The Hard Truth About Underbidding Projects

Let’s talk about a tough lesson in construction—underbidding a project. It happened to me recently, and it hit hard.

We were $300,000 over budget on a project. Some of it was due to client changes—radiant heat, custom features—but part of it was on me. I misbid the tile, missed details in the drawings, and now I had to face the client.

Here’s the thing: you can try to spin it. Blame rising costs, design changes, whatever. Or you can do what I did—own it. I sat down with the client and said, “I made a mistake. I misbid the job.”

It’s uncomfortable, but it works.

• Admitting fault disarms people.

• It builds trust.

• It shifts the focus from blame to solutions.

Mistakes happen in business. The key is learning from them:

• Refine your bidding process.

• Ask better questions upfront.

• Create checklists to avoid missing details.

Own your mistakes. Learn from them. And don’t make the same mistake twice.