Mowing Side cash from bush hog work?

[bcp]

I thought the first link provided was funny. Didn't the guy say he rented a tractor and made $5K the first week. I sure would like to see that as a reality. Very unbelievable to me.

If that $5000/week was earned in 40 hours, that is $125 per hour.

Bruce

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Amen, it's amazing how many guys can't figure that out... Try renting a tractor, trailer, truck and bush hog for a day and then buy fuel for two of them....

Against my advice my son went into the lawn business with the premise that he'd undercut everyone's price.

He bought over 15K worth of equipment not including his truck and quickly got all the work he could do. He "thought" he was making a killing until the 10K zero turn mower he was using blew up... few months later the transmission went out in his truck then the liability premium was due again...

Turns out he was killing himself for about $8 an hour net after true expenses never mind depreciation..

Every hour you put on a piece of equipment reduces its value, every mile you put on a vehicle reduces it's value... add accelerated maintenance intervals for the constant use and those costs go up too.

I don't bush hog for a living but I get $75 for the first hour and $65.00 for each additional. I don't charge by the acre as only god knows how long it's going to take unless you've done that plot before and the owner hasn't drug anything out there since the last time you cut it.

Liability is not an issue as I have them sign a waiver. I'm not going to be responsible for something I can't see.

On another note. A fellow here a few years ago hit a part of a plow that was in about 4ft tall grass/weeds and destroyed his bush hog. He sued the land owner in small claims court for failing to warn him of "junk" in his pasture and won.

Liability waiver is an interesting concept, but, in most cases, in a court of law, not worth the paper it's written upon. Operating without adequate liability insurance is akin to playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun.

 

[sandman2234]

Liability waiver is an interesting concept, but, in most cases, in a court of law, not worth the paper it's written upon. Operating without adequate liability insurance is akin to playing Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun.

Maybe playing Russian Roulette with five loaded bullets and one blank, cause every now and then when you are going without liability insurance, a warning shot will go off and just scare you bad enough that it makes you realize you SHOULD have gotten insurance and you trot down the street and buy it. (Blank meaning a blank cartridge, not an empty chamber). People have been killed by blanks, but not as often...
David from jax

 

[RickB]

The comment about the million dollar thing got me wondering so I did some math. There would have to be steady business of 4 tractors mowing an average of 30 acres per day at like 32 dollars per acre, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Doesnt seem impossible to me, especially if they had a bush hog as big as the one my friend has. Whether they really have that much work might be a different story?

All you need to do is contract 31,500 acres per year to cut, do all the transport, repairs & maintenence on all 4 units at night and on weekends.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

All you need to do is contract 31,500 acres per year to cut, do all the transport, repairs & maintenence on all 4 units at night and on weekends.

If only it was THAT easy.......

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Don'tcha just LOVE it when someone who's never spent a day on a tractor decides to write an article on how to get rich bush hogging?

OK...Assuming you're able to find enough work to stay busy continuously throughout the mowing season.

What about rainy days? It's been pouring here since 2AM. Part of my crew is in a motel 125 miles from home, on my dime, waiting for clear skies in order to finish up a job. Should take 4 or 5 hours once it quits raining. Until then, negative cash flow, not just no money coming in...... If they're still mowing after 2PM, overtime....Not bringing them home without finishing....Gotta haul equipment home when done. There will be overtime. Most of it spent loading and traveling....Cost is built in to bid, but all the same, time NOT spent "making money".

2 tires trashed this week. Not including down time while being repaired, about $1900....negative cash flow...

1 mower, 1 man....? NOPE. I've got 11 tractor/mowers running. total of 31 people on the payroll. (truck driver, mechanics, weed eater operators, crew moving signs, ect...)

Insurance? Did I mention it's going UP again?

Fuel? You are probably already aware of THAT situation.

And, we finish the job today....I'll see a paycheck roughly around mid December.

A million bux a year with 4 mowers...? Yeah RIGHT!

Let's talk about how much you actually get to KEEP once it's all said and done.

