My little idea is turning into a nice business

[drozenski]

So this past winter i meet a guy in the mall that was a tree trimmer for my local area. We got to talking and i found out he pays to have his wood disposed of in a landfill. I dropped the hint of hey i burn wood. You can drop off stuff with me. Ill take it for free. I've been packed with wood all winter thanks to this sweet deal and he calls me two times a week asking if i have more space.

Well this past month i bought .45 acres away from some houses. Just enough land to get my idea started. It cost me 3800 to get started.

Right now my buddy is dropping off 3 truck loads a week and im having a hard time keeping up. I only buck everything on the weekends. I got a massive pile of logs and rounds to split when the spring time comes around. Im hoping to make 5000-10000 a year doing this.

Well just the other day i meet up with my buddy for dinner as he wanted to thank me for saving him so much money. We got to talking and he's going to start paying me to take the wood now! $5 per log. I was mind boggled. Also right after he dropped that bomb shell on me. Two of his buddies come over and sit down. Now im thinking like tree trimming "mafia" oh crud!

Nope. Each guy had their own tree trimming business and want to use me to dispose of their logs. Again $5 per log!

So now im thinking of hiring some one part time 2-3 days a week to buck and split. I cant believe my little plan just to get some extra wood for myself is turing into something so big and so fast!

Sorry just wanted to share my story. Ill post some pics later this spring.

 

[muncybob]

Good for you! I'm toying with the same idea since I have lots of space for the logs but doubt/hope it doesn't become too big to handle by myself. Once bucked and split are you just heaping the splits or do you plan to stack(very time consuming!)? I envision just heaping them if I do indeed get into this but I also want to honestly be able to say that I'm selling seasoned wood and wonder if wood in the bottom of the heap will indeed be seasoned?

 

[joecool85]

So this past winter i meet a guy in the mall that was a tree trimmer for my local area. We got to talking and i found out he pays to have his wood disposed of in a landfill. I dropped the hint of hey i burn wood. You can drop off stuff with me. Ill take it for free. I've been packed with wood all winter thanks to this sweet deal and he calls me two times a week asking if i have more space.

Well this past month i bought .45 acres away from some houses. Just enough land to get my idea started. It cost me 3800 to get started.

Right now my buddy is dropping off 3 truck loads a week and im having a hard time keeping up. I only buck everything on the weekends. I got a massive pile of logs and rounds to split when the spring time comes around. Im hoping to make 5000-10000 a year doing this.

Well just the other day i meet up with my buddy for dinner as he wanted to thank me for saving him so much money. We got to talking and he's going to start paying me to take the wood now! $5 per log. I was mind boggled. Also right after he dropped that bomb shell on me. Two of his buddies come over and sit down. Now im thinking like tree trimming "mafia" oh crud!

Nope. Each guy had their own tree trimming business and want to use me to dispose of their logs. Again $5 per log!

So now im thinking of hiring some one part time 2-3 days a week to buck and split. I cant believe my little plan just to get some extra wood for myself is turing into something so big and so fast!

Sorry just wanted to share my story. Ill post some pics later this spring.

Have to say I'm a bit jealous. I'd love to have a little side job like that myself. Unfortunately for me so many folks around her burn wood for a living that I don't think I'd be able to make it happen. There's always an outlet for wood around here, very little going to the dump (other than brush of course).

 

[drozenski]

So this past winter i meet a guy in the mall that was a tree trimmer for my local area. We got to talking and i found out he pays to have his wood disposed of in a landfill. I dropped the hint of hey i burn wood. You can drop off stuff with me. Ill take it for free. I've been packed with wood all winter thanks to this sweet deal and he calls me two times a week asking if i have more space.

Well this past month i bought .45 acres away from some houses. Just enough land to get my idea started. It cost me 3800 to get started.

Right now my buddy is dropping off 3 truck loads a week and im having a hard time keeping up. I only buck everything on the weekends. I got a massive pile of logs and rounds to split when the spring time comes around. Im hoping to make 5000-10000 a year doing this.

Well just the other day i meet up with my buddy for dinner as he wanted to thank me for saving him so much money. We got to talking and he's going to start paying me to take the wood now! $5 per log. I was mind boggled. Also right after he dropped that bomb shell on me. Two of his buddies come over and sit down. Now im thinking like tree trimming "mafia" oh crud!

Nope. Each guy had their own tree trimming business and want to use me to dispose of their logs. Again $5 per log!

