Bidding Considerations
The install market also requires one learn the art of the project bid. “Backdoor, sweetheart” deals with certain customers or not, there will almost always be challenges from others wanting the same work, and the best way to get it is via a competitive bid.
Sounds familiar, eh?
Bruce Main’s Seventh Axiom: “It’s not the job you DON’T get but the job you DO get that can kill you.” Horror stories abound regarding contractors getting “sunk” in jobs. They bid too low, don’t verify conditions on the job site, run into the aforementioned code or union issues, plan poorly, and ultimately get in over their heads and lose their posteriors.
Thus a process must be established that includes bid analysis, site inspection, architectural drawing review, preliminary system block diagrams (in CAD format), parts/equipment price verification, and wire and termination type lists. These all come together in a rather complicated bid spreadsheet.
Next, someone who didn’t generate this data (preferably someone who knows what they’re doing) needs to check it. And there is etiquette to the bid process.
Strange as it may seem, you can’t always just call the consultant and ask a question, but rather, may need to generate an RFI (Request for Information) that is disseminated to all other bidders. Approved bidder lists, job walk-through, bid openings and due diligence are all terms and processes to become familiar with.
Daunting though it may seem, there are some real advantages to chasing bid jobs. Most of the “big work” goes to market this way. In fact, virtually all public works projects (read: stadiums, performing arts centers, civic theaters, etc.) are mandated by law to go through this process.
In addition, you can learn a great deal by working with consultants. While their reasons for designing systems a particular way may not be obvious at first, most of the time, they have a unique understanding of job conditions, budgets and most of all, the requirements of the owner. Even if you intend to do design-build jobs only, much can be learned by paying attention to how consultants work.
The Fun Part
Once the bureaucratic “mosh pit” has been navigated, it starts to get fun. Live sound providers are used to doing in one day what contractors can take weeks to accomplish.
You put up a large sound system, tweak it, do a show for thousands of critical listeners, and just for good measure, take the whole thing down and put it back in the truck, and do it all again the next day.
The skills that enable you to do shows are the same skills that can breed an outstanding installation company. Planning, preparation, scheduling, on-the-job problem solving and critical listening lead to success in the contracting arena as well.