Can't win for losing

[mtngun]

Have you talked to the county about getting the proper permits so you can keep your wood on your own land. I know the county I live in raises all kinds of fuss about the stupidest crap but you can get a permit for almost anything at the county office and then they don't bother you.
sometimes the permits are even reasonably priced

+1

9 times out of 10 all the government really wants is your money. Buy whatever business permits they are selling and life may get much easier for you.

Then, if it is legal to do so, put a tall wooden fence around your property so no one can see.

Don't hang up any business signs unless you are sure your place is legal and you are sure the sign is legal -- sometimes there are rules about business ads in residential areas. There are better ways to advertise -- Craig's list, local want ads, etc.

I used to have a home business in a city residence. Had a business license, but still kept a low profile, didn't hang up any signs. Kept the yard tidy and had a nice flower garden out front so it looked like a model home. People driving by had no clue what went on inside my house, and that's the way I liked it. :biggrinbounce2:

 

[banshee67]

Grrrrrr, it's so frustrating being in business around here. :angrysoapbox:

At the start of last year I decided to go into the firewood business. When the snow melted I bought a bunch of permits and went into the forest to load up on the slim pickings I could find. When I finally did land on a good source I hired two guys and rented a big truck to go fetch it. Ya know, I'm thinking I'm doing a good thing. I provided a couple of people with a job they needed and liked, and I also was spending a pretty fair amount of dough with the local truck rental company. I'd load up my pickup and put a sign on it, "Early bird special. This load $140." That's not a lowball number for pine by any standard.

Then I had a problem with my toe in May and ended up having to have it amputated. Problems after the surgery kept me out of the forest, but I was still able to put out the pickup and move a few loads that way. I think I'm doing something beneficial for my local community since there aren't a lot of options for firewood out here in the middle of nowhere. Because I'm seeing some success I decide to buy my own big truck so I could bring in more wood without having to rent one. I also put up a sign in a couple of places advertising that I had firewood to sell. No prices, just MikeTheFirewoodGuy.com and my phone number. Well, that was a mistake. Apparently I pissed off a competitor, who filed a complaint with the county against me. In August I was in the hospital and my wife brings me a letter from the county. In it is a demand to stop my wood business, because I'm not allowed to run it on on my own property. Oh, I also have to get rid of my truck and remove the trailer that's been sitting on the ground for the last 30 years and my backhoe that I use to clear the road of snow for us and all my neighbors so we don't have to be rescued from being snowbound. What a friggin nightmare. I had to move my wood yard off my property. It went to a friends house a couple of blocks away. I wrote them back and told them I'd stop doing wood on my property, but they could pound sand when it came to my truck, tractor and trailer. I do have to say, the gal I was dealing with from the county really bent over backwards to work with me, but in the end I still had to build a $2,000 fence and put a fake 'barn' appearance on the trailer. She had to not see a trailer when standing directly in front of it in my front yard and that made it not be there. She could take one step sideways and see a full 40' of trailer, but as long as she could stand directly in front of it, it wasn't really there.

I moved the truck and tractor for the final inspection so they didn't exist either.

How stupid and an utter waste of tax dollars. I live over 20 miles from town, out in the middle of nowhere. Why are these people screwing with me?

Then, I went to California in my truck for some wood up in Truckee. There's a weigh station so I figured I had to go through it because I had a fairly big truck. They flag me for inspection. The truck's fine, but they tell me I have to have a class B license to drive it. I explain to them that the truck is licensed and registered at 25,999 lbs. GVW and that Nevada says I can drive it on my class C license. Nope! The truck has a door tag that rates it at 28,000 LBS. GVW, so that's what 'they' go by. I tell them I don't really give a ####, it's legal to drive in Nevada. "So it is, but not in California". The cop was nice enough to let me go back to NV, but I can't drive it into CA. I can't get an Interstate Class B license because I'm an insulin dependent diabetic.

So the other day I want to go over to my buddy's house to finish splitting the wood I have over there. He wants me to call first to let him know I'm coming over. NO answer. I leave a message but no call back. I leave several more messages but still no reply. He had asked me to let him know I was coming over and preferred that I not come unless he's there. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this. I leave another message saying that if he's upset with me about something, we can't work it out if we don't talk. He calls me back a few minutes later and tells me he's really pissed at me because I didn't live up to my end of our deal.

