Hello, Im new here....

[FrontierLogWorks]

Ok guys heres the deal Im a sawyer here on whidbey island, I worked with another sawyer for a couple years he always had lots of work somtimes to much.  He has since retired and no longer runs and ad.  and from the sounds of thing he's not milling much at all.  I have since teamed up with an investor, his $ my skill and experience.  Ive tried buisness cards on bulitin board, cards at the lumber yards, and even a nice 2 inch add in the local paper that ran for 4 months, in addition I got a big sign on my truck.  How come I can find work i hit the woods hard looking for piles of logs.  I just cant seem to catch a big break.  Any ideas,im starving over here, and am starting to get alittle concerned.  I like milling to much to stop.   I even have been supplementing my $ with sharpening for homeowner sawmillers.    please help any advise appriciated....thanks Robert 8)

[UNCLEBUCK]

Could be you live on a island , I bet it is a beautiful area , is there a road or a ferry to the mainland?  Welcome to the forum and Merry Christmas !

[Ron Wenrich]

Tell us more about your operations.  Portable mill?  Band mill?  Custom sawing only?

[DonE911]

I'm realatively new also.... I did alot of the things you have done without a lot of business.   The few jobs I did get that way have helped spread that "word of mouth" advertising which is much better than anything else.  This is a small community so it takes a little while to get rolling.

I placed an add in the paper that said I would take the logs from fallen tree's for "free".... that add generated tons of phone calls, both for free logs and for paying jobs....  all small jobs ... but paying jobs to support that word of mouth thing.

I gave away a few boards here and there to woodworkers and passed out some business cards....  I'm still not making a living at it by any stretch, but I am busier now and things are slowly picking up.

There is tons of good information here... look around and grab some more ideas...

Welcome to the forum

[Cedarman]

If there are bigger mills in the area, you might ask them if they have logs they do not want to saw.  They sometimes have people ask them to do custom sawing and they want nothing to do with it.  Maybe they could refer to you.

Get a list of all woodland owners.  Make up a nice brochure and mail to some of them.  If low response, mail to a lot of them.

When you get a job, get the local paper to do a story on you, especially if you are involved with a unique sawing job.

Make sure the lumber yards know about you so they can refer customers that want some rough sawn lumber.

Don't know if any of this applies .  Good luck.

[Lud]

Welcome a board!    You have to analyze your customer base - who can pay for what with in your range.  Do something special that local lumberyards refer folks to you for...Know who the custom builders are and what you can do for them.  Build a distribution list and send a note to all every couple of months to keep what you can do fresh in their minds.  

Good luck!

(Boy,  Cedarman and I were on the same wavelength!) 8) 8)

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Ever think to invite the '' Retired guy'' to breakfast, and have an honest conversation with him ??  If he is really retired, he might share a LOT of things with you ??  :  WELCOME TO THE FORUM.  8) ;D ;D

[FrontierLogWorks]

Hey guys thanks for your responces.  I guess I didnt provide quite enough info.  Whidbey island is growing like crazy, lots of development and still lots of unimproved forest land.  The sawyer that i cut for he kinda gave up the ghost early on.  In the end i was running the saw, counting the boards, doing the billing.  He had been in buisness here for 15 years.  As a matter of fact I bought my house from him and for 1 year following my address appeared in his add.  He has since focused his attention on excavation work with a mini excavator, the rumor is he is not milling large scale anymore.   The island itself is connected on one end with a bridge, and a ferry on the other.  And it is the largest island in the US, at 65 miles long.  The x boss never has really wanted to get involved in my operation, he wont answer question, heck he never even wanted to see my mill, so to say the least he is not willing to share any trade secrets.  I have ran into a couple large jobs recently where the loggers wanted to cut on a share basis.  I personally dont want to store or try to sell the wood, perhaps down the road for the moment i need paying jobs.   It seems as though the people i cut for are always happy and i have had return customers.  I do run into the occasional contractor who thinks his situation is special and wants me to cut at a discounted rate, when i decline the logs get made into firewood///go figure.  My mill is a woodmizer lt40hd25,  my competetion is 3 other part time sawers there not very active.  Perhaps they dont want to be.  My hope was to put together a market base list,  and to go and meet everyone and give them a card and an info pamplet with pricing.....I wish i could hook up with a big lumber products consumer, so i could take advantage of the cut by share job( its 850 acres)  thanks guys  Robert

[rvrdivr]

Hello Robert an welcome to the forum.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Welcome, Robert,

My feeble logic thinks.... :P


Hummmmm...    850 acres of potential share cutting means free stuff !
       uhhh ...        I am not busy
   harrummp ...     Wasting my time is the worst thing I could do

  Well, uh   ...        Maybe I could do some share cutting and stockpile
                          some of that stuff even though I don't really want to
  Yeah, then  ...     I can always cut free of the share cutting as jobs develop.

For a while you might use the "value added" approach, or sell some of this "cut by share job" you mentioned to brokers or to lumber operations with kilns.   You certainly have been given some great suggestions above. 

I will warn you, however,   the effectiveness of yellow pages and print ads is doubtful!
(Found that out already?   :'()

:D :D  If I wasn't so far away, heck, I would sure go to breakfast and listen!   :D :D

Phil L.

[logwalker]

I am over on San Juan Island so I do know your area. I also have a LT40HD. There are a couple others on this island also. I am not trying to contract cut for anybody yet. Just been cutting for myself. I think it is a completely differant situation here on the west coast. We don't have the high value hardwoods that they do back east. I think there is more oppertunity there for marketing. Here you have to have a use for the lumber. Don't most people just sell thier logs to the large mills in your area?

I know I am not making a lot of sense, I am just trying to understand our common situation better.

Logwalker

[kderby]

Welcome, welcome!!!  I am new also and on a similar path with a mizer HD40 as well.  I am working out the kinks like brochures, contracts, billing and my own skill level.

I am embeded in a small town (pop. 163) and far from large market opportunity.  I take solace in the capacity I have to add value.  In the hours and days and months : : that I do not have off site milling I am taking an under valued but available tree Juniper and milling to create marketable lumber.  This keeps the ball rolling, keeps me visible (along the highway).  I may not get top dollar for all of the material processed but low income is better than no income.  Yes, I have to deal with the slabs and low value material (fence boards...splinters).  I also have to buy a fork lift to load the units I created.  I'll be a price taker on most of the material but for the best boards I'll do OK.  I bought the logging not the logs ( I paid the logger for his work and the land owner gave me the trees because juniper is like eastern red cedar and mesquite, an expanding and troublesome rangeland weed).

So my suggestion is to keep going....find an angle....  All industry is built upon the success of one product.  Identify a your product and build your industry with it.
I'd better quit I am starting to sound like Yoda or a cheerleader.  Perhaps because I talk like this to my self :D :D :D

[jaymizer]

Hello I am also new to the forum. I have been reading it for about a year, Tho lots of good info. I know here in North Idaho alot of people don't realize you can build things with roughsawn lumber nor do they realize how straight and nice looking it can be. So I have told and showed alot of people what my mill can do with there tree's. Word of mouth has been a great starter for me.

[Fla._Deadheader]

     8)  Welcome to the Forum, Jaymizer.  8)

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Where in the world are my manners? :(

WELCOME,  WELCOME

;D    Robert and to Jaymizer     ;D

[customsawyer]

welcome to the forum.
the best advice that I can give is when you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang in there.
sticking with it will pay off all most as good as word of mouth.