What next?

matdand

matdand

Participating member
Location
Montreal, Qc
I just finished my first season working for myself and I'm sitting here reflecting on what I should do next? It was a good year overall: spent tons on advertising, got my name out there, paid off my small truck and chipper and basic gear, also just bought an airspade for next season.

I definitely would like to hire a full time worker next year. Maybe buy some new machinery (mini skid or bigger truck maybe). What did you guys do when you just started out to help grow your business? I know this depends on area and the type of work that is offered, but just in general???
 
Pay your taxes first. Especially file your T4 summary if you had employees. $1000 penalty if late. I went three years in a row for that one. Duh! GST and employee remittance are the two items they take seriously.

Hiring an answering service with a real person's voice might get a better selection of customers. That's probably my next move. Not only don't some people leave a message but I hate checking the machine as well.
 
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Hire slowly and carefully!!!

Employees are your biggest liability!

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They can also be your biggest asset
 
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Pay your taxes first. Especially file your T4 summary if you had employees. $1000 penalty if late. I went three years in a row for that one. Duh! GST and employee remittance are the two items they take seriously.

Hiring an answering service with a real person's voice might get a better selection of customers. That's probably my next move. Not only don't some people leave a message but I hate checking the machine as well.

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I learned the hard way too. Do yourself a favor and hire a payroll service. Even if you only have one employee. Payroll service is cheap compared to late penalties or not caculating your payroll taxes right.
 
U may be able to hire through employment agency (depending on state), they will pay WC insurance, even pay insurance to drive your rigs, can use equipment not ladders, works for me.
 
Compare rates with your competitors and stay within the ballpark. Don't work for half of what competitors charge (just to get more customers). I did that it I see how it hurt the market and myself.

I would invest in employees. I wore too many hats for nearly a decade. When I look back at my beginnings, I see how an assistant, an accountant, and a groundsman would have made my life much easier.
 
Review your years in term of hours spent in the various elements of the business. How many on Admin(i.e., answering phone calls, producing invoices, proposals, bookeeping, etc...), Sales, servicing equipment and, actual work. Understand where your time is spent and what you do best. Once you've got that figured out delegate the other tasks to either a service or a new employee. You'll find that you are able to generate more sales simply by being able to off load non-revenue generating roles (think admin and equipment servicing). A groundsman will improve your productivity as well.

Be clear on what you need in terms of skills in a given role and draft a job description. From that you can advertise for the right person. Create a list of interview questions that will uncover a candidates abilities, skills, strengths and weaknesses. Don't wait to hire when the need is desperate you'll only end gambling on a persons ability to do what you need of them.

Plan and execute.
 
1. Build your Web site.
2. Marketing Plan best book I looked at was How to Market to the Over 50/Baby Boomers.
Hire someone with good references! It helps if you get them thru word of mouth.
I go to Youth Connectin the summer and usually get an under 25 with some issues but the Gov't subsidizes 60 to almost all their wages. Just so they can have some experience.
It can drive you nuts but atleast it helps someone out and doesn't cost much money. Bit like babysitting but if you can guide them along for awhile they will help you make money.

Happy New Year and Bon Chance!
 
Thanks for the replies. I've got a couple of good prospects lined up to hire. Will def use a payroll service. I'm already trying to delegate accounting and other office task to pros (my accountant had me sold when she said: «What takes you 5-6 hours we can get done in 1-2.») I'd love to have someone in the office full time but just can't justify it at this point. Web site is a must for the spring.

What about on the equipment side? Should I try to go bigger already or get some gear I don't own yet? I don't have a stump grinder and I don't have a way to move big wood. Was thinking of getting a mini with the stump grinder attachment. That way, we could do the job, haul the wood and grind the stump in one trip. Make sense? Thoughts?
 
If you have stumps to grind, you have wood to move, but not always the converse. Starting with a mini sounds good to me.

I hate stump grinding, and kinda want to sell mine, now that I know of a local guy that does stumps but not trees.

