Striking rich!

[SimplyGreen]

LOL .. I like that idea ...

 

[Koa Man]

LOL ... ????, oih well ... at least you make a decent living? 100k + a year net?

$100K net is very doable if you are the owner & climber with 2 groundmen, keep busy year around and don't low-ball. Low-balling to get jobs will not help your business to grow. Doing high quality work, a real good clean up, not breaking things and being on time will help you get loyal customers that do not even get a 2nd bid. I have many customers that call and have me do the work, then ask how much do I owe you. Many give me $50-100 above what I tell them. Best one was a customer who I have done work for about 7 times previously. I told her the job was $485 and she told me that is too cheap, I'll give you a $1000. She then asks me if it was OK for her to give a tip to my workers. I told her that was not necessary but she insisted. She gives my climber $70 and my groundman $30. She drives me crazy every time I do work for her by over paying me to what I consider an exorbitant price for the work I did.

 

[treeman82]

Well, at least she knows you will be back again when she calls needing something.

 

[Koa Man]

Well, at least she knows you will be back again when she calls needing something.

True, true. In fact whenever she calls, I jump. If she needs anything done right away, someone else gets rescheduled due to an "emergency job."

 

[tree pro]

50 K per year, no retirement to speak of. But lots of cool stories, and even more good friends.

And, I think if you ask most tree guys, they wouldnt want their sons or daughters to follow in their footsteps.

We need the public to start treating our profession with the respect it deserves, then will come the $$$,$$$. Why do plumbers, electricians, make so much? They charge by the hour, no, come to think of it, they charge by the 1/4 hour.

 

[P_woozel]

We need to charge more for the work we do and be a little more active in running the "hacks" out of our given areas. The average cost of the homes that I work at is right around 650k Yet they are still getting charged 60.00/mh. A little off in the planning I'd say.

 

[Newfie]

Why do plumbers, electricians, make so much? They charge by the hour, no, come to think of it, they charge by the 1/4 hour.

Because they are required by law to be properly trained, licensed, insured etc. In new construction their work is inspected upon completion. More dollars usually equates to more of big brothers fingers in your business.

Seems to be two competing themes among tree guys. Theres the cry to get rid of hacks and the like, but outrage at the suggestion of enforced standards & guidelines like other professional tradesmen.

 

[Stumper]

Start with an incorrect premise and you are sure to come to lousy conclusions. I have not noticed plumbers and electricions being the most wealthy folks in town. If I charge by the job at X dollars per estimated hour and the plumber charges time and materials at Y per hour.-Who grosses the most will depend upon the values of X and Y AND the number of hours worked alonmg with my skill in estimating the time required. Who nets the most will depend will depend on those factors and overhead/expense factors, differential between employee cost and manhours charged etc.

We may not be charging enough. We may frequently underestimate the time required for jobs-Those are problems but have nothing to do with whether charging by the hour is a superior system.

 

[begleytree]

250K / year is doable, My Dad used to pull 750K/year (gross) But he had contracts with 2 local power co.s and 2 telephone cos and norfolk/southern along with the residential side. Too big, me thinks. Divorce and Mom insisted everything be sold, payout NOW. Dumb of her, she's flat broke all the time now. I help only in severe cases, I feel she screwed the whole family. But oh well, thats the past. I started 4 years ago, pull 75K net now, and all of it is all mine, earned the hard way, no payments, save up and pay cash (except my pickup) Do it the hard way until you raise the cash, and you appreciate the equipment more, I think, and take care of it better. God bless the child that's got his own.
There's money to be made in this biz, but not by laying back on your azz, I own the place, today it was 5 degrees here this morning, and I was the one in the tree, done @ 2pm. And that's absolutely NO different than any of the other guys here (at AS) who want something from their hard work, they were all out today, I'm sure.
Oh, and if you want retirement, talk to your local edward jones rep. What you save and invest, goes a long way in the future. Just let it build without you touching it.

 

[rb_in_va]

I really would like to run a 2nd crew, but the problem is my customers expect me to be there. Maybe I trained them too good.

Koa,
Get a second crew together to handle new customers. They don't know you anyway, right?

 

[TREETX]

If only it were that easy....

 

[rb_in_va]

Sounds like he's happy with the amount of money he's making anyway.

 

[SteveBullman]

you'd be extremely unlikely to find a 2nd crew that you could trust to work to the standards you require and look after and respect your kit

 

[TREETX]

I think it is the classic thing, with another crew, he could pocket 30-50K more per year but would have to work 3-4 times as much or 3-4 times the headache.

Delicate line between owning a company and it owning you........

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

you'd be extremely unlikely to find a 2nd crew that you could trust to work to the standards you require and look after and respect your kit

very very true

 

[MasterBlaster]

There's a season in Hawaii?

I thought it was awesome, constantly!

 

[Stumper]

Nipples can go -Save the 'nads!

 

[MasterBlaster]

I meant during the mainland's slow season, when all the contract climbers are freezing their nipples off.

Ha! That two week period has passed!

 

[SteveBullman]

His new plan is to hire good climbers seasonally from the mainland and provide them with a free place to stay (don't all jump at once now!).

if he throws in a couple of hula dancers for nightly entertainment i could be interested (have to check with the wife)

 

[Koa Man]

Hey Leon,
You should tell your friend to increase your present pay by 50% and go work for him. I will be getting a 2nd truck soon and then I can send my climber to do removals and coco trims. I will take care of the fine pruning jobs. That should cut my backlog to 3 weeks out instead of the present 6-7 weeks. Not having to wait as long should make my customers happier.

I have found mostly all climbers to be somewhat lazy in that if it required some effort to get further out on a branch to make cuts so the finished tree will look real good, they will settle for less effort so the tree just looks good or even OK. I think most customers won't even know the difference. I do and take the extra time and effort. My prices are a little higher than most, but the customer gets a far better pruning job, even though they can't tell.