How'd it go today?

The $599 ad is something I run to a different phone number... It is separated from my other ads... So far it has worked out well, my ad says ANY tree but if it is more than I care to take on, I can walk away from it anytime. I actually run a few different types of ads, all aimed at different types of customers. I have only done a few jobs from the 599 ad, all of which I likely would have bid a bit less than the 599 anyway so it ended up ok for me...

My prices are a pretty low compared to a traditional tree service, but considering I provide zero debris removal sometimes I am pretty high.
 
Maybe he meant 500 :lol:

I put in a bid the other day on a building, commercial rental. Small thing. Keep the small parking lot clean and juniper on the road off the road. Blow off the roof couple times a year. Trim a couple trees. Told them $200.00 per month ($50.00 per week basically) and they thought I lost my mind and was too expensive :lol: I figured one guy (me) could easily do it on a drive by on the way home (literally) in a hour. And chances are, it really only needed a go over about every other week. I know the bankrupt landscaper used to charge about $300.00 per mo.
 

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bonner1040 said:
The $599 ad is something I run to a different phone number... It is separated from my other ads... So far it has worked out well, my ad says ANY tree but if it is more than I care to take on, I can walk away from it anytime. I actually run a few different types of ads, all aimed at different types of customers. I have only done a few jobs from the 599 ad, all of which I likely would have bid a bit less than the 599 anyway so it ended up ok for me...

My prices are a pretty low compared to a traditional tree service, but considering I provide zero debris removal sometimes I am pretty high.
Click to expand...

I was curious. If you are making good money at it, bingo. One of my weak spots in business, and a serious mistake I have made is inconsistent pricing. I started off very expensive for my area. My overhead was nothing, so it wasnt critical to keep busy. As the business and family grew, the economy started slipping. It was becoming more important to stay busy, but dark skies were approaching. I wasn't quite established at that point and didn't have a sturdy base of customers. Bring on the full fledged recession, and tree work in my area got insanely cut throat. I found myself forced to play the throat cutting game, as we still weren't quite established enough to lean on a customer base to keep us moving. In the last year or so, its become apparent that we have joined the ranks of the established tree companies in the area. Anymore, 3 out of 4 phone calls are past customers, or solid referrals that have their mind made up already. The tough part is bringing my pricing back up to where I truly want it. I can't blast people too hard too fast. I have to be cautious.
My mistake wasn't entirely my fault, but I still made it, and it.needs to be corrected. Be careful not to get in that rut Bonner.
 
Well, I do my best to get the most out of every job, however sometimes I fall into that I need a job now and $250 for each of us is better than none... thats when someone gets a deal!
 
I suck at pricing and can be very inconsistent, which is why I feel I'm better off sticking with my hourly rate as a subcontractor. For jobs where the customer calls me directly looking for a price, I'm getting better and try to stay in the $200-$250 per hour range for a 3 man crew with bucket, chipper and chip truck.
 
For personal jobs I call in a buddy with a chipper and chip truck and his groundman. He charges me about $500-600 per day or less and we work well together. He loves working on my jobs because he doesn't have to climb and access is always good.
 
One more day in a 6 day run of 12 hour shifts .Geeze it took me three days fiddling around an hour after work at a time to file a race chain but I got-er-done tonight .

If it doesn't rain I'll give the super bee 200t a run in some pine .Then we shall see what the bee on steriods can do with a tricked out square filed chisel .:/:
 
Deadwooded a Fir in the morning under a beautiful sun and then I started deadwooding a Cedar.
Finished it around two in the afternoon under heavy rain.
We never had a drop of rain in the whole winter (except for some snow).
It started to rain at the beginning of April and it seems like it's never going to stop....
 
I got to trim two oaks; one with the bucket and the other got climbed. Way more fun than Micky Dees!!!
 
Worked on a poison oak removal job today on a creek with steep sides. I am whooped. Ankles hurt just from traversing rocks all day. :P Last day of open burn season so at least we could keep the burning close to where we were working. Not enough hose to reach where we where today. Went and looked at two wind thrown trees and 6 cedar for pruning. 4 of the 6 were some of the ugliest topped nasty cedars I have ever seen. HO wants me to try and sort them out and see what I can do with them. I ain't the Moses of pruning, but I'll try. Same guy I took two trees down for in town at the strip where Subway is at. Might get a tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) removal in a lower yard (2 stories below street level) at the subway from him. Should be a good challenge. Tree is mature enough to at least have some rigging points :lol: I think I talked him into keeping the two honey locust in the same court yard. Maybe just prune them. Sounds like he wants a lot done around the commercial buildings over time. :thumbup:
 
Honey locusts look like a million bucks after a prune. I LOVE pruning them because customers go buck wild when they see how nice their tree came out.
 
Surely your abilities in the tree pay you better. Is there a lot of industry and jobs in your region, or is it rural?
 
Surely your abilities in the tree pay you better.
Click to expand...

Of course! But I can't work in the heat anymore. 90+ and I've gotta shut it down.

We're not rural, just a medium sized town with a lotta minimum wage jobs.
 
I can imagine. 90 degrees in your neck of the woods is probably similar to a steam room. I made my way through Parris Island in the dead of summer and that southern heat is no laughing matter.
 
You should feel 98 with 90% humidity. Actually, I can take the heat; it's the humidity that's gonna kill me.
 
Butch, in some of your rotator pics you have a towel. I assume it's to wipe your brow with.

How do you deal with the wood chips and sawdust that must get on the towel??? Just shake it real hard before you use it?
 
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