May 6, 2025 - Daily Recap

First chair rental, full-day hustle, and a reminder that rush fees aren’t just suggestions

Author

Ramon Luna
May 06, 2025

Cinco de Mayo, Summit Chair Style
One of these years, I’ll land a client who calls every Cinco de Mayo without fail — tent, chairs, the whole thing. Until then, I’ll keep hustling.

Today started with a delivery of 55 Summit banquet chairs — their first time out since I bought them. Pretty exciting moment, not gonna lie.

Funny thing though: we pulled up to the venue at the exact same time as a much bigger company… delivering the training tables. I always thought people preferred a single vendor. Maybe our pricing pushed them to split the order, or maybe the chairs were unique enough to be worth the extra coordination. Either way, setup took about an hour and went smooth.

Derby Tent Pickup
Next, we headed back to grab the 20x15 high peak tent we set up for the Derby party on Saturday. It was a smooth takedown, nothing out of the ordinary — just a quiet wrap to a fun job.

  • Revenue: $1,149

  • Total Job Cost: $268

  • Profit: $881 (76.69%)

  • ARA Calculator Profit: $794.38 (69.14%)

  • Difference: -7.55%

  • Honestly surprised margins aren’t stronger here. It was a last-minute job with a rush fee, so I expected it to outperform. Looks like mileage really cut into the margins on this one.

Quick Tables & Chairs Pickup
Last stop was a no-frills table and chair pickup. In and out.

  • Revenue: $472

  • Total Job Cost: $224

  • Profit: $248 (52.59%)

  • ARA Calculator Profit: $241.95 (51.27%)

  • Difference: -1.32%

  • Margins were low, as expected for these smaller jobs. This one happened to be grouped with other deliveries, but I’m not counting on that anymore. Each job needs to make sense on its own.

A Wave of Inquiries, Few Conversions
Back at the warehouse, I couldn’t get through a full task without the phone ringing. The volume of inquiries was solid — the conversion rate, not so much.

One shift I’ve made: holding firm on rush fees. It’s been the only way to stay sane while accommodating last-minute requests. Not everyone loves it, but that’s kind of the point.

Until next time
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