Firewood business assessment

[Kazpian]

Hi all I got into tree cutting this summer and thought that I should get some winter work out of selling firewood. I'm trying to determine weather or not it would be something that is viable to get into. My biggest concern is that there are few people who heat with wood. Any suggestions as to how Imight measure this other than starting and seeing what kind of response I get ?

 

[cjcocn]

Check the Free Press, Sun, and Buy & Sell for firewood ads. If you are willing to travel a bit for delivery, check Lockport, Selkirk, etc as well. The number of WTB and WTS firewood ads will give you some indication.

How much are you set up already? Being in tree cutting makes it obvious that you have saws , but what other equipment do you have? If you already have the equipment, then your capital costs will be lower. However, if you have to purchase new equipment, then the increased capital costs will have an effect on the viability of a firewood business.

Most importantly, do you have a good supply of dry firewood ready?

Good luck and welcome to AS.

 

[Kazpian]

I am looking into this for the following year. I don't have any wood stockpiled yet. I am thinking about having 5-10 cords over the summer as a pilot project to see weather or not it is easy to sell said wood.
The issues that I would have are:
1 land to store the wood. Which for a small amount of wood could be done in the city
2 Equipment - Again for the test year I would most likely split the wood by hand. (free exercise)
3 A method to transport the wood. I could either borroow a truck or possibly buy one ( would much prefer to rent/borrow one for the first year to test viability ).

Just wondering if there may be bylaws against wood heated homes in the city/if people would use wood to burn if our electricity is so cheap. Guess my best bet is to start and see how things come out.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[carvinmark]

Good idea, starting small to check it out. I'm sure the first year will teach you alot and help with your decision. Oh ya, Welcome to AS.

 

[Butch(OH)]

With other fuels being high there is currently lots of interest in wood but around here it seems that every other laid off worker cuts firewood for beer money. Just saw a full cord of split wood in a yard for $100. Looked to be unseasoned maple. There are ads here for $100 "cords" and $20 county wide delivery but lots are short selling and green wood since most wood buyers don't have a clue. I think that as with any business a person who is honest and gives value will eventually do at least OK. The question is are you willing to wait out gaining a reputation? In spite of the above problems in our area there are several top notch dealers who do pretty well because they do sell full cords of dry wood and are known for it. They also get close to double the cheapos money. A cord of wood by hand is some work, 'specialy if you do it alone. Make sure you are up to doing it,, over and over and go for it if the local market isnt already flooded with wood.

 

[Coldfront]

This has been talked about before, you won't make much money and lots of hard work. It's fun to cut and split for yourself but when you make it a job it's not as much fun. You would make more money for your time working at McDonalds.

 

[Paso One]

Hi Kazpian
Well Winnipeg is a good place to start a firewood business.

I started one in the 70"s You have the population and lots of fireplaces.

We bought trailer loads of birch from the Vasser area and cut and split and seasoned for future delivery.

We got our Ash from the St Estache area from farmers along the river.

We got our Jack Pine and Spruce from the Richer area.

Lots of locals cutting wood for themselves and reselling to dealers in wpg.

The popular and oak were cut from within the City of Winnipeg We contacted Builders in the Charleswood area and cut trees in the way of the future homes

We had a yard in Headingley which is where all the storage took place.
( I just sold the yard last year) You could have rented it.

Contact the Dept of National defense as the Gov't pays for wood for the retired Big wigs. They paid for the wood, delivery of the wood, stacking of the wood, and even paid a premium to carry wood into some basements.
It was a very profitable service we offered.

They wanted Hard woods only Oak, Birch, Green Ash.

Don't just offer the cheap and plentiful Poplular, Spruce.

That would be my advise to you for Winnipeg Lots of variety and plenty of extras. Most people here ( the forum) wouldn't Pay for the extras but I was surprised how many people do want the service.

I hope your Young

 

[John D]

While it sounds great,like was mentioned,you'd probably make more money in the end by working someplace . The problems I see with you starting up are you have a lot going against you.You don't have a truck or dump trailer,you dont have an adequete site to store wood,you dont have a splitter,and you dont even have a good wood pile laying around.I thought about selling wood myself,and I already have 2-3/4 ton 4wd pickups,a 7x14 dump trailer,2 18 ft 10k flatbed trailers,a good sized skid steer,a tractor,2.5 yard loader,7 saws,a splitter,and I have 22 acres myself,and I manage 150 acres at work. All of it has a good amount of wood.Even with all these things in my favor,I am not selling wood,not because im lazy,but because it just isnt profitable enough after you pay your help,equipment costs,fuel,wear and tear etc. I dont need another hobby,or something else to do.I cut what I need,most of it dead stand or blown over from damaging storms.When i add up what it takes to get the wood for a season,it costs a lot in lost income,equip,fuel.You do seem to have ambition,which is more important that what you dont have.Problem i see is the ambition will drop once you sell a few cords,and realize the profit isnt that great for all that hard back breaking work.

 

[LAH]

You don't have a truck or dump trailer,you dont have an adequete site to store wood,you dont have a splitter,and you dont even have a good wood pile laying around.

