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New estimating tool by Jim Baker

7K views 28 replies 11 participants last post by  jamesw 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
This is a new tool we are promoting through the National Institute of Painting & Decorating -

It has been developed by Jim Baker to estimate projects, including paint required, cost of materials and time for project. It is great for painters who have just started out on their own.

http://www.painters.edu.au/Estimating-Software/
 
#3 ·
Just for the record, I am not selling anything, I will not make one cent form this. I hope Jim sells it though, he spent a long time developing it. But I suppose you were not to know.

I have often contributed to this forum and have tried to be a positive support for the industry. Why not google some of my other threads and see if I have sold anything else.

Here is an option, don't buy it.
 
#4 ·
Nick, some people do post stuff like this for us other contractors to buy or check out. Since so many people ask what the going rates are myself I think it is great when people post links for stuff like this. I know most need some fine tuning but some work great.

PPC I wouldn't worry I know your not trying to sell it just putting the link and info up for us to check out. I hope it is better than most of those estimating programs.
 
#6 ·
cdpainting said:
Nick, some people do post stuff like this for us other contractors to buy or check out. Since so many people ask what the going rates are myself I think it is great when people post links for stuff like this. I know most need some fine tuning but some work great.

PPC I wouldn't worry I know your not trying to sell it just putting the link and info up for us to check out. I hope it is better than most of those estimating programs.
No problem but there are excellent estimating programs out there , DaWave software is excellent and a few others as well. Who is Jim Baker???
 
#8 ·
I do not know Jim Baker, I know there are other programs to use, I would never find half of them if they were not posted on PT.
It all comes down to how comfortable you are with your pricing, for start up companies that do no't know how to go about figuring stuff out these programs are a good start.
I just need to figure out the people that call are they a tire kicker or serious customer. Now if some one could invent an app fo that, that would be amazing.
 
#7 ·
pacificpainters.com said:
Just for the record, I am not selling anything, I will not make one cent form this. I hope Jim sells it though, he spent a long time developing it. But I suppose you were not to know.

I have often contributed to this forum and have tried to be a positive support for the industry. Why not google some of my other threads and see if I have sold anything else.

Here is an option, don't buy it.
I won't!
 
#11 ·
I agree name calling is not cool but how about getting belittled?I guess that's really cool.My thing is this.There are a few people on here that make this industry keep going.I can tell that pacific really cares about our industry and don't think his intentions were to profit but rather just offer a suggestion.To be condescending is just as bad as calling someone a name.
 
#12 ·
I agree that maybe Nick came out being a little to harsh. However he has been around for ever and has contributed allot to this forum and many others. He also has tested just about all estimating programs out there. Him and DamonT come to mind in this area.

I tried to google Jim Baker, I just kept getting stories and pictures of tammy baker :eek:. Who is he?

Pat
 
#13 ·
In hindsight I would have posted something less harsh. Asked my question in a less combative way but sometimes the olive oil in my blood rises to quick . My point still remains there are several very good estimating programs out there already. I know of and have been to many seminars and have on my PC all of those programs. Something I enjoy doing and reviewing. Yes there are some very good residential estimating programs out there now. If this one by Jim Baker Is also a good one than great next time Ill keep my opinion to myself until I review it and check it out. There are no simple all in one prices for painting you have to know your production rates and your numbers for your business not mine.. Happy estimating !
 
#14 ·
thinkpainting/nick said:
In hindsight I would have posted something less harsh. Asked my question in a less combative way but sometimes the olive oil in my blood rises to quick . My point still remains there are several very good estimating programs out there already. I know of and have been to many seminars and have on my PC all of those programs. Something I enjoy doing and reviewing. Yes there are some very good residential estimating programs out there now. If this one by Jim Baker Is also a good one than great next time Ill keep my opinion to myself until I review it and check it out. There are no simple all in one prices for painting you have to know your production rates and your numbers for your business not mine.. Happy estimating !
Actually I didn't take offence to your comment, I was just clarifying my stand. Sometimes non verbal communication sounds more reactive then what it actually is. Thanks to those that defended me, nice to know that people care.

Anyway, all good from my end here.

It is great that so many program's have come to light in recent years. 17 years ago when I was working for myself I wish I had something to help.

