£38K is the current UK average wage, are business owners working for less??

[skyhuck]

What you you charge you old setup out at today in comparison to the £280 you did then?

Obviously with your kit now you need more but if you still ran the same would you still have to be on the same kind of money do you think?

 

I think a 2 man team, 3.5tonner and 6" chipper today should be on £450+VAT minimum.

[csservices]

It isn't, but the longer people keep thinking that way the harder it is to achieve and only a few will achieve it.

 

 

 

I priced the removal of 2 medium-sized spruce, I said £300+VAT. The customer was delighted, it was much lower than he anticipated and wanted to know how soon I could do it. But he had another chap coming to quote in the morning, so it was only fair he let him quote.

 

 

 

Other guy quoted £180:001_rolleyes:

 

 

 

So many put so little value on their time and skill:thumbdown:

 

 

Not tree work but put a price in for 41/2 fence panels tonight at £450 as digging in alongside a stone wall so allowed bit higher in case of hitting footings, got message back saying other guy quoted £500 to do the full run of 8 which would require breaking through a concrete yard to get posts in, 500 ain't much more than the materials never mind any labour on it, I give up!

[john p]

I think a 2 man team, 3.5tonner and 6" chipper today should be on £450+VAT minimum.

 

 

If I got that day in day out id be a happy man, on my own work I'm content with £350 for me and groundie, some days we can make a lot more but rarely less, I don't think the glory days are totally gone yet, still good money to be made, that said I wouldn't want to be starting from scratch these days

[swinny]

Its simply indicative of what drives down rates in our industry.

 

If the guy had said "Oh I did not expect it to be £360, that far more than I wanted to pay" that would suggest I'm too expensive. The fact is I often get people who are more than happy with my price, but are they are then shocked by a much lower price.

 

20 years ago I ran a 3.5t pickup and 6"chipper, at that time I charged £280 per day on average for a two man team. I know that there are guys near me charging similar today, its madness.

 

Who are these? Pm me please if possible

[Ty Korrigan]

I think a 2 man team, 3.5tonner and 6" chipper today should be on £450+VAT minimum.

 

Ty

[Ty Korrigan]

Who are these? Pm me please if possible

 

West of Brittany mostly...

Ty

[Ty Korrigan]

Just arrived on my Facebook feed.

I know it talks of another sector altogether.

 

80% of self-employed people in Britain live in poverty | Spend & Save | Money | The Independent

 

Ty

Edited June 11, 2016 by Ty Korrigan

[Ian C]

this threads about average working wages, what it should really be focussng on is the business model of firms in the uk. This is where the problem clearly is. More education is needed regarding running a business. This is more important IMO than any CS course in running a chainsaw, any diploma in aboriculture. This industry is formed from the ground up by passionate arborists who love their job and the lifestyle that goes with it, but thats not sustainable. The sooner people realise that the better.

 

This is so true, the amount of small firms willing to work for so little is astounding, on top of that the collages kicking out pre Madonnas thinking there. going to be on 150 a day because they wear a harness!

[dan494]

If I got that day in day out id be a happy man, on my own work I'm content with £350 for me and groundie, some days we can make a lot more but rarely less, I don't think the glory days are totally gone yet, still good money to be made, that said I wouldn't want to be starting from scratch these days

 

 

Depends what you're doing? I'll charge that for hedgecutting/ small trees where theres more competition as you don't need the skill and equipment of big stuff. But more complicated/ large amounts to remove I'll be up to 450-500 for two guys.

[aspenarb]

There are many industry related spin offs that can be tapped into ( pardon the pun ). A good example of this is our old 4x4 bowser which was out for five years non stop watering plants and playing fields within a sixty mile radius of the yard. This went on all year and was sometimes doing seven days a week . There were only two guys on it and even after fuel and maintenance was making a bigger profit than we are all talking about here. That all finished last year so we are looking at getting it onto some sites with a spray bar on the back doing site dust suppression. This is just one example of other potential earning streams, there are hundreds. I know some of the lads on here have invested in cherry pickers , some get involved in all sorts of other money spinners like christmas decorations.....

 

Bob

 

Edited June 12, 2016 by aspenarb
fat fingers