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Thinking of starting a firewood business

Started by matariki, September 27, 2018, 09:15:40 PM

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woodshax

All good points....start small...find the under served market with the best profit (by the stick works perfectly for us) and invest the profits back into better processing equipment and reducing touch time.   We invested in the retail end first and just buying in bulk from local wood guys....then in building better bagging and bundling equipment and now starting to work on the processing end

mike_belben

 woodshax, i agree that is probably her best chance at a successful start too, since she doesnt have the equipment for whole tree hauling.  Buy bulk firewood in summer from some other processor who sells it as a byproduct of logging, tree removal, land clearing etc.. Then package down and target the highest paying small consumer during peak heating season.  The current social climate of gender wars may also favor a woman operated firewood business, since it is historically a boys club.  She could capitalize on the free publicity pretty easily.  

Does new zealand have state forests that require heat treated wood?  That seems to be a slam dunk for bundles here in the states. 
Praise The Lord

TKehl

Really depends on your market.

There's a lot of people around me that sell firewood for beer or Christmas money.  Many farmers allow dead stuff to be cut free as long as brush is stacked.  $100-150 will buy as many cords delivered as a person wants.  (True cords not face cords, 4x4x8, bush cords as told up north. ;))  As such profit is SLIM!  As such cutting labor requirements cheaply is key.

Equipment list:
Truck
1 chainsaw
manual splitting maul

The process:  
Find dead standing timber, cut, split, load on truck where the log sits.  Unload from truck to customers yard.  Tell customer it's "seasoned Oak".  (Being dead helped, and it probably seasoned a little on the drive over, and they probably don't know what kind of wood it is.)

Upgrades:
Hydraulic splitter
Second chainsaw
Trailer
Winch

I do try to keep extra on hand for sale.  Process is about the same, but I load directly into a trailer.  (I have a small fleet of truck bed trailers I use.  Old trucks chopped in half with a tounge welded to the frame.  Paid around $100-150 each for them.)  There is no rush to take a low offer to unload the truck that weekend since it's on the trailer.  I can just hook up and go when someone wants wood delivered and they see the volume, size, quality up front.  I'm also up front that it's standing dead and what species(es) it is (they are).  I burn the junkiest stuff and "odds and ends" (stuff that doesn't stack well) in my own stove.  It can sit on the trailer til sold at my price or I use it in my parents or my own stove.  Either way works for me.   ;D

The best way to start would be to make use of your own product and expand from there.   ;D
In the long run, you make your own luck – good, bad, or indifferent. Loretta Lynn

Pclem

My wife and I have been selling firewood for 10 years as a business. (The last 5 full time). Had close to 40 stores selling packaged wood to, but no more. The numbers look good until you spend the time culling,packaging,and running around delivering. We still sell 5-600 bundles a week in the summer to a couple state parks, which is pretty good. We've had a handful of homeowners every year word of mouth, but since last fall we've been getting after more with craigslist, facebook, and a website. After doing the commercial gig for a few years, we believe homeowners are more profitable. We just set ourselves apart from everyone, and produce a premium product and charge what we have to get. We find most people have been burned by too many firewood guys and just want good wood, and professional service. There is always a place for "regular heating wood" with alot of people, but they are not our customers. I would highly recommend producing premium dry fireplace wood and charge what you need. Don't worry about what everyone else gets. Plenty of people want professionals and are happy to pay. We are 3 times average firewood prices around here, but don't produce "average wood". If you go this route, people on cl and fb need to see pics. We wouldn't have most of our customers if they didn't see how good our wood looked first. Good luck matariki
Dyna SC16. powersplit. supersplitter. firewood kilns.bobcat T190. ford 4000 with forwarding trailer. a bunch of saws, and a question on my sanity for walking away from a steady paycheck

Corley5

How much room do you have to store wood while it's seasoning?  Seasoning wood to sell ties up money and space.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

KEC

When I was selling firewood, I learned to find a market for "low grade" stuff; either low heat value wood or odd shaped stuff. Usually these were people with Outdoor Wood Burners or people who want cheap heat. Price was reduced, but I sold all my wood. I was always amazed that some  people want to call just as winter sets in and want top shelf dry wood and think they can get it at a price that will save a lot of money on the heating bill. When you get a customer who will accept some imperfect wood you can sometimes customize the way you cut it; maybe they want some bigger pieces and it will help you too. Always find a market for the ugly stuff.

