af7850
ArboristSite Member
I keep pretty close tabs on our competition, market share, etc., and I see that many of them are really pushing to get "bigger"; i.e. bigger chipper, logging truck, loader, crane rental / purchase, etc. All of this equipment enables them to work large jobs much faster, but obviously at a much higher cost.
The funny thing is that, instead of making 2 or 3 times as much money in a day, these guys are bidding cheaper than ever! I know that these guys are able to work the large removals more efficiently than us, but if the $2300 oak removal is now only worth $1700, what's the point of making the extra equipment payments?
So I have been looking at our business, and our pruning work and small / medium climbing jobs are our most profitable work. We are definitely superior arborists, and we can make our best profit per hour actually avoiding the higher ticket "big removal" jobs. Our expenses and overhead are substantially lower on small/medium work, and the daily revenue can still be significant.
Therefore, I am seriously considering downsizing our equipment - maybe a 4 yard truck, 9" chipper, park the bucket truck, run a 2 man crew, and work toward running 2 crews doing only "our type" of work. Hell, I can probably sub out the big removals and still make 10% off the top as the customer's "consulting arborist". See, I'm not interested in getting smaller, just in doing much more of "our type" of jobs, and doing them in a very cost-effective manner.
So what do you guys think? You've all probably been in this business much longer than I have, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. I can see that nobody else in my market is trying to grow by going smaller; I just can't tell if thats because I've got an ingenious idea or if they all already know that it's a losing method.
The funny thing is that, instead of making 2 or 3 times as much money in a day, these guys are bidding cheaper than ever! I know that these guys are able to work the large removals more efficiently than us, but if the $2300 oak removal is now only worth $1700, what's the point of making the extra equipment payments?
So I have been looking at our business, and our pruning work and small / medium climbing jobs are our most profitable work. We are definitely superior arborists, and we can make our best profit per hour actually avoiding the higher ticket "big removal" jobs. Our expenses and overhead are substantially lower on small/medium work, and the daily revenue can still be significant.
Therefore, I am seriously considering downsizing our equipment - maybe a 4 yard truck, 9" chipper, park the bucket truck, run a 2 man crew, and work toward running 2 crews doing only "our type" of work. Hell, I can probably sub out the big removals and still make 10% off the top as the customer's "consulting arborist". See, I'm not interested in getting smaller, just in doing much more of "our type" of jobs, and doing them in a very cost-effective manner.
So what do you guys think? You've all probably been in this business much longer than I have, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. I can see that nobody else in my market is trying to grow by going smaller; I just can't tell if thats because I've got an ingenious idea or if they all already know that it's a losing method.