What should I do?

[stoner]

Hello All,
I was interested in getting your thoughts and ideas on what I should do. I've had a few seasons of tree work under my belt working with a few companies in the past. About a year ago I started buying equipment that would allow me to do some jobs on my own. Well, a few thousand dollars later, I have all that I need to do the small jobs that I am comfortable doing...I will list the main equipment that I have...

Climbing gear...
6 saws in various sizes...
Personal Protective Equipment...
Isuzu Mini Pickup...

I have a sundry assortment of other things, but I will refrain from going into detail. I'm currently working full time at my desk job, and going to school full time in a masters program, so my tree time is somewhat limited to Saturdays and times when I can skip out of work. My question to everyone is this though:
What should be my next major purchase? I have about $2500 that my wife will let me spend (money I have made solely from little tree jobs), and I am just wondering what everyone would recommend that I purchase next. I have thought about saving a bit more for a small chipper, a stump grinder, a bigger pickup, or something along these lines. School should be done in about a year so I will have more time to dedicate to doing jobs...but I am unsure which item would be the next best investment into this small side project. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[Kevin]

Rob,
Not equipment but ...
Do you have insurance?
It`s probably at the top of just about every list.

 

[stoner]

At this point I don't, and I know that it is pretty stupid for me not to. That is another point to bring up...I turn down jobs that pose any threat to just about anything that I wouldn't be able to cover out of pocket. I'm personally insured thru my employer, but as far as liability I know that is definitely imperative. I will look into that, as it will probably allow me to take on jobs that i know i could probably do, but stay away from simply cause I don't want to lose my house.

 

[treeman82]

Rob, get the insurance. For even less than the $2500 you have, you can get insurance no problems. $1,000,000 plus some theft shouldn't be any more than $1500 down by you I would THINK.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

How can you expect your employer to cover your insurance when you're doing side jobs? Are you talking about a co=pay for health insurance? Waht happens if you get hurt and can't work? Worker's compensation won't cover. That's wher you would need a personal disability policy.

I jsut renewed my business insurance. I think I got $1 million for about $900 with a $500 deductable. Vehicle insurance was really high though.

What is your education in? If you have enough tools, the best thing to have is an education. there are many books that you should own and read. Join your local ISA chapter and attend EVERY training session and Tree Climbing Championship. Join the ISA and NAA too. Get a subscription to Tree Care Industry magazine, its FREE! Follow the links under "Publications": http://www.natlarb.com/

FWIW...Down playing the "Stoner" handle would be good idea too, especially when you're trying to give a good impression to the public.

Tom

 

[stoner]

Hey Tom,
Thanks for the thoughts...true, if I fell out of a tree and was laid up for 6 months I probably wouldn't be able to work and I'd be in a world of hurt. Although if I were to put a gaff in my calf or cut myself open, the health insurance that I have thru my desk/day job would cover it, and I would still be able to work behind the desk. I'm not disputing though, insurance is obviously very important.

I'm working on an MBA, and I'm always looking to improve my education tree wise...I have several tree books which I have read over and over again. I am not a member of an Arborist organization though and will definitely look into that.
Thanks for your input.
Rob.

P.S.--I'm a Mormon and have never touched drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee or tea. I haven't said a cuss word since I was eight either. The arborist that I've worked with and learned from is a recovering alcoholic and has been sober almost 20 years. In supporting him in his AA meetings I must say that recovering alcoholics are some of the most courageous people I have ever known. I see your point with the Stoner moniker, but is a nickname and email name that has stuck. Just my two cents. Thanks.

 

[Kevin]

Send us another new guy

Rob,
Nice to have you join in, hang in there.

 

[TheTreeSpyder]

Insurance would allow you to expand your talents gradually more confidentally. Also, things can look a lot diffrent when you're selling than doing a job, you might find yourself in that position, expanding those skills to finish etc., kinda improntu!

Liability Insurance has wide variance here, shop around. Sounding stable, sensible job selection you might even ask about $500 ded. @ 50k, 100k. Not trying to be a hero in risky trees and not hitting the client with a limb, you might find it hard to do 20k worth of damage to anything you risk, but a selling point and just in case! Mostly ya might have to fix a fence, screen etc. where the filing, raising price etc. doesn't come close to $500, and if it did, you'd probably not file till it went higher just to keep quiet about it. So you can shop cheap, and be worth more cuz you're insured! Also sound sleep is important to good alert climbers!

Are saws proffessional, production grade and size?

Tapes? Log Cart? Advanced climbing and rigging gear?

JP can get ya a GRCS for that, t-shirts too (could at least get our shirts!)

Grinder might depend on area's saturation and rentability of grinders.

i guess if we had a refrence area it could have a list of recommended reading.........

 

[Stumper]

Lots of good advice. As mentioned there are a lot of variables to consider. Perhaps the most for your money would be a combination of Insurance and a trailer to pull behind the truck you have.

 

[Nickrosis]

Originally posted by Kevin

Send us another new guy

Rob,
Nice to have you join in, hang in there.

That is AWESOME!

Go legit with the insurance and if you haven't already, get the paperwork for an official business.

With the rest of the money, get business cards, a shirt with your name on it, a sign for your truck, and a business phone/cell phone. A free thing that anyone can do is put a smile on. Cheap way to pick up business.

I'm ETERNALLY thankful that you're studying business because that's what this industry needs. As long as it isn't from newbie hotshot twenty-somethings. Hehehe, I'm a twenty-nothing.

Nickrosis

P.S. What??? Too many smiles? I can't be happy at ArboristSite.com?

 

[Newfie]

sound in theory but....

"Sounding stable, sensible job selection you might even ask about $500 ded. @ 50k, 100k. Not trying to be a hero in risky trees and not hitting the client with a limb, you might find it hard to do 20k worth of damage to anything you risk, but a selling point and just in case! "

Lowballing your liability coverage doesn't protect you from the chance of someone trying to clean you out because they hired a scheister attorney when you bent the fence. We live in a society where a coffee burn is worth millions.

Just my opinion though. Good Luck!

 

[treeclimber165]

In my area, $300,000 is minimum liability required in order to get an occupational license. If you live within a city limits, you need to get the city occupational license first, then the county license. If you are outside city limits, you just get the county occupational license. But they require you have ins. before they will look at the application.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

A kid raised in a military family is a military brat, so you must be an arbor-brat, Nick. Not a newbie.

Insurance is a must, if someone walks in to the work area and gets hurt, you could loose evrything. I got $1M for under $900.

A GRCS winch would be a good investment too, especialy for a micro company. We used two today getting a big willow branch out of a medium American elm. One with a balancer to pick/lower the other on the tag to pull.

 

[Toddppm]

Buncha smart fellers here huh! Insurance should be no.1 , it will give you confidence to push yourself. No. 2 I would go for a dump truck asap! With both you can get into bigger jobs and not depend on finding small ones where the customer has to deal with the brush. I started with a 5x10 trailer with about 3 ft. sides and stepped up to a dump pretty quick to save alot of hassle.

 

[gene martin]

equipment

some people may laugh at the uquipment you do or do not have when ya first start out small, as many of of us all did at one time! But the last laugh is yours knowing you are fully covered by insurance, there are alot of "gypsies' out there who have the equipment and no insurance. I would be looking at a new KODIAC bucket if i saved all the money i had to pay a year towards insurance over the past ten years.