Hi guys, I'm new to this just found the site. I've always enjoyed working outside and i'm sick of bustin nuts in factory thinking of picking up some outside wood jobs. I've cut firewood in the past and know that there is some money in it but alot of time. Any ideas on what you're doing successfully or any good ways to make money? I've looked at processors and done research on those but what's the best to hop into? Firewood mulch chips? Open to suggestions. I have a client saying they can get rid of every bit of hard wood I can cut but then again time is money and i dont wanna have to cut all day to haul home unload let season before selling. I wont get mad at anybody for any suggestions or opinions just shoot'em out! Thanks
What do you do?
- Thread starter dirt_worx
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ericjeeper
Addicted to ArboristSite
First thing to consider. Is a reliable source for wood. Without that a processor is in vain.
mdotis
ArboristSite Operative
What would I do???
Start slow. Work at the wood cutting thing on nights and weekends. Build up the supply of dry wood. Start getting equipment with the profits from what you sell. But keep your day job treat the money as extra money until things start going good enough to go part time at the factory. Then if you like it and things are working for you go full time. Cutting wood is a hard way to earn a living. It can be done and a lot of people do it, but it may make the factory look good after a few years. Make sure that you look into the campfire wood market. The quick profit is in the entertainment part of fire wood business.
Good luck and have fun.
Start slow. Work at the wood cutting thing on nights and weekends. Build up the supply of dry wood. Start getting equipment with the profits from what you sell. But keep your day job treat the money as extra money until things start going good enough to go part time at the factory. Then if you like it and things are working for you go full time. Cutting wood is a hard way to earn a living. It can be done and a lot of people do it, but it may make the factory look good after a few years. Make sure that you look into the campfire wood market. The quick profit is in the entertainment part of fire wood business.
Good luck and have fun.
Yea I understand just wonderin if there's any better ways to do or things to do rather than just sitting round waitin on somebody to need some wood lol. Have contacted a few convenient stores around here before about becoming a vendor they werent too interested. How do people do kiln wood? Big ol building and jus keep it hot? lol
firewood
==========================================================
How much research have you really done, do you have a business plan for a four year period of operation as a legitimate reference and do you have adequate (Proof of) firewood sales information in the area-thats the first thing a bank will ask you.
The second thing is can you pay for the loan with your income? Thats the second thing they will ask you.
Can you really afford to lose your income on a maybe?
Do you have the room and cash on hand for a log term 3 year stockpile supply of logs to shear and split?
Did your "client" say he was willing to sign a cost plus per ton delivery contract for "The Firewood?"
A smile and a wink and a contract at arms length (unsigned) are fine until you have 30 trailer loads of sheared dried fire wood to scale, sell, and no market for it.
Do you have a reliable gauranteed firewood supply of firewood to contract for?
Can you contract for firewood in your area and expect to sign a log term contract to obtain a reliable supply for one year at least to have logs for three years work?
Do you have enough base income to pay for a processor and your other bills the year round if you do not quit you rjob and sell firewood on the side.
How many other people are selling firewood?
As soon as the sun rises your prices will be undercut IF AND ONLY IF YOU SELL BY THE CORD, IF YOU SELL BY THE TON, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE WILL UNDER CUT YOU AT ANY TIME PERIOD.
SELLING FIRE WOOD BY THE TON IS LEGAL AND GUARANTEED FAIR TRADE PRACTICE AS A SCALE TICKET IS LEGAL TENDER AND PROOF OF WEIGHT AND SOMETHING THAT IS TOTALLY LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES.
One of the locals buys firewood for $33 dollars a ton on certified scales located on his wood yard and marks it up 500% selling by the thrown cord,
but he has a used multitek firewood processor and Barko loader and a used coal hauler dump truck.
In most selling heating oil states you have to collect fuel tax as well as sales tax if you are a registered business entity.
Any sale tax you pay for the busienss will be deductable if not declared for tax exempt purposes in the firewood biz.
Your milage used in business is deductable but you need to keep track of milage or simply uses tractor and a farm dump trailer and deduct the use of that equipment.
A farm tractor and dump trailer are a blessing as you can hook the trailer tongue to the front of the tractor and steer it in anywhere to dump it with no issues of poor visability with a dump box.
You can buy a small legal trade truck scale that is portable, and very dependable, uses load cells, and is easily moved with a lifting beam off the three point hitch of a heavy tractor.
The least expensive "fire wood processor" is the tractor mounted "chomper"
as you can buy a small compact utility tractor to run it and move it- it has its own winch to drag log length fire wood to the processor and it shears and splits the firewood at the same time and it dries faster.
