What is job costing? A lot of people say it is the amount a certain job costs. In a way that is true but not for this discussion.

Job costing starts with the estimate or projected cost of a specified item or project. Then as you create the item or project you use real time data and compare the actual costs to the estimate or projected costs in a line by line itemization. This should be done in such a way that within minutes you can see whether you are on budget or off budget.

Setting a job costing system in your business helps you to manage your business in a tight economy. This could be the difference between success and failure, because you can make course corrections in mid-stream keeping you in a profit producing environment.

Plan your actions to accomplish the desired positive result. Doing this will improve your relationships, your business and you. Plan the things you will say and do when facing negative experiences. By doing this you can turn every negative into a positive. Preparation can create success, joy and happiness out of negative experiences.

An experience taught me this at a young age of 18. One day I was sitting on my bed and the thought struck me, what would I do if I was driving down a four lane road and I was in the right lane, and suddenly an accident occurred in the lane next to me sliding over into my lane. I thought I should slam on my brakes and turn my steering wheel ¾ of a turn causing me to slide at an angle, then let up on the brake and then while straightening the steering wheel I should dart forward in the new direction I was heading. Next I thought what if I was now headed straight toward a telephone pole. I would turn the wheel back the other way ¾ of a turn while slamming on my brakes and let go just as before and miss the pole. Now as I sat on my bed thinking this through it was not very meaningful at the time. The next night however, driving home from a movie in my girlfriend’s car, with my little brothers in the back seat, an accident occurred in the center lane ahead of me. Without thinking I turned the wheel and slammed on my brakes, released and darted forward as a truck swerved directly into where I had been missing me the full length of the car by inches. I was then headed towards a parked car and again without thinking I spun the wheel slammed on the brakes, and released and darted out around the parked car missing it by inches on the passenger side of the car. After the narrow misses I dug my girlfriend’s fingers out of my leg and my little brothers in the back seat were all smiles yelling “do it again.” I learned a little pre-planning allowed us to narrowly escape an accident that would have been unavoidable otherwise. It does not matter what the situation is pre-planning will help you make the correct decision when it really matters. I firmly believe in pre-planning to limit your negative experiences.