DDM
Addicted to ArboristSite
okay i bought this CD with resale rights why did i buy it? I have no clue but instead of selling it here it is.Whether it will be helpful or not i do not know.Sounded better in the Ad.
How To Start And Operate Your Own Firewood Supply Business
Unpredictable fuel costs and the necessity of keeping warm in
the winter have resulted in "boom sales" for manufactures of
wood-burning stoves. There has also been a return to the use
of the fireplace as a form of supplementary heat and as a
luxury that promotes the "cozy" atmosphere sought after by
both middle class and affluent families. This renaissance in
the popularity of wood heat, and upward spiraling sales of
associated equipment, has created a demand for firewood that's
almost impossible to fulfill.
A very important element: This demand has caused the price of
firewood to almost double over the past several years.
Whatever the "going price" for a cord of firewood in your
area, you can expect it to increase by 20 to 30 percent each
year for the next ten years or so.
Your potential market is a varied as the weather; it is also
somewhat dependent on the weather. You'll find buyers among
apartment dwellers as well as home owners. The rich buying
firewood perhaps more than the poor; those concerned with
the purity of the environment and the so-called "voluntary-
simplicity" folk seeking a return to the "pioneering" life
are all part of your market.
And don't think for a minute that firewood sales are limited
to the colder northern states. people living in Sunny
Southern California and along the Gulf of Mexico buy and
burn firewood for the same reasons as people living in
Minnesota and Montana.
One of the secrets of success in this business is understanding
why the people in your area burn firewood. Then it's a matter
of learning when and how often they need it, and positioning
yourself to fill those needs.
It doesn't take special education or training to become
successful firewood supplier. Just for the record, the
backgrounds of people operating businesses of this kind
range from farmers to unemployed factory workers to
doctors, lawyers, real estate salesman and even university
professors.
The kind of equipment you'll need varies according to the
type of business you want to establish, and the kind of wood
you will be supplying.
The first prerequisite to the establishment of your business
is to decide what kind of business---wholesale to retail
outlets, or retail to the general public--you want to operate.
Next, you'll have to decide on the type of firewood you will
sell. There are three major categories: 1) mill ends or sawed
up scrap lumber and kindling, 2) whole logs for the buyer to
cut according to his own specifications, 3) fireplace and
stove wood, cut and split according to the general requirements
of your market area.
Your next step is to line up a source of supply. Actually, it's
best to "lock in" a number of sources of supply. Later on, as
your business develops and grows, you may want to offer several
different kinds of firewood, that is, become a full-service
dealer offering firewood to meet everyone's needs and fancies
for your area. We'll discuss different categories of wood and
demand, so that you can explore sources of supply and costs.
MILL ENDS: Your best source of supply for this type of wood is
the sawmills in your area. If you live in a metropolitan area,
take a few weekend trips to the small towns in the wooded areas
of your state. With a little bit of initiative on your part,
you should be able to discover any number of small sawmill
operations within a 200-mile radius most metropolitan areas
in this country.
What you'll want to do is buy a truckload of mill ends, take
them home and package them into sacks of firewood. Thus, a
load of mill ends that you might buy for $50 would be broken
down into perhaps 200 sackfuls that you sell for $10 per sack.
Multiply these 200 sacks of firewood times $10 each, and you
have a gross income of $2,000 for a load of wood costing you
only $50. You wouldn't have to be very smart to realize that's
pretty good, providing your sources of supply can keeps us
with the demand.
The beauty of mill ends is that they are clean, burn down into
sackfuls are fast, put out a lot of heat, and when broken down
into sackfuls are ideal for apartment dwellers, as well as
people in warmer climates needing firewood for just a few cold
spells each winter. Until you have a large full-service
firewood supply operation, it's suggested that you leave the
sale of truckload supplies of mill ends to the larger, more
established firewood suppliers. My advice here is that you
should stay within the capabilities of supplying the buying
demands of your market, and further concentrate on selling
what brings you the greatest profit. However, as your
operation grows, the supply of truckloads of mill end
firewood is definitely worth considering.
