What do Y'all charge ?

[paulsharvey]

So, a question for you smart fellas;
Who owns the tractor? Do you own the tractor as a person, or a company? If you personally own the machine, has anyone set it up where your LLC leases the machine from you? When we start talking about making a real, but small business out of it; this stuff affects taxes, possible business sales, insurance, liability, ect.

If the business owns the machine; what do you do with personal use, if that adds up to a significant amount? Call it business loose?

What I'm talking about is the guy who has a 7-530 job, that sets up a LLC (or any other legit business operation) and does several days per month of hired work; but also uses the machine a good bit at the house/farm?

For the guys doing this, who also legit farm; is the farm business the one doing the hired work, and it's all one organization?

 

[Hay Dude]

I have 2 separate businesses. 1 is AG and ag only. The other is everything else. Each business owns some assets and finances a few assets.
Trying to have farm and off farm income put together was too confusing.

 

[dodge man]

One thing you always have to battle is people that price shop. It seems those people don’t really care about the quality of the work, if some guy is a little cheaper they will use them. The truth is you don’t want to work for those people.

 

[needmoredirt]

Who buys without shopping? Some want quantity not quality and vice versa. Which are you?

What's in your toolbox and the cost means little to anyone but you. What you know and do is everything. I've seen mechanics make more $ with a $.50 pocket flat blade than I care to admit. Seen some that will owe snap-on for eternity.

Do what you say and keep a customer forever, never have to close them again. That customer doesn't care how you charge once proven consistency is established.

Rinse and repeat any kind of business, you should do fine.

YMMV

 

[spruce Deere]

So, a question for you smart fellas;
Who owns the tractor? Do you own the tractor as a person, or a company? If you personally own the machine, has anyone set it up where your LLC leases the machine from you? When we start talking about making a real, but small business out of it; this stuff affects taxes, possible business sales, insurance, liability, ect.

If the business owns the machine; what do you do with personal use, if that adds up to a significant amount? Call it business loose?

What I'm talking about is the guy who has a 7-530 job, that sets up a LLC (or any other legit business operation) and does several days per month of hired work; but also uses the machine a good bit at the house/farm?

For the guys doing this, who also legit farm; is the farm business the one doing the hired work, and it's all one organization?

If I was to really to jump in with the hole hired tractor work gig with the implements that also work on the tree farm, I would do an LLC or something separate from the farm and 'rent out' equipment from the farm.

Best to keep the farm stuffs separate.

 

[two_bit_score]

Edit: When I say making money, I'm taking about clearing at least $30/hour profit/pay for yourself.

Why not just get a wages job if you are only making $30/hour?

 

[paulsharvey]

There's a reason I said "atleast". In theory, you should pay yourself your pay as an operator, and then take business profits on top of that. I know there was an old thread where I offended some people by saying; if your not making money on top of the idiot in the seat, your not making business profit. People miss read when I said idiot in the seat, and took that as an attack on operators (which I certainly wasnt).

Forget who I was listening too, talking about some of this; and basically an owner-operator has no business value, if it's not making profit over and above the operator (owners hourly or daily wages). Now, this is too a large degree about selling a business or using it as collateral. But the 'Business' has no value, beyond its owned assets, if it isn't making profit over and above paying that operator (you/family member/hired help/ect)

 

[spruce Deere]

So many variables, input from every direction and perspectives...

The owner/operator in my way of thinking is the quality of work, knowledge of 'how to' and/or efficiency of work done.

Without me, this tractor gig business is nothing.

I think where most go wrong is they think don't look at ALL the variables, like the weather, insurances, bonds and such. They just look at the surface of how it looks, making money with stuff they already own.

Funny no one has mentioned bonds here...

 

[paulsharvey]

So many variables, input from every direction and perspectives...

The owner/operator in my way of thinking is the quality of work, knowledge of 'how to' and/or efficiency of work done.

Without me, this tractor gig business is nothing.

I think where most go wrong is they think don't look at ALL the variables, like the weather, insurances, bonds and such. They just look at the surface of how it looks, making money with stuff they already own.

Funny no one has mentioned bonds here...

How many private property jobs require a performer bond? Professionally, "significant roadway improvements" do, but the vast majority of work doesn't.

Where you can get snagged, adding "additionally insured" parties,

 

[spruce Deere]

You are correct on the private work and bonds, but still have some kind of insurance.

Just depends on how big one wants to go with there 'tractor work'. Like spraying or poisoning gophers.