How many people have only a Stump Grinding business and no chipper and bucket etc. I’m curious if anyone has any advice how to compete against local tree businesses when I can only do drop only trees and grind the stumps?
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Hi overtimegc
I am new to the business. Started late last year. I have basically done what these guys advice, I am not yet super successful but am trying.
I do what they sudgested, I stop every time I see a team taking down a tree with no grinder on site to give them my card and offer them my services. Respectfully approach. Don’t be an idiot and get under their work area or in their way. Try to flag someone not busy and ask who is in charge. I usually mention I’ll provide them with a flat by the inch rate so they know ahead of time what they can up charge the customer and what I’ll be charging them(rate usually to be discussed later, I just make mention I’ll do that for them). I figure even if it’s cheap work it’s work and they’ll talk about how cheap it is. We can charge more later when we get too busy!
I also do the normal around the town stuff. Leave my cards on the board at grocery stores, pack and ship store, coffee shops, the local feed store, anywhere I see cards I ask if I can leave mine. I don’t leave home without 20 cards. Get yourself a metal card holder so they don’t get beat up in your wallet. Still keep three in your wallet so you never get caught without one, give out the middle one.
Know what’s got me the most buiisnes so far(and also the most BS phone calls)? A $5 craigslist add. You can offer digital estimates. I do. You can always say you need to come look if your not sure about size or height or access or they just took bad pictures twice already.
I made my own cards and signs and shirts on vista print. You can almost always get %50 off if you wait till a sale. I took some pictures of me with my grinder and cartoonized them with an app, did the rest on vista print.
Lemme see if I can attach a pic of my cards and a link to my current add for examples for you.
https://westernmass.craigslist.org/fgs/d/springfield-stump-grinding-service/6845815927.html
There’s my current add. And attached are the pictures I used. And what I came up with. I went through several apps and themes or settings on each app till I got the cartonized look I wanted.
Like I said I did it all with an app and vista print. App was only for the cartoonization. Only other thing I used was MS paint to overlay the name and number on the picture for my craigslist add. I could have made that look better, but it’s getting work. Did all that “photo editing” on the app and card/t-shift/yard sign/machine sign/auto sign building on vista print in probably two nights after the kids went to bed. Was like $300 and change for everything instead of 700 plus with half off. Lots of shirts, 4 yard signs, 2 magnets for machine, and 2 more for the auto, I think hundreds of buisiness cards. I probably got too much stuff, but I’m good to go now.
Feel feee to imitate or copy anything I have done that you like. If you really like my particular cartoonization I can probably find the app and setting I utilized. It did take me a while to find one I liked.
Like you, I am just a grinder. I don’t even take trees down, not that I wouldn’t for some old lady. I don’t have a good saw, or a big one. At least not yet. I’m building a hot rod 046 but it’s mostly aftermarket so I’m not even sure I’ll really trust it. I’m also not nor ever was a full time tree guy. This is a side gig for me and I don’t need anything falling on someone’s house or garage.
Any questions hit me up. I am new too, so my advice is worth what you paid for it! I run a S.C. 252. Small machine. Figure your on something similar. What you have?
Good luck
Bruce