The deal was, I can use his splitter all year in exchange for two cords of wood. I got to thinking about it and went back the next day to change the deal. I said I was planning on bringing in 100 cords of wood and two cords was simply not enough for him. He said he burns 5 cords per winter. I said he could have whatever it took to get him through the winter. I also agreed to maintain the (15 year old Craftsman 27 ton) homeowner class splitter. When all the BS went down with the county he offered to let me use his property for my wood lot. When I started bringing wood into his property I told him, "Take what you want from the pile. You don't have to ask, you don't have to measure, you don't have to let me know you took any or all of it. If you want it, take it."

So when I got there and ask him what's wrong, he goes off on me saying I screwed him. All I'm interested in is splitting wood and selling it, and I sold off all the seasoned wood and now he had to go out and buy wood because all I had left was green wood and it doesn't burn very hot. I told him "Yes, all I'm interested in is splitting and selling wood. It's because I'm in the firewood business. I don't touch a piece of wood without a monetary reason for doing so".

About a month ago the splitter started running crappy. We took the carb apart and it was all gummed up. This is a Tecumseh 6½ HP motor. Do I have the carb cleaned? No. Do I replace the carb? No! I buy a brand new 7 HP B&S Intek commercial grade motor to the tune of $300. This thing had twice the power of the old motor. That didn't matter because I wore the 15 year old motor out with the large amount of wood I did with it, (about 45 cords). You see, when the splitter was new it was strong like the new motor is now, and even though it would die under stress when I first started using it, it was running fine before I started using it. I said I obviously felt the same, otherwise I wouldn't have replaced the motor instead of just cleaning the carb.

So before I can take any of the wood, I have to get rid of all the bark and junk that's accumulated from all the splitting. Agreed, as we had also agreed when I started bringing wood there. So my guy and I load all the crap, which he had mixed in with a bunch of his horse ####, but I'm not going to push it. When I'm ready to leave I knock on the door and tell him I'm sorry he's upset about this but he's welcome to take whatever amount of wood that's left that he feels he's entitled to. I'll come back in the morning to take what's left and finish cleaning up. "Fine" he said.

I call the next morning to let him know I'm on the way over, I get the voice mail. He's screening my calls again. So I leave a message saying I'm on the way over and I figure he's out in the yard chucking his part of the wood, so I'll see him when I get there. I get there and he hasn't moved a single piece of wood. So we start loading the truck. About 15 minutes later he comes out of the house, yelling at me for coming on his property uninvited. I said I called, and also told him I'd be here in the morning, which he agreed to. He went into the house.

So we're throwing wood on the truck as fast as we can because I know he's going to be a problem. Just before we get the truck maxed out he comes out and says he's leaving in 10 minutes and so am I. Sure! We load for the 10 minutes and he comes out to start his truck. I call him over to what's left and tell him that I had intended to split the pile along this line, but since there was only a little bit left on my side, I was just going to give it to him. "Whatever! I don't care" he says. So he walks over to his truck and I follow him to ask when he's coming back. He tells me he doesn't know. I told him I'll call him later to arrange a time to come over and finish the cleanup. He tells me he doesn't want me on his property ever again. Whatever.

So now, I've got property I can't use, a truck I can't drive, and no splitter. Talk about can't win for losing.

sounds like a regular ol week to me! lol
dont worry.. the world is full of idiots, sometimes their reason for being one is better left unsaid
i agree though it sounds like hes getting some outside pressure put on him and doesnt wana man up and talk to you about it for whatever reason.. that or hes totally bi polar schizophrenic , either way you have done nothing wrong and from the sounds of it went out of your way to try and make him more than happy. but you cant pleasde everyone. from the sounds of it he might have wanted in on the profits maybe when he realized how much wood you were producing and he started doing 3rd grade math in his head. oh well. thats the nature of man. move all your #### somewhere else and forget about him, life is too short to deal with others peoples problems, thats one thing ive learned in the last few years. you only live once, im not wasting my already limited time on this earth arguing with idiots about peanuts. do good to others and youll have it back on you! at least thats what i keep tryin to tell myself, stay positive
if you are feeling down ill send u some pics of the dent i put in my new truck today :help:

 

[banshee67]

Metals hit a high note.

