Looking to make some extra cash with my tractor

[TerryR]

Consider starting an LLC and working under that. The customer hires your LLC, not you personally. In the event that somebody needs to be sued, it is your LLC, and not you personally. If the LLC has no assets, it can simply go bankrupt and ignore any debt or judgements against it. It would have no effect on your personal debt or credit.

You can start an LLC online for about $50-150.

Really? If the LLC has no assets, who owns the tractor and equipment? I you own the equipment personally and provide it to the LLC, seems to me the owner of the equipment used "negligently" by the lessor (the LLC) could be liable. I'd not bet the ranch on an online LLC or any other legal advice provided by anyone not qualified to practice law in your jurisdiction.

 

[Sprinklerman]

Life is a risk , i started mowing lawns back in 1979 , and doing irrigation in 1984 . I had a job . Within a year I was full time . And still am today .

 

[joefromga]

Don't worry about getting sued. Just do an honest job, pay for your mistakes and try to be fair.

Getting sued isn't a judgement. It's just the start. Most people are just like these sue happy people on here - they haven't sued and have never been sued. Life isn't TV.

If you bust a window, go fess up and have it fixed. Don't hide and pray.

If you run over a cat, go over it a few times to get rid of all evidence. .

 

[LD1]

If you run over a cat, go over it a few times to get rid of all evidence. .

Thats hilarious. :thumbsup:

In all seriousness, I do have insurance, but If I sling a rock through a window or dent a car, I'll fess up and not even claim on insurance.

The insurance is for things like....if you sling a rock through a car window passing down the highway and cause a major accident. Or knock out the neighbor lady sitting out on her deck.

In 4 years I have spent ~2400 on insurance and not needed it once. But I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. $50/month is cheap coverage considering the alternative if something did happen

 

[zmoz]

Don't worry about getting sued. Just do an honest job, pay for your mistakes and try to be fair.

Getting sued isn't a judgement. It's just the start. Most people are just like these sue happy people on here - they haven't sued and have never been sued. Life isn't TV.

If you bust a window, go fess up and have it fixed. Don't hide and pray.

If you run over a cat, go over it a few times to get rid of all evidence. .

Worst advice EVER!! Do you realize how incredibly easy it is for somebody to sue YOU for no apparent reason? All they need to do is fill out a two page form, pay roughly $50-100 to the court, and another $36 or so for the sheriff to serve you. No lawyer is required. If you don't have a good excuse for whatever you've been sued for, you will lose. If you did anything at all wrong or negligent, even if accidental, you will lose. Even if they other party completely made up the story, you have to pay court fees to tell the judge you are innocent and you still might lose!

I have a dumb friend who did a burnout in a gravel parking lot with his truck. Ended up breaking 5 different windows on cars and houses while slinging gravel. Cost him as much as his truck is worth...and he's really lucky nobody sued him. Can't imagine what would have happened if one of those rocks hit somebody in the face!

And yes, I've been there and done that. Won several judgements against people I've had to sue. I even got sued once for $5000 because I left bad reviews for a business online. Won that one, because they were true, so the business ended up having to pay me instead.

Lawsuits are simply how Americans settle their problems they cannot work out. There is nothing wrong with using them for their intended purpose. It's the only legal way to punish another adult for something stupid they did.

 

[TSO]

Regarding insurance: you might go cut your neighbors yard or field. You might accidentally sling a rock or other object, causing property damage, or injury to someone... and they might even have ZERO intention to sue you.

However... when they submit that damage claim to their insurance company, or they go to the hospital to get treated, and the hospital bills their medical insurance (and the Dr report states they were injured by someone shooting a rock from a rotary mower) ... expect to get sued by the insurance company, attempting to recuperate their costs.

Don't do any work without being properly insured. It's stupid to not have it. If you want to start a business, that's great, good luck to you! But if you can't justify spending up to $1k getting properly insured, you might wanna think twice about doing work for hire.

 

[Cranedaddy]

Some great advice coming in now! I just got my tractor insured this week but the lady at my insurance company that does the commercial insurance I need is on vacation til next week

Why is it, every time a question similar to the one by the OP is asked the doomsday crowd appears. Similar to a car wreck where everyone stands around gawking but doing nothing constructive.
To the OP, do a bit of research. How much money do want over a period of, let's say a year. What are your operating expenses likely to be over that period. Maintenance, fuel and insurance. Don't make the mistake a lot of people make and try to low ball your rates. A good indicator to gauge your rates is, if you're getting 3 out of five jobs you quote you're in the right ball park. Any less you're probably to high, any more you're leaving money on your customers table. There are some really easy and free calculators on the internet that will give you an idea of what your bottom line will likely look like.
I understand from your first post you're not looking for a full time business. Speaking from experience, you might however find over time you don't want your day job anymore.

I already don't want my day job lol! I think my expenses will be very low. I have a $7500 3/4 ton gas truck, my dads 20 ft trailer (free to me ) and diesel fuel I can acquire for free thanks to my day job.. $900 bring home per week gets all my bills paid which is also 40 hours at my day job. My plan with the tractor is to cover the gaps on the weeks we don't get 40 hours, and if the time and jobs are available even if I get my 40 hours, I may make some cash with my tractor just for the **** of it.

P.S. Poor cats!

 

[nikerret]

I pay $459 for a year of liability coverage with Goodville Insurance. I recently started and am thinking about doing the LLC route. What has shocked me is the cost of getting a logo digitized and put onto business cards, postcards, invoices, etc.

 

[joefromga]

Vista print will give you free cards and for 10 bucks or so your can get a wider range of designs and card quality.

 

[EddieWalker]

With a small tractor, you are very limited in who will want to hire you. The big bush hogging jobs will be done by those with bigger tractors and mowers. No way that you can compete with them. The lawn mower guys will get all the residential jobs that require a nicer finish. In my opinion, you are in that grey area that exists, but will take the right connections. I don't think you will get any work out of brochures or advertising. In my opinion, and personal experience, realtors are always looking for somebody to bushhog a property with a few acres, a small pasture type of property that they are trying to sell. I've done a few of those jobs and they are easy money. I make more money doing other things, so I turn it all down now, but for a little while there, it was steady work once or twice a week. What happens is a person moves away before the house sells, they have an acre or a couple of acres and it gets overgrown, then when people come to look at it, the yard looks terrible and the realtors tell the owners of the land that they need to take care of it. Some properties I did once a month. I also mowed around the house with my riding mower and did a little weed eating. That's really when I lost interest in doing that type of work, it was too much lawn care. I still get calls from realtors. Some I know and have worked for before, others are new to me and have been asking around for somebody that does that type of work and they where given my name. I'm too busy to do it, and when they ask for who to call, I tell them that I don't know anybody. I have no idea who they find, or how long it takes. I know that some of the properties they have asked me to mow remain un mowed for months.