No, I'm not whining about things, just looking at REALITY as opposed to "a million bucks a year with 4 mowers".....Scale back to one mower/one man, doing small jobs? Same reality, only on a MUCH smaller scale (meaning MUCH smaller bottom line....)

 

[LD1]

Don'tcha just LOVE it when someone who's never spent a day on a tractor decides to write an article on how to get rich bush hogging?

OK...Assuming you're able to find enough work to stay busy continuously throughout the mowing season.

What about rainy days? It's been pouring here since 2AM. Part of my crew is in a motel 125 miles from home, on my dime, waiting for clear skies in order to finish up a job. Should take 4 or 5 hours once it quits raining. Until then, negative cash flow, not just no money coming in...... If they're still mowing after 2PM, overtime....Not bringing them home without finishing....Gotta haul equipment home when done. There will be overtime. Most of it spent loading and traveling....Cost is built in to bid, but all the same, time NOT spent "making money".

2 tires trashed this week. Not including down time while being repaired, about $1900....negative cash flow...

1 mower, 1 man....? NOPE. I've got 11 tractor/mowers running. total of 31 people on the payroll. (truck driver, mechanics, weed eater operators, crew moving signs, ect...)

Insurance? Did I mention it's going UP again?

Fuel? You are probably already aware of THAT situation.

And, we finish the job today....I'll see a paycheck roughly around mid December.

A million bux a year with 4 mowers...? Yeah RIGHT!

Let's talk about how much you actually get to KEEP once it's all said and done.

No, I'm not whining about things, just looking at REALITY as opposed to "a million bucks a year with 4 mowers".....Scale back to one mower/one man, doing small jobs? Same reality, only on a MUCH smaller scale (meaning MUCH smaller bottom line....)

Very well said from someone who is actually in the business:thumbsup:

 

[Bartcephus]

FarmwithJunk is right. You have to be in it for the long haul. Just like the previous post where the son went into the lawn business, if you can't dig out of a low spot (cash flow or even negative cash flow) every once and a while, then don't even think about it.

I see a lot of undercapitalized folks venture in to the world with their ideas. The ones that are there for the easy buck find it "ain't that easy." The ones that are there for the quick buch find it "ain't that quick." The ones who are there to work are not disappointed, but one bout of bad luck can close their shop in a hurry.

The purchasing public want consistant and quality work, on time, every time. If your schedule doesn't allow this, then make certain your customers know that for a quality job, it may be a week before you can get out there. Keep your overhead low, savings high, pinch the pennies, track every cent so you know for a fact what it costs to run your tractor. All that has to be done when your not in the field mowing. There is definately more to this than climbing in the seat and turning a key.

Good Luck, Be Prepared,

Bart

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I will say this....If you've got a prospective job where you KNOW the property owner, you KNOW the property, you DO NOT have to load up and haul to the job, and you have enough experience to feel comfortable doing the job, why not....

Just keep in mind that the second you start to haul equipment to a job, you're driving a commercial vehicle. The LEO's/DOT guys don't give a hoot that you're doing it as much as a way to have a little fun, or that it's a one time deal.....You need proof and proper....Insurance, license, ect... Is it worth a couple hundred bucks (maybe) at the risk of THOUSANDS in fines, possible vehicle impoundment, a visit with a judge?

There are so many well camouflaged "trap doors" you can step through doing this sort of work, it's ridiculous. Odds are you'll avoid MOST of them. Question is, what's it worth to you if you only step through ONE? Is the reward worth the risk?

I know of several former small time operators from my area that would most likely tell you it's NOT worth the risk. They've already been there, done that, and lost their butts in the process.

 

[sandman2234]

And more will follow because of articles like the one posted, just make sense (lol).
If it costs me $70 for somebody to mow a 1/4 acre lot, then a person could make a fortune with a bush hog cutting six feet at a time, hundreds of acres a day!!! What could a little maintance cost... or insurance. Heck, with that kind of easy money available, why not just work 2 days a week and fish the other 4. (that isn't a typo, just for people who actually believe that article). Figured if nothing else added up, why should the days in a week.
David from jax