Epic VA Treemek Build

If you will lose some work over a rate hike, how much loss of hours would balance with your hourly increase?

I'd rather work half as much for 60% more per hour, but that's dreaming.

You have no competition in your specialty.

Idk, here a 22t cable with an experienced operator is $200 per hour, using a climber. A 34t is $300 per hour, also portal-to-portal.

How tight are your jobs? Are cable cranes limited by other trees, where you can work with a more horizontal boom?
 
southsoundtree said:
If you will lose some work over a rate hike, how much loss of hours would balance with your hourly increase?

I'd rather work half as much for 60% more per hour, but that's dreaming.

You have no competition in your specialty.

Idk, here a 22t cable with an experienced operator is $200 per hour, using a climber. A 34t is $300 per hour, also portal-to-portal.

How tight are your jobs? Are cable cranes limited by other trees, where you can work with a more horizontal boom?
Click to expand...
I just don't think its the time for an increase. I'm already begging for work. Generally things work out but for instance I have 3 half day jobs on the books for this week and thats it. No calls, no interest, nothing. I was on vacation all last week and figured in a week I'd be able to book those days but I was wrong. Not really sure what the deal is. At one point I was booked 3 weeks out. Not I can't get booked a week out. I know there is a feast or famine in tree work but in the 26 tree services out here, i've worked for 13. Even those 13 have dried up. I just think they look at it as bringing me in reduces their profit and a rate increase would reduce it even more. What they don't see is I increase their profit via reduction of manpower and if they aren't charging the customer for my services then they have no idea what they are doing anyway.

I do have a marketing piece I am going to put on a thumb drive and mail to everyone under the sun. I also need to just cold call some ac, builders, steel guys for shits and giggles. I just thought it would be going better. July kicked ass. 20k in sales. August has sucked.
 
August is always slower.
Tuition bills, school clothes, vacations.

How far do you travel?


If owners are used to feeding a bunch of guys, they may feel responsibilities toward them. If they don't have enough work for a climber, they could risk losing the climber.

Takes time to change gears.






Do you have a marketing video?
 
I will travel to the money. I am finishing up the marketing video this week. My guy has done an awesome job so far. Just need to shoot the Q&A. My plan is to put the video on a thumb drive and send it to everyone in the phone book.
 
You're On It, Sir!!

Tree-mek Q and A?
Q: Does the Tree-mek ever call in from County Jail, putting the rest of the crew into stand-by or scramble?
A: No. The Tree-mek has a spotless Criminal Record. Never even been arrested.

Q: Does the Tree-mek ever come down with the flu?
A: No. The Tree-mek doesn't even need vaccinations.

Q: Does the Tree-mek make decisions that could drive your Worker's Comp rates through the roof, like dropping something on ground workers from height, a "struck-by".
A: No. The Tree-mek can be operator without personnel beneath the tree.

Q: Does the Tree-mek need weeks of recover from shoulder surgery?
A: No. Its a new crane and Tree-mek, with minimal maintenance. Should a blown hose occur, it can be fixed in under an hour, and the Tree-mek is fully operational.

Q: Does the Tree-mek ever come to work frazzled from a poor night's sleep because of the new baby, or having had a blow-out with the baby-mama or kid.
A: No, the Tree-mek is single, no dependents.

Q: Does the Tree-mek ever break into your shop to steal your tools to feed a drug habit.
A: No. Full Disclosure, the Tree-mek had a diesel and grease habit, and am the source.




Does your area support Put On Ground Only work? If you work directly for the homeowner, you cut out the middle man. I do a fair bit. People around here know how to cut stuff up that's on the ground well enough.

Same work.
Maybe you know someone who would be a landscaper/ property clean-up type who might do clean-up, directly between the homeowner and themselves, not you in the middle.

I know a number of trustworthy people (my mortgage broker, a commercial fisherman friend who has brought me and the homeowner salmon fillets, a retired white collar guy who wants to cut some wood filling the beat up trailer behind his Hummer), who will cut up and pick up wood, not CL wood ticks.
People will rent a chipper and use the mulch, or burn the brush.

Its a small segment, but a good, profitable, simple segment of my market, and that's without advertising for POGO service.


Are you in the Norfolk market?
 
Last edited:
August always seems to suck. I figure all the last minute vacations trump getting anything done around the house. Keep on keeping on Steve. You’ll have great times and not so good times.

The job I did yesterday was prime for a mec. A large white oak with room to bomb, a dead as hell white oak that could’ve been felled but clean up would’ve sucked, and a medium sized dead ash with a tightish drop zone. All could’ve been done with a mec in 5-6 hours instead of the 12 we put in.
 
My thoughts on rentals your trading time for money. When storms roll through you don’t have the opportunity to make the increased pay of doing the hazard work to stockpile for the monthly payments , the Tree company is just making more profit. It will probably take 2-3 yrs to develop 5 day a week rental. Their are some owner operators in my area booked out for at least a month all year stick cranes though. They have been doing it a long time and have a great client base. August is always a slower month. You will build up to it. People either understand the mek concept or they don’t. I feel as if most guys renting cranes like to see big pieces come down and then don’t realize how long they take to process. Maybe a timed job to show you can do a decent tree in 4 Hrs.
Best of luck
The mek can release pieces from height.
It is truly an amazing machine
 
treebilly said:
All could’ve been done with a mec in 5-6 hours instead of the 12 we put in.
Click to expand...

Sooo...what is the job 'worth'?

Is the billing rate for climbing $X.XX/hour and $2xX.XX for the Mec making the job worth the same?

Where is value created?

I had to learn this value lesson when I hired my first climber. I bid at my rate but realized he did good work but wasn't as fast as me. Uh oh...time to adjust
 
The value of no ground impact is huge. Small amounts of sawdust. Most of the mess is at the easy to clean pavement, compared to everywhere.

The value of a chill experience for the homeowner, not wondering if the guy in the tree or the guys that keep going under the tree under rigged pieces are going to die or not is valuable.

The reduced noise is valuable. Most people are gone from 8am- 3...4...5...6 pm.
 
@southsoundtree

All great points. Can consumers be sold on the value? Can the values be monetized?

Or, is a sales rep talking about the quality of branch collar cuts to a consumer that just went glassy eye? I learned to watch for that look and change my sales tactic.

Don't get me wrong. I truly want everyone with a grapple saw to have huge success. They are the sharp point of our the tree removal industry. Using them keeps climbers out of harm's way...and makes them more likely to stay alive and retire.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Kask Stihl NORTHEASTERN Arborists Wesspur TreeStuff.com Teufelberger Westminster X-Rigging Teufelberger
Back
Top Bottom