Where do you want to develop your business? Stumping is low tech, low skill work compared to climbing and pruning/ removing trees. You might focus on PHC over stump grinding. Diseases/ insects. Maybe an air spade would set you apart from your competition better than stumping.
 
Im not a big fan of grinding stumps either. I just hate it when I know I'm about to close a deal for a removal and then the client says :« So how much for the stump after?» Then I have to explain that I don't own a stump grinder, that I have to rent one and it might take a month for me to have enough stumps to do... I feel like a could potentialy lose clients because they'll go with the guy that can get it all done. I find that a grinder wouldn't be much of an investment, but more to fill a gap in my services.

I did just buy an airspade and want to offer more PHC services. Will def be trying to sell more fertilisation and soil decompaction next season. Pesticides are a pain in Canada because of laws and stuff. That keeps me away from that sercive. I would rather sell the preventive approach anyway....
 
I've been there. In hindsight, I would have tried, "I have a stump grinding service that will be able to give you great service, and a better price, as they have all the options, big grinders, small grinders for tight access..." etc.

Until recently, I couldn't find a local grinding service that didn't also do trees.

The idea of them waiting for a month is going to put them off much more that a good contractor referral, IMO. If you get an idea of the grinder's bidding ballpark, you can give an "estimate" of the cost. You might even be able to get a "finder's fee".

An mini-mounted grinder is probably the best option. If you're getting a grapple for the mini, there are grindings scoops available that will make it less tedious.

Maybe spend some on training, rainy day fund, bigger truck if it means more efficiency and savings.
 
Thanks Sean!!! Around here, the guys I would want to hire to do stumps are my competition, the others are just douches. I might go the mini way and see how I like it.
 
Sometimes people don't realize that they can pay to you flush cut the stump, then they just bury it under another inch of mulch in a garden bed.
"Well, rather than put that $200 into grinding that out-of-the-way stump, what about a flush cut stump that you can mulch over, and we can take care of that other tree that could use a canopy raise for $150/ $200?"


You might look into a carving video.

My first employee's day, who worked on the other side of the state, would supposedly whip out a carved bear in 20 minutes for $50-100. Mushrooms are an easy start, too.

Maybe I should look into a carving video, myself.
 
Over ten years in biz and still wish I had a stump grinder but the real win is when you go hard for awhile and make a several well placed cuts with some spent chain and apply MA and a full loaded truck and rip them out.

All you need is a couple pulaskis, 5/8 2xbraid dyneema and place a good solid log/fulcrum at the base, 2x and 3x pulley come in handy if they get real big. Anything greater than 30" is pretty much grind out except something like Picea pungens or shallow rooters especially in clay or on a hard pan of river run/gravel

Many take downs have girdles or are partially rotten.

Yeeehaah!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Ropearmour#p/u/13/Lk5OCj3BzOE
This was a big Tilia. Pulaskis ar the best to get it exposed and if looks like it will be to tough to break out you still have the option to cut it lower and leave it for a grinder or to get two truck on it.

Honey Locust seems to be the dirtiest sobs.

Happy New Year
 
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Interesting. Like the log fulcrum.

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Very nice technique. But, what do you do with the stumps?
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And for the conversation... I too have sub-contracted out stump grinding. At one time I owned a stump grinder. However, I ended up selling it when the economy was taking in 2009. I have since sub-contracted stump grinding out. My stump grinder guy is semi-retired. So, he is "Johny on the spot" when I call in stumps to be ground out. It's a good relationship to have.

However, there is something to be said about having your own stump grinder. I'll most likely get another one.
 
i subed mine for many years,and had good non competing subs. decided to buy my own again end of last year. I waited until my sub payments were more than a machine payment would be and i jumped. it is SO awesome to take machine and get it all done same day!!
 
Sorry for the derail Matdand.

Jamin, Knock the snot out of it.

You'd be suprised how you can knock the roots off with
the persuader Iltis Oxe-Head splitting maul

For an Oakman I got some hard core Euc tendencies.

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