firewood business start up, need some help

[mainelogger1995]

hey every body i'm lookin for some help with figuring out how to get started into the business and what equipment i should buy. i'm only 16 but i have a good work ethic and have been cuttin wood for a while. i would like to buy a cheap dump truck and splitter to get started, my dad has a tractor with a loader i can load the truck with but i need some advice on just getting started haha. thanks tanner

 

[spidermonkey17]

Welcome and good luck to you. First thing I would do would be secure some sort of source of wood (cut yourself,tree service). Then start splitting and selling, after a little bit of time you will know what you want. Also try using the search function on the site I know this topic has been well covered. Good luck to you.

 

[mainelogger1995]

thanks. me and my dad have a skidder and cut wood so i have a good supply. should i start advertising for customers or wait until i have a good amount of wood cut+split? i have a maul and my 3/4 pickup right now but i found a cheap dump truck for $2000 which isnt bad but finding a good splitter for cheap is hard! this start up wont be until the fall either because i need to work all summer while schools out to buy the equipment i'll need

 

[outdoorsman0490]

2k may sound good to you now, but that means you will have another reg, insurance, and you will probably be putting money into the truck to keep it going. When I started when I was younger, I had a good pickup as well; I spent the money on a dump trailer, same price range as a beat up dump truck, but a very good condition dump trailer. Also, no extra insurance and maintanance costs.

 

[mainelogger1995]

yeah i didnt even think about insurance and registration on another truck! haha. a trailer sounds good too but if i buy a dump i will most likely sell my pickup but im up in the air on this whole thing, its my first time trying to start/promote my own business

 

[cantoo]

You have a truck already? Rip the box off and build a flatbed for it, no extra tags and no extra maintenance. Dump trailer is nice because you can leave it sit with a for sale sign on the wood.
My thread is here, I suggest you do nothing that I did other than the flatbed dump.
http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/153256-13.htm#post3684321

 

[blackdogon57]

If i were in your shoes and had access to a skidder and a good supply of logs I would look at just selling wholesale logs. Many guys who operate independent grapple trucks buy from small suppliers and resell to guys with processing operations. Little if no additional costs involved for you.

 

[Oldtimer]

Buy the dump truck. Have a nice neat pile of 8' wood set aside for the log truck. When the log truck comes for the wood you and dad logged, have it toss the firewood into the dump for a $10 bill. Then sell the wood as a cord of log length for $100 delivered. Make sure it's a good (real) cord. TRUST me, you'll actually make money this way. There is NO money in splitting it.
For the extra $80 (?) you have to buy gas and oil and bar&chain, cut it, lift it to a splitter that you have to feed gas to, split it, then handle it AGAIN to toss each chunk onto the truck..
All that time, LABOR, and money for the extra $80? HELLS NAW!

 

[Arbonaut]

I don't think it hurts to ask these questions and get fresh perspective. I wish I could have asked questions on the internet when I was 16 and working on a Tree Farm. This country was built by entrepreneurs.

If I could get the logs skidded up to a lot, I would get the splitter and forgo the dump truck. Use the 3/4 ton till you get it rolling then look for a dump trailer. The big limitation with that would be getting out of tight spots if you didn't have a woodlot. We are getting a used goose neck dump trailer for tree removal for around $3500. The dump will save you much work. And still have a place to put your saws and stuff in the pickup bed. I think there is more headroom in the retail market than in the wholesale end. Maybe look for a niche with Hickory or Beech if that's what you have in Maine.

Good luck, Bud.

 

[Steve2910]

Firewood on a small scale is a TON of work for very little return. I justify my firewood sales as worth the effort for the following reasons:

(1) Extra money I make in my spare time
(2) Good excuse to own equipment I wouldn't need otherwise. (probably don't need it anyway, but hey... this one IS an excuse).
(3) Good exercise
(4) I get the luxury of keeping the "cream of the crop" for myself.
(5) Fun hobby, I just like making firewood.