Your better off buy a used Chomper-many folks have put thier older Chompers up for sale after deciding to buy bigger ones being happy with the results of the smaller chompers and how quickly the wood dries after shearing.
You do not require a tractor with a loader to move and load logs with a Chomper and they have been built since the early 1980's and Rainier Hydraulics is still in business building spare wear parts and new Chompers for thier customers.
Buy your tools(if you can afford them) and pay for them while you still have a job and then you are money ahead at all times.
if your going to kiln fire wood -do it for your self unless you have a long term buyer lined up, and do not buy a fire wood kiln as
the cost does not justify the work using wood baskets for thrown cords because of the need for handling and rehandling.
leon
==========================================================
How much research have you really done, do you have a business plan for a four year period of operation as a legitimate reference and do you have adequate (Proof of) firewood sales information in the area-thats the first thing a bank will ask you.
The second thing is can you pay for the loan with your income? Thats the second thing they will ask you.
Can you really afford to lose your income on a maybe?
Do you have the room and cash on hand for a log term 3 year stockpile supply of logs to shear and split?
Did your "client" say he was willing to sign a cost plus per ton delivery contract for "The Firewood?"
A smile and a wink and a contract at arms length (unsigned) are fine until you have 30 trailer loads of sheared dried fire wood to scale, sell, and no market for it.
Do you have a reliable gauranteed firewood supply of firewood to contract for?
Can you contract for firewood in your area and expect to sign a log term contract to obtain a reliable supply for one year at least to have logs for three years work?
Do you have enough base income to pay for a processor and your other bills the year round if you do not quit you rjob and sell firewood on the side.
How many other people are selling firewood?
As soon as the sun rises your prices will be undercut IF AND ONLY IF YOU SELL BY THE CORD, IF YOU SELL BY THE TON, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE WILL UNDER CUT YOU AT ANY TIME PERIOD.
SELLING FIRE WOOD BY THE TON IS LEGAL AND GUARANTEED FAIR TRADE PRACTICE AS A SCALE TICKET IS LEGAL TENDER AND PROOF OF WEIGHT AND SOMETHING THAT IS TOTALLY LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES.
One of the locals buys firewood for $33 dollars a ton on certified scales located on his wood yard and marks it up 500% selling by the thrown cord,
but he has a used multitek firewood processor and Barko loader and a used coal hauler dump truck.
In most selling heating oil states you have to collect fuel tax as well as sales tax if you are a registered business entity.
Any sale tax you pay for the busienss will be deductable if not declared for tax exempt purposes in the firewood biz.
Your milage used in business is deductable but you need to keep track of milage or simply uses tractor and a farm dump trailer and deduct the use of that equipment.
A farm tractor and dump trailer are a blessing as you can hook the trailer tongue to the front of the tractor and steer it in anywhere to dump it with no issues of poor visability with a dump box.
You can buy a small legal trade truck scale that is portable, and very dependable, uses load cells, and is easily moved with a lifting beam off the three point hitch of a heavy tractor.
The least expensive "fire wood processor" is the tractor mounted "chomper"
as you can buy a small compact utility tractor to run it and move it- it has its own winch to drag log length fire wood to the processor and it shears and splits the firewood at the same time and it dries faster.
Your better off buy a used Chomper-many folks have put thier older Chompers up for sale after deciding to buy bigger ones being happy with the results of the smaller chompers and how quickly the wood dries after shearing.
You do not require a tractor with a loader to move and load logs with a Chomper and they have been built since the early 1980's and Rainier Hydraulics is still in business building spare wear parts and new Chompers for thier customers.
Buy your tools(if you can afford them) and pay for them while you still have a job and then you are money ahead at all times.
if your going to kiln fire wood -do it for your self unless you have a long term buyer lined up, and do not buy a fire wood kiln as
the cost does not justify the work using wood baskets for thrown cords because of the need for handling and rehandling.
leon
Last edited:
IMO, if you are selling to a middle man, you are losing a good bit of profit.
loadthestove
ArboristSite Guru
==========================================================
How much research have you really done, do you have a business plan for a four year period of operation as a legitimate reference and do you have adequate (Proof of) firewood sales information in the area-thats the first thing a bank will ask you.
The second thing is can you pay for the loan with your income? Thats the second thing they will ask you.
Can you really afford to lose your income on a maybe?
Do you have the room and cash on hand for a log term 3 year stockpile supply of logs to shear and split?
Did your "client" say he was willing to sign a cost plus per ton delivery contract for "The Firewood?"
