpenter by trade. A true craftsman. Whenever a customer balked or tried to haggle over his price he had a standard one line response.

“If you think the price of a true professional is high, just wait until you see what it costs you to hire an amateur”

100$ to 150$ a hour 5$ per foot of bead depending on metal welded on 20$ for arriving 2$ per mile after 10 miles of travel Depending on the job you can charge 300 to 500$ for the job itself then you add your hours bead foot Arrival fee Mile/Gas fee

I have had people get fighting mad with me, me explaining that an estimate and quote were two different things. Was glad to hear you lay out the difference as well.

Thank you for the video. I’ve been doing this for others for a while but recently started my own mobile welding. I’ve been hustling trying to get customers and it’s paid off. Thank you for validating my pricing and my reasons for pricing. It’s good to hear you’re in the right mind frame when it comes to charging the customer. Some are ok with the higher hourly rate and others aren’t. I always adjust to the customer and the project. I find it keeps me making some money vs not making any. I’d rather make 200 for a smaller job rather than not making any money for a day. Just my thinking. 🤷🏼‍♂️

There is one golden rule, never take a job you’ll loose money on. Don’t subsidize someone else’s hobby or company by working on the cheap, all that does is set the basis for a customer to screw you over on every future job.

Alright Ricky bobby

this is the reason you take a welding class at the local community college as I have. I don't do it for a living, but it sure comes in handy at times.

instead of confusing the customer with the several options - why not just find out what he wanted first instead of guessing- a confused customer no matter how little, will never ever make a decision- hell it takes me weeks to buy stuff off amazon- nevermind a hunk of steel that is a gate. i just bought an item i regret-- as i rushed i thought i cleared my confusion- then found out i was just being optimistic... and rushing this confusion issue you can look up in most sales gurus books-- no matter the philosophy they spew..

Can you do a video over all different types of rods and rod sizes and what they are used for?

I’m at like 400 a day 350 ruffly I want to get to 500 then 1 k a day would be great

Write up a proposal number one change orders cost money don’t let customers push you around confuse you or discourage you keep your head up there’s green grass on the other side. Trust me and nobody is your friend look up for yourself and your family.

Been out on my own. For 3 years Nw. What I learned in business. Don’t ever sell ur self. Short. Never ever.! I mark up the materials 20%. There paying for ur experience. An time you’re a problem solver, and the things you go through are nuts

Sad part is, most customers have absolutely NO IDEA how much things like this cost, they convince themselves that it should cost X, with little to no basis and then are somehow floored when it never comes in at what they were expecting. Secondly, customers are unprofessional...no easy way to say it, they ask for a quote or whatever, you spend time putting together a quote and then as you stated, CRICKETS.
I wish people would just speak up and have a conversation about what their expectations are and then listen and learn how it will really go to actually complete the job.

I have a son who does landscaping and mowing, power washing, etc. He is told all too often, he is too high, but when you ask compared to what, its crickets with usually a dumbfounded look, because most customers have little to no idea how much work goes into things and how much it costs to be able to offer your services to do a job. What they are really saying, is they can't really afford to have someone do the work for them.

I've been in sales for over 32 years, and I have learned many things, but the most glaring thing is if you win business on price, you will lose it on price, secondly, ask a customer if they want the cheapest or the best, because these things will never be the same! At the end of the day for most customers, you get what you pay for.

You explained this perfectly. I get annoyed with the customers that think jobs should cost x amount even though they have no clue what it takes to complete it.

That sounds like a good deal for mobile work. Company i work for has a after hour rate of 268.50 an hour to hit 1000 a day sounds like the right price for quality work

Good info

I am more than happy to have equipment sit idle than let people lowball my prices. I know what my cost of being in business is. Am I going broke taking money losing jobs. Yup, and a whole lot quicker than twiddling my thumbs.

We got called out to quote a job yesterday. Haven’t heard from customer yet. Wanted us to fix every single weld on their structure that is not passing inspection. Unfortunately it isn’t cheap. Specially on thin purlins metal. They had a welder that could build it cheap with a Chicago welding machine. 😅

I charge as much as I can, enough I'm happy with free time to $$$ ratio. When to busy charge more.

Scab fence worker.

Lol. You need to make money off the material, minimum 10 percent, also you need to charge for the tax man, also charging by the hour is ridiculous. You should charge by the job, if one thing goes wrong on your side your gonna eat that job quickly.