The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-02-13
OVERHEAD EXPENSES"
Need For Greater Care In Figuring Is
Pointed Out.

Those who are engaged in the various
branches of the granite, marble and
stone business are not the only people
in the United States who need to have
their attention called to the great inn
portance of getting down to the actual
cost of their work before setting a price
upon it, but these are the only people
we are interested in at present and we
consider it a duty to keep continually
hammering away at it. 1t has been
said that there is not a business con
Germ in the United States in whose sys-
ten of estimating overhead expense
there is not room for improvement. 1t
is also undoubtedly true that success
or lack of success in any industry is
due to the degree of perfection which
has been attained, by those engaged in
it, in estimating the real costs There
is not a man who reads this who will
not agree that one who buys an article
for 10000 and sells it for $4,000 must
be crazy il he thinks he is making
profit in the transaction, but does not
know it. The agitator for better con-
ditions can talk until he is black in the
face trying to convince some people that
they need different business system,
but they will still continue to repeat,
Il know what ! am doing. | am salts
fed"
The greatest and the most common
mistake that is made is. the inability
to tell the difference between a. salary
and a profit. There is probably not
a man who reads this who. if he gets
hold of any less than $500 during the
year, has made one single penny of
profit on his business. He has got a
salary; and has had all the worry and
all the risk and responsibility for which
he has received a certain amount of So
called glory as recompense. Further
more it is often the case that even
the salary is borrowed from the bank
or from his creditors. Many and many
man never gave a moments thought
TO this mdierous situation until he had
met, at association meetings, others en-
gagged in the same occupation and after
talking it over new light has been
thrown upon his existence. He has
gone home determined to do better by
himself than he has done before He
haG determined to place margin be-
tween his cost and the selling price, and
Aff mus iiidt iAt - up dSdiHst Oilc VI
more competitors who do not know
any more about this subject than he
did before his awakening took place
They continue TO fool themselves into
the belief that they are eking out
living when they are not, and so long as
they can keep the producer and the
banker from sending the sheriff around
to see them, they form serious STUN
bling block in the way of the man who
knows that he has got to demand much
higher prices than the Others do it be il
to make both ends meet and establish
himself upon creditabe basis in his
community.
Several things can be done to rem
edy this unsatisfactory condition. First
it will be necessary for every man to
look himself squarely in the face and
say with truthfulness that he is do
ing business on business principles; that
he j. giving his customers exactly what
b. agrees to give them; that he has in
cluded every cent Of original cost and
every cent OF overhead expense together
with reasonable percentage OF profit !
before he fixes the selling price. II he
Joins In the organized movement with |
those IN ms locality who are compel |
ing with him. he will help to educate
them to his own advantage and they /
will do the same by him. Any uplift- |
ing influence along this line must be
general and il must be brought about /
through organized effort. Then there is |
another thing that could be made to
contribute forcibly in the needed reform
leading to reasonable profits, and that I
i the elimination Of the unreasonable /
oredits which are extended by those
who sell the goods at wholesale 1t is
true that if man is not
making fair profit he does not pay
MS bills promptly. and if he ID COM
1elled to pay his bills promptly he will
De obliged to make profit if he stays
n business.-From American Stone
Trade.
AMuSEnEEMrS MaTrc