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Hi I have inherited my little brother's belongings and equipment after he passed away and want to put them to good use. We have two burners at home and with the way bills are I'm desperately trying to keep the house warm for my boy and miss. I'm trying to offer my services either chopping wood for someone who struggles in return for some myself or to do some labour and get some wood in return. Local to bishop Auckland if possible please however I'm willing to travel. Cheers Tom

I have kiln dried softwood kindling available for wholesale. 50x40 Leno nets, neat stacked kiln dried softwood kindling, 60 on a pallet for £2+vat per net, 3 or more pallets at a time £1.90+vat. I sell these for £4 but some shops I supply charge £5. Prices are ex works, collection from Pontypool South Wales. Delivery available at cost. Cheers Ash 07772280850

This is the contents of Landscape Hub's "Tricks Of The Trade" group - So far ! These articles are submitted by Landscape Hub's members and I was thinking that Arbtalk should start a similar group. Tricks Of The Trade Compost Areas Circular Ponds made from Drainage Rings Simple Bridge Made with Woven Willow Plants Used As Step Risers Integrating Manhole Covers Into paving Raised Brick Planters - Curved Corners Without Using Specials Garden Mirrors - Future Replacements Constructing Raised Planters Using Paving Slabs Garden Bridges - A Simple Construction Site Surveying Method Statement Push Tow Bar Dealing With Steep Banks Steel Edging Slate Patio Feature Building A Moongate Stainless steel Fixings Get Advice from Your Peers The Perfect Mould Compost Cutting Profile Tools For Paving Slabs Mini Ladder - Minimum Load Space Product Library - Protecting Yourself Handling Enquiries - Basic Essentials Topiary Using Shears Mazes - Hedge Cutting With A Difference Quoting - Saving Your Websites Hedge Cutting Contracting - Science & Methodology Garden Shed Makeover (2) Moving Sleepers around On Site Hedge Cutting Perfect Shed Felt Corners In Cold Weather Quick Way To Set Gutter Bracket String Line Lost Bar Nuts, (Chainsaws) Ammo Tins For Small Tools Fast Way To Strip Ivy From Brick Or Stone Work Creating Islands In Butyl Liner Ponds Stone Chips To Windows Tools For Digging Rose Pruning Skip Ramp - Another Landscapers's Essential Oops, The Pull Cord Has Gone! Foundations Forward Planning (1) Foundations Forward Planning (2) Two Pairs (Secateurs) Lawn Edging - An Alternative To Shears Work Platform For Sloping Sites Curved timber (1) - Segments Box Hedging - Fine Detailing Garden Shed Makeover (1) Builders Square - Paving Essential Laying Cobbles Concrete Rake - Invaluable Addition To The Toolkit Laying Paving To A Pattern Using Black & White Materials Power Bends Make Soil Concrete Artificial Grass Handling Equipment Disc Cutter Water Bottle A Sheet Of Ply Has many Uses Site Hose Tidy Gravel Footpaths using Nidagravel

Do you think it's best to specialise in one service / sector or offer a range of services? Being a specialist can bring in clients looking for just that - an expert in the field, (no pun intended!). It also makes the choice of vehicle, tools, equipment and even employees that much easier. Your website can be heavily focused on that one sector, (a bit like Arbtalk really), and can reap benefits from that. Keeping up with training and H&S requirements might be easier as well. You might be able to command a premium rate for your service or through specialist equipment and staff, simply be able to make much more profit on a standard rate. Having said that, what's the downside? If demand for your specialist services rises and falls, so does your income. If your service is particularly affected by the weather you might find yourself sat at home with no wage coming in. You / your business could offer a range of services. This can help spread the net wide and bring in a variety of revenue streams. Diversification allows you to offer more services to your customer base and often clients seek out companies / individuals who offer a one-stop-shop, keeping the whole process easier for them. Diversifying can help keep the work interesting. Perhaps you'd get bored doing effectively the same task week in week out? Diversification also brings its own headaches however. Firstly you're perhaps no longer viewed as a true specialist. You're vehicles, tools, equipment and employees all have to be geared to a range of services with the danger that you're not really optomised for any specific task. Vehicles are a good example of this; a specialist might buy and equip a vehicle ideally suited to their trade. A business carrying out a range of services often wish for a pickup one day, flatbed the next and a panel van the day after! Targeting a website or adverts to a range of services has its challenges, (as we all know!). You're often trying to be all things to all people, which has the danger of making you look a bit unprofessional, (or unbelievable). So what's your take on it? Is there any real one size fits all answer to this and what are your experiences of being a specialist in one sector OR someone that offers a range of services?