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SteamedTomatoes

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Everything posted by SteamedTomatoes

  1. You can get away with putting anything through... Unless you get caught! If that worries you, best to only put through anything and any portion of anything that you use for your business. As I understand, this cannot include any clothing like t-shirts you use for work, though you could put your chainsaw trousers and boots through, just as an example of something where it doesn't always make sense. (This is from my own research and is not professional advice) You might be able to put the van in an asset pool and then put down 18% of the remaining of that 4k each year. You will need to research this yourself since for different vehicles the rules are different. This is just how I work it for my Iveco. Best to research each item individually and/or get professional advice. Or blag it until you're turning over enough that they might look into you, at your own peril! Once again, I am not a professional money man so be very cautious following anything I've said.
  2. When searching for insurance on Compare The Market there is a field about whether or not your vehicle is signwritten. I did a couple of searches, one without signwriting, one with signwriting on the front, back, and sides of the vehicle. With signwriting the cost to insure myself as a driver with a fresh new license for my first year on the road driving my VW T4 tipper was roughly £3,730 (yes, you read that number correctly...), without signwriting it was about £250 dearer. I haven't noticed much if any difference in price during any of my searches since then unfortunately. I didn't bother getting my license until after I started my business for the exact reason that driving would cost me loads of money without increasing my earnings at all as an already fully booked subcontractor. Once I started my business, the maths drastically changed and it became worthwhile incurring the additional cost - though one might say that first year was a bit of a loss leader with a premium as high as it was!
  3. I'm based near Tunbridge Wells. I have a truck, no chipper but there's a good amount of space on the truck. I'll send you a message.
  4. Been there, done that some years back - though I was paying 1/5th that amount for a lesser service with them. Chap I used to work for was paying them 6k a year including the exorbitant amount he paid for them to "manage" his website - which literally involved them doing nothing!!! Granted, he was booked out 6 weeks ahead all the time, but that's most likely a reflection on his top quality work and consistent underbidding across 6 years. I got a few leads here and there through Yell, but I gave up on it after a bit over a year. Tendency towards lowish value customers in my experience. Best form of advertising if you're just starting out and are time rich but money poor may be targeted flyer drops. I've read online about a 1/1000 response rate, but my flyers typically get 1/100 response rate. I'm a perfectionist so I spent days designing the flyer, including a full day shifting elements around by fractions of a mm until they felt "right". When you do a job, post flyers to the houses 2 or 3 doors to the left and right, and the 3 houses directly across the road. Hand some to your customer and ask them to tell their friends about you. A folding swing sign is good - if I put mine out 5 days a week I reckon I get 1 lead per week on average. Swing signs are unusual, they move and people notice moving things. (I feel like I'm giving away my secrets with that one!) A well designed website with effective SEO is a VERY good move. I spent 5 weeks updating my knowledge, learning SEO, and coding my own new website from scratch last year. Bit of a passion project. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm now on the first page of Google for some of my desired search queries. Worth hiring someone familiar or local who can show they've built websites which rank highly on relevant Google searches if you can't/won't do it yourself. Sign writing on your vehicle is something worth having as well. Mine never brought in that many leads, but it's about hitting people with your brand enough times that it feels familiar when they inevitably search for a tradesperson like you, and looking professional. (Plus, I paid £125 for mine and it saved me £250 on my first year of insurance as a new driver.) A Google listing is a must. It's free. Make one now if you haven't already. Get business cards to hand over the fence when neighbours hear you working or to the little old lady in the small blue car who inevitably asks for your details. If you've got a bit of an artistic streak, a lot of time, and the willingness, ability, and persistence to learn new skills then you can do all of these yourself for a total cost of well under two months worth of Yell subscription at the price you mentioned, not factoring in the value of your time of course. This concludes my masterclass in amateur professional marketing! Best of luck to you. Put in the leg work. Invest your money wisely and with great care. Please don't bother with Yell!! Been there, done that some years back - though I was paying 1/5th that amount for a lesser service with them. Chap I used to work for was paying them 6k a year including the exorbitant amount he paid for them to "manage" his website - which literally involved them doing nothing!!! Granted, he was booked out 6 weeks ahead all the time, but that's most likely a reflection on his top quality work and consistent underbidding across 6 years. I got a few leads here and there through Yell, but I gave up on it after a bit over a year. Tendency towards lowish value customers in my experience. Best form of advertising if you're just starting out and are time rich but money poor may be targeted flyer drops. I've read online about a 1/1000 response rate, but my flyers typically get 1/100 response rate. I'm a perfectionist so I spent days designing the flyer, including a full day shifting elements around by fractions of a mm until they felt "right". Also when you do a job, post flyers to the houses 2 or 3 doors to the left and right, and the 3 houses directly across the road. Hand some to your customer and ask them to tell their friends about you. A folding swing sign is good - if I put mine out 5 days a week I reckon I get 1 lead per week on average. Swing signs are unusual, they move and people notice moving things. (I feel like I'm giving away my secrets with that one!) A well designed website with effective SEO is a VERY good move. I spent 5 weeks updating my knowledge, learning SEO, and coding my own new website from scratch last year. Bit of a passion project. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm now on the first page of Google for some of my desired search queries. Worth hiring someone familiar or local who can show they've built websites which rank highly on relevant Google searches if you can't/won't do it yourself. Sign writing on your vehicle is something worth having as well. Mine never brought in that many leads, but it's about hitting people with your brand enough times that it feels familiar when they inevitably search for a tradesperson like you, and looking professional. (Plus, I paid £125 for mine and it saved me £250 on my first year of insurance as a new driver.) A Google listing is a must. It's free. Make one now if you haven't already. Get business cards to hand over the fence when neighbours hear you working or to the little old lady in the small blue car who inevitably asks for your details. If you've got a bit of an artistic streak, a lot of time, and the willingness, ability, and persistence to learn new skills then you can do all of these yourself for a total cost of well under two months worth of Yell subscription at the price you mentioned, not factoring in the value of your time of course. This concludes my masterclass in amateur professional marketing! Best of luck to you. Put in the leg work. Invest your money wisely and with great care. Please don't bother with Yell!!
