The GUV'NOR Graham Rowson
Proper planning prevents poor performance says the licensee of the Plungington Tavern in Preston, Lancashire
Imagine looking around one of your bar areas and saying to yourself "this needs redecorating - £300 will do it". And what happens? It costs £700.
We have all done it. The problem is that in our trade we spend hours selecting beers, wines, merchandising, selling, and worrying over GP that we tend to brush over the importance of project management.
Time spent sitting down and analysing a job is time well spent and can save you a fortune.
The first thing to do is:
l Get organised with an A4 file and on the first sheet write down, what you want to do, how to do it, who will do it and when.
l Look at the equipment you need to do the job: steamers, drills, scrapers, tables, brushes, tapes and any hired items.
l Price up all activities allowing for materials, labour and contingencies.
Remember there is no such thing as a 10 minute job and all works, if left without supervision, will cost and take longer than expected.
Start to plan out the work load and make a composite schedule of the works to be done.
Get estimates for the jobs you are giving out, not only for the cost but also time and availability so that works can fall into your schedule as there is nothing more frustrating than getting to the end of a project and the last tradesman to come on site is on holiday.
How many times have you asked a customer to do a job "I'll do It for £20" is the reply, but then asks for
£40. You pay up but its
costs you 100% more than budget.
Remember to keep all receipts to claim back any taxes, keep warranties of new equipment and keep all estimates for guarantee of workmanship.
The marketing mix has five Ps and so does project management: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
Put this idea into practice and stop being taken for a ride when doing the smaller jobs in your establishment.
My advice is, if the job requires certificates, involves building regulations, needs scaffolding, or affects items like fire precautions then get the professionals in.
