Why Estimators Must Respect the Work | Steve Griffin

Electrical estimating is more than number-crunching—it’s a craft that demands accuracy, humility, and respect for every project. Careless estimates cost contractors money and reputation. The right mindset, combined with proper tools like Best Bid Electrical Estimating Software, helps estimators build careers defined by consistency and credibility.

Back in the mid-1980s, I took on a commercial job I thought I had completely figured out. I’d been estimating electrical projects for years by then. I was confident. Maybe a little too confident.

I rushed the takeoff. I glossed over some of the MEP coordination details. I told myself I’d seen enough jobs like this one to know what it would cost. I submitted the bid, won the work, and then spent the next several months watching my profit evaporate—dollar by dollar, day by day.

That job taught me something I’ve never forgotten: the work deserves your full respect, every single time.

What does “respecting the work” actually mean for an electrical estimator?

It means treating every estimate—whether it’s a $15,000 service upgrade or a $3 million commercial buildout—as if your reputation depends on it. Because it does.

Respecting the work means acknowledging what you don’t know. It means picking up the phone and asking questions before you put a number on paper. It means slowing down when your gut tells you to speed up.

I’ve seen plenty of sharp, talented estimators lose bids—or worse, win them at a loss—because they let ego get in the way of accuracy.

What happens when estimators get careless? Why Electrical Estimators Must Respect the Work

The consequences cut both ways.

Underestimate, and you win the bid but bleed out on the job. Your crew is underpaid for their hours, your material budget runs dry, and the client relationship suffers. I’ve watched good contractors go out of business because a few bad estimates wiped out the profit from dozens of good ones.

Overestimate, and you hand the job to your competitor. You lose revenue, lose momentum, and—over time—lose your standing in the market.

Every number on your estimate is a direct reflection of your credibility as an electrical contractor. There’s no neutral ground here.

Why humility is a competitive advantage in electrical estimating

Early in my career, I had to learn that not knowing something is not a weakness—it’s a starting point. The estimators I respect most are the ones who ask more questions, pull more data, and refuse to guess when they can verify.

In my book, Everybody Has A First: “Lessons from a Lifetime in Electrical Contracting and Business”, I write about how the willingness to say “I’ve never done this before” is often what separates contractors who grow from those who plateau. That same principle applies directly to estimating. Humility leads to thoroughness. Thoroughness leads to accuracy.

How the right tools support accurate electrical estimating

Humility and hard work will only take you so far without the right systems behind you.

That’s why I built Best Bid Electrical Estimating Software—because I lived through the frustration of estimating electrical projects with tools that weren’t designed by people who had actually done the work. Best Bid Electrical Estimating Software features built-in on-screen takeoff capabilities, so you can count and measure directly from your PDF drawings without relying on third-party software. You enter your quantities, and Best Bid handles the rest—fast, accurately, and with the fewest keystrokes possible.

It eliminates the guesswork. And when you remove guesswork from estimating, you remove one of the biggest sources of costly errors.

Building a culture of respect—one estimate at a time

Respect for the work isn’t just an individual mindset. It’s something you build into your entire operation.

That means reviewing every estimate before bid day, no matter how routine the project seems. It means investing in education—resources like the Online School for Electrical Estimating exist specifically to sharpen the skills that separate good estimators from great ones. And it means holding yourself to the same standard on a $20,000 job that you would on a $2,000,000 one.