Well here we go I guess

_Ryan_

TreeHouser
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
9
I have been a member of another site for a while and a lurker here for a while too. I am curently employed by the local government and make 38,000 a year. I have been running a tree service for the last three years part time. The last couple of years I have ended up grossing around $100,000. Well I am to the point that I have to make a decison one or the other. I own out right a 95 F-800 Altec Bucket truck (old good working conditon no rust) 1990 Dodge Cummins 1 ton chip truck, 1992 F-350 4x4 7.3 Diesel, 1996 Dodge ram 2500 cummins 4x4, 2012 14,000lb pj dump trailer, 2009 21000 lb gooseneck, 2013 24ft 14,000 lb bobcat trailer. 1996 Carlton 4100D stump grinder with greentth set up and 1,100 hrs. Bandit 65 Xl with a lambordini diesel 180 hrs. 2009 Bobcat S-185 1600 hrs. Grapple bucket, general purpose, root bucket, forks snow bucket, inverted wood splitter. 1990 555C tractor backhoe. Everything is very nice shape no rust good working order. SRT climbing gear, port a wrap, buckingham spikes rigging gear etc. I have a property out of city limits with a good house finished heated 32x32x14 foot wall shop, paid for owb, for heat. The house and property payments only 580 bucks a month with insurance and taxes included. Last Year I finally turned a profit since I was re investing the profits back into the business every year. I have for the last five years have gotten to despise my mindless thankless day job, and a few of the people and the BS. I really love tree work and I am currently have been doing self study and education on proper pruning techniques, tree species, disease and all kinds of great information from sites like this. I am going to take a course for the state to become a certified tree inspector, and I would love to be ISA certified some day. My wife just landed a job with family health insurance bennies and I think that will be the tipping point for me to go full time. Our area needs a tree service that actually does good work instead of the tree topping, flush cutting, lionstailing, Idiots around. Sorry Ha Ha. I was going to see what everyones thought was on my business plan. I Plan on starting out this spring full time. I plan on doing as much as I can myself until my volume goes up till i can't keep up anymore and am forced to hire someone. I have talked to our local tiling and excavating company about some fill-in sub contracting backhoe work if the tree work gets slow and he is very interested in it. I havent advertised other than business cards and a couple of posters. My main advertising is word of mouth. I try to do every job with perfection and treat the customer fairly and also treating myself fair at the same time and it seems to be working well. I was just wondering what you guys think of all of this?
 
Do you mean you plan to work alone to start?

You pretty often need a second person IMO.

Sounds like you've got a lot of equipment. A second guy will pay for himself in no time just saving trips to a worksite.

Obviously it goes without saying that safety is hugely compromised when working alone.
 
good luck. Sounds like you have a decent plan. May want to consider bringing in a second guy sooner though like Squish said.
 
Do your wife's insurance benefits cover much if you get whacked?
Get yourself a good disability insurance policy if they don't!
 
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  • #11
The disability insurance thing was another question I guessed I missed I think I will have to go after it. What can you guys gross in a day that are a one or two man show? I do have a few people that can fill in here or there for the larger jobs. I want to get a 12" chipper and take that 65xl extend the frame a bit on my dump trailer and mount the chipper on the front. I hopefully can pick up a mini skid too for the operation. I was even thinking of making a rack or shelf on the front of my bucket to haul a mini. One good thing going for me is nothing goes to the shop. The bucket needed a rotation bearing installed and Altec wanted ten to twelve grand to do it. I picked up the brearing for thirty five hundred,built some stands had a friend help and a weekend later we were done. I'm lucky to have some skills I built my own grapple and other skid attachments that I use. I have a lot of friends that are skilled and help me out too. Not a whole lot has to go to the shop. Really helps keep the costs down. My brother does auto body and is going to paint the chip truck to match the rest of the fleet. I am foutunate enough to even sell my wood chips to a dairy farmer down the road for twety bucks a load ha ha.
 
Sounds good.

You will benefit from one solid, trainable, retainable employee, especially if they want flexibility and not to work 40 hours a week. Someone willing to work hard to have their time off.

It doesn't matter what you gross in a day, its gotta be a a long term Net. What you can do in your market per day gross, with your cost of living, your equipment costs, your WC costs, etc, are all going to factor in.

Where are you? What is bucket access like? Do you have to climb a lot? Its easier to be put out of commission as a climber than a bucket operator? I have to climb a lot, and know that I won't be doing it at 60, at least not like at 35.

Buy a Wraptor to invest in your body and some of the Sena comm units. It will make have an employee a LOT LOT LOT easier. Shouting sucks.


Ask yourself how will your budget/ lifestyle/ relationship with your wife change by you not have 38k, dependably, but having that extra 40 hours a week (presumeably, with the gov't).

Are you marketable if you were to need/ want to go back to the private sector (say you wreck your shoulder or the like)?

You are in a way better position than me for equipment, honestly, and if you're doing 100K PT, as a tax/ insurance/ etc paying business, I'd say that you've set yourself up to knock some s(*t out.

Consider how you will get more business. I have been getting some bid requests through the slow winter season by using Yodle internet marketing at $400/ mo. Its new for me this year. I think that it will show itself to be worthwhile, even at this bottom level of service.
 
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  • #13
I live in southern minnesota. I would say 75 percent of the time I have bucket access. I don't have to climb that much. It sure is handy and I have a few repeat customers that just love it that I climb it keeps their manicured yards in awesome shape. My local hack competition figures if you can't use the bucket &@$$-it. I use the bucket as much as possible obviously for production. Our cost of living is really cheap around here. I cleared about thirty thousand last year plus about fifteen in Ben franklins and bartering. At that thirty eight thousand I can make a living but we're not going to be driving new vehicles, but that's fine with me. I have a few people that help me. A couple of them are awesome but their day jobs pay them 50 grand plus with bennies. That would be a long way off for the hope of employing someone like that. If my tree work gets slow during the season I have that excavating subbing lined up too. I have contractor buddies that could use help during the season too. I also have contacts for repair and fab work out of my shop. I also do snow removal in the wintertime. Another revenue Is scrap iron clean out. If I need to the FIL farms a lot of land and can use some help in the spring and the fall. I just want an occupation that I don't have to force myself to get out of bed everyday I don't care to be rich but I don't want to be broke. I enjoy the variety of tree work and other than the occasional dick head I enjoy establishing relationships with customers.
 
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  • #15
Oh sorry it's Ryan and thanks! I have talked to a gravel pit owner and a h-vac business owner and they have had good luck and the best value with radio advertising. I know I will need to do more advertising to get the volume up there.
 
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