A reminder of how simple business can be when you don't make it complicated

37 signals:
"I’ve been staring at a project in my backyard for a few weeks. Staring hasn’t gotten it done. So I figured I’d see what it would cost to have these guys do it.
I called them. 10 minutes later the guy came by. He was down the street on another job. We walked out back. I told him what I needed done. He looked around for 20 seconds and said $300. I said “deal.”
That’s it. No proposal. No “I’ll get back to you tomorrow”. No “Let me see how much the materials will cost and I’ll drop an estimate in your mailbox next week.”
Just $300. Deal. When can you start? Wednesday. How long will it take? A few hours for a few guys.
He knows his business. I know what my time is worth. End of transaction. It was so damn refreshing."