A smile and a wink and a contract at arms length (unsigned) are fine until you have 30 trailer loads of sheared dried fire wood to scale, sell, and no market for it.
Do you have a reliable gauranteed firewood supply of firewood to contract for?
Can you contract for firewood in your area and expect to sign a log term contract to obtain a reliable supply for one year at least to have logs for three years work?
Do you have enough base income to pay for a processor and your other bills the year round if you do not quit you rjob and sell firewood on the side.
How many other people are selling firewood?
As soon as the sun rises your prices will be undercut IF AND ONLY IF YOU SELL BY THE CORD, IF YOU SELL BY THE TON, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE WILL UNDER CUT YOU AT ANY TIME PERIOD.
SELLING FIRE WOOD BY THE TON IS LEGAL AND GUARANTEED FAIR TRADE PRACTICE AS A SCALE TICKET IS LEGAL TENDER AND PROOF OF WEIGHT AND SOMETHING THAT IS TOTALLY LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES.
One of the locals buys firewood for $33 dollars a ton on certified scales located on his wood yard and marks it up 500% selling by the thrown cord,
but he has a used multitek firewood processor and Barko loader and a used coal hauler dump truck.
In most selling heating oil states you have to collect fuel tax as well as sales tax if you are a registered business entity.
Any sale tax you pay for the busienss will be deductable if not declared for tax exempt purposes in the firewood biz.
Your milage used in business is deductable but you need to keep track of milage or simply uses tractor and a farm dump trailer and deduct the use of that equipment.
A farm tractor and dump trailer are a blessing as you can hook the trailer tongue to the front of the tractor and steer it in anywhere to dump it with no issues of poor visability with a dump box.
You can buy a small legal trade truck scale that is portable, and very dependable, uses load cells, and is easily moved with a lifting beam off the three point hitch of a heavy tractor.
The least expensive "fire wood processor" is the tractor mounted "chomper"
as you can buy a small compact utility tractor to run it and move it- it has its own winch to drag log length fire wood to the processor and it shears and splits the firewood at the same time and it dries faster.
Your better off buy a used Chomper-many folks have put thier older Chompers up for sale after deciding to buy bigger ones being happy with the results of the smaller chompers and how quickly the wood dries after shearing.
You do not require a tractor with a loader to move and load logs with a Chomper and they have been built since the early 1980's and Rainier Hydraulics is still in business building spare wear parts and new Chompers for thier customers.
Buy your tools(if you can afford them) and pay for them while you still have a job and then you are money ahead at all times.
if your going to kiln fire wood -do it for your self unless you have a long term buyer lined up, and do not buy a fire wood kiln as
the cost does not justify the work using wood baskets for thrown cords because of the need for handling and rehandling.
leon
Very Good Business advice,Left a little rep for that....
You better have a love for the hobby, and a like for the pleasure, for not liking bustin nuts in factory. Nothing about it is easy...lol. Welcome to the ArboristSite.com...
BlueRidgeMark
Addicted to ArboristSite
When it comes to starting a business, there is nothing good to "hop into". You need to do some serious research first. I'm glad you've done some, but you need to do a lot more. The first thing you need to do is some pencil whipping. You need to understand and add up ALL the costs of selling firewood, and then you need to know how much you can get for your product and how much you can realistically expect to sell.
There's a good reason more than 90% of small businesses fail. Not enough homework. Unrealistic expectations of expenses (too low) and income (too high).
As for marketing, poke around here:
http://www.gmarketing.com/
There's a lot of free info there. Good stuff.
FWIW, I did the math on wood sales around my neck of the woods. I can make more money delivering pizza.
BTW, I have an endless supply of free wood.
Problem is, so does everybody else and his brother, and they all have chainsaws.
Unless you are doing serious volume, there's not much money in it around here. Too many weekend warriors selling wood from the back of their pickup.
mtfallsmikey
Addicted to ArboristSite
==========================================================
How much research have you really done, do you have a business plan for a four year period of operation as a legitimate reference and do you have adequate (Proof of) firewood sales information in the area-thats the first thing a bank will ask you.
The second thing is can you pay for the loan with your income? Thats the second thing they will ask you.
Can you really afford to lose your income on a maybe?
Do you have the room and cash on hand for a log term 3 year stockpile supply of logs to shear and split?
Did your "client" say he was willing to sign a cost plus per ton delivery contract for "The Firewood?"
A smile and a wink and a contract at arms length (unsigned) are fine until you have 30 trailer loads of sheared dried fire wood to scale, sell, and no market for it.
Do you have a reliable gauranteed firewood supply of firewood to contract for?
