How much should an owner of a tree business be on per year?

[Ty Korrigan]

Interesting thread.

Is that £90k a before tax figure?

I am quite pleased by our own figures last year but the time sacrifice required to better them consistantly when I have young kids and a current good quality of life is off putting.

No employees, no credit and lucky with the work that came our way.

 Our income is limited by the range I'm willing to cover and the available time I'm willing to allocate to quoting. With 75% of clients being within 15km 20% 25-30km and 5% over the 30km, I try to remain local so to spend more time with the family.

I don't actively look for commercial work, it occasionally looks for me though.

One job that we won in 2022 was worth 19k, cost me around 3k in subbies including the stump grinder contractor so netting me 16k in 5 days.

I doubt I will ever be able to better that but it gave me an insite into the kind of money sloshing around on public works projects.

I try to limit myself to a 4 day week on the tools and fit quoting around what free time there is.

If I was to expand my range even just a little, I'd eat into and even risk losing that precious family time.

Many private clients are of course available only in the evenings and weekends with commercial being the opposite.

Almost daily I think about growing the business to a size where I could run a second team to take me sufficiently but not entirely off the tools to allow time to manage, quote and fill in as well as renumerate me better given the financial risk I would be undertaking and I don't believe that at 53 it is too late either. 

MEWP, better truck (inevitable) telescopic, larger grinder, employ a clean living drug free climber from a monastic order, roadside signage, call myself the Breton Tree King and mumble inane advice in bizzare TikToc videos.

 My language skills are at a point I feel comfortable in meetings with recent commercial clients such as telecom mast builders and public works and we have a decent enough reputation to be recommended by the local authorities and invited back to work without them obtaining other quotes.

However, with mature consideration, I wouldn't swap a salary of £90k for time with my family at this period.

We are currently living in a sweet spot regarding time over salary over stress over quality of life and I'm reluctant to shake the mix up and lose it.

   Stuart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Ty Korrigan

[AHPP]

Only the Nazis and television licensing keep more accurate records than Ty Korrigan.  

[Ty Korrigan]

27 minutes ago, AHPP said:

Only the Nazis and television licensing keep more accurate records than Ty Korrigan.  

 

and OFSTED...