Get the Hell outta there.

My neighbor, the only one on the road, is selling shortly.

Decent little house with a good Garage, 10 Acres of split field and woodlot, No neighbors you can see, Wild Turkeys pooping on the porch, and you can build "Buddhacat Mountain" out of splits without a permit, or neighbors complaining about the trailers or even a dozen Goats in the road.
The only hassle would be gunfire from the butthole neighbor at odd hours
and getting strafed by the spray pilot at dawn now and then.
Probably go for around 100K.
And you can use my splitter any time ya want.

LOL!!
Tell the ol' Lady you're thinkin' of moving close to the Beach.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

you left out the part about legal medical marijuana !!!

 

[wvlogger]

No offense Buddha, but Nevada sounds gay as hell. Who wants to live somewhere where you can't use your own property?? They'll sure as #### tax you for it though!!

This country is ####ed.

:rant:

:agree2:

:agree2:

:agree2: i third that

 

[bore_pig]

Doing it on your own, and even keeping a good attitude! I like it!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

So now, I've got property I can't use, a truck I can't drive, and no splitter. Talk about can't win for losing.

Sorry to hear that, BuddhaKat. Especially the health problems! Before I rag on you (a friendly rag) about the business decisions, let me point you to something that can make a huge difference to your health. It has for our family!

http://www.drfurhman.com

No jive, no bull, and no income for me if you decide to check it out. Just sharing it because I know it works.


Now, about the business issues.... Really, this is why you need to do your homework before you start a business. All these problems could have been discovered with just a little homework.

It's no secret that local governments often have restrictions on what kind of businesses can be run from a particular zoning. That's what zoning is all about. Getting whacked by the county shouldn't have been a surprise. A phone call to the county would have told you what you needed to know. Might have told you a way to do it legally on your own property. At least you'd have known.

A plate that says 28,000? Well, of course that's what they'll go by! How it got registered in NV for 25,999 is probably an interesting story, and probably involves somebody lying to the DMV. That one pound below the limit for a Class B should have been a screaming red flag to you. Instead of seeing that and figuring you were home free, you should have been suspicious and looked into it. That should have been a, "Yeah, RIGHT!" moment when you saw that. Nobody rates trucks to the nearest pound like that.

As for the splitter, again, that's no surprise. Business needs to be kept businesslike, or you're going to have problems. Not IF, but WHEN. ESPECIALLY between friends. Verbal agreements? Putting your business at the mercy of somebody's good mood? That's just asking for trouble. It bites small businessmen every day in every state, and it will continue to do so.

 

[BuddhaKat]

Sorry to hear that, BuddhaKat. Especially the health problems! Before I rag on you (a friendly rag) about the business decisions, let me point you to something that can make a huge difference to your health. It has for our family!

http://www.drfurhman.com

No jive, no bull, and no income for me if you decide to check it out. Just sharing it because I know it works.


Now, about the business issues.... Really, this is why you need to do your homework before you start a business. All these problems could have been discovered with just a little homework.

It's no secret that local governments often have restrictions on what kind of businesses can be run from a particular zoning. That's what zoning is all about. Getting whacked by the county shouldn't have been a surprise. A phone call to the county would have told you what you needed to know. Might have told you a way to do it legally on your own property. At least you'd have known.

A plate that says 28,000? Well, of course that's what they'll go by! How it got registered in NV for 25,999 is probably an interesting story, and probably involves somebody lying to the DMV. That one pound below the limit for a Class B should have been a screaming red flag to you. Instead of seeing that and figuring you were home free, you should have been suspicious and looked into it. That should have been a, "Yeah, RIGHT!" moment when you saw that. Nobody rates trucks to the nearest pound like that.