Just starting out, I would be very conservative w/ your equipment expenditures. Make nice wood & be sure it's well seasoned (dry). Better to sell a few cords a year & slowly build a loyal customer base, than be a "flash in the pan". Anybody w/ a credit line can buy a ton of equipt., make & sell a ton of green firewood, then be out of business the next year when word gets around that their wood's no good. Just my .02

 

[ponyexpress976]

There is no rule that says you can't start selling wood now...but if you're going to offer green wood make darn sure that is what you are advertising. Over deliver on what you offer. If there is any question as to how close you are to an actual cord, throwing an extra wheel barrow full into the pile is good insurance. A happy customer will mention you to friends. A customer that feels slighted will tell everyone willing to listen. This year I've sold as many green as I have seasoned and it seems to be working out well. People will buy the green stuff if they think you are giving them a deal (added bonus for you being you don't have to stack it or store it to season). My third nugget of advice is be realistic. The best way to make a million dollars in firewood is to start with two million. If you are in an area where everyone has large self sufficient properties, chances are you won't get to many bites. But a high traffic area with lots of smaller homes/properties can be a money maker. Find out what other sellers in your area are offering their product for. If you can compete, great. Just keep in mind that there are a bunch of people out there looking to make a fast buck so margins will have to be tight. Don't buy anything until you need it AND can pay for it. Trying to come up with a payment for a piece of equipment when you aren't bringing in any money sucks in a hurry.

Good luck!

 

[zogger]

Buy the dump truck. Have a nice neat pile of 8' wood set aside for the log truck. When the log truck comes for the wood you and dad logged, have it toss the firewood into the dump for a $10 bill. Then sell the wood as a cord of log length for $100 delivered. Make sure it's a good (real) cord. TRUST me, you'll actually make money this way. There is NO money in splitting it.
For the extra $80 (?) you have to buy gas and oil and bar&chain, cut it, lift it to a splitter that you have to feed gas to, split it, then handle it AGAIN to toss each chunk onto the truck..
All that time, LABOR, and money for the extra $80? HELLS NAW!

^^^^^^ what he said.

 

[redheadwoodshed]

I don't think it hurts to ask these questions and get fresh perspective. I wish I could have asked questions on the internet when I was 16 and working on a Tree Farm. This country was built by entrepreneurs.

If I could get the logs skidded up to a lot, I would get the splitter and forgo the dump truck. Use the 3/4 ton till you get it rolling then look for a dump trailer. The big limitation with that would be getting out of tight spots if you didn't have a woodlot. We are getting a used goose neck dump trailer for tree removal for around $3500. The dump will save you much work. And still have a place to put your saws and stuff in the pickup bed. I think there is more headroom in the retail market than in the wholesale end. Maybe look for a niche with Hickory or Beech if that's what you have in Maine.

Good luck, Bud.

I'd get the splitter first.You already have a truck.Use as much of what you already have.Good luck.

 

[D&B Mack]

Try to focus on minimizing your handling of the wood; more times you handle, the lower your profit margin becomes. I would stick with the pick-up truck to double as a work/personal vehicle. Once you increase your sales, look at a dump trailer or dump truck, whatever your budget will allow. If you value your time, you will need a splitter. Good luck.

 

[blades]

You got a 3/4 t, get a trailer, much cheaper in the long run. There are a lot of used trailers available. depending on its size and your DOT you may or may not need to register it. You can haul a lot more in a decent sized trailer than a dump truck and as others have said cost of up keep is minimal. Maybe you have a trailer for the SS, put sides on it and use that to start.

 

[genesis5521]

Try to focus on minimizing your handling of the wood; more times you handle, the lower your profit margin becomes.

I know what you're saying D&B and I agree, to a point. But this is true only if one is selling everything they can produce. Most don't. I have all the time in the world but can't afford (but more important "can't justify") expensive equipment to maximize efficiency. I might manually handle the product/wood more than some which means I'm not as efficient. But my methods are less costly. (I don't sell firewood so all of this is hypothetical.)

