What's Profit
and What's Not
by Jon Hardie
“After I figure the cost of the job—the
cost of materials, cost of the crew and
all—I add 15 percent for profit. How come
I'm not making any money?"
For the past couple of years, I've been
hammering away at how to determine the
true cost of the goods you sell, how to
value your time and how to figure your
margins—but I keep hearing statements
like this. I guess I haven't come right out
and said it the way folks need to hear it.
You haven't made a dime in profit until
all your costs—fixed and variable, direct
and indirect—are covered. This includes
the true cost of your