As for the splitter, again, that's no surprise. Business needs to be kept businesslike, or you're going to have problems. Not IF, but WHEN. ESPECIALLY between friends. Verbal agreements? Putting your business at the mercy of somebody's good mood? That's just asking for trouble. It bites small businessmen every day in every state, and it will continue to do so.

Hi Mark,

I'll check out Furhman's website in detail tomorrow. It's too late tonight. But thank you for the lead. A cursory look looks mighty interesting.

As to the business end of your post;

You're right on checking with the county. We didn't used to have the county looking up our butt until they started building tract housing in our little valley. Now, those of us that moved out here to get away from people, have to change our way of life to fit in with all the California transplants that moved in to our peaceful little area. It's my fault, no question, but it still ain't right. We're zoned residential now and firewood is only allowed in an industrial zone. Gotta luv the gubment, dontcha?

Most states allow you to set the max GVR when you register a vehicle. The truck may be capable of carrying 28k, but it's only legal to carry 25,999. We are free to set the GVW at whatever we want. One state is supposed to recognize what the other state does. This is just another money grab by California, nothing more. I can drive the truck anywhere in NV on my class C license. I can also drive it in any other state in the union, cept CA. I did check with CA DMV though and they told me I was good to go. Shoulda got it in writing.

Splitter's my fault too, but I's po. Gonna have to buy one, that's fer sure.

Nite everyone!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

You're right on checking with the county. We didn't used to have the county looking up our butt until they started building tract housing in our little valley. Now, those of us that moved out here to get away from people, have to change our way of life to fit in with all the California transplants that moved in to our peaceful little area. It's my fault, no question, but it still ain't right. We're zoned residential now and firewood is only allowed in an industrial zone. Gotta luv the gubment, dontcha?

I feel for you. We're fighting the same battle here. I'm one of the "newcomers", but I didn't move here to get it more like the city, I moved here to get away from the city! Now we've got plenty of people crying about the roads, and about this, and that.... I can't even have chickens on my 1 acre in the woods!

Most states allow you to set the max GVR when you register a vehicle. The truck may be capable of carrying 28k, but it's only legal to carry 25,999. We are free to set the GVW at whatever we want. One state is supposed to recognize what the other state does. This is just another money grab by California, nothing more. I can drive the truck anywhere in NV on my class C license. I can also drive it in any other state in the union, cept CA.

Ah, I see. Not the first time Kalifornia has done that kind of thing. They got whacked about 8 or so years ago for their vehicle smog requirements. The car dealers got together and sued, and said that these cars were fine in 49 states, and Kali had to recognize that. It was costing around 800 bucks per car for the extra smog stuff, and it practically eliminated bringing in used cars. The dealers won that one.

 

[Coldfront]

Leasing and or borrowing tools / equipment is no way to run or start a business.
You should have checked all the laws and zoning before you even thought about starting.

 

[Curlycherry1]

We're zoned residential now and firewood is only allowed in an industrial zone. Gotta luv the gubment, dontcha?

Check with the town and county about grandfather clauses. That was the thing that saved my brother's operation. He was there first and so they let him keep his operation. In our case we did have to prove firewood was on the land and being sold before the laws were changed, which we were able to do.

Here is my brother's case (#1235):
http://www.townofclay.org/departmen...rd Minutes 2006/planning_zba min 9-11-06.html

Here is the outcome:
http://www.townofclay.org/departmen...rd Minutes 2006/planning_zba min 10-9-06.html

 

[banshee67]

jeez i had no idea about this.
granite i dont have huge stacks or piles, im constantly coming home with a full trailer, splitting in my yard, then clearly loading it and delivering it, then a couple days later 2-3 more cords show up, ill be out cutting and splitting.. then its all gone again. the nosiest neighbor in my neighborhood (she is notoriously in everyones business) actually stopped by on her walk and asked if she could buy a cord of wood off me. i was very surprised, i figured she was coming down my driveway to complain about the loud chainsaw. i told her i sell green cords (FULL CORDS, real cords, most people around here have never seen a real cord) for $140, and in the winter i sell seasoned wood for $200.. she looked at me like i had 7 eyes. she still said she would like me to drop one off though, but look like she saw a ghost when i told her seasoned cord is $200..as she got back in her 2009 cadillac SRX..