Can you contract for firewood in your area and expect to sign a log term contract to obtain a reliable supply for one year at least to have logs for three years work?
Do you have enough base income to pay for a processor and your other bills the year round if you do not quit you rjob and sell firewood on the side.
How many other people are selling firewood?
As soon as the sun rises your prices will be undercut IF AND ONLY IF YOU SELL BY THE CORD, IF YOU SELL BY THE TON, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE WILL UNDER CUT YOU AT ANY TIME PERIOD.
SELLING FIRE WOOD BY THE TON IS LEGAL AND GUARANTEED FAIR TRADE PRACTICE AS A SCALE TICKET IS LEGAL TENDER AND PROOF OF WEIGHT AND SOMETHING THAT IS TOTALLY LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES.
One of the locals buys firewood for $33 dollars a ton on certified scales located on his wood yard and marks it up 500% selling by the thrown cord,
but he has a used multitek firewood processor and Barko loader and a used coal hauler dump truck.
In most selling heating oil states you have to collect fuel tax as well as sales tax if you are a registered business entity.
Any sale tax you pay for the busienss will be deductable if not declared for tax exempt purposes in the firewood biz.
Your milage used in business is deductable but you need to keep track of milage or simply uses tractor and a farm dump trailer and deduct the use of that equipment.
A farm tractor and dump trailer are a blessing as you can hook the trailer tongue to the front of the tractor and steer it in anywhere to dump it with no issues of poor visability with a dump box.
You can buy a small legal trade truck scale that is portable, and very dependable, uses load cells, and is easily moved with a lifting beam off the three point hitch of a heavy tractor.
The least expensive "fire wood processor" is the tractor mounted "chomper"
as you can buy a small compact utility tractor to run it and move it- it has its own winch to drag log length fire wood to the processor and it shears and splits the firewood at the same time and it dries faster.
Your better off buy a used Chomper-many folks have put thier older Chompers up for sale after deciding to buy bigger ones being happy with the results of the smaller chompers and how quickly the wood dries after shearing.
You do not require a tractor with a loader to move and load logs with a Chomper and they have been built since the early 1980's and Rainier Hydraulics is still in business building spare wear parts and new Chompers for thier customers.
Buy your tools(if you can afford them) and pay for them while you still have a job and then you are money ahead at all times.
if your going to kiln fire wood -do it for your self unless you have a long term buyer lined up, and do not buy a fire wood kiln as
the cost does not justify the work using wood baskets for thrown cords because of the need for handling and rehandling.
leon
One of the most intellegent posts I've seen in a long time...rep for ye.
savageactor7
ArboristSite Guru
Good luck and welcome...just don't be so quick to quit your day job.
STLfirewood
Addicted to ArboristSite
When people ask me why I sell firewood for a living. I tell them it beats working. Some get it and some don't. Firewood isn't as much work if you invest in the equipment to make it easier. But then you have to move a lot of wood to pay for said equipment. $15k skidsteer, 3 $6k dump trailer, $3k splitter, $4k on attachments for skid steer, $1k for saws, $20k for Kiln, $10k for truck to haul the weight, 10k set back to pay suppliers for wood, Then you get into the nickle and dime stuff. Gloves,chains,bar oil, maintenance, Don't forget fuel for all you equipment and trucks. Better hope you have a place to sell the wood at a good price.
Scott
Scott
LOL thanks guys alot of things to think about. One of the worst things I can't quite figure out how to get around is triple or quadruple handling the wood hauling it home unloading letting season reloading unloading alot of wasted time and fuel... hmmmmmm What is wood goin for around youre areas? Round here like 45 a rick pickup 60ish delivered reason I quit doing it before I didn't have enough people wanting it and delivery of small loads wasnt worth it. Now I'll have an unlimited amount of demand just trying to figure out how to cut the time.
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BlueRidgeMark
Addicted to ArboristSite
Unlimited demand is the Holy Grail of business, and it simply does not exist, outside of some inexperienced hopeful businessman's imagination.
If you REALLY think you have unlimited demand, you have not understood the situation, and you are headed for a train wreck.
Pain Cow
Addicted to ArboristSite
I think I may be stupid. I scrounge and split, then supply free split wood to a friend of mine who doesn't have a free supply like I do. All I get is a plate of spaghetti or something once in a while when I go&drink over there. I mean, I've delivered countless truckloads& quite a few trailerloads. I don't want any money. Would it kill this guy to lend me his wife for a night or two? I mean, the stuff I deliver is all free& hand split. Her effort would consist mainly of laying there. Something just doesn't seem fair here.
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