Must haves for business

timbertramp

TreeHouser
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Messages
434
Location
lansing, mi
I was wondering if there was anything that Y'all thought was just a have to have when starting a business. I know we all discuss how handy tools such as the mini and chippers save so much time. But maybe there are some things that you would advise someone just starting out to pick up.
 
EMPLOYEES!!!

Without great team members, no matter the equipment you have, you will fail.

The most important thing to any business is trustworthy, dependable, honest employees.

Just saying. :drink:
 
for just starting, a dependable truck of your own, backup bars, chains, ropes & saws.

Learn to use Xcell or a comparable program and to keep your own accounts, maintenance records, etc.

Liability insurance
 
I'll second Quiken!
The second thing is, I'll post and old quote I heard, that I'm sure many others here are familiar with as well.

"Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week for themselves to avoid having to work 40 hours a week for someone else!"

Don't be proud and do your best to find and fill a niche in the market in your area.
 
A good marketing strategy. If you're not marketing (cost) effectively you will probably have a skewed (jaded) perspective of the true amount of work you can potentially access.
 
Your best marketing strategy is to do good work at an honest price. A good reputation and word of mouth will bring you a lot of business. That and the sound of your saws is better than a billboard around here.
 
Credit. You need good credit or someone in the picture with good credit that's willing to sign or you. There's a big focus on tools and organization of data and such. That's not wrong. But you need borrowing power. There's two critical scenarios to anticipate.
1. You run out of money. You aren't out of business, and there's blue skies on the horizon, but you need money to make it through to that point. You'll want good credit in this moment.

2. You're making money. You have the opportunity to make even more with a certain piece of equipment. Credit comes into play again. I hear guys say "pay cash". Those guys usually work in trades that involve lots of hand tools. Machinery is expensive and I'm sure one can save up and pay cash eventually. But saving might take years. Paying it off takes years. Might as well have the necessary machine at the beginning of that cycle as opposed to the end. It'll make generating the money easier.
 
Although some may argue, I believe in "good" debt and bad debt. Chris has good advice above.

I am no tree man, but I am kind of a business man. It might seem like I am drowning in debt, but my debt to asset ratio is excellent for my age and industry.

On a side note, I would think you would need some, uh, ropes and a chainsaw? Maybe a biner or two? Yeah?:P:)
 
Good debt is critical to a good credit score. That's right from the source too, not theory. Banks are weary of individuals and entities that don't have some debt. They see security in the fact that the prospective borrower has a level of debt that they manage and keep up with. That's getting into a whole new topic though. But yes, I agree, there is good debt and bad debt. Bad debt doesn't mean its a poor investment, its more a term that defines a debt on something that isn't an asset. Banks call a property good debt. They call a matching pair of snowmobiles bad debt.
 
Sunsabeetchees! A matched set of snowmobiles may be absolutely needed to maintain my sanity. With out my sanity I might just sit in my chair, get fat and depressed and not get my work done.

If'n I dont get my work done, I dont get to make payments on my "good" debt! (thats how I sold my motorcycle plan to the wife)

Have a good work ethic, but do not put family fun and your well being on the back burner. I have been trying for ten years to break that cycle.
 
I was defining lenders terms of good vs bad. Not my personal definition. I think you need new matching snowmobiles. With nitrous bottles and grass tracks for drag racing in the summer.
 
Pens. You need a lot of pens. You'll always be digging around the truck for a pen to mark out a "paid in full" invoice. You'll always seem to have a pen on your clipboard gadget when you do estimates. No man forgets his pen when he is staring down the barrel of money. But all pens will vanish without a trace when you need one otherwise. Then what happens is you have to say to the customer "I seem to have lost my pen. Do you have one by chance that I can borrow for a moment?" Then they will say yes and spend an eternity rummaging around in their house for one. Then you'll get impatient and start thinking "why the hell does he need this marked out anyhow? His check written to my business serves as a receipt. Hurry the hell up"

Good credit and a box of pens.
 
Omg, that was good. Btw, don't buy Bic medium point pens, the basic ones, cuz they don't write in cold weather.

Here we have another gold-plated thread, imo. These 2 pages of responses are awesome and show what a sweet place TH is.

Ed (Thor) chimed in the other day to say forums like these are dead. I say Nah. Maybe others but not here.:drink:
 
Always got one stuck in my hat.

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Vista print seems cheap and easy for marketing materials. Maybe other sources would be better. Decent signage on your truck.

Heavy duty, shop-made brush cart. Heavy-duty hand truck with minor modification, under a hundred bucks. There is a thread about labor-saving techniques and tools which I bumped.
 
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