One man operation vs employees

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J

jrcat

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How many of you work solo or have employees or are an employee? I find that working by myself works for me. On occasion I will have some help but otherwise I am solo. I worked for 2 years with a tree service/chipping/harvesting operation and before that it was site work. I enjoyed what I did for those companies but Always felt I could do more for myself by working for myself.

I can see the advantages of having a helper (increased production) but it has its back draws as well (payroll and taxes and higher insurance rates and so on). I can also see being able to "split up" by sending a helper to one job while I work on another.

I find myself wanting a second machine more than having help. I am just not sure yet what I want that second machine to be ie: dozer or skidder or (and you may think Im nuts for this) a 4x4 tractor with a loader on it.
 
yep, jus me and pop, he only drives the truck. I've hired help before, but it never worked out well.
least this way I hafta yell at maself when somthins not right. :dizzy: really there ain't no good woods help here. guys that were any good either got they own job or to ol to do it any more.
we dinosours I guess, but I love my work. :msp_biggrin:
 
The logging is registered as owner/operator. But I have a partner that is "contracted" and every once in a blue moon the wifey/war dept will come out and help, or at least hang out and make sure I don't get hurt while alone on some of the really sketchy stuff... Otherwise its just me.

The wifey also does the books kinda...
 
northmanlogging said:
The logging is registered as owner/operator. But I have a partner that is "contracted" and every once in a blue moon the wifey/war dept will come out and help, or at least hang out and make sure I don't get hurt while alone on some of the really sketchy stuff... Otherwise its just me.

The wifey also does the books kinda...
Click to expand...

lol funny cus its true. yea that's what I did with a guy, sub contract but I still couldn't get it done right......war dept.....LOL
 
I've been a solo contractor, loved the work, couldn't make a living at it because I'm the world's worst boss. Sometimes you have to #### up to find out what you're really bad at. I'm actually happy to have a boss now since that means I don't have to do that thing I'm bad at. "Management" is a skill I may someday be able to learn but I certainly have no natural aptitude for.
 
We work pretty well together most times, there was some learning curve to get over at first, as always. We'll get together and hammer out the details before we start a job, if its tree service stuff, he's in charge, logging I'm in charge... If either one of us don't like how something looks we both stop and reconsider or walk away from it. That policy has kept us from getting hurt and kept us working in the woods for 6? years now...

Some jobs I do solo, some he does solo, depends on the work load, and the pucker factor
 
northmanlogging said:
We work pretty well together most times, there was some learning curve to get over at first, as always. We'll get together and hammer out the details before we start a job, if its tree service stuff, he's in charge, logging I'm in charge... If either one of us don't like how something looks we both stop and reconsider or walk away from it. That policy has kept us from getting hurt and kept us working in the woods for 6? years now...

Some jobs I do solo, some he does solo, depends on the work load, and the pucker factor
Click to expand...

Knowing when to walk away is a great thing and an attitude to be proud off.
 
Generally, I work by my self. My son comes out and helps me load and every once in a while he'll help ,e limb, buck and pile up the brush. It is safer having a second person in the woods with you, but I like working alone, for the solitude and not having to watch out for someone else when felling the tree.
 
Worked alone logging for the last 15 years, except the few times I had help, maybe a year's worth total.

Working alone in the woods sucks. I find I am more motivated if there's company on the ride in / at work. The trouble is finding someone who can earn more than just their own pay. Takes a working sumbiatch to earn you money besides their own pay. Not many of them out there looking for work...and the one's that are....are looking for work for a reason..
 
Just to clarify:

Working alone in the woods sucks...but not as much as working anywhere else does.
 
jrcat- there are so many aspects to your post that if I explained everything I have learned in the last 19 years...I would be going in circles.

1) I remember when I could throw $15 in my one ton, be in the woods within 20 mins from the house, cut and shoulder out a load of ERC and be back at the house by 2 o'clock with a couple hundred in my pocket (my profit minus truck and LO share). Gas is way higher now, saws wear out, trucks break down, and your body can't shoulder logs for much more than 12 years...well that also just depends...I still do it every now and then but my full time carrying days are hopefully done.