Start with what you have Mainlogger and only invest in better/more efficient equipment if the demand warrants. If you have some cash to burn, that's another story. But stay out of debt (or use debt ever so sparingly) until you have an established client base. Resist the urge to "buy". I teach accounting and computer courses at a tech college. I have to continually stress these points to new entrepreneurs who want to go overboard on their initial capital investments.

There are things one can do to increase efficiency and decrease effort which cost almost nothing. I made a 15 minute video of me splitting wood with my $299 4 ton Ryobi electric log splitter using a very simple loading table which I built. I hope the OP views it to get some ideas on how to do things on a budget as he gets started.

Best of luck to you Mainlogger. Treat your customers exceptionally well, work real hard, don't expect to get rich (as making firewood is really a labor of love), and don't spend a lot while you're getting started.

Here's my video: [video]http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/191891.htm[/video]

Don <><

 

[jrider]

At 16, I would buy minimal equipement and spend more time and effort trying to build up a good customer base. Maine is a cold state and I'm sure most people are loyal to a supplier of good wood. Once you get a solid base built up and steady money coming in that you can count on then you can buy all the equipment you will need to maintain the size operation you want to deal with.

This approach served me well when I started into the firewood business at 19.

 

[tomtrees58]

There is NO money in splitting your nuts:bang: al so stacking brings bucks we get 75.00 a cord extra

 

[zogger]

I know what you're saying D&B and I agree, to a point. But this is true only if one is selling everything they can produce. Most don't. I have all the time in the world but can't afford (but more important "can't justify") expensive equipment to maximize efficiency. I might manually handle the product/wood more than some which means I'm not as efficient. But my methods are less costly. (I don't sell firewood so all of this is hypothetical.)

Start with what you have Mainlogger and only invest in better/more efficient equipment if the demand warrants. If you have some cash to burn, that's another story. But stay out of debt (or use debt ever so sparingly) until you have an established client base. Resist the urge to "buy". I teach accounting and computer courses at a tech college. I have to continually stress these points to new entrepreneurs who want to go overboard on their initial capital investments.

There are things one can do to increase efficiency and decrease effort which cost almost nothing. I made a 15 minute video of me splitting wood with my $299 4 ton Ryobi electric log splitter using a very simple loading table which I built. I hope the OP views it to get some ideas on how to do things on a budget as he gets started.

Best of luck to you Mainlogger. Treat your customers exceptionally well, work real hard, don't expect to get rich (as making firewood is really a labor of love), and don't spend a lot while you're getting started.

Here's my video: [video]http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/191891.htm[/video]

Don <><

In his situation though, they are tops from the main saw logs. Frosting on the cake there. All he has to do is trim them up, have the grapple load the dump truck, and then go dump them at the customers place. Fast, easy efficient, minimal handling and two grand for a dump truck if it is in serviceable shape is a really good deal. His pickup then is just a backup vehicle for when the dump truck is down and needs maintenance plus everyone needs a daily driver.

Guys cutting their own wood with a pickup don't wear them out, just not that much to haul, start to selling wood in big quantities and the truck wears out fast, trailer or no trailer, and then when the pickup is down, which will happen, he has zero transport. This is an *important point*, a wood splitter or trailer is not going to get him back into town for parts and stuff, his backup pickup truck will.

And dump trucks are designed for this task a lot better. And I would imagine in Maine, knowing them penny pinchers up there, a lot of folks would rather get a deal on log length and do their own processing.

Not to say down the road he shouldn't get a processor or splitter and all the other stuff, I just think in his particular situation his dumptruck deal and log length is the way to go for best bang for his investment buck.

 

[Fred Wright]

I agree with the guys; a dump truck is an essential tool for delivering firewood to customers. Don't forget, you'll need a CDL to drive it on the road.

Before committing to this purchase, have the truck inspected by a qualified mechanic. If the seller won't let you do this, walk away. That last thing any business needs is equipment that becomes a money pit. There's no telling if the previous owner maintained it well or at all.