  5. I personally don't like to take more than 1 hour of break time across an 8 hour day, regardless of whether I'm working for myself or subcontracting. I'm there to work, eating is just an inconvenient necessity. My ideal day is arrive on site around 9.00, 15 minute break around 11.00, 30 minute break around 1.00, 15 minute break around 3.00, leave site around 5.00. If it looks like the day is going to be significantly over 8 hours, I like another 15 minute break at 5.00 so I don't start making stupid mistakes due to hunger. Doesn't always work out like that, but that's my preference.
  6. Thanks for the responses so far. Regarding the holly, my dad has specified he wants it removed, so that's what I'm doing. Personally I'd lay a few bits of it where the hedge is very thin, but it's his hedge. I'll grab some photos in the morning if I can. Regarding the spindle, I've asked my tutor at college about whether or not to lay it, and came to the decision not to since I'm relatively inexperienced and there's currently only one in the hedge. Thanks for the tips though, I'd follow them if it was up to me. Something I missed out in the original post; When I plant the new saplings in the hedge, how should I go about doing it? Do I plant them and then lay the next bit of hedge around them, or is there some specific way to do it where there is existing material?
  7. Hi, I'm currently laying a hedge at the end of my garden. When my dad planted it he wasn't really thinking ahead, and so it's very close to a fence (less than half a foot away), and then a year or so later he trimmed it only a few inches above ground level, so a lot of the plants have two branches starting just above the ground. Anyway, there are gaps in it both where some plants outgrew others, blackthorn died, where he cut out the birch trees, and where I'm cutting out some large field maples. (Oh, and also a few where I had, uh... 'learning experiences') I'd like to plant some saplings both in these gaps and along some of the other parts of the hedge, and I just wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions on what species would be best. Currently the hedge contains: Hawthorn Hazel Blackthorn Dog rose (in small amounts) Beech Field maple (A lot of which I'm having to coppice because of size) One spindle tree which I will not be laying One Rowan ash which I will also not be laying Holly (Which I'm cutting out) Guelder rose I think I've got everything in there... The hedge is in Kent, so I don't know whether that might affect which native species would be best. It also borders a field with horses in, who are so far enjoying pulling apart my work. One last question; How should I plant the saplings? Where there are gaps, I assume planting them about a foot away from the fence in a zig-zag pattern is best? As for where I've already laid the hedge, should I attempt to shove them inside the hedge, or would it be better to stick them in the edge, away from the fence? I'd appreciate any tips on this, and I can provide photos if necessary. Thanks.
  8. Personally I find I can't work very well with gloves. Infact the first time I used a saw at college (where they require you to always wear gloves when using or practically just touching a saw) I accidentally had it revving at one point because the corner of one finger of my glove was on the trigger. I couldn't feel that at all. I just can't feel what I'm doing with gloves on. So personally I'd say no gloves unless you're working with thorny stuff etc. However, does anyone have any suggestions for what gloves to get if you prefer working with gloves? I've got next to no experience there so I can't really advise...
