Small logging / cutting company

[Coot]

i was woundering what i should take into consideration if i start a small tree cutting service , such as insurance expensise and how to handel customers and anything else considerd in the cutting business

[Frank_Pender]

Guts to climb the trees and/or ride in the boom bucket. 8)

[leweee]

 ask the insurance broker for a quote.He will ask how many years experience....hope your sitten down when you get the answer : :'(

[NewEnglandTreeSvc]

ask the insurance broker for a quote.He will ask how many years experience....hope your sitten down when you get the answer : :'(

yeah... it's gonne be "How much are you gonna make this year?"...  "Good. Send it to us!"

FWIW, insurance for logging is less if you can specify you won't be working near residences (lot clearing). I get nailed because EVERYTHING I do is over a house/pool/garage/other expensive immovable object. Mine runs around $4400/yr.

If you have any experience, qualifications, certifications, whatnot and you can document them, make sure you give it to the broker. It WILL make a difference.


Contracts- ALWAYS get one. And put EVERYTHING in writing; ie, customer says they will be responsible for any permits/etc, say "Fine. Put it in writing."

Checks... up to you, but I stopped taking them. Cash can't bounce.

Equipment- Get the good stuff first. Cheap stuff "to get you started" will always be regretted. Trust me on this one.

[Kevin]

You might consider working for someone reputable to get the experience needed, it will give you a feel for the job before you invest a pile of money.

[rebocardo]

I take checks as long as they are signed in front of me, because if they are signed in front of you in GA, to bounce one is a felony and the court will take care of the hassle for you with Mr. Sheriff and handcuffs.

I usually get 1/2 the amount due at the end of the first day and the rest when I finish.

I have them sign a contract that states it.

Do not do anything that can kill or injure someone else. I skip a lot of "borderline" jobs if it might hit a house. If it might, but the risk is small and the person wants/needs it down, when the tree is going to come down, everyone has to get out of the house and outside the 360 degrees around the tree.

[Oldtimer]

One of the big reasons I chose to be a logger is that I pay the landowner. I never hunt for my money. The trucker has yet to burn me in 8 years.
I did utility line clearing for a time, both bucket truck and climbing. At one point, my brother and I held the "most sections trimmed" out of over 300 bucket trucks (Lucas Tree Experts, Portland Maine). Losing control of a 14' pole pruner and watching it fall towards 12,000 three-phase changed my mind on that line of work. So did trying to get my hooks into frozen hardwoods on a Feb morning.

Good luck if you do it.

[DanManofStihl]

What I did is talk to local tree companies around you most were nice about helping me some were azzes they thought AI was going to be takeing their business and I was  :D But besides that buy new equipment as stated in another post what might be "A good Deal" wont be if it wont start when you get to a job site or something.