Other sources of supply for mill end will be your local
lumbar yards, woodworking or furniture manufacturing firms,
and home building or remodeling contractors. in many instances,
you can offer to stop by these places about once a week and
clean up the worksite by hauling away the scrap lumbar, and
they'll let you have it without cost. It is possible to even
get paid for doing this. The only drawback will be that you'll
have to sort this wood, and then saw it up into the sizes you
want for your bundles or sacks. This is no big deal, because
you can handle a pickup or trailer load with a power saw in
just a couple of hours.
When you have the wood ready to package into sacks, you'll
save time and increase your profits by hiring a couple of
high school, explain that you need a couple of students for
part time work sacking firewood, and you'll have all the
help you need.
As for how much to pay them, establish a pay rate for 100
full sacks. Of two high school students, one would hold open
a sack while the other uses a scoop shovel to pick up the
wood and dump it into the sack. Between them, they can gather
the top of the sack and tie it with twine. The full sacks,
of course, must be stacked on a pallet or in a area ready
for selling. Check the time it takes two good students,
working at a reasonably fast clip, to load 100 sacks.
Knowing the current minimum hourly wage rate, you can then
determine the labor value of 100 loaded sacks.
For a supply of burlap bags for use in sacking wood, check
with a farmer's feed store. If you buy in quantity, you can
get them at a very reasonable price. You can purchase twine
for tying the sacks at the same place.
WHOLE LOGS: Many people have chain saws and fancy themselves
as "do-it-yourselfs," but they don't have the time to go out
into the woods and bring back firewood. If you can supply
these people with a location not too far from home, where
they can saw and split their own firewood, you'll have a
steady stream of customers. You'll need a large vacant lot--
about a half acre to a full acre---and preferably on the
outskirts of town. The first thing will be to put up a
6-foot cyclone fence around your lot, and then a small
garden shed type building to serve as your office.
Contact a sawmill or logging operation not too far from
where you want to open your business. Arrange with them
to deliver whole logs (lumbar rejects) to your wood lot.
Your costs shouldn't run much more than $10 per log,
even for premium wood, but will depend upon the size
and number delivered in each load.
If you have the vehicle and the energy, you can also
contact the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land
Management in your area for a permit to cut firewood
in government preservation area. Then you go out into
the woods, saw up downed trees into eight-foot lengths,
load them into your vehicle and haul them to your woodlot.
Still another source of supply is the farmers in your
area. Talk with them and offer to "thin out" area of
standing timber, and the downed trees. Oftentimes, you
can get this wood at no cost other than offering the land
owners a share of the timber you take out. He may even
consider your "thinning" and hauling an even exchange
for logs.
Don't forget about the road building construction
companies, and commercial and residential developers as
sources of supply. Actually, once you get into the business
you'll find sources of supply virtually unlimited, and
restricted only by your initiative in making contact with
the property owners.
once you have a supply of logs within your wood lot, there
are many things you can do to attract customers. Run an
advertisement in your local paper inviting "do-it-yourselfers"
to come out and cut their own firewood. You charge them
twice as much per log as your cost, and they do the sawing,
the splitting, the loading and provide their own car or
truck to take them home. You are only to supervise and
receive payment.
You could also rent chain saws, axes and the use of your
power splitter. Allow the customer to select the log of his
choice, and then have the hired help--high school students,
perhaps--who would saw, split and load this wood into the
buyer's vehicle. The ultimate, of course, would be to
include delivery and stacking of this wood at the customer's
residence.
Once the customer has selected his log--at twice your
costs--and pays you $10 for sawing it into the lengths he
wants, plus $20 for splitting it for him and another $20
for loading it onto his vehicle, you're talking about $300
to $400 per cord of wood. The secret here is to have your
helpers working in teams, with the kind of efficiency that
means well over $150 per hour for you.
