Tristan WilsonCEO & Founder at Edgevanta

Two Rules Every Construction Estimator Should Live By

1 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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0:51

Tristan Wilson explains the two rules construction estimators need: know your own costs and price for risk and job desirability, and understand the market so you can bid objectively instead of emotionally. Strip feeling from the process and you'll make profitable bids instead of chasing every job.

Chapters

First thing is to know your cost. So the best bidders know their cost. They're not trying to win every single bid. They look at the market and they understand the competition. The other thing they, they do is if they don't want the job, price it like they don't want it. So one is know my cost really well. If a job is not desirable, I am going to price the work accordingly. And also adjusted for risk, because if there's risk in the job, I need to capture that risk and make sure that I've got it factored in and included in my bid. The second part is understanding the market, understanding your competition, understanding where the market is, and then removing as much emotion out of the bidding process as possible. Those two can really work hand in hand to make the best business decision when it comes to pricing the job.