So now im thinking of hiring some one part time 2-3 days a week to buck and split. I cant believe my little plan just to get some extra wood for myself is turing into something so big and so fast!

Sorry just wanted to share my story. Ill post some pics later this spring.

Have to say I'm a bit jealous. I'd love to have a little side job like that myself. Unfortunately for me so many folks around her burn wood for a living that I don't think I'd be able to make it happen. There's always an outlet for wood around here, very little going to the dump (other than brush of course).

Yeah i know all about the brush. One thing the guy taked on when he said he would pay me to take the logs is i had to take brush too. We ended on the deal of if he chipps it into a truck he can dump it on my land.

I just need to start finding buyers for chips

 

[joecool85]

Yeah i know all about the brush. One thing the guy taked on when he said he would pay me to take the logs is i had to take brush too. We ended on the deal of if he chipps it into a truck he can dump it on my land.

I just need to start finding buyers for chips

Find a way to turn the chips into pellets

 

[mecreature]

read the link below.. see how this guy is making even more money on the side...

it is a nitch for sure




link


(broken link removed to http://www.twister-industries.com/media.php)

 

[loon]

very nice drozenski

but watch those chips eh as the piles dont take long to get mouldy %-P

loon

 

[bogydave]

Sound like it may work out well.
I've thought about seasoning wood for 2 years, selling for a premium price.
Not lucky enough to find a supply yet, but your way sound like wood cutters heaven.

Maybe chip up the brush, bag & sell as mulch to landscaping outfits, cover cost of the bags & get rid of the brush.

 

[smokinj]

Maybe 2-3 times a week now....Hard to justify it until fall but then its all balls to the wall! Stack it into face cords otherwise customers just cant wrap there heads around a full cord. 99 percent anyways......

 

[2orb]

So this past winter i meet a guy in the mall that was a tree trimmer for my local area. We got to talking and i found out he pays to have his wood disposed of in a landfill. I dropped the hint of hey i burn wood. You can drop off stuff with me. Ill take it for free. I've been packed with wood all winter thanks to this sweet deal and he calls me two times a week asking if i have more space.

Well this past month i bought .45 acres away from some houses. Just enough land to get my idea started. It cost me 3800 to get started.

Right now my buddy is dropping off 3 truck loads a week and im having a hard time keeping up. I only buck everything on the weekends. I got a massive pile of logs and rounds to split when the spring time comes around. Im hoping to make 5000-10000 a year doing this.

Well just the other day i meet up with my buddy for dinner as he wanted to thank me for saving him so much money. We got to talking and he's going to start paying me to take the wood now! $5 per log. I was mind boggled. Also right after he dropped that bomb shell on me. Two of his buddies come over and sit down. Now im thinking like tree trimming "mafia" oh crud!

Nope. Each guy had their own tree trimming business and want to use me to dispose of their logs. Again $5 per log!

So now im thinking of hiring some one part time 2-3 days a week to buck and split. I cant believe my little plan just to get some extra wood for myself is turing into something so big and so fast!

Sorry just wanted to share my story. Ill post some pics later this spring.

Have to say I'm a bit jealous. I'd love to have a little side job like that myself. Unfortunately for me so many folks around her burn wood for a living that I don't think I'd be able to make it happen. There's always an outlet for wood around here, very little going to the dump (other than brush of course).

Yeah i know all about the brush. One thing the guy taked on when he said he would pay me to take the logs is i had to take brush too. We ended on the deal of if he chipps it into a truck he can dump it on my land.

I just need to start finding buyers for chips

Search for wood burning power plants. May be able to sell by the tractor trailer load.

 

[fortydegnorth]

Wood seems to be in abundance around me but in turn that drives the price down. Around here a cord will sell for around $125-150 delivered. A cord of wood is quite a bit of work and I'm just not sure it would be worth it to me. Diesel is $3.75 per gallon and my dump gets about 10 mpg loaded. I'd have to sell a cord for good money to buck, split, stack, season and then deliver it. If you can get good money for it and turn a profit I say go for it. Remember that if you're using the land for a firewood business it's a write-off. So is the truck, saw, fuel, oil, maintenance, 1099 the workers as contractors, office in the house for running it, cell phone, etc etc....

 

[fatwoodfirestarters]

That is really great! Try not to get burned out and like you said try to get some people to help.

 

[savageactor7]

Good move drozenski.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Good for you man- livin the dream!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Very nice drozenski.