2) If you get so fricken big that you have several employees, lots of debt in equiptment, etc. then you find yourself behind a telephone selling product, cruising timber, buying timber, fixing equipment that is over worked due to trying to make production to cover your overhead...and not to mention you might not be doing what you set out to do in the first place.

There are 2 scenarios, for me personally, I like cutting for a crew and being an employee. I don't have the stress of searching for timber, equipment issues, employee issues...I just do what I know needs to be done and get a stack of hundies at the end of the week...fairly simple thought process.

The thing about being an employee is I always seem land in a crew that is family oriented. That crap blows...every family operation is the same...always someone NOT doing as much as you and you get all ass hurt over family members of the company getting away with stuff like showing up late and leaving early, being a total POS, secretaries of the company blowing off the boss so her husband who is the yard foreman gets to basically sit on his ass and get paid for being at home...awesome!!...even better if you walk in on it! (everytime I think about it, I go to a REALLY REALLY dark place in my mind and think about taking a ball bat to that former boss' skull...and the secretary)...and that is ZERO way to live your life and I will prolly be scarred with PTSD for the rest of my life.

So to sum it up...I generally am NOT a people person (just a forum junky) who would rather be left alone in the woods and have a paycheck coming plus let someone else take all the other responsibilities that go with running a business. Put a chainsaw in my hand and I am "golden"
 
Well I've been cleaning up logging roads now for 3 days about 3 miles worth of back and forth and back and forth up hill down hill mud holes and tree stumps. My back ,neck and arse are killing me but I'm fine with it. I would have taken pic but I didnt think you guys would want to see dirt roads. When not on the dozer I looked at 3 more pieces of timber. One was a complete disaster ...high graded to beat all heck. The next was a 40 acre piece of damn near solid soft maple and ash I think Im going to take it as it can be cut down to 18" on the stump, I am thinking volume trumps quality on this one. The last was a 5 acre clear cut thick with soft maple ash and hickory. This one I dont know about I have the feeling they are going to want me to cut it for the wood. Theres a ton of small trees there too 6"to 10" dba.

All in all i would still rather being doing this than anything else.
 
Whether you work alone, or hire a crew is an individual decision that is made from job to job. (Sometimes you feel like a nut...Sometimes you don't). Both have their pro's & con's.
I am working alone right now, but when on bigger jobs I hire a small crew so the work is done in a timely manner. The bottom line at the end of the year is what really matters. I've found that when working a crew, I get more jobs done, I have a lot more expenses. What I don't have is a lot more money to call my own when it's all said & done. Oh, did I mention the extra headache's...a lot of them.

Whether you choose to work alone or hire a crew, one thing my Dad taught me is that if you're going to be your own boss you had better be the toughest boss you've ever worked for, or you likely won't make it.

Andy
 
I have learned to slow down some in the woods myself. Haste makes waste or so they say. I have never been hit by a tree either. just the random twig coming through the brush guards and cracking me in the face when its 10 degrees outside and my face is numb lol. Thats always enough to wake a person up.


I hope to move again tomorrow. I cleaned up all the roads on this job I was going to help cut on ...the farmer that owns it has corn in now and that stuff is sacred... so no equipment on his land for now.. Last I knew corn didnt grow in the woods but hey what do I know lol. The guy wanted water bars put in on a steep down hill grade but it was a short grade so I put in a drain at the bottom. Oh well it only take a few minutes to throw one in if I have to.

I hate this in between jobs feeling. I dont mind pushing dirt but it just pays the bills really.
 
jrcat said:
I have learned to slow down some in the woods myself. Haste makes waste or so they say. I have never been hit by a tree either. just the random twig coming through the brush guards and cracking me in the face when its 10 degrees outside and my face is numb lol. Thats always enough to wake a person up.


I hope to move again tomorrow. I cleaned up all the roads on this job I was going to help cut on ...the farmer that owns it has corn in now and that stuff is sacred... so no equipment on his land for now.. Last I knew corn didnt grow in the woods but hey what do I know lol. The guy wanted water bars put in on a steep down hill grade but it was a short grade so I put in a drain at the bottom. Oh well it only take a few minutes to throw one in if I have to.

I hate this in between jobs feeling. I dont mind pushing dirt but it just pays the bills really.
Click to expand...

good to have sumtin ta do tween jobs. we liked to starved after sandy last fall.
 

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