  9. Wow, a lot of posts here now! First of all, I've not yet been able to properly check to see if the problem is fixed yet since I've been bogged down in college assignments, plus the weather hasn't been that great so I've been hiding away indoors lately. I did clean it up though, checked the bar for burrs again etc etc, then put the saw back together and found the oil was coming out fine, but not on to the bar any more thanks to the incredible build quality of the slipper plate which I think had bent out of shape or something, so I made a cardboard gasket and fixed that (touch wood). Yeah, the saw wouldn't be worth the cost of a new chain/bar. I took a look briefly when I got it and it looks like I could get £30+ for it on Ebay, which isn't too bad really for something I wouldn't pay 10p for. (It's 33CC but weighs as much as a 346xp, and for all intents and purposes, it's 100% plastic) I had actually just been hammering the chain since I don't actually have a sharpening kit yet. Infact I think at the point I made this thread I hadn't even been taught how to sharpen a chain. And anyway, the saw cost me nothing so I figured it doesn't really matter if it ends up knackered, plus I've got that spare chain (which I'm now using. Much nicer than one with anti-kickback links in it). I am aware that that's very bad for the saw, though I should probably at the very least for the time being pick up a CS30 book from somewhere and get myself properly clued up on stuff. (Regarding the picture, I've had several comments before on it being creepy, and yeah I guess it kinda is! It's a combination of the Fonz and the MSN duck) Regarding getting a different saw, I'm watching Ebay at the moment in the hope of grabbing an 017 or MS170 listed as for spares or repairs. Failing that perhaps an MS180 if it's nice and cheap. I'm aware that buying a saw from Ebay without being able to look at it is risky, but I'm willing to take that risk, and I'm not going to spend masses of money on a single item either. As for repairing a saw, it's something I've never done before (aside from replacing a recoil spring once) and as such would be a useful learning experience; half the reason for getting a broken saw. What is the general take on things regarding which make of saw to get for what? I've heard from one person that Stihl is better for constant day in, day out use, but that Huskys are better in some other way? I'm very new to looking at chainsaws in any real detail, so I'm also only just learning how the naming of them works too. I'll be getting a Husky 140 (if memory serves) from my uncle some time soon. Just need to arrange some way of getting it from Cumbria down to Kent... Maybe when/if I go to CANW Weekend in the Woods this year? As far as MS170s go, I've used an 017 so I've got an idea what they're like. Alright I think that's enough rambling from me right now. I think I've covered everything there.
  10. Thanks for the quick reply. I'll do what you suggested and see how it goes. If it still sparks, I'll get someone at college to take a look at it.
  11. Hi all! Hope I'm posting in the correct place here... Right, first of all, the saw I'm using is a crappy generic B&Q saw. 30CC but it weighs more like 40CC. Just before anyone asks me why I've got something so terrible, I didn't buy it! I found it in a skip. Anyways, I've been using it a little for some hedge-laying I'm doing at the moment, and it's been thoroughly introduced to soil and a rock. Yesterday I was using it and noticed it was throwing sparks. Since it cost me nothing and the chain was already blunt and in very bad shape, I passed this off as another stone. It turned out it had actually stopped supplying any oil to the bar. I've sorted this, and today I stuck a new chain (conveniently also found in the skip, and this time without anti-kickback links) on it. I cut a couple of thin logs with it and it's still throwing sparks. Is this because the bar has lost it's temper? I've taken what little burr there was off the edge of the bar. Should I try cleaning the bar? I think the bar may also be a tiny bit splayed, could that be causing it? If so, is it an easy thing to sort at home or would I be better doing that at college? Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.
  12. Thanks for all the advice everyone. I decided to apply. And it seems I did so in time, which is good. So hopefully I'll get through the interview ok and go to college. Thanks again, I would have struggled to decide without all your help.
  13. Wow, such a lot of useful advice! Thanks a lot guys! How does Hadlow College compare? That's probably the nearest place to me for these sorts of courses. If I'm going to go to college somewhere this year, it'll need to be near to Pembury, in Kent, Beeston near Nottingham, or Torver, near Coniston in Cumbria. (These are where I have relatives I could stay with.) (This is me assuming I haven't got time to get accomodation and stuff arranged before term starts) Otherwise Newton Rigg would probably be my best bet by the sounds of it if I went next year. But by then I'll be 19, so I'll have to pay for the course.
  14. This seems to be the main thing I've gathered from the phone call I've just had with my uncle. So I guess basically, then, I should do the certificates alone if I want to be doing only physical work all my life, but I should do a course at college if I want to either manage people or advise people? Would that be a fair way of summing it up?
  15. Hi all, So my situation right now is that I'm considering going to Hadlow college or somewhere similar to do a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture, but I have heard that it may be more appreciated by a potential employer if I do all the relevant chainsaw certificates and stuff and work instead, because apparently 'they don't want someone who's sat on their backside for two years'. Having done a lot of research on Arbtalk regarding various things related to chainsaws and chainsaw gear, I figured this would be a good place to find out from those who know the real world side of things, so can you guys help me out here? Which option is more appealing to a potential employer? And which lines of work do they each lead to? Thanks in advance, John.

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