If you do good work and give customers a good deal for the money they spend, you can do very well. Just remember that one bad customer can ruin 10 potential customers. With that in mind, always do your best and never short-change anyone. If at all possible, sell dry wood for the same price or just a little more than others; give a bargain. Referral business is the best!

 

[firefighterjake]

Good deal . . . for me the biggest pain is getting the tree down and limbed up. Getting tree length wood delivered to you and being paid to take them sounds pretty good.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

I was a tree guy,way back when. Bro, those truckloads of woodchips are going to pile up... FAST.:ahhh: The rest sounds great, but you really need to come up with a solution for those chips,man. As someone else stated...they will start to rot pretty fast. Good Luck.

 

[jebatty]

Watch out for quarantined species, ash especially around here. Also species that can't be transported out of or into particular areas. Don't let your wood guy dump wood for you that is going to get you in trouble. Otherwise a great idea. Be sure to wear all the safety gear to protect head, eyes, arms, hands, legs, feet, etc.

 

[mayhem]

Sounds like a great gig, just be careful you don't run out of room.

You may want to check for local or regional biomass plants, many of them burn wood chips. Offer them for free and they mgiht come get them from you and save you the hassle. other than that, it might make sense to just have weekly bonfires, in which case you're probably better off not having it chipped up.

Hire a kid and pick him up a decent splitter and some basic tools and have him start making mountains of splits. Take what you need for yourself and a bit extra and offer the rest for sale at enough to cover your costs plus a small profit. It'll have to be a picked up price though or you're getting into a genuine business if you want to deliver it.

Or you could just buck it up yourself and offer it for sale in the round and let people come to you.

Have to check for insurnace for the properly and the kid though, that might cost you.

 

[billb3]

I'll get some pretty good sized piles of chips going , putting off spreading them out and have gotten yellow jackets ( or some kind of similar ground bee) in the piles. One pile wasn't any more than about 2 - 2 and 1/2 feet tall and when I took the backhoe to it in November there were about 5 computer towers worth of nest in it.
I had avoided it all Summer after I had stuck a spade in it and got chased off.

As much as I prefer not to throw chems on the chips I do now if I can't spread them out right away.

 

[mayhem]

Shouldn't have any trouble with them now...they're buried under a couple feet of snow and hibernating. Burn the little suckers.

 

[midwestcoast]

Watch out for quarantined species, ash especially around here. Also species that can't be transported out of or into particular areas. Don't let your wood guy dump wood for you that is going to get you in trouble. Otherwise a great idea. Be sure to wear all the safety gear to protect head, eyes, arms, hands, legs, feet, etc.

+1 you are in an EAB infested and quarantined county. Unless you've aleady done the research I'd say time to get reading about the regs in NYS. (broken link removed to http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/47761.html)
I THINK you can move Ash to/from adjacent quarantined counties, but you need to KNOW exactly what the regs are if you're in the biz.

Sounds like an interesting side project. IIWY I'd be thinking about how big I really want this thing to get. Manage it, don't let it manage you.

 

[drozenski]

Update. The good and the Bad

Well the bad news first. After looking into hiring a employee i am backing out. The insurance company wants $790 a month mostly because the employee will be working with dangerious equipment alone. So im holding off on insurance and an employee for now.

One of my new suppliers has backed out for the time being. He knows im a 1 man operation at the moment and he doesn't feel i can handle the load of all three tree trimmers. He's all for getting back in business once i have things straightened out.

The logs splitter i was using i no longer have access to. My buddy is moving and my semi permanet "borrow" has just been revoked

Now for the good.

I signed with the second tree trimming service. I get my first loads in two weeks. Im getting paid $120 per load of trees.

My .28 acres is filling up fast. I went out and did about 3 hours of cutting wendesday. I got piles of logs and rounds everywhere and am running out of space. Im currently looking into a new property closer to my home 1.11 acres and it's comercial so im golden.

Currently saving for a new splitter or two. I dont want to invest into a huge tree processing plant. i've seen a few on craigslist for 13-16k but im going to wait at least a year. Also many of them wont take the trees that are all twisty like trimmers often cut. Any one have a recomendation on a splitter? Something fast that myself or my wife could use.

Also this week i've had 7 orders of wood come in. Each for 1 FC. I'm surprised at just how many people want wood and dont care it's not seasoned. I tell each and every person that calls and most are like, whatever it burns bring me a load pease.

