"Green" to the industry and going alone?

[WoodMouse]

Thanks stubby and, will look into that Ryan!

 

I do have big ambition but everyone always tells me I can't do it. Just struggling for a yard and place to store chippers and machinery, be quite interested to know how everyone else started, did you all have yards?

 

Cheers

 

 

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Besides Steve's option, which i think sounds very appealing, you have a few options.

 

I see the choice between two extremes.

 

Farmers field, cheap but very insecure. or the Secure Garage Lockup solution, you'd have to pay to dump your chip, and the yards expensive. But some places will insure you up to 3m if necessary, and i've heard some offer a next day replacement for stolen items. They're that secure.

[gensetsteve]

A secure lock up for the chipper and a farmers field to drop of the chip they dont need to be together.

[farmer rod]

Thanks stubby and, will look into that Ryan!

 

I do have big ambition but everyone always tells me I can't do it. Just struggling for a yard and place to store chippers and machinery, be quite interested to know how everyone else started, did you all have yards?

 

Cheers

 

 

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Where roughly

[Cloud9climber]

Thanks for all the advice, some useful things mentioned! I could certainly get hold of a few farmers, got a uncle that is one, so going to speak to him about possibilty tipping in a field or somewhere! I do have big drive, I know the industry is saturated, but survival of the fittest and all that!

 

Deffinatly don't want to run before I can walk, so best to concentrate on the smaller jobs where only 1 person and at the most a groundy is required.

 

 

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[Cloud9climber]

Secure lock up would be my only concern as I hear about alot of thefts happening on premises with good security, but I guess it's same with anything nowadays.

 

 

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[Billy]

You'll only find out by having a go, bear in mind there is more to it than climbing trees and chipping wood though. And buying the kit is one of the smaller costs, running it and keeping it maintained to a high standard is far more costly.

 

 

WM Tree Services

 

http://www.bestkenttreesurgeons.co.uk

[Jay]

Go for it. I have always been self employed in the tree game since 16. Worked for several different people and learned alot. I did 2 years at college and then a year for with someone else before slowly doing more and more of my own work. Really got going when I was 20 along with my brother who was 22 and a trained landscaper. We have now been going 4 years doing tree and landscping work. We even currently building a cart lodge which we have never attempted before but was asked to do it by a existing customer following a gazbo we built for him. We obviously did something right! We now often run 2 gangs and have built up a fairly large collection of kit and machinery and a constantly busy diary!

 

It can be done but trust me it takes a hell of a lot of time and even more hard work!

[Will C]

we are about 5 years in. remember the fone will ring at 9pm or later some days!

 

We started by getting rid of chip to anyone that wanted it, we now have a good list and get rid of at least 75% of our chip the day we make it, it goes to gardeners, in chicken runs, rd ways etc etc that way you wont need a yard to start, same goes for any timber, easy to sell off site if you cant store it. Think simple to start, we now have a yard and own chipper etc but remember all in good time.

 

We started out by hireing a chipper from another tree man that does mainly servay work so didnt need his chipper most days.

 

Remember you need to be competitive but dont sell your self short, dont try to compete with the gardener with a chain saw end on his strimmer, sooner or later the customer will be back for you to sort his mess, then the price goes up ;-)

[Paul Jenks]

Conserve cash and spend wisely. Only buy what you absolutely have to until you have a reasonable sum in reserve. You don't need shiny stuff when you start out. You need energy and enthusiasm and a propensity to make mistakes(business ones) and learn from them. You need cash for when the unexpected bills come in or work is slack or a client is late paying.

Cashflow is sooooo important. There is usually a time lag between when you invoice and when you get paid. If a job is half completed and you have to pull off for planning or weather or nesting birds, you have money invested in the job and you may not get any of it until it's complete. If that takes 6-8 weeks it really hurts if you were relying on the money.

Your working capital is a really important figure to bear in mind. It is made up from adding your money in the bank, the money you have invoiced for and are awaiting payment and money owed for works not yet completed or invoiced less the money you owe to suppliers.

This figure should be equal to about 20% of your annual turnover to give the business resilience.

You should learn how to complete a budget forecast spreadsheet and a cashflow spreadsheet, easy in Excel, to show you how payments going out for that nice new chipper affect your cashflow. Your accountant should be willing to do this for nothing.

 

When you start out do anything that earns you a legitimate shilling. Then begin to focus on the work you enjoy and the customers you enjoy working for and the rest should be easy.

 

Yeah right.

[adam pike]

I was 20 when I went it alien I had 3 years under my belt and every one said I couldn't do it I had 5k behind me and now 14 years on I run a firm of 24 guys and have a good name for myself. I dropped leaflets into people's doors and still have some of these customers now

Get a van sign written and do a good job if you want it you will make it! Good luck