Masonry Magazine April 2008 Page. 44
CASE STUDY
Case Study, continued from p.39
Pacetti needed to draw his wall section, and the Pentium chip gave the computer the raw power it needed to draw the sections and compute the take-off.
As Pacetti began to work with the programmer, he needed to learn more about computers, and he needed to teach the programmer more about masonry construction. In the midst of this, he was still running a growing masonry contracting business and still using his old spreadsheet.
As time went on, Pacetti and his programmer began to add new features. Masonry walls often had various kinds of elements, such as architectural bandings of split face or soldiers. When a window or door opening was placed in the wall, it was not sufficient to simply subtract the square foot costs, but the actual costs associated with the actual material and labor components that were no longer required. The software also had to accommodate other common details such as columns, pilasters and parapets, along with the corresponding mortar and grout additions. All of this was simplified by the advent of another revolutionary technology, the Internet, which Pacetti quips as, "Having been made just for me!"
Instead of sending numerous floppy disks through the mail, Bill could now email his programmer. This not only simplified the development process, but expedited it as well.
As the program grew with new features, so did the expenses associated with further development. That did not matter to Pacetti. He kept hearing the words of his accountant, "Know your costs." His business was successful, because he stuck by those words and carefully executed each project. The software not only helped him estimate his costs better, it gave him two other things just as valuable: time and peace of mind. This was time not spent in going over take-offs a second and third time to assure they were accurate. This was a peace of mind that came from knowing that his business was not vulnerable to either a low or high bid.
Up to this point, Pacetti saw his software as an advantage over the competition. This was his tool for his business. However, his programmer saw even greater potential and suggested that he consider selling it to other masonry contractors to defray the development costs. Thus, Tradesmen's Software (www.tradesmens.com) was born.
Taking his programmer's advice, Pacetti sent out some 50 postcards to masonry contractors outside of his area. He soon received a call from a successful contractor who wanted to know more. So he packed up his heavy notebook computer at the time, and visited the contractor, showing the real power of the software. Throughout the whole demonstration, the contractor never made a peep. At the end, Pacetti asked if he had any questions, and the contractor broke his silence with the words, "What would it cost me for you to not sell this software to my competition?"
Pacetti was stunned. Going back and forth with the contractor, he knew he had something special and convinced him to purchase a copy. His message was as clear then as it is today: If you're not using Tradesmen's Software, you're not taking advantage of today's technology to increase your productivity and profit margins.
From that time to the present, more than 1,000 masonry contractors around the world have used and benefited from Tradesmen's Software. Pacetti has continually updated the program and is amazed how contractors, from the simple to the sophisticated, have discovered the time savings and peace of mind that comes from "knowing your costs." IMAS
Dominic Cerrato is a freelance writer and CEO of Cercorp Initiatives Inc., www.cercorp.com. Cercorp develops and licenses technology in the masonry industry.