How To Start And Operate Your Own Firewood Supply Business
Unpredictable fuel costs and the necessity of keeping warm in
the winter have resulted in "boom sales" for manufactures of
wood-burning stoves. There has also been a return to the use
of the fireplace as a form of supplementary heat and as a
luxury that promotes the "cozy" atmosphere sought after by
both middle class and affluent families. This renaissance in
the popularity of wood heat, and upward spiraling sales of
associated equipment, has created a demand for firewood that's
almost impossible to fulfill.
A very important element: This demand has caused the price of
firewood to almost double over the past several years.
Whatever the "going price" for a cord of firewood in your
area, you can expect it to increase by 20 to 30 percent each
year for the next ten years or so.
Your potential market is a varied as the weather; it is also
somewhat dependent on the weather. You'll find buyers among
apartment dwellers as well as home owners. The rich buying
firewood perhaps more than the poor; those concerned with
the purity of the environment and the so-called "voluntary-
simplicity" folk seeking a return to the "pioneering" life
are all part of your market.
And don't think for a minute that firewood sales are limited
to the colder northern states. people living in Sunny
Southern California and along the Gulf of Mexico buy and
burn firewood for the same reasons as people living in
Minnesota and Montana.
One of the secrets of success in this business is understanding
why the people in your area burn firewood. Then it's a matter
of learning when and how often they need it, and positioning
yourself to fill those needs.
It doesn't take special education or training to become
successful firewood supplier. Just for the record, the
backgrounds of people operating businesses of this kind
range from farmers to unemployed factory workers to
doctors, lawyers, real estate salesman and even university
professors.
The kind of equipment you'll need varies according to the
type of business you want to establish, and the kind of wood
you will be supplying.
The first prerequisite to the establishment of your business
is to decide what kind of business---wholesale to retail
outlets, or retail to the general public--you want to operate.
Next, you'll have to decide on the type of firewood you will
sell. There are three major categories: 1) mill ends or sawed
up scrap lumber and kindling, 2) whole logs for the buyer to
cut according to his own specifications, 3) fireplace and
stove wood, cut and split according to the general requirements
of your market area.
Your next step is to line up a source of supply. Actually, it's
best to "lock in" a number of sources of supply. Later on, as
your business develops and grows, you may want to offer several
different kinds of firewood, that is, become a full-service
dealer offering firewood to meet everyone's needs and fancies
for your area. We'll discuss different categories of wood and
demand, so that you can explore sources of supply and costs.
MILL ENDS: Your best source of supply for this type of wood is
the sawmills in your area. If you live in a metropolitan area,
take a few weekend trips to the small towns in the wooded areas
of your state. With a little bit of initiative on your part,
you should be able to discover any number of small sawmill
operations within a 200-mile radius most metropolitan areas
in this country.
What you'll want to do is buy a truckload of mill ends, take
them home and package them into sacks of firewood. Thus, a
load of mill ends that you might buy for $50 would be broken
down into perhaps 200 sackfuls that you sell for $10 per sack.
Multiply these 200 sacks of firewood times $10 each, and you
have a gross income of $2,000 for a load of wood costing you
only $50. You wouldn't have to be very smart to realize that's
pretty good, providing your sources of supply can keeps us
with the demand.
The beauty of mill ends is that they are clean, burn down into
sackfuls are fast, put out a lot of heat, and when broken down
into sackfuls are ideal for apartment dwellers, as well as
people in warmer climates needing firewood for just a few cold
spells each winter. Until you have a large full-service
firewood supply operation, it's suggested that you leave the
sale of truckload supplies of mill ends to the larger, more
established firewood suppliers. My advice here is that you
should stay within the capabilities of supplying the buying
demands of your market, and further concentrate on selling
what brings you the greatest profit. However, as your
operation grows, the supply of truckloads of mill end
firewood is definitely worth considering.
