"one piece of advice"

[Diver1]

Im sure i'm not the only one who has had someone give them a sound piece of advice when it comes to thier work. Maybe it came from a mentor, a friend, or co-worker, maybe it came from a more unlikely source such as a competitor.

You may have read on one of my other postings that my father who has been retired for two years has purchased a used stump grinder and is going into the stump grinding business. What advice would you have for him, (and me as I will be helping him in my spare time)?

I'm fairly new here, but I have read many post that were packed with good, and informative help. I would like to hear what advice you would have for someone who is new to the industry.

Bring it on!
:Eye:

thanks

 

[MasterBlaster]

Familarize yourself with ALL the local treeguys in your area.

And always try to make yur customers want the grindings.

 

[a_lopa]

if he has a small grinder find a contractor who only does stumps they will want the work and will do it cheaply dont wear your little one out on pine stumps etc.blowing out stumps is all about horsepower,and the teeth

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by MasterBlaster
Familarize yourself with ALL the local treeguys in your area.

I'll second that.

I can have a sub grind the stumps cheaper than I could do them when we had our own stumpers.

Easier on me, cheaper price overall=more likely to get the job.

 

[SilverBlue]

Make sure to offer value and reliable service, if someone is counting on you don’t make them look bad in front of their customers. Here if I hire someone to do stumping for me they charge anywhere from $5 bucks an inch and a dedicated grinding company charges $100.00 a foot. If you can beat those prices around here you’re hired!

 

[MasterBlaster]

$100 bucks a foot? Do they clean it up, too?

 

[Down To Earth]

for a hundred a foot my danners need a spit shine!!

 

[SilverBlue]

Clean up? perhaps they will rake the chips into the hole nice and neat.

 

[Stumper]

The prices in Rob's area aren't average but DON'T GIVE YOUR WORK AWAY!. There is a strong tendency for people who have worked for others to associate a low gross per hour with "good money". The equipment is highly specialized and the work is scattered. To earn money stump grinding (as opposed to handling money that all goes back to operating cost) you need to gross a bunch of $ per hour of operation. Perhaps one person in 300 will complain that "it only took you x number of minutes". Most of those will get it if you make a dental analogy-"Tooth extractions are $90-would you prefer that your dentist make $9 per hour or $40 per minute?" ----Most people are thrilled with fast service and think that it is "super-cool".

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by MasterBlaster
And always try to make yur customers want the grindings.

Roger that, the shavings belong to site. Weed-suppressing mulch, a base for a compost pile, filling in low spots in natural areas, shavings are good organic material that should be returned to the earth for the good of the trees.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I would add, to keep the teeth sharp on the stumper.

As for the clean up, if you want to specialize in stumps, you could dedicate a pick up truck with one of those vacuums to make clean up fast and easy. Then you could sell chips too.
It would seperate you from the other guys.
Just a thought.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Don't bust any car or house windows... it can happen REAL easy.

Re-position your stump grinder, move the car, or put some plywood in front of the windows.

I've seen at least a half-dozen windows busted over the years.

 

[Stumper]

Mike, Vacuuming sucks.

 

[a_lopa]

stumps are the best money spinner in the tree game,rayco 1625 are ok.i have a sub-contractor doing some of my big stumps or groups of he has a remote controlled 60k grinder with a 9' sweep it can do a stump id be there all day for in 2 hours

 

[NeTree]

I hear that aussie!

Part of why I stopped is because the portable was just taking too freaking long on those big huge stumps I got sometimes...


but didn't get often enough to warrant a $40k+ investment in a bigger machine.


Take care of the tree co's you grind for, and they'll keep you plenty busy.

 

[a_lopa]

i only recently got a 1625 its been great does 95%ive what i want,i couldnt come at a manual grind stumper its just to hard to do multiple stumps

 

[Koa Man]

MB gave good advice about protecting windows and cars, even from dust. I carry sheets of plywood with folding horses to lean them up against, a roll of 6 mil. plastic sheeting, and spring clips and duct tape on my stump grinder trailer, just in case I need to protect something.

 

[a_lopa]

get your dad a good dust mask respirater thats for sure

 

[Lumberjack]

If you need one size, get the next size up.


We got an RG85 that does what we need

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

dont price up over the phone... most people bullsh*t about the size and quantity of stumps...unless you charge by the hour