So for sales im currently up
3 loads delivered x 80 = $240
1 load delivered and stacked x 65 = $65 (Really nice 79 year old lady on my street) MAKES AWESOME COOKIES!
3 loads picked up x 65 = $195
Total = $500

I still need to figure out tax and such. Im not charging sales tax cause im not an "official business" but i know i will soon. I need to hit up town hall and get my lisence

 

[smokinj]

Update. The good and the Bad

Well the bad news first. After looking into hiring a employee i am backing out. The insurance company wants $790 a month mostly because the employee will be working with dangerious equipment alone. So im holding off on insurance and an employee for now.

One of my new suppliers has backed out for the time being. He knows im a 1 man operation at the moment and he doesn't feel i can handle the load of all three tree trimmers. He's all for getting back in business once i have things straightened out.

The logs splitter i was using i no longer have access to. My buddy is moving and my semi permanet "borrow" has just been revoked

Now for the good.

I signed with the second tree trimming service. I get my first loads in two weeks. Im getting paid $120 per load of trees.

My .28 acres is filling up fast. I went out and did about 3 hours of cutting wendesday. I got piles of logs and rounds everywhere and am running out of space. Im currently looking into a new property closer to my home 1.11 acres and it's comercial so im golden.

Currently saving for a new splitter or two. I dont want to invest into a huge tree processing plant. i've seen a few on craigslist for 13-16k but im going to wait at least a year. Also many of them wont take the trees that are all twisty like trimmers often cut. Any one have a recomendation on a splitter? Something fast that myself or my wife could use.

Also this week i've had 7 orders of wood come in. Each for 1 FC. I'm surprised at just how many people want wood and dont care it's not seasoned. I tell each and every person that calls and most are like, whatever it burns bring me a load pease.

So for sales im currently up
3 loads delivered x 80 = $240
1 load delivered and stacked x 65 = $65 (Really nice 79 year old lady on my street) MAKES AWESOME COOKIES!
3 loads picked up x 65 = $195
Total = $500

I still need to figure out tax and such. Im not charging sales tax cause im not an "official business" but i know i will soon. I need to hit up town hall and get my lisence

Insure it as a landscape company. I pay 120.00 bucks a month with work men comp. and 1/2 million in liability! Dont know what crazy company your talking to. I have myself and 2 part-time people.

 

[drozenski]

Update. The good and the Bad

Well the bad news first. After looking into hiring a employee i am backing out. The insurance company wants $790 a month mostly because the employee will be working with dangerious equipment alone. So im holding off on insurance and an employee for now.

One of my new suppliers has backed out for the time being. He knows im a 1 man operation at the moment and he doesn't feel i can handle the load of all three tree trimmers. He's all for getting back in business once i have things straightened out.

The logs splitter i was using i no longer have access to. My buddy is moving and my semi permanet "borrow" has just been revoked

Now for the good.

I signed with the second tree trimming service. I get my first loads in two weeks. Im getting paid $120 per load of trees.

My .28 acres is filling up fast. I went out and did about 3 hours of cutting wendesday. I got piles of logs and rounds everywhere and am running out of space. Im currently looking into a new property closer to my home 1.11 acres and it's comercial so im golden.

Currently saving for a new splitter or two. I dont want to invest into a huge tree processing plant. i've seen a few on craigslist for 13-16k but im going to wait at least a year. Also many of them wont take the trees that are all twisty like trimmers often cut. Any one have a recomendation on a splitter? Something fast that myself or my wife could use.

Also this week i've had 7 orders of wood come in. Each for 1 FC. I'm surprised at just how many people want wood and dont care it's not seasoned. I tell each and every person that calls and most are like, whatever it burns bring me a load pease.

So for sales im currently up
3 loads delivered x 80 = $240
1 load delivered and stacked x 65 = $65 (Really nice 79 year old lady on my street) MAKES AWESOME COOKIES!
3 loads picked up x 65 = $195
Total = $500

I still need to figure out tax and such. Im not charging sales tax cause im not an "official business" but i know i will soon. I need to hit up town hall and get my lisence

Insure it as a landscape company. I pay 120.00 bucks a month with work men comp. and 1/2 million in liability! Dont know what crazy company your talking to. I have myself and 2 part-time people.

Their reasoning was that 1 my current propery is set back and cant be seen from the road, the person is alone working with a chain saw all day. If they got hurt and he was unable to reach a cell phone then no one would hear his cries for help

I dont own the new propery yet, it's on a main road and visable by several business/homes so im sure it will be much less their.

Oh and i was talking with Liberty Mutual.