I am planning on setting up a free estimating support service for painters in Fiji. I am trying to support the growth of small business to overcome poverty here, I though if they take time to measure a job out properly we may have a chance of assisting them here.
 
#15 ·
PatsPainting said:
I agree that maybe Nick came out being a little to harsh. However he has been around for ever and has contributed allot to this forum and many others. He also has tested just about all estimating programs out there. Him and DamonT come to mind in this area.

I tried to google Jim Baker, I just kept getting stories and pictures of tammy baker :eek:. Who is he?

Pat
Hi Pat, probably Jim is not a big name on the world scene. Even in Australia some painters probably don't know him, but many would.

Just for those that may be interested, Jim wrote a book to help painters set up their own painting business and make it successful. He has spent years contributing his time and energy to travelling around to colleges where painters are taught during their apprenticeship.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for him because he is a very genuine bloke who has helped me here in Fiji. All my students were given his book for free because he donated them here.

Here is a little video I made with an interview of him recently.
 
#16 ·
Bender said:
Looks awesome Mike!

And a new forum. Count me in:)
Your a stirrer, and a funny guy. I noticed the bait but I don't think anyone else did. Troller....

I think PaintTalk stands on its own, and IMO the best in the world.

Personally I was not keen to have a forum on our site but I was outvoted by the board. Main reason they gave was that the forum would promote a link between trainers and students across a range of colleges in Australia.

The focus of the site and the organisation which is a non-profit organisation set up by volunteers including my self was to promote education in our trade.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Your a stirrer, and a funny guy. I noticed the bait but I don't think anyone else did. Troller....

I think PaintTalk stands on its own, and IMO the best in the world.

Personally I was not keen to have a forum on our site but I was outvoted by the board. Main reason they gave was that the forum would promote a link between trainers and students across a range of colleges in Australia.
.
Yes PT does stand on its own but a site that links another painting forum that you are the primary moderator of is against the rules so I edited the first link and your signature Michael. Feel free to pm me with any questions.
 
#17 ·
pacificpainters.com said:
Actually I didn't take offence to your comment, I was just clarifying my stand. Sometimes non verbal communication sounds more reactive then what it actually is. Thanks to those that defended me, nice to know that people care.

Anyway, all good from my end here.

It is great that so many program's have come to light in recent years. 17 years ago when I was working for myself I wish I had something to help.

I am planning on setting up a free estimating support service for painters in Fiji. I am trying to support the growth of small business to overcome poverty here, I though if they take time to measure a job out properly we may have a chance of assisting them here.
Maybe I was lucky but there were programs and great estimating books and even how to run a paint business books long ago. My favorite was written in the 30"s and has so much info on estimating , overhead , unit pricing etc etc... There's lots of great guys including many here and on other forums who also have don what your friend Jim Baker is doing. As for Fiji good luck personally there's plenty of poverty where I live and also plenty of Americans who need help especially retuning Veterans.
 
#21 ·
Workaholic said:
Yes PT does stand on its own but a site that links another painting forum that you are the primary moderator of is against the rules so I edited the first link and your signature Michael. Feel free to pm me with any questions.
No problem.

Here is a direct link: http://mytools4business.com/mycostingguide/index.php

As for the painters site, I forgot it has a forum, I never use it despite the fact I am a moderator.
 
#22 ·
#23 ·
Nick, michael is a stand up guy. When he pops in it is usually technical aspects and he comes from a paint educating background. His post was not an attempt to evoke sales but rather another fascet of his job, (which happens to be training aspiring painters in low socioeconomic regions of the Pacific how to be self starters in the paint and decorating trade).

He has produced several training videos on color theory that are very informative and I actually would love to have a link to them as I have been thinking about it over the last week or two.

He seems to be the male Mother Teresa of the painting industry so for what its worth, cut him some slack.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Paradigmzz said:
Nick, michael is a stand up guy. When he pops in it is usually technical aspects and he comes from a paint educating background. His post was not an attempt to evoke sales but rather another fascet of his job, (which happens to be training aspiring painters in low socioeconomic regions of the Pacific how to be self starters in the paint and decorating trade).