Other sources of supply for mill end will be your local
lumbar yards, woodworking or furniture manufacturing firms,
and home building or remodeling contractors. in many instances,
you can offer to stop by these places about once a week and
clean up the worksite by hauling away the scrap lumbar, and
they'll let you have it without cost. It is possible to even
get paid for doing this. The only drawback will be that you'll
have to sort this wood, and then saw it up into the sizes you
want for your bundles or sacks. This is no big deal, because
you can handle a pickup or trailer load with a power saw in
just a couple of hours.
When you have the wood ready to package into sacks, you'll
save time and increase your profits by hiring a couple of
high school, explain that you need a couple of students for
part time work sacking firewood, and you'll have all the
help you need.
As for how much to pay them, establish a pay rate for 100
full sacks. Of two high school students, one would hold open
a sack while the other uses a scoop shovel to pick up the
wood and dump it into the sack. Between them, they can gather
the top of the sack and tie it with twine. The full sacks,
of course, must be stacked on a pallet or in a area ready
for selling. Check the time it takes two good students,
working at a reasonably fast clip, to load 100 sacks.
Knowing the current minimum hourly wage rate, you can then
determine the labor value of 100 loaded sacks.
For a supply of burlap bags for use in sacking wood, check
with a farmer's feed store. If you buy in quantity, you can
get them at a very reasonable price. You can purchase twine
for tying the sacks at the same place.
WHOLE LOGS: Many people have chain saws and fancy themselves
as "do-it-yourselfs," but they don't have the time to go out
into the woods and bring back firewood. If you can supply
these people with a location not too far from home, where
they can saw and split their own firewood, you'll have a
steady stream of customers. You'll need a large vacant lot--
about a half acre to a full acre---and preferably on the
outskirts of town. The first thing will be to put up a
6-foot cyclone fence around your lot, and then a small
garden shed type building to serve as your office.
Contact a sawmill or logging operation not too far from
where you want to open your business. Arrange with them
to deliver whole logs (lumbar rejects) to your wood lot.
Your costs shouldn't run much more than $10 per log,
even for premium wood, but will depend upon the size
and number delivered in each load.
If you have the vehicle and the energy, you can also
contact the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land
Management in your area for a permit to cut firewood
in government preservation area. Then you go out into
the woods, saw up downed trees into eight-foot lengths,
load them into your vehicle and haul them to your woodlot.
Still another source of supply is the farmers in your
area. Talk with them and offer to "thin out" area of
standing timber, and the downed trees. Oftentimes, you
can get this wood at no cost other than offering the land
owners a share of the timber you take out. He may even
consider your "thinning" and hauling an even exchange
for logs.
Don't forget about the road building construction
companies, and commercial and residential developers as
sources of supply. Actually, once you get into the business
you'll find sources of supply virtually unlimited, and
restricted only by your initiative in making contact with
the property owners.
once you have a supply of logs within your wood lot, there
are many things you can do to attract customers. Run an
advertisement in your local paper inviting "do-it-yourselfers"
to come out and cut their own firewood. You charge them
twice as much per log as your cost, and they do the sawing,
the splitting, the loading and provide their own car or
truck to take them home. You are only to supervise and
receive payment.
You could also rent chain saws, axes and the use of your
power splitter. Allow the customer to select the log of his
choice, and then have the hired help--high school students,
perhaps--who would saw, split and load this wood into the
buyer's vehicle. The ultimate, of course, would be to
include delivery and stacking of this wood at the customer's
residence.
Once the customer has selected his log--at twice your
costs--and pays you $10 for sawing it into the lengths he
wants, plus $20 for splitting it for him and another $20
for loading it onto his vehicle, you're talking about $300
to $400 per cord of wood. The secret here is to have your
helpers working in teams, with the kind of efficiency that
means well over $150 per hour for you.