What deposit should I ask for?

Enough to cover materials and the first stretch of labour. What is standard varies by trade and jurisdiction, and some places regulate deposits — worth checking rather than assuming.

What if they will not agree to progress payments?

That is information. A customer unwilling to pay along the way is asking you to finance their project, and you should price and decide accordingly.

Should I take it just for the reputation?

A reference is worth something. It is worth less than solvency, and a job that ends in a dispute is a reference in the wrong direction.

← Answers

Should I take a job bigger than anything I have done?

The risk is rarely the work — it is the cash. A job twice your usual size often means paying materials and wages for weeks before any money arrives, and businesses fail on big jobs they delivered perfectly. Work out the cash timing before you work out whether you can do it.

Map the money, week by week

When do you pay for materials, when does payroll fall, when do you actually get paid. If there are six weeks where money only goes out, that gap is the real question. Delivering well and running out of cash in week five is a common way for good businesses to fail.

Negotiate terms before price

A deposit, progress payments, or materials supplied by the customer change the risk more than a few points of margin do. Most owners argue about the price and accept the terms, when the terms are what would sink them.

Estimate honestly, then add for the unknown

You have not done this size before, which means your estimate is built on jobs that were not like it. Things you have never had to coordinate take longer than you think. Pricing your first big one at your usual margin usually means doing it at a loss.

Ask what it costs you elsewhere

A job that consumes your whole crew for two months is also a decision to turn away everything else, and to be unavailable to the regulars who kept you going. That cost is real and rarely counted.

Also asked

What deposit should I ask for?: Enough to cover materials and the first stretch of labour. What is standard varies by trade and jurisdiction, and some places regulate deposits — worth checking rather than assuming.
What if they will not agree to progress payments?: That is information. A customer unwilling to pay along the way is asking you to finance their project, and you should price and decide accordingly.
Should I take it just for the reputation?: A reference is worth something. It is worth less than solvency, and a job that ends in a dispute is a reference in the wrong direction.

Written for your trade

This is the kind of thing Solomon works through with owners using their own numbers. See how it works →