Questions about starting a mulching company

[N.C.Lawn Maintenance]

I am a 20 year old self employed entrepreneur. I already own a lawn care/landscaping company and am looking to expand into lot clearing and cleanup. I was wondering how did most of you get started? And what kind of companies should I contact to try and get my business started. I do not want to invest $80,000 into machinery and I can't afford the payments. Or should I wait a few years and then get into this business. Any information or leads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and God Bless

 

[mouse]

begs the question if you dont want to invest then why and how are you going to go into the business?

 

[N.C.Lawn Maintenance]

I'm sorry, I should have been clear. I am going to rent/lease some equipment until it is justifiable to go out and buy some equipment.

God Bless

 

[bontai_Joe]

I owned and ran a small lawn maintenance and garden tilling business when I was in my early 20s (from 1979 to 1986). I bought a smallish homeowner chipper for my own use (3" capacity) and tried it on a couple of jobs where the customer wanted their yard waste turned into mulch. Turned out it was a LOT of work for very little money. I did a lot better with tilling jobs. Also today, depending on what state you live in, I'd worry about hauling what some jurisdictions call "waste products" and what permits might be required and the cost of such permits. For insurance purposes, wood chippers are EXPENSIVE because of the danger involved if you have employees, and even bystanders, so you want to check into that as well. I'd also check into whether your local town or county already has a mulch operation where they chip up wood hauled in to them by resident cleaning up their property. Typically they sell the mulch back at $10-$15 a yard making it hard to compete price wise. That's what has happened in my area, so it wouldn't be worth while for me to compete with them. Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[RandyS]

You might want to talk to real estate people. They sell land to others who then want to clear it for a house. Builders also.
Maybe skidsteer with a chipper on it or a tractor with pto chipper would be helpful. You could then use it for your landscaping jobs also.
We have a mowing business also. Do lots of tree work so we have a Bandit 1590 chipper. I also like the Wallenstein 6" chipper on my tractor, can get to where we need it. The best thing we bought was a used Powerhouse Prowler mini skidsteer. Can haul big chunks of tree around and fits on a 4X8 trailer if need be.
Might want to talk to sawmills also for any big wood you clear and or firewood guys if they sell firewood where you are. Furniture makers are also an outlet for some interesting tree pieces.
First of all, make sure you're THE BEST lawn care/landscaping company around. That way once you tell people that you want other types of work they'll get it for you.
Good luck.

 

[cbturf]

Us mulchers are glad to give out opinions and advice but leads are pretty hard to get from me. I think that you should be able to find an ASV with a few hiurs on it for much less than $80k.

Tidewater Equipment Company: Used Equipment

This ASV with a head is $50k on the internet, I imagine you could get it for quite a bit less than that after you meet with them. Mulching has been a great business for me, others have struggled but that is the case no matter what you get in to. The main thing with any business is that you have yo be 100% commited to make it sucessful. I know that lawn service gets pretty hectic in the summer, so I have to ask if you can give both businesses all they need and not let any customers down. Have two thriving businesses is only a few unhappy customers away from having no thriving businesses,

 

[AlanB]

I would suggest going slow, renting (and I hate renting) to test the waters, if the jobs will not bring in the cost to cover rent, then you will have a hard time covering the costs of payments.

I would concentrate on your core business, and then look at additional services that you can offer that are requested by your customers.

In our business, the tractor with various attachments get's used more then the Bobcat.

We are currently looking at a small mini skid (dingo or similar) but that is a niche and expensive piece as well.

We run rough equipment that I slowly straighten out as needed and we can afford too. It is easy to take on the debt, and the sales guys will sing you a song about how if you had this machine you would be just rolling in money. Every now and then I sing that song too, and it sometimes gets us over our head.

It is a delicate balance that you need to play between buying the equipment and finding the work for it, or finding the work, then getting the equipment to get it done. I have blown it on both sides of that.

Sometimes, you really have to take the "long" view as well. For instance we bought a sod cutter because every time we rented it was more work then it was worth. But now that we have one, it makes flower beds etc. go real easy. Was it worth the $1800 or so we paid? Still not sure, but it has allowed us to take on some jobs quickly that we would have hesitated on in the past and figured in the hassle factor.

Good luck, I look forward to seeing others input.

One other thought, before you buy something, picture yourself holding that money in front of you in cash. Lets just say $50K. Now say to yourself "Is this the absolute best thing I can do with this $50K for my business?" The kind of money a mulcher involves (and the related maintenance issues) can send your business in a variety of directions.

I should probably add that the wife runs a landscaping Lawncare business.

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