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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