ILLEGAL COMPANIES

I hate to say it but I am that guy with the pick up truck and small chipper and trailer driving around at this point after getting laid off and it is paying off right now. Does my equipment scream professionalism?... not really. I do not spike trees unless it's a removal. I will admit I have topped a tree and man was it a beauty but that was to help this guy avoid serious injury. I do have liability insurance and for the most part am a crew of one.. maybe two if needed I use family or close friends. PPE is a big one I have an extra hard hat for my other guy and safety glasses. I don't put them in situations where accidents are real likely to happen. I limit saw usuage by them to next to none or none in some cases and don't take on anything that is out of my capability without having a rope/ground guy that knows what's going on. So I'm part of the problem I guess but in my area we don't have any large companies or anything it's a whole lot of small hack job outfits. So far it's been going well for me and I charge what it's worth but I can charge less than a large company as I have little to know overhead. I run a small vermeer 625 that I bought two years ago now for $1700 and a trailer that is my father's for the farm. So it's something where the chipper has paid for itself already and I'm golden.
 
VALID insurance (or lack of it) is 90 percent of hackdom.

We all started somewhere, and it sounds like you're trying to at least do it right.
 
its different for you puclimber. it sounds like you worked for a tree company before, so you know what your doing, you are on tb educating yourself and always learning, and yes, we do have to start somewhere. i was more talking about the guy that has no experience doing tree work. you know whats right and wrong. the guys im talking about will tell a client their red maple has dutch elm disease
 
PUC you're not part of the problem. You are just beginning, like me, your own business in tough times so you need to keep costs low. Right now, I show up in my Subaru Outback with my wife as a groundie unless I'm subbing for someone else. If I have a big job I'll sub a tree service to do the chipping and log disposal for me or I'll do the job through the company I work for and take a commission.

It's a matter of where you're going with it not where you are at the moment. The hacks are in the same place they started, whacking anything for cheap with no regard for safety, standards or professionalism, and usually one solution, Git r'down!
 
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