lumberjackson
Active Member
- Location
- Utah
I have had my own business for about a year now and am at the point where I need to make a few big decisions. I spent the last week reading through all the threads I could find on here where people talked about business models they've seen and used, and the biggest thing I've taken away from it is to talk to people who have similar goals, see what they did, what they liked, what was tough, and compare that with your values and see what works for you. There is already some great advice from a lot of you on the forum, but I have been so stressed lately, I'm hoping or some more input and experience.
I currently work with my wife who is an exceptional groundsman and a decent climber. We've got an F250 with a chip box and a bandit 150XP. The niche market we want to get into is tree preservation. We do quite a bit of root collar excavations, targeted pruning, cabling and bracing, soil tests, diagnostics, and planting. We also do removals that come our way, but don't go out of our way to sell them. We have a good relationship with a couple crane companies that are comfortable on tree jobs, and hire contractors we work well with on bigger jobs. I'm getting my pesticide applicator license this winter.
Our problem is we want to increase efficiency (in terms of dollars per hour/day/week whatever) without wearing out our bodies. The decision I am having a hard time with is equipment vs employees. The subcontractor friends that typically help us aren't good long term solutions because they will be moving, getting "real" jobs in different industries, etc. What are some of your experiences in investing in equipment vs employees? I know they both have their places, but what worked or didn't work for you when you were a 1 crew operation?
I currently work with my wife who is an exceptional groundsman and a decent climber. We've got an F250 with a chip box and a bandit 150XP. The niche market we want to get into is tree preservation. We do quite a bit of root collar excavations, targeted pruning, cabling and bracing, soil tests, diagnostics, and planting. We also do removals that come our way, but don't go out of our way to sell them. We have a good relationship with a couple crane companies that are comfortable on tree jobs, and hire contractors we work well with on bigger jobs. I'm getting my pesticide applicator license this winter.
Our problem is we want to increase efficiency (in terms of dollars per hour/day/week whatever) without wearing out our bodies. The decision I am having a hard time with is equipment vs employees. The subcontractor friends that typically help us aren't good long term solutions because they will be moving, getting "real" jobs in different industries, etc. What are some of your experiences in investing in equipment vs employees? I know they both have their places, but what worked or didn't work for you when you were a 1 crew operation?