What's your year been like, business wise?

Ask me again this time next year.

This year I have quit, packed up and moved country. Shifted the whole family to Norway, settled in there. Been back to the UK a few times to finalise the sale of the house and my work truck.

Only really worked a few days in September and October so I saved the invoicing till November to make the accounting process easier. Also I had to wait till my papers were in order for starting my business.

I managed to bill 130000 Norwegian crown just contract climbing in November and December. Got a new truck on order and a chipper coming in January. So next year I plan on a better year.

I will be happy if I can get a handful of my own jobs a month and build on that. The rest of the time I will be contract climbing as it is pretty good money and no stress.

It will be interesting looking back this time next year and reflecting on what I have written and hopefully it will have happened.

Looking forward to the challenge.

All the best everyone for 2018.
 
I respect the hell out of you for doing that move, Rich.
I really do.
 
Thank you Stig.

It hasn't been plain sailing by any means but I truly believe it will be a better quality of life for the family and I.
 
This is almost 5 Year’s for me now running Simply Arbor. Grew 100% for each year for 3 years and have now leveled off for the most part. Now essentially trying to maximize gross from a 3 or 4 person crew at market labor rate. Paid off a bunch of equipment, acquired newer and more reliable equipment. Goal now is to introduce a better business structure and keep steady. I like having one crew and will keep it that way most likely. Best paid crew in town (very fortunate to have a merry band of badass tree heathens on deck), lots of rigging and climbing goodies and perks like health insurance, vaca, snowboard passes, etc. As another thread mentioned, stress levels through the roof, but now I feel like we have breathing room and can ease off a bit... Taking 5 weeks off to hang with family and prep for another round in 18.
Best of luck to all out there, sounds like many are doing well and here’s to continued success and safety.
 
I didn't do too much with my micro tree service this year, but what I did was good. Had my first kid born last December, stayed home and helped with that last winter, working here and there, worked about a month straight, then asked for a layoff so I could hit an outage before the summer work kicked off (unusually slow around here lately). Didn't get called for the outage, but got sent out as a helper on a pipeline job, which I worked til October or so, when I had to come home to help with kid #1 because kid #2 is due this week (why you see me on here so much lately :lol: . So I didn't work as much as normal, but I did ok enough. Mainly got my foot in the door for this coming year as soon as I'm ready, this time as a welder. So money wise, meh, but family/life wise was the best year of my life. This next year should be my best in my life money wise tho, and am planning on investing into some more tree equipment, slowly building it up without debt load. Before too long, I'm hoping to be covered no matter what work is doing, maybe even have a crew running while I'm working elsewhere. Time will tell tho, but God willing I'll be getting a mini and possibly a tow behind, although that might have to wait another year. After this kid's here I'll be able to get back outside to start my truck bed that I was supposed to start a few months ago lol.
 
Lol yup, watching a kid that now runs, throws stuff, climbs, and considers herself an electrician is actually hard work! Don't ever tell my wife that tho, she'll be assuming that duty x2 here shortly :/:
 
Sure, Gary.
If you like kids.
I can think of other, more exciting adventures, I'd rather go for.
 
I was the same way for a long time Stig, now I jokingly tell the wife "if i knew kids were this fun, I wouldn't have pulled out as often when I was younger..." I then duck, because the wife will have invariably thrown something at me :lol:
 
I think once you get them, Instincts and hormones take over and you automatically love them.
I got myself sterilized at age 23, in order to never get to that point.
My Swiss wife, formerly referred to as " The mail order bride" has 3 grown boys. ( 31, 27 and 23 years old)
That has been an interesting experince for me.
All of a sudden having 3 adult males , two women and two small kids as family.

I like the adults a LOT, actually and I can cope with the kids.
 
You are probably right about that. I had several years of fun, but I always wanted a family someday. So now I have a different kind of fun. It's all relative to one's life goals and perceived direction.
 
Yep.
Those change as we get older.
I'm super happy with my situation now, 20 years ago, I'd have run off, screaming all the way!
 
Steve Mack said:
View attachment 83577

No actually that was 2016, it's been a pretty good this year really.

Bit hard starting up in a new town but I've been getting some work, usually good jobs.