Ianab

Thing I find with "ugly" or less desirable species, is that near the end of winter, people get a lot less fussy  :D 

"Is it dry?" and "When can you deliver?" become the major considerations, not the size, shape or exact species. 

Now if Matariki can find a source of wood, has a vehicle, trailer, chainsaw and a decent 2nd hand wood splitter, then it's possible to make a few dollars. Especially if you are prepared to wait nine months, just call your stack of firewood money in the bank. It will sell when people run short in winter. 

The 2nd hand splitter I also recommend, because if you find it's too much work for the return, you can sell it again, and get most of your money back. A decent chainsaw is an investment, and will last for years if you are just doing part time firewood with it, or just cutting for yourself and family.  

A big thing is finding contacts that have unwanted trees. A friend of mine has bought an old neglected property, with various trees that are overgrown and basically need to go. Some blew over in the wind, a logger friend dropped some hazard ones, and excavator driver dropped some more while clearing track and fence lines. 
"You can have them, and borrow the tractor to help move them" All I have to do is tidy up afterwards (Throw the brush in a burn pile). This mess is just pine, but 2-3ft dia trees. Pine is considered decent firewood here, not premium $$, but the most common wood, so you have no trouble selling it. 
This will be different to what the Americans are used to as "woodlands" as such are not common in NZ. There is "native forest", "plantation forest" and random hedges and trees on farms. So you might find your wood supply is an old hedge of Leighton Green cypress, or a big Eucalyptus that's blown over in a storm, or left over tops and reject logs from a small logging job. Either way, get in there, block it up and haul it home. Split and stack, and wait for the cold weather.



Bagged firewood is a market, but the marketing isn't so easy. Supermarket and gas stations all sell it, but they will be tied up with a large supplier that's selling kiln dried pine offcuts etc. So people must be buying it, and at about 5X the going bulk rate. Don't know why, they would be better off buying $5 of electricity. rather than $10 of bagged firewood. 
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

woodshax

Bagged and bundled wood......Lots of opinions..... I don't think a lot of the customers who buy are looking to save money on electricity...it is more of the ambiance of having a crackling fire on a cold night or a campfire.....if you go camping, a campfire is a must.  I am always pleasantly surprised that in the dead of summer here in Texas when the night time low is 84F I will still sell $1000 worth of bags in a weekend.   Selling bags and bundles whole sale to C-stores or to the Parks is not where the money is....especially if you are responsible for "shrinkage" due to unattended piles.  You provide the wood, the work and the delivery and get  $2.50 to $3 for a .75 cuft bundle and they double the price.  The big processors who supply make it up it volume....I am strictly retail and don't have to worry about shrinkage so the pure profit is $600 a true cord.

curved-wood

I have few guys that are in the firewood business that buy my slab and edging. It seems that their customers like a bit of starting wood mix in. Probably some firewood business would buy finely split softwood in small packaging to satisfy customers. May be that is an avenue that does not require a big capital investment in inventory and equipment for starting. May be a chain saw and a trailer. One of the guy even cut the slab here ; not even dirt at home ! It is shure that the basic does apply in any business starting that is: What is your current market ? Why  a customer will be your product ? (because of cost, quality, service, availability, etc ) What is the profit margin ? How easy competition could get in ? Capital investment ? and many other factors. At least put some numbers and estimate the cost even point.

ppine

There are lots of wood cutters out there.  A lot of them do not answer phone calls, do not show up and are undependable.  If you run your woodcutting business like a business person you will have more customers than you can handle.   It is definitely a seasonal business and it takes some discipline to stay busy in the spring and early summer.  You can do it.  Be a business person and you can take over your local market. 
Forester

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