New to the business..need advice!

[w1rej0]

Norway Pines

I have three pines that have been in the ground just over a year - clay soil - but this year I have noticed that all three have pines are starting to turn yellow to brown on the needles. Two trees so far only on one side but the other tree two brances from the bottom all the way around the tree. Too much water, not enough, or other issues?? Royce

 

[Jeffsaw]

Norway Pines

From my experience, these pines like a well-drained, sandy soil. The clay might not work for them.

 

[stihl.logger]

I have three pines that have been in the ground just over a year - clay soil - but this year I have noticed that all three have pines are starting to turn yellow to brown on the needles. Two trees so far only on one side but the other tree two brances from the bottom all the way around the tree. Too much water, not enough, or other issues?? Royce

I am also with Jeffsaw on this, but i just cut these boogers for a livin, never paid attn to details, try posting this in maybe the 101 forum, might get some better results?

 

[Doc Hickory]

The business end of your operation is the part almost everyone dislikes. It's more fun climbing trees than it is crunching numbers. Keep your business finances separate from your personal finances, separate checking accounts, everything. Learn to be meticulous about getting receipts for all supplies: rope, chainsaws and parts, fuel, oil, every single item you buy to operate your business. This includes envelopes, stamps, copier paper, ink for the copier, a million different things you have to purchase to keep your operation humming. Any permits, fees for business licenses, any regulatory expenses can also be deducted. Instead of keeping records of fuel/oil,and expenses for vehicles the tax authorities allow you take off X cents per mile if you use your personal vehicle for business. You'll just have to keep track of both to see which is most beneficial to you. Insurance on business vehicles, workman's comp payments, advertising expenses, referral fees, etc. are all expenses which lower your tax liability.
Your income is what you charge the customer for your services, the amount that comes in from sale of goods (if for instance you sell logs or firewood from the trees you remove. Sale of equipment you decide to liquidate is income, especially if you've depreciated that equipment. Set up a system to keep track of all these items, perhaps find someone to do this scutwork fror you. It is amazing how these small things in the end amount to a large amount, and that large amount (expenses) is subtracted from your income, which then gives you your net profit (or loss). Most new operations will see a net loss initially because start up expenses will exceed income for a time. It is also possible to carry a loss from one year over to the next year's net profit, thereby reducing that profit which causes you to pay less taxes. It's part of being in business, so learn to do it well. That'll keep you from getting those nastygrams from your new partner, the IRS-or if you do get the nastygram, you'll have the paperwork to back up your figures. Makes it a lot easier to sleep at night. Good luck!

 

[Fairbanks Stump]

Be the best!

Go out of your way to do excellent work and the referrals will be all you need to keep you busy.

Further remember to charge for the use of the equipment even if you have free run of it. there is no since giving a service away just to get the work!

 

[jefflovstrom]

^^ haha I was thinking the same thing

Danger Tree- Wow lots of good information I think I read each of ur posts 10 times to make sure I got everything. Thanks again.

You him-
Jeff

 

[352TrEeS]

You him-
Jeff

Oh darn caught me...:help: HAHAHA

 

[VA-Sawyer]

The first year that you take the deduction for vehicle expenses, you have to choose between mileage or actual expenses for that vehicle and stay with that choice in following years. You can't jump back and forth. There are also restrictions on fleets.
Rick

 

[defensiblespace]

Lots of good advice here

I started off similar to you, as a partnership. I didn't have work comp because my partner and I did all the work. BUT, partnerships suck. Eventually you will have a disagreement and it may lead to one or the other buying out the other half. That's what happened to me and it was the best thing I ever did. My partner had no interest in spending money to invest in the business. I did. Now I am a sole prop with 3 employees. Employees make you money if you manage them correctly. Bottom line. You will get far more done having more employees. Now how do you get enough work to hire employees? That's the hard part, but with some dedication, it can be done. First, get a website. The phone book is a dinosaur. Nobody looks in it anymore. Websites are tricky. Get a crappy one and you look like a schmuck. Get a good one and you look professional. Also, make sure your site is optimized. A site is no good if nobody can find it. My gross sales quadrupled the year I got a website. For keeping track of your numbers, get Quickbooks Pro. It will pay for itself in the first year. When you do work, make sure you take the extra step. Keep a clean job site from start to finish. Make sure you and your employees wear ppe. If a customer is not happy, make them happy. Customer service is huge, especially in this crappy economy. If you have to give people their money back for something or repair something you screwed up, suck it up and do it. Last but not least, educate yourself in the business every chance you get. You can find a lot of great advice here, from the ISA, and TCIA. Another thing that helped me a ton is to recognize when a job you are looking to bid is out of your league. This can be a good learning opportunity if you embrace it. Hire a sub to do the portion you can't do and be there when they do it. Watch and learn from them. This was huge for me. Good luck with everything.

Cease Fire Defensible Space and Tree Service - A Full Service Tree Care Company Serving Truckee and North Lake Tahoe

 

[w1rej0]

From my experience, these pines like a well-drained, sandy soil. The clay might not work for them.

O.K., here is the low down and to some extent you are right. Because the Norway Spruce's were back filled with clay dirt it is hard for water to get to the roots since the rest of the yard is clay dirt as well. So, you have to get water to that root ball on a weekly basis until the roots grow and can sustain themselves as they do grow. What made matters worse for me is that my neighbor has a sprinkler system - the ground around the trees was saturated as it drained into my yard so I "thought" the trees had gotten too much water. Not the case - the water never got to the root ball so in essence I was stressing my trees by not getting water to the root ball even though it appeared they had gotten plenty of run off water from my neighbor. Thanks for your help.