Excavating business questions again

[Bob Rooks]

Fresh off the press:
News - State orders Snohomish County mover to cease...

In my state, these are the hoops you have to jump through (FYI). Your state may be more or less. Check with your UTC also. There is more to hauling dirt & rocks than meets the eye, legally.
Common Carriers

 

[Bob Rooks]

It doesn't have to be permanent. They can be on a magnetic sign.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to magnetic signs.

 

[Cat_Driver]

My advice is GO FOR IT. Everyone needs to start somewhere and working for yourself is far, far better than working for anyone.
There's plenty of work out there for the right price. The problem with the "old timers" is they are all charging the same prices as when the economy was booming and refuse to adapt to the changing times. That's where you can come in with fresh ideas, fresh work ethic, and a desire to succeed.

I wish I had a nickel fore everyone that told me not to start my business. Funny thing is, everything people are telling you - they told me 25 years ago.

There are two people that will tell you to NOT do your own business. The ones that don't have the stones to do their own business and the ones that think you are stealing money from them by being in business.

You need to make three phone calls. 1- your insurance agent, 2- the city/county people on business requirements. 3- the highway patrol. Talking to these people won't cost you a dime and these people will advise you far better than all of us arm chair consultants.

Good luck,- - be fair to people, be honest,work hard and you will make everyone eat their words.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Fresh off the press:
News - State orders Snohomish County mover to cease...

YA and A & R Moving, will be named R & A Moving this week and business as usual. Even if he pays the 4K in penalties he probably saved more that that by NOT following the rules and buying all the permits over the last 20 years.

So I can't see how this Company was penalized AT ALL.

If this Company was Illegal I'm sure they cam out ahead on this deal.

 

[RyanL]

My advice is GO FOR IT. Everyone needs to start somewhere and working for yourself is far, far better than working for anyone.
There's plenty of work out there for the right price. The problem with the "old timers" is they are all charging the same prices as when the economy was booming and refuse to adapt to the changing times. That's where you can come in with fresh ideas, fresh work ethic, and a desire to succeed.

I wish I had a nickel fore everyone that told me not to start my business. Funny thing is, everything people are telling you - they told me 25 years ago.

There are two people that will tell you to NOT do your own business. The ones that don't have the stones to do their own business and the ones that think you are stealing money from them by being in business.

You need to make three phone calls. 1- your insurance agent, 2- the city/county people on business requirements. 3- the highway patrol. Talking to these people won't cost you a dime and these people will advise you far better than all of us arm chair consultants.

Good luck,- - be fair to people, be honest,work hard and you will make everyone eat their words.

Thanks for some good words. I'm more of a go getter person and i dont like nay sayer's. That just drives me harder, im sure it is hard long road but sitting around dwelling on the negatives never gets a person anywhere. Gotta take risks, just make them calculated risks i havent got where i am now or got what i got by sittin around ive pushed and worked hard for my equipment. I would buy a piece of equipment rather than go out and lay around a bar and blow money. I like to work and enjoy doing it, makes me feel good. Again thanks

 

[High Compression]

I would wait for the economy to improve as well. I just shut down my business a month ago. Bidding is getting too tight. There is no use working for free. I haven't taken a pay check since Sept. 2010. I made sure my employees were all paid and my bills were paid. Do what you want, but a steady paycheck and benefits are hard to come by right now. I just sold over $450,000 worth of equipment for $144,000.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I own a small construction company and do a bit of excavating/grading work from time to time. I've found the best money to be made with equipment isn't from doing hourly work, but using the equipment complement some other part of the business. For me that is building agricultural buildings and fencing, the grading is secondary to that.

For me this does two things, it allows me to do a small amount of custom work and keeps me from having to hire out as many services. As an added bonus, I can get insurance for a reduced rate as a general contractor vs an excavating contractor, even though I'm sometimes doing the same work.


As for what you need to start the business, you'll have to do some research and figure that out for your state, county, etc. Here in VA all you technically need is a contractors license and sometimes a business license, depending on the county. Insurance isn't required, but I'd highly recommended it. I keep all my trucks/trailers fairly low key and under CDL requirements which makes things easy. In your situation since you would also be hauling for hire (dump truck service) you'd need to deal with all the DOT stuff as well.


Lastly, don't always listen to the naysayers, if you have enough desire and drive to do something you can make it happen. I started my business in '07-08 right as the economy was headed south, which by most would be exactly the wrong time to start a construction business of any sort. My business has increased steadily every year since then and now have projects lined up until the middle of next year.

Good luck with your endeavor :thumbsup:

 

[Duffster]

Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to magnetic signs.

Like what?

 

[Duffster]

Fresh off the press:
News - State orders Snohomish County mover to cease...

Not sure what household moving has to do with the OP but household movers are notoriously at the peak of DOT regulations.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Not sure what household moving has to do with the OP but household movers are notoriously at the peak of DOT regulations.

Simple. Look at the big picture. It's trucking. Doesn't matter if it's a lowboy, high cube van trailer, or dump & pup. Same basic rules apply to all. And as for these guys starting up a week later under a different name? Ain't gonna happen unless they aren't involved with the new company.