Stupid Newbie Business questions

[Circle B MN]

A hired hand can certainly speed up production, but it can shut you down just as fast. If your man gets hurt or god forbid killed while working for you, there is going to be a bit of liability involved. You would certainly want protection in the form of insurance, which would lead to additional costs. As a startup business, I would run a solo operation for some time before I tried to hire on a man.

Just my .02

 

[indiansprings]

We've been doing it quite a few years. Your plan is sound, you have the time and most of the equipment needed.
I'm very familiar with the type wood you are cutting as I've hunted in Tx for years.
I would think if you stay after it you can get two cords a day if your doing a 10 hour day. In this area there are so many out of work guys it makes it easy to find good cheap help, we start them at 8.00 an hour. They start out stacking limbs and splitting and if they are a good worker we'll put a saw in their hands and pay them a little more.
If you are serious about this endeavor, I would invest in a bigger saw asap, it will increase your production and make it much easier as well.
As another member mentioned the most important thing to do is document EVERY expense you incur in the wood cutting business. Gas for saws, two stroke mix, chains, files, maul handles, everything, it's the only way to tell if your making any money plus you can write off most of the expenses if you own a farm, we write off all we the accountant will less us.
As St. Louis Wood stated if you can find you commercial accounts to sell to it is much easier to deal with. You possibly may find woodlots in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area that would take all the wood you can provide, some might even pick up once you have accumulated enough.
You need to look at saving all you can on chain and disposable supplies like bar oil/ two stroke mix files etc, look at the site sponsor Baileys, order you a catalog.
The woodland pro chain, woodland synthetic two cycle mix, files etc are usually cheaper than local purchase. Wait till they have free shipping on orders of 200.00 bucks and order what you need for need for the future and save the shipping cost.

With mesquite being your main product I would prolly wait until the Stihl 440 is reintroduced this spring. Stihl is bringing it back due to popular demand for a short time period, it was probably the best around saw they ever made. Keep the little husky for limbing. It would last you a lifetime and handle the biggest oak or mesquite in your country.

Word of mouth advertising has been the best method for us, we always put on a extra row of wood on top to make sure it is a cord plus. Trust me customers recognize they are getting more than a fair cord and will tell everyone they know how good of deal they are getting. Exceeding customers expectations is the key to repeat business and long term loyal customers.

 

[blackdogon57]

Just don't let helpers use chainsaws and you should be fine. Pretty hard to kill yourself with a maul or splitter. Minor injuries are common and are bound to occur. I only hire guys that have common sense and who are not going to cry when they stub their toe or get a splinter.

 

[flyfshrmn]

firewood as a business

If you look at this as just supplemental income, it might work out. I've cut for myself and sold wood on the side for years to a few select customers. You didn't mention age or physical condition, but if you're splitting this stuff with a maul and loading by hand, I would guess you are young, strong and in good physical shape. I am older, decent shape, and cut from 5 -25 cords a year depending on demand and availability. The most I ever sold on the side was about 12 cords and I approached it with the attitude that the extra money paid for better equipment. But I would never split more than a few cords by hand and I've owned or had access to a splitter for most of the last 30 years. I also had two young boys who did a lot of the heavy lifting and splitting with me for several years. I also worked with at least one and often two cutting partners and we divided up what we cut and split for our own use.

My personal feeling is that low volume wood selling is a great way to stay in shape, work hard, and get very little return for your labor. I've found that equipment maintenance, specifically saw sharpening and bar and chain maintenance, filters, changing out wear parts, etc. averages about one hour per hour of cutting. Saws are expensive to purchase and maintain as are splitters.

If I was going to do this myself as a side business or full time, I would invest over time in the following equipment: an arborist quality small saw, a pro quality larger saw, a commercial grade splitter, a small conveyor, and a dump trailer. The equipment minimizes the physical labor of lifting and unloading and the wear and tear on your hands and arms from manual splitting. What kills you is the cost of the equipment, ongoing expenses (fuel, chains,) and the time it takes to handle the product. Ideally you should only handle the wood by hand once, from the ground to the splitter. My own philosophy is that it is easier to burn fuel than carbs, and you can't have enough levers and hydraulics. The tradeoffs are money for the equipment versus time saved in manual labor. There will be a break point in economy of scale for each addition of equipment. That point is where the equipment allows you to deliver sufficiently more wood for the same amount of time. Keep in mind that the additional equipment will demand additional maintenance and upkeep as well. Wood selling is really about economy of scale and you have to find the balance between labor, equipment and amount of product for each level of complexity.

 

[Rowdius]

We've been doing it quite a few years. Your plan is sound, you have the time and most of the equipment needed.
I'm very familiar with the type wood you are cutting as I've hunted in Tx for years.
I would think if you stay after it you can get two cords a day if your doing a 10 hour day. In this area there are so many out of work guys it makes it easy to find good cheap help, we start them at 8.00 an hour. They start out stacking limbs and splitting and if they are a good worker we'll put a saw in their hands and pay them a little more.
If you are serious about this endeavor, I would invest in a bigger saw asap, it will increase your production and make it much easier as well.
As another member mentioned the most important thing to do is document EVERY expense you incur in the wood cutting business. Gas for saws, two stroke mix, chains, files, maul handles, everything, it's the only way to tell if your making any money plus you can write off most of the expenses if you own a farm, we write off all we the accountant will less us.
As St. Louis Wood stated if you can find you commercial accounts to sell to it is much easier to deal with. You possibly may find woodlots in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area that would take all the wood you can provide, some might even pick up once you have accumulated enough.
You need to look at saving all you can on chain and disposable supplies like bar oil/ two stroke mix files etc, look at the site sponsor Baileys, order you a catalog.
The woodland pro chain, woodland synthetic two cycle mix, files etc are usually cheaper than local purchase. Wait till they have free shipping on orders of 200.00 bucks and order what you need for need for the future and save the shipping cost.

With mesquite being your main product I would prolly wait until the Stihl 440 is reintroduced this spring. Stihl is bringing it back due to popular demand for a short time period, it was probably the best around saw they ever made. Keep the little husky for limbing. It would last you a lifetime and handle the biggest oak or mesquite in your country.

Word of mouth advertising has been the best method for us, we always put on a extra row of wood on top to make sure it is a cord plus. Trust me customers recognize they are getting more than a fair cord and will tell everyone they know how good of deal they are getting. Exceeding customers expectations is the key to repeat business and long term loyal customers.

Thanks for the supplier suggestion. Their prices are really good, compared to what I can get locally, even with the shipping. Just ordered a new bar and some better chain than the cheap Oregon chain I've been using. I think I'll see an improvement.