John is correct. You are looking at a complete change of lifestyle unless you're just looking for something to do.

I've lived in the sticks all my life till the last 3 years. I had great relationships with the local loggers and land owners. I could get wood close to the house. I split wood for my own use by hand. Once I began selling I purchased a used, homemade splitter. I kept 3 years wood for my home and sold the extra. There wasn't much money in it.

I now have free logs I cut at my work site. I can split and sell there without hauling. This location is on one side of town and I own a shop on the other side of town so when I do haul wood it is to my location. I sell "load & haul your own" only unless someone is disabled or widowed.

Since you don't have a lot or land on which to store your wood consider finding a land/business owner who also heats with wood. Perhaps you could furnish their wood in exchange for a place to work.

I cut all my wood now with a 25 year old Stihl 028 Super Woods Boss. I purchased this saw new in the 1980's and other than a few bars and such I've only replaced one jug & piston so you don't need a lot of money to cut firewood. My 16 inch bar does all I need but most my logs are 10"-20" in diameter.

You can get by with any splitter that's trouble free if you set your mind to it.

As trucks go, get something you can also use for a personal vehicle. I like the F450/C4500 class. You can drive it to work plus use it for wood. A trailer is a great thing also if you have to haul your logs.

And as Paso One said: Hope yer young.

 

[blackdogon57]

I think you would be surprised at the amount of people in Winnipeg who heat with wood or burn it for comfort. Talked to my sister the other day who lives there. I think she said she paid 350 for a cord of birch. May have been a little more.

 

[Kazpian]

Hi Kazpian
Well Winnipeg is a good place to start a firewood business.

I started one in the 70"s You have the population and lots of fireplaces.

We bought trailer loads of birch from the Vasser area and cut and split and seasoned for future delivery.

We got our Ash from the St Estache area from farmers along the river.

We got our Jack Pine and Spruce from the Richer area.

Lots of locals cutting wood for themselves and reselling to dealers in wpg.

The popular and oak were cut from within the City of Winnipeg We contacted Builders in the Charleswood area and cut trees in the way of the future homes

We had a yard in Headingley which is where all the storage took place.
( I just sold the yard last year) You could have rented it.

Contact the Dept of National defense as the Gov't pays for wood for the retired Big wigs. They paid for the wood, delivery of the wood, stacking of the wood, and even paid a premium to carry wood into some basements.
It was a very profitable service we offered.

They wanted Hard woods only Oak, Birch, Green Ash.

Don't just offer the cheap and plentiful Poplular, Spruce.

That would be my advise to you for Winnipeg Lots of variety and plenty of extras. Most people here ( the forum) wouldn't Pay for the extras but I was surprised how many people do want the service.

I hope your Young

I'm old enough to know this is a lot of work but young enough to still have the body to do it

I will say I am curious about the Defense Contract idea.

Guess my biggest issue will simply be having the patience for up to a 3 year feasibility study for it. Guess I will see how things go from here.

 

[cjcocn]

Look for other niche markets as well, especially in your immediate area.

For example, if you know of a retail outlet that sells firewood bundles (big profit margin there) and a new one is opening up near you, go in and talk to the manager. If you can get a contract to sell bundles you would make a lot more $$ than selling it by the cord.

 

[Kazpian]

Look for other niche markets as well, especially in your immediate area.

For example, if you know of a retail outlet that sells firewood bundles (big profit margin there) and a new one is opening up near you, go in and talk to the manager. If you can get a contract to sell bundles you would make a lot more $$ than selling it by the cord.

Defintely thought about that venue, and will pursue it once I have some wood ready but I doubt that there will be much demand for that.


Hopefully the idea of having service when needed will be enough of an enticement to have them come on board.

 

[dnf0929]

What I can tell you from my limited experience is that if you really enjoy being outside cutting, splitting and stacking - turns out there seems to be quite a few strange people like that around here - do a little extra and put an ad on craigslist. That's what I did this year and have sold almost 25 face cords since I ran may 1st ad at the end of September. I have not kept track of how many hours I spent or how much fuel and oil or chains my saw, splitter or truck consumes but I can tell you one thing it's a great feeling to be pocketing a few hundred extra bucks a week. My only regret is that I'm out of seasoned wood to sell to others but I'll do a little more for next year and if it ever gets to the point where I'm not having fun I'll scale back and just do my own. Good luck!

 

[GRAYSTONE]

You can also use Kijiji.ca to search for people who want to buy or sell firewood. Kijiji is more reputable than craigslist in my opinion and I sell all my firewood through ads in kijiji.

I am a small operator such as yourself and selling about 20 cords per year.

I find the firewood to be a nice addition to my home renovation business.

I invested about $15,000.00 2 years ago and I am still in the negative by about $3,000.00 I expected it would take 3 years to srtart earning a profit.

Check out this link.
http://winnipeg.kijiji.ca/f-FIREWOOD-Classifieds-W0QQisSearchFormZtrueQQCatIdZ0QQKeywordZFIREWOOD[/URL]