arb=profit or borderline ??

[White Noise]

There,s money in it . Always has been Otherwise every other bugger would not be trying to become a tree man . Every business is run different . If you can run at lower overheads go for it Quality tree care / work at competitive rates will crush your opposition aim for this and you will do well . Ignore the haters or jealous people . My aim is simple , If I am happy with the job the customer should be You will always get that few % who are going to to hard work . All my work is profitable it has to be otherwise I,d be stacking shelves at Tesco with no stress and regular breaks in a fully fitted canteen

[skyhuck]

There,s money in it . Always has been Otherwise every other bugger would not be trying to become a tree man .

 

These days I'm not sure most come into tree work for the money (it used to may much better) in fact I think many work for ridiculously low rate.

[Tom D]

I agree Dave I think its a lifestyle thing, it was for me to start with, it was only when starting a family that I got serious about making money.

[Paul Jenks]

There is always going to be a dichotomy between the cost of carrying out tree work and the perceived value.

 

A plumber, for example, fits a heating system and though it costs a lot, a person feels the value of their investment every time the warm up the house or turn on the hot tap for years to come.

A tree surgeon reduces a tree outside the kitchen window and says, 'Let there be light.' 2 days later, the invoice arrives and the tree owner wonders what it's for. Depending on the degree of reduction, the type and vigour of the tree and the clients finances they may well require the same works on a regular basis.

Educating the client to see the value in what we do is an on-going and developing challenge. As the educational abilities of both the arborist and the industry as a whole improve, so does the perceived value.

Hence we should, over time, improve margins.

[White Noise]

These days I'm not sure most come into tree work for the money (it used to may much better) in fact I think many work for ridiculously low rate.

 

Yes I know a few who have a low rate .

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I think profitability is down to viability and efficiency. A one man band who works from home will make a profit from a £300 job when perhaps it would not be the case for a business employing office staff ,running a big yard , loads of kit , trucks and employing lots of guys. On the same note the small guy would fall flat on his face trying to run bigger jobs on ninety day payment terms, I think you need to trade on your strengths and steer away from or sub out jobs that are perhaps out of your comfort zone. On that note you would almost certainly be in profit.

 

Bob

 

Efficiency is, in this game, the key:thumbup1:

 

and it never ceases to amaze me how many folk can make a living when it takes them twice as long as another gang down the road!

[Undercut]

Well it's not even a lifestyle thing for me, just something that's Inside me, can't shake it off, been there since I was 14 , only happy when grafting, prefer the graft to be cutting and felling , very few seem up to doing hard graft these days as pays little . I done another

Job today as I new her barely broke even , my own fault but annoyed now as she's got all the wood and I have the sore back !!!

Grrrrrr

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Well it's not even a lifestyle thing for me, just something that's Inside me, can't shake it off, been there since I was 14 , only happy when grafting, prefer the graft to be cutting and felling , very few seem up to doing hard graft these days as pays little . I done another

Job today as I new her barely broke even , my own fault but annoyed now as she's got all the wood and I have the sore back !!!

Grrrrrr

 

mmmm, doing too many "mates rates" jobs will just make life seem pointless!

 

I do it all the time and im 25 years in and supposedly wiser!