This is the exact framework I run in my head before any number leaves my mouth. The formula: (Time × Your Rate) + Materials + Access Factor + Outcome Premium 1. Time × Your Rate. Estimate hours honestly, then set a floor rate and here's the part nobody does: your rate should be at MINIMUM $[75–100]/hr, because you're not an employee, you're a business. Insurance, pads, compounds, drive time, and the X amount of years it took to get fast all live inside that rate. 2. Materials. Buffs + compound + consumables for THIS job. Track it once on a real job and you'll have your per-square-foot number forever. If you don't know yours, you're guessing and guessers round down. 3. Access Factor. Crawling under a tank? Working around fittings? Job's at their yard 40 minutes away? Add 15–30%. Hard-to-reach metal is a different job than a wheel on a bench. 4. Outcome Premium. The big one. Who's buying and why? A trucking company putting a rig in front of customers, a boat owner heading into a show, or a restoration going to auction. The shinier the reason, the higher this number. This is where the $400 job becomes the $1,200 job. Run those four, and THEN say your number. Never quote before you've done the math. Homework: take the last job you did and re-price it with this formula. Post both numbers below what you charged vs. what the formula says. Biggest gap gets my personal breakdown of how to close it. 👇 Every "gap" comment is a hand raised for the Academy. Screenshot the biggest ones.

Another week down. What got done? Finished a lesson. Tried the sharpie trick for the first time. Got brave enough to post a before photo. Landed a job, quoted a job, or just finally understood WHY your finish was staying cloudy. It all counts here. And a reminder for the quiet ones: you don't earn the right to post wins by being advanced. A total beginner finishing Lesson 1.2 belongs in this thread just as much as a pro landing a fleet contract.

@Clark Norway came to me with some questions Thursday about a set of wheels he was uncertain about. With in a 2 minute conversation we were able to troubleshoot and come up with the most efficient path for him to go forward with. This one tool will save you Tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours of time. I wish it was available to me when I was in my beginning stages. Just reach out. This is what this community is about. Helping each other get one step further together. Everyone with a Premium Membership gets to reach out for a 1 on 1 call to troubleshoot your current problem. Utilize it. Bring your questions to Thursday's live call!

Got a break from beat up Alcoa's and got some peaceful time with a set of these American Forces💎🤟🏻 Refreshed and ready to roll into Smokey Moutain🔥

Started these GMC stocks thinking it would be a quick scuff and easy polish… 😅 I started with my usual clear-coat delete process, but quickly realized that wasn’t going to work. The inners were painted, and the sander was bogging down, creating a real risk of damaging the paint in the tight areas! I called Mark to troubleshoot and talk through the proper tools for attacking the job. After discussing the options, we decided a 1-inch sander was going to have to do the heavy lifting on the clear-coat removal process. Sometimes a job that looks simple from the outside takes the right tools and a little problem-solving to get it done correctly. 💪