New Member Starting a Tractor Business

[WesternSC]

Ok So heres my new priority list, Flatbed Trailer(gonna hold off on the dump for now), Flail mower, box scraper, diesel transfer tank.

I will absolutely by a FEL once money starts coming in but for now I cant afford it. All the work Ive done before was w/ a tractor w/ no FEL so I know I can get by for now. On that note what options do I have for a FEL besides going to the local dealer and taking the hit? Ive searched used but its hard to tell which ones will fit my tractor.

So Ive been searching craigslist(entire state), all the equipment traders sites, and auctions and havent found a good 6' flail yet. Right now the only option I see is buying a caroni(medium duty so I dont know how long it will last w/ my use) Whats your thought about the caroni for my application?

I can pickup a used hd box scraper for 300 bucks so thats no problem.

Thanks again,
Chris

 

[WesternSC]

A business can be very simple or extremely complex. It can be broken into 3 parts.

1. Providing the product/service that your selling.
Thats the easiest one. Its based on what you already know.

2. Management. This is the one that varies most. Assumed name, Type of business (Sole owner, partnership, LLC, Corporation, etc). Sales tax (that can get crazy), certifications, employee's, If you work outside of your state, etc.
Check with your state. I know MN offers a lot of help in these area's. I relied alot on their "Guide to Starting A Small Business". There may be seminars that you can attend. Insurance, your present agent may offer business insurance. They should be able to set you up based on your description of what you do.
I recommend Quick Books Pro. You can makeup a pretend co. and play. Once you get the hang of it, it can be very helpful. If you have a tax accoutant selected, it might be wise to coordinate your system with theirs.
Very important, allot time to take care of business every day or it can get away from you very quickly.
Get one of those big plasic file crates just for startup and make a file folder for every aspect you can think of. If it does'nt apply, move it to the back, if it does, keep on tackling it.
3. Marketing. Sales might be most important of all. I am certainly no salesman. I had no idea of the time and effort required to get work. I think most people believe they can offer up a service they think is important and the phone will start ringing off the hook. It doesn't.

Go for it and Good Luck.

Great post!

Im very serious about this and making it a profitable business and will treat it like a business not a hobby. I have no problem selling myself so to speak and beating some doors down to get business

 

[jenkinsph]

Being able to sell yourself is very important as well as doing what you say you will do (more important).

About the transfer tank, if money is tight I would wait on this, you can stop and fuel up the machine in the evening on the way home. The fuel tank would take a back seat to a fel, tiller, rearblade etc.

 

[JiminGa]

Steve is right on the money with advise as usual. I'll go so far as to say if you can't afford to get the fel with the tractor, keep looking for a deal you can afford to get the fel, it'll add so much more versatility out the gate you really shouldn't be in business without it.

 

[LoneCowboy]

In my honest, brutal and hard won opinion

No chance

if you don't have enough money to buy piddly stuff like that listed, you don't have a chance.
none

figure the first year on taking ZERO money out of the business. maybe longer and that's with no debt taken on to buy stuff.

You aren't even thinking of expenses that aren't listed and equipment isn't high on the list.

liability insurance you have
but now your truck and trailer are commercial policies, not personal (more money usually, it's almost double here)

USDOT #'s (free) inspections (not free)

marketing/advertising/web/print/etc. The phone barely rings with all this stuff, it definitely won't ring without it.

health insurance
workman's comp
disability insurance.
commercial plates (some states do, some don't)

there's a lot of info on here on exactly this type of stuff, use the search function.

You are off buying equipment and you don't even know what the plan is to use it, how much to charge for it, how to market it, who your customer is, etc.

Aim, then fire works much better than the other way around. It won't be painless and you will make mistakes, but you need to step back and really come up with a plan for what you want to do and how you want to get there.

BTW, you'll soon find that your equipment is too small and too expensive for it's size to run effectively. but you'll find that out soon enough.

 

[WesternSC]

In my honest, brutal and hard won opinion

No chance

if you don't have enough money to buy piddly stuff like that listed, you don't have a chance.
none

figure the first year on taking ZERO money out of the business. maybe longer and that's with no debt taken on to buy stuff.

You aren't even thinking of expenses that aren't listed and equipment isn't high on the list.

liability insurance you have
but now your truck and trailer are commercial policies, not personal (more money usually, it's almost double here)

USDOT #'s (free) inspections (not free)

marketing/advertising/web/print/etc. The phone barely rings with all this stuff, it definitely won't ring without it.

health insurance
workman's comp
disability insurance.
commercial plates (some states do, some don't)

there's a lot of info on here on exactly this type of stuff, use the search function.

You are off buying equipment and you don't even know what the plan is to use it, how much to charge for it, how to market it, who your customer is, etc.

Aim, then fire works much better than the other way around. It won't be painless and you will make mistakes, but you need to step back and really come up with a plan for what you want to do and how you want to get there.

BTW, you'll soon find that your equipment is too small and too expensive for it's size to run effectively. but you'll find that out soon enough.

Thanks for the honesty and taking the time to write Lonecowboy. Im not giving up cause I know the potential for work in my area and am not expecting much my first year but with that said you gotta start somewhere... I have contacts to get free advertising in the local papers so at least I got that going for me. Based on previous experience my tractor is the perfect size for the majority of jobs in my area because most properties are smaller lots w/ trees so maneuverability is a must, not too many big tracts around here.

 

[Samandothers]

Best of luck to you! I first looked at You User name and the title of the posting and thought this is someone fairly close by I could give some business.......
NOT Western South Carolina, huh!