LOOSESTRIFE
New Member
Hello
First I'd like to give you a little background about myself and company, before asking my question, so that you will be better equiped to answer.
We are basically an estate maintenance company, that does a little bit of everything. Our primary focus though is on formal garden installation and maintenance. We have a pretty good size client base that we provide the folowing services to on a regular basis; mowing, weeding, fert/pest apps, new garden install, garden maintenance, irrigation install and repair, flower services... What I am getting at is the fact that we are not your typical mow and go Yard Apes.
We do a miniscule amount of tree work. In fact, our only saw is a $129 Poulan, and it only gets used a few times per year, mainly to cut a low branch, or to cut up a small limb that may have fallen on one of our clients properties. On very rare occasions, we will do a take down, if it meets the following conditions: Can be felled in any direction without any danger of hitting anything, can fit in the back of a pickup truck without being chipped, and if it is for one of our current clients. So, out tree work is less than what many homeowners would do.
We have a good working relationship with a local professional tree company that we will refer or sublet work to.
Now on to my question. My father is planning on taking an early retirement in the near future. He would like to come abord the company with his own little niche. He has the idea of purchasing a stump grinder, and doing stump removal. He would basically need the machine, and his current pickup, and he would be in our business.
His plan is to do the grinding, and go, leaving the chips on site. As an option to the customer, one of our crews could return to clean up chips, and seed the turf, plant the area...
I, however, do not think that this is a particurarly good idea. I am not sure that there is enough business out there to support this type of operation. HE is not looking to work 40 hours per week, maybe 2 or 3 days.
Here is why I do not see this as a viable option. A customer has a tree removed, most likely, the tree company will also take care of the stump? It would only seem logical.
That leaves folks that perhaps hire fly by night tree companies that do not have a grinder. Do we really want to deal with these types of folks? Most likely, they are only interested in price, and a low one.
That leaves homeowners that do their own takedowns, as well as people that have had a stump in the yard for some time. These could be posible clients. The only other thought, and this just may be his saving grace is the tree trimmers for the utilities.
In most cases, they will take down the entire tree, unless the property owner strongly objects. They will usually leave the wood, and stump behind. I would think that on a Saturday afternoon, on a street where the utility company just took out a number of trees, a large sum of money could be made going door to door, doing the stump grinding right then and there.
Does anyone have any thoughts, questions, comments on this???
First I'd like to give you a little background about myself and company, before asking my question, so that you will be better equiped to answer.
We are basically an estate maintenance company, that does a little bit of everything. Our primary focus though is on formal garden installation and maintenance. We have a pretty good size client base that we provide the folowing services to on a regular basis; mowing, weeding, fert/pest apps, new garden install, garden maintenance, irrigation install and repair, flower services... What I am getting at is the fact that we are not your typical mow and go Yard Apes.
We do a miniscule amount of tree work. In fact, our only saw is a $129 Poulan, and it only gets used a few times per year, mainly to cut a low branch, or to cut up a small limb that may have fallen on one of our clients properties. On very rare occasions, we will do a take down, if it meets the following conditions: Can be felled in any direction without any danger of hitting anything, can fit in the back of a pickup truck without being chipped, and if it is for one of our current clients. So, out tree work is less than what many homeowners would do.
We have a good working relationship with a local professional tree company that we will refer or sublet work to.
Now on to my question. My father is planning on taking an early retirement in the near future. He would like to come abord the company with his own little niche. He has the idea of purchasing a stump grinder, and doing stump removal. He would basically need the machine, and his current pickup, and he would be in our business.
His plan is to do the grinding, and go, leaving the chips on site. As an option to the customer, one of our crews could return to clean up chips, and seed the turf, plant the area...
I, however, do not think that this is a particurarly good idea. I am not sure that there is enough business out there to support this type of operation. HE is not looking to work 40 hours per week, maybe 2 or 3 days.
Here is why I do not see this as a viable option. A customer has a tree removed, most likely, the tree company will also take care of the stump? It would only seem logical.
That leaves folks that perhaps hire fly by night tree companies that do not have a grinder. Do we really want to deal with these types of folks? Most likely, they are only interested in price, and a low one.
That leaves homeowners that do their own takedowns, as well as people that have had a stump in the yard for some time. These could be posible clients. The only other thought, and this just may be his saving grace is the tree trimmers for the utilities.
In most cases, they will take down the entire tree, unless the property owner strongly objects. They will usually leave the wood, and stump behind. I would think that on a Saturday afternoon, on a street where the utility company just took out a number of trees, a large sum of money could be made going door to door, doing the stump grinding right then and there.
Does anyone have any thoughts, questions, comments on this???
Or to get you a better name (not implying its bad) quality control, meaning that I know you get calls like they crew broke my sprinkler or they didnt trim around the pool, etc. I know it happens no matter how good you are. It might not make you money on the front end, but could make you more on the back end due to referrels and you can charge more for your services. It would cost you more dropping what you are doing to handle these problems. 