He has produced several training videos on color theory that are very informative and I actually would love to have a link to them as I have been thinking about it over the last week or two.

He seems to be the male Mother Teresa of the painting industry so for what its worth, cut him some slack.
Thanks mate, Nick and I are okay, we are all sorted. nick seems to be a pretty good bloke too.

Thanks for your kind words though.

I have been uploading the videos to this channel now: www.youtube.com/Paintersinstitute I produce under my new company called Edubytes

I have mainly been busy producing videos for the Painter Institute.
 
#25 ·
PatsPainting said:
Is there a demo or something, some screenshots? Looks like you have to buy before you can see what it even looks like.

Just wondering

Pat
Good point mate, I was talking to Jim today on Skype. He said he has had some sales from Australia through our site. I think you are right though, I was thinking of doing a video for him.

I know you have a few program's in America, not much down here yet.
 
#26 ·
Yea a couple of videos would be good. Even some screen shots so people know or have an idea on what they are getting. I think a demo is the best though, let people give it a shot first before they buy it. Anyway, I wish him the best with the program.

Pat
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
Past posting

I accidentally came across this discussion today for the first time, 12 months after it was posted. I am Jim Baker, the person no-one knows about.


Michael, from Pacific Painters, is a very good colleague and friend of mine. We have only known each other for around 3-4 years and I so much admire him for the tireless work he is doing in helping painters through his website edu-bytes. The information he has on there is invaluable. I did not realise he put a link to my programs or my video but I know it was not posted to make anything out of it, but just to let people know that there was information out there that could be of use.


I turn 60 next week and have been painting for 44 years now. For the last 8 years my aim has been to help painters become more professional in their trade, something that most painters do not want to share as they fear it could mean stronger competition. This I feel is far from the truth. To me, improving a painters profile means a better type of painter. I would rather compete against someone that is professional in this trade than competing against the person that wins jobs (or bids that you call them) on being the cheapest. If we could all lift our standard, then we can all lift our prices.


I started writing down my experience in the trade for a competition that Dulux was running. It has the do's and don'ts of how I ran by business. It eventually became a book. Dulux Australia saw the benefit and bought 2 thousand copies to give to all final stage painting apprentices in Australia. They have also just bought another 100 copies to give to their new Dulux Accredited members that join.


Exactly 12 months ago, I released my two programs online. One being an Hourly Rate program that calculates exactly how much your break-even cost is per hour and the other, a Paint Costing Guide, that by just entering the area of walls, or number of doors, etc, calculates automatically the cost. The cost of paint, coverage, hourly, etc, are all variables that you can adapt to your own needs. These two have only been made for the Australian market as 1. we have a different tax system and a lot of benefits we have to abide by and 2. you still work in feet and inches, lol.


I am adapting these to the New Zealand market now and would then like to look at if these would be of use to the US painters. I have had glowing reports here so I can't see why not.


So now, I hope you have an idea who Jim Baker is. I am just someone who is trying to help out other painters. Yes. I do make some money on my products, but then I have put a lot of work into them too. My next project is a Job Tracking Program which will most probably cost me around $10,000 by the time it is finished. This will be one that everyone should have. Imagine being able to track every single client you have and knowing where that initial contact originated from. I tracked one client 2 years ago that originally came from someone that saw my signage on my work vehicle. That one sighting led to over 40 clients totalling 1.1 million dollars of accepted quotes. How much would it be worth to you if you knew exactly how your advertising campaigns were working for you and how much work is accepted or not? Anyway. Stayed tuned for that one. My programmer is putting the finishing touches on it now.


If you would like to read my monthly articles in a paint magazine, go to www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au The articles are quite good if you don't mind me saying. They range from 'On-Site Etiquette' Jan 14, 'Niche Marketing' Oct 13, 'Painting in Russia' Nov 13, (I would like to do one on a US painting business if anyone is interested) and 'Prostate Cancer' Dec 13, (this is a must for all men to read as it comes from someone who has it). The magazine is run by another good friend of mine that likes to give out FREE information on the paint industry, so enjoy the read.


Well I think I have said enough. Sorry for rambling on but my main concern was Michael's first post on me. It looked like it got sorted out though. Cheers
 
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