Massively undercut on job! But why?

[Joe Newton]

Weren't you working for £100 a day?

 

 

[Tom D]

Me and my lad went and reduced a birch today, £330, home by one o clock, £70 for his wages, £50 costs/etc.So made a bit of profit and was able to pick my boy up from school and enjoy life, I could easily run on £ 1650 a week. Some times it's more often it's less. Works for me.

 

How do you know?

 

This is where you are going wrong,

 

Here's what to do, take a years worth of bank statements and a calculator, add up all your expenditure. Then you need to divide that number by the number of days that you work. There are 261 working days in the year, in reality you will probably work between 200 and 240. This will give you a rough break even day cost. You then need to add 30-40% to that for a small one man outfit in order to have the funds to replace equipment as it wears out and have a comfortable life.

[Stephen Blair]

You lot are all singing off the same Hymn sheet. The guy with these trees had quotes of between £2k and £4k, we did it for £2000 inc the vodka and tonic. All our kit was on a clearance job next door, the lot was felled into his drive, then grabbed with the telehandler and dumped next to the timber trailer roadside. I crunched them up whole with the grab and stuffed them into the trailer, the boys gave the trailer a quick trim and we were gone all in a couple of hours. GDC had way too much leaf in their chip at the time and were desperate for wood so that was a free tip on the way home and some browny points for later favours.

 

 

Bob

 

Ha ha, and thats how its done

[hamdogg]

Weren't you working for £100 a day?

 

 

Use your head john, I mean £100 a day subbying (turn up with c kit and lunch) and £320 to do a job after spending time pricing with a truck, chipper, saws, fuel, labour (£100), insurances to pay, yard rent, etc, etc, etc

[john p]

How do you know?

 

 

 

This is where you are going wrong,

 

 

 

Here's what to do, take a years worth of bank statements and a calculator, add up all your expenditure. Then you need to divide that number by the number of days that you work. There are 261 working days in the year, in reality you will probably work between 200 and 240. This will give you a rough break even day cost. You then need to add 30-40% to that for a small one man outfit in order to have the funds to replace equipment as it wears out and have a comfortable life.

 

 

Where I'm going wrong?? It works for me and I'm happy I have some decent ish kit and getting more, I ain't on the breadline.

[skyhuck]

Where I'm going wrong?? It works for me and I'm happy I have some decent ish kit and getting more, I ain't on the breadline.

 

But your a business owner, you should be doing well, not just making a wage.

[john p]

Use your head john, I mean £100 a day subbying (turn up with c kit and lunch) and £320 to do a job after spending time pricing with a truck, chipper, saws, fuel, labour (£100), insurances to pay, yard rent, etc, etc, etc

 

 

Yeah I get that but don't you have almost the same costs just subyying? Ie insurances/rent/vehicles still need feeding regardless if your working for your self or subyying for a week

[john p]

But your a business owner, you should be doing well, not just making a wage.

 

 

I'm doing fine thanks

[skyhuck]

I'm doing fine thanks

 

[Billy]

But your a business owner, you should be doing well, not just making a wage.

 

 

Hit the nail on the head there skyhuck. £330 is a mornings work, certainly not enough to pay an additional wage from IMO.