Priced out my first york rake job today...

[CADplans]

My new DBA...Charity Excavating.

The first ten jobs, do not worry about if you made money or not.
Those ten jobs will be your education. You can talk about time, fuel, wear and tear until you are blue in the face,,,
but, hopping on the machine, and getting the job done is where the education is.

$200 will not make you, or break you. Have fun.

Heck, I spent almost 5 hours today spraying with my Fimco 3PT sprayer today.
Even a tool like that can make you money,,, people hate weeds, they just do not know what to do.

If you are "hard knocks" educated, you will know what to charge when a job comes up!! :thumbsup:

 

[screamin400]

The first ten jobs, do not worry about if you made money or not.
Those ten jobs will be your education. You can talk about time, fuel, wear and tear until you are blue in the face,,,
but, hopping on the machine, and getting the job done is where the education is.

$200 will not make you, or break you. Have fun.

Heck, I spent almost 5 hours today spraying with my Fimco 3PT sprayer today.
Even a tool like that can make you money,,, people hate weeds, they just do not know what to do.

If you are "hard knocks" educated, you will know what to charge when a job comes up!! :thumbsup:

You are on the money. I make a few more mistakes and I will be brilliant. I have to figure out a way to advertise without spending a lot and getting jobs that I cannot do. I do not have dump trucks or trailers or excavators. Just one nice tractor with implements. I do not want to seed lawns only prep for them. My main business allows me time in the summer but does not allow me to be a babysitter. I am on Craigslist but I am not getting any calls. I think the time of year may be bad. If I could get a good bid on any job I would go purchase the implement I need. How do you guys get work?

 

[Sprinklerman]

You are on the money. I make a few more mistakes and I will be brilliant. I have to figure out a way to advertise without spending a lot and getting jobs that I cannot do. I do not have dump trucks or trailers or excavators. Just one nice tractor with implements. I do not want to seed lawns only prep for them. My main business allows me time in the summer but does not allow me to be a babysitter. I am on Craigslist but I am not getting any calls. I think the time of year may be bad. If I could get a good bid on any job I would go purchase the implement I need. How do you guys get work?

The seeding of the lawns is where the easy money is . Dont expect too much from craigslist , its cheap people wanting cheap work . It takes time but word of mouth is the best . I just did a job i got on referal , the guy had a yard about 20K sq feet , covered with english ivy , small mullbery trees and a bunch of overgrown bushes . Access was over a 3 ft tie wall . I came in with my bx 24 , used ramps to get down the wall , cleared , cut and graded , put all the debris in the woods ( pile about the size of 2 full size vans) aerated , fert and seeded . 80% of the work was done sitting on the machine , the rest was hand work . I worked this 4 hours here , 2 hours there till I was done , I had 14 hours total , plus $ 200 in materials . Fuel was minimal . I was the lowest price at $ 3400.00 .
Other companies were going to do it by hand , one bid the guy got was $ 7100 .

I only charge by the hour when there are too many variables My base rate is $ 175 . I dont do travel time , but I dont travel more than 1/2 hour from home .I do have a 4 hour minimum . 90% of the time I bid the job flat , but I describe on the contract the entire scope of the job so there are no misunderstandings .

I dont do dump trucks , I get dumpsters at a good price .

 

[avc8130]

In case anyone was wondering, most of our agricultural extensions have this all sorted out:

Estimating Farm Machinery Costs | Ag Decision Maker

That is very extensive on costs per hour to operate.

I know a few guys who do backhoe/skid steer/dozing/excavating. NONE of them will move their machines for less than $850 in NJ. That's the first day's cost, if your job is only a few hours, it's still $850 because by the time you load up and unload, it's still most of a day.

Granted a tractor will be a bit cheaper to run than a true construction machine, but you wouldn't catch me even thinking about moving my machine for $200. That sounds like a "favor", not a "job".

ac

 

[bspeedy]

I wouldn't load my tractor up and leave my property for $200.

I tend to agree. Remember - you aren't just paying for your time. You have to pay your tractor, your truck your trailer and - lastly - yourself. Truck and trailer will cost you a dollar per mile you put on them, at least. 45 minute drive is about 40 miles each way - that's 80 dollars, and I truly believe that is just COST - no profit. So... 30 minutes to load up, 1.5 hours to drive there and back, 30 minutes of unload, re-load time, 1 hour to do the job. 3.5 hours of work for you and 1 hour of work for your tractor for 120 dollars. There is no way to make money like that.