Where to start/take my business?

[devon TWiG]

Simple Simon ....if you live in a mostly rural area ( as I am ) then farmers are often in need of our services , and this will become more so as ADB takes hold , some trees will be too difficult for them to do , some farmers are too busy , some too old to be doing the hard work etc etc , you can keep prices low by not needing much machinery as they have tractors etc and brash can be left or burnt in situ , very few farmers will pay full "pro arb team " rates ....I do quite a bit of work for farmers now ...hedgelaying esp on one site , cutting firewood etc    no sweeping up at end of day , no road signs etc etc ?

[SimpleSimon]

1 hour ago, devon TWiG said:

Simple Simon ....if you live in a mostly rural area ( as I am ) then farmers are often in need of our services , and this will become more so as ADB takes hold , some trees will be too difficult for them to do , some farmers are too busy , some too old to be doing the hard work etc etc , you can keep prices low by not needing much machinery as they have tractors etc and brash can be left or burnt in situ , very few farmers will pay full "pro arb team " rates ....I do quite a bit of work for farmers now ...hedgelaying esp on one site , cutting firewood etc    no sweeping up at end of day , no road signs etc etc ?

This was more or less my thinking, lots of farms in my area and also a lot of" lifestyle" type smallholdings, etc with trees and scrub that need, or will eventually need attention. Brash burnt or diced up with the saw and left, logs I can either take away or else loads of people will have stoves and want it logged up. Minamal kit, and minimal messing about. Hopefully! 

[doobin]

1 hour ago, SimpleSimon said:

This was more or less my thinking, lots of farms in my area and also a lot of" lifestyle" type smallholdings, etc with trees and scrub that need, or will eventually need attention. Brash burnt or diced up with the saw and left, logs I can either take away or else loads of people will have stoves and want it logged up. Minamal kit, and minimal messing about. Hopefully! 

Then you won't go wrong with a mini digger and grab rather than a chipper.

[Stere]

Flail mower maybe?

 

 

[SimpleSimon]

3 hours ago, doobin said:

Then you won't go wrong with a mini digger and grab rather than a chipper.

What sort of work do you use the digger for? Are we talking towable size? I have driven a 5 tonner a bit and seen what sort of thing they're capable of but I don't really know much about them, especially not smaller ones. 

Any large (expensive) kit like that will definitely need to wait a while anyway but it's good to have ideas. 

[doobin]

You can move a heck of a lot more with a 1.5t and grab than you can by hand! Great for stacking timber and loading brash onto fires. 

[frogworlduk]

Where will you be looking to advertise, to be reaching farmers or estate owners?

[SimpleSimon]

1 hour ago, frogworlduk said:

Where will you be looking to advertise, to be reaching farmers or estate owners?

There are a few independent local shops with smallholding/equestrian type customer base and local ads boards, which could be a good starting point. I'm also having a couple of magnetic signs made up for the pickup, and I do already have a few existing contacts and acquaintances. I'm working on a website and much as I hate Facebook I guess I'll make a page on there too!