Old clients still ring me from Sydney to see if I'm coming back. That's a bit hard to handle sometimes, there's no one I can refer them to. Been back a few times but it's just about all over for there, going to get serious here for next year.
Click to expand...
:lol: I about pissed myself...... that's funny.
Also how I feel about 2017.
2016 carried into 2017 with a slam bang. My health was better, but frig me running. Did everything have to break????
Bad mechanics costing me thousands, rentals to keep running costing 1000s. Travel to dying family.... my gawd.
Thank the gods I had built me credit up. Only thing that maybe saved our asses.
Rob and I took on a lot of debt over this. Just all the rain we got, we lost sooooo many days to flooding, road closures and waiting for drying on soggy logging ops. I went around whining "I don't want to be a logger" imitating the voice of the ginger bread man from Shrek.
We were really happy we just pulled Christmas off and have vehicles to drive now. Now I just have to make the payments. :/:
 
Not a so good year for me.
- My (so-called) buddy, and main customer, let me down before the spring without an explanation, and plays the dead to not pay me about 10 months of work.
- A moron hit the back doors of my van, not enough value to repair it, so I had to buy an other one, well over the price paid by the insurance for the previous one.
- I lurked since a year and half for an interesting small chipper, (I saw only 2 on the market during this time). I got it at a remote auction from a business crash, very happy, but it turns out that the maintenance wasn't top. Beside some secondary things, the hydraulic system is trashed, brown oil, steel and aluminum chips everywhere; so, a new pump and 2 new translation motors are required, at least, maybe the actuators.
- I wounded myself a finger with the ms440 in july, skin and nail graft required. The main cause of the accident was a strangled nerve at my left elbow, leading to the loss of sensitivity and almost all the local muscle's control in my hand. I got that fixed too (I should have done that many months ago), so even more down time, but my hand begins to feel better.
- I had to begin some heavy work on my teeth, with deep infections in my jaws from years of lack of care (again).

Finally it ends on a good note (I guess), as I'll become a grandfather this spring. I surely wasn't prepared for that, the new worries, getting older and so on... but who care, a new life comes in:)
 
In 2017 I did the following:

Sold (delivered and stacked) 6.5 loads of firewood @ ~ $110 per load (1 load = ~52 cubic feet = ~ 4'x8'x(18 to 20") -- SOLD OUT!
Removed a ~40' x ~25" DBH Silver Maple @ $500
Trimmed (raised; removed lower limbs and small branches) 2 Cedar and 1 Oak @ $160
Other misc. cleanup @ $290

Total Gross Earnings: $1,678.00

Bought 6'x12' utility trailer @ $2710.00
Bought ms461 @ ~$1,100.00
Bought 22' pole saw @ ~$320.00
Bought pole pruner setup @ ~$150.00
Bought other supplies @ ~$1,000.00+
Repair truck @ ~$3,000.00
(already had other and misc. equipment)

For 2018

I have a $500 job lined up (from early last year) to remove 2 Bradford Pears (~40' x 12" DBH)
I have a $2200 bid to remove 6 Bradford Pears (~40' x 12" DBH)
I have a $500 bid to haul off wood from 2 large Oaks after they have been felled.
I have a removal for a 40-50' x 30" DBH pine tree at my widowed mother in law's which I plan to do for free unless she (and my wife's sister who handles her finances) *insists* on paying me.

* Need to overcome innate laziness.

* Plan to cut and split at least 10 loads of firewood to be ready for next season.
-- (wonder if I should invest in a gas log splitter)

* Plan to get magnetic signs for my truck.

* Possibly try to find an existing (safety conscious) tree man (or lady) to work for part time to learn from and earn money.

* Decide whether or not to buy climbing gear.

* Get shop, truck, and all equipment organized and quickly and efficiently deployable.

* Try to learn about tree trimming/pruning -- and get more tree trimming/pruning jobs.

* Need to overcome innate laziness.

* Continue to learn about trees and arborist stuff.

* Decide whether or not to get into stump grinding (i.e. rent one and try it out on my own stumps first)

* Need to overcome innate laziness.

* I had hoped to be at 180 lbs. by now (down from my more or less steady 220 lbs.) ... discouraging, but the battle continues!
-- but I did throw out a couple of half eaten containers of ice cream this morning -- yeah, I hate the waste, but I figured the point I needed to make to myself was worth more.

* Need to overcome innate laziness.

In a race with my declining age, focus, capacity, strength (as we all are) (and weight and laziness) to get as far in this business as I can to position myself to continue on when my age catches up with me -- all things being equal ----- AND/OR find something else (i.e. "fun" (i.e. "enjoyable" (e.g. not boring))) to do to earn money.
 
Dang, Marc...you racked up some calamities...hoping 2018 smooths out. Glad to hear the hand/elbow is squared away.

Cool on the grandkid...enjoy!!
 
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