Young lad trying to get in the game

[Jesse]

I just want to get a rough idea to what I really need to be doing and what I can get away with not doing, what's wrong with a good old Blake hitch?

 

Blake hitch is fine, a bit old school , but i lke that, its not about how you tie your rope, its about how you apply yourself , if you don't have a good recognizable Arb qualification your career prospects could be limited . If you knowledge is very limited it may even be very difficult to get your foot in the door, I get at least 2-3 enquirers a day for work all with lots of tickets and experience. I think its a sad work place at the moment, too much cherry picking going on, and not enough time spent thinking about the individual and what attributes they may bring to an organization other than filling a need or an H&S requirement. Good luck.

[codlasher]

Blake hitch is fine, a bit old school , but i lke that, its not about how you tie your rope, its about how you apply yourself , if you don't have a good recognizable Arb qualification your career prospects could be limited . If you knowledge is very limited it may even be very difficult to get your foot in the door, I get at least 2-3 enquirers a day for work all with lots of tickets and experience. I think its a sad work place at the moment, too much cherry picking going on, and not enough time spent thinking about the individual and what attributes they may bring to an organization other than filling a need or an H&S requirement. Good luck.

 

Just looked at a Blakes hitch, looks useful as it works two ways. I use a rolling hitch but not in climbing as I don't climb. I will try it in the near future to see if it will do what I think it will do.

Jesse I agree that things are sad and your final sentence is so, so true!

There is room for tree planting though, gotta have young trees to cut later! That's another skill that seems to be overlooked.

codlasher.

[loujj]

never really thought about it if im honest its just the method they teach at nptc and the method the company im working at use. would like to find out more info on what i really need to be successfull, apart from a good work standard and the obvious. illl say again, any sort of help or advice anybody can bring to the table would be appreciated.

[Steve Bullman]

Just looked at a Blakes hitch, looks useful as it works two ways.

 

No it only actually works 1 way.

[Mark Bolam]

Two ways Steve.

 

Up and down.

[nailer]

Hello guys just wondering if anybody can help me out or guide me in the right direction really. Basically I'm a fully qualified arborist and I have also completed my nvq level 2 course at askham Bryan, unfortunately my 2 year contract has ended and I am looking to set up my own small business and hopefully over the year expand, basically I'm asking for advice on literally anything anybody can help me out with but mainly to do with laws and regulations as I'm aware of how the job runs but not so sure about the running of a business, any help appreciated

 

Louis.

 

Hi Louis,

 

my advice would be this:

Register yourself as self employed with HMRC

Get insured to carry out tree work. With a tiny turnover this should be affordable.

Get your climbing and rigging kit lolered.

Have you got a truck and chipper? If not, get a pick-up and a 10ft tipping trailer.

Find a freelance climber that is top notch and with experience of how an efficient crew should be operating. Make sure he's got all his own saws and fuel. He'll teach you loads you might not even be aware of. Pay him £150 a day and always pay promptly. Take pictures of every reduction he does for you and put them on your website.

Phone customers back straight away. Always turn up for quotes and jobs on time. Always. Ignore what everyone else is charging and get £600 a day for your 2-man team. Make a booklet version of your website (ours is 16 pages) and hand this out to everyone you quote for and put a handful out through their neighbours'. Give 3 more to each customer if they're happy to recommend you.

Don't pay anything on advertising other than Google pay per click. Learn about pay per click CTR, CPC and ad extensions.

Improve your website over and over.

Join something like Checkatrade or Trustpilot and start collecting reviews. Once you've got thirty, advertise this fact clearly on your website.

Get a proper blower and tidy up every job as if the Queen was about to visit. Every bit of garden, not just where you were working.

Only go for domestic type work. Forget about council contracts, railway work waterways etc. Never work for construction firms.

Collect payment as soon as job done. Let the customer know when you quote that this is how it's done. Good luck!!

[Steve Bullman]

Two ways Steve.

 

Up and down.

 

smart arse

[loujj]

Hi Louis,

 

my advice would be this:

Register yourself as self employed with HMRC

Get insured to carry out tree work. With a tiny turnover this should be affordable.

Get your climbing and rigging kit lolered.

Have you got a truck and chipper? If not, get a pick-up and a 10ft tipping trailer.

Find a freelance climber that is top notch and with experience of how an efficient crew should be operating. Make sure he's got all his own saws and fuel. He'll teach you loads you might not even be aware of. Pay him £150 a day and always pay promptly. Take pictures of every reduction he does for you and put them on your website.

Phone customers back straight away. Always turn up for quotes and jobs on time. Always. Ignore what everyone else is charging and get £600 a day for your 2-man team. Make a booklet version of your website (ours is 16 pages) and hand this out to everyone you quote for and put a handful out through their neighbours'. Give 3 more to each customer if they're happy to recommend you.

Don't pay anything on advertising other than Google pay per click. Learn about pay per click CTR, CPC and ad extensions.

Improve your website over and over.

Join something like Checkatrade or Trustpilot and start collecting reviews. Once you've got thirty, advertise this fact clearly on your website.

Get a proper blower and tidy up every job as if the Queen was about to visit. Every bit of garden, not just where you were working.

Only go for domestic type work. Forget about council contracts, railway work waterways etc. Never work for construction firms.

Collect payment as soon as job done. Let the customer know when you quote that this is how it's done. Good luck!!

 

some great advice there thanks alot, is the freelance climber really needed seen as i can climb myself?

[nailer]

I'd say it is. You need to concentrate on running the business so it makes good money. I know how tempting it is to climb but you can't do it all. Just share the climbing. He'll also know people. That's valuable when you need extra workers and need access to a truck and chipper etc. for bigger jobs. If you get good at attracting customers you'll be busy enough so you can both climb and have 2/3 groundies. Without customers you've got nothing. Make that your number 1 priority.

[joshscott]

From the questions you ask you don't have much experience in the working world, course you need to LOLER your own kit. I'd suggest, getting out there and working for a few firms, see how they work and are set up. But setting up a buisness with not much experience and advise off a forum is risky to say the least, especially with the economy being rubbish. Could all go very wrong very quickly!