LOTS of Questions

[JJK]

OK I have a ton of questions but 1st let me tell you what I’ve done and where I am in life so you can get some understanding of me.

About me: I’ll be 18 in October. I have a small landscaping company I run. I work p/t in the summer for a hardscaper/excavator. I’d like to start my own excavating company in a few years. I’ve ran a lot of skid steers, tlbs & excavators and am decent at it. (NO WHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS ANY OF YOU) My grandfather is a real estate lawyer.

Questions:

- NJ is getting low on work and I can feel it even with my small landscaping company. My grandfather says its really slow out but could probably get me a decent amount of work.
Do you think it would be wise to move out of state later in life to start up a company?

- What if I specialized in some type of excavating?

- Do you think you could make good money even though a guy with a tlb and dump truck is a dime a dozen here?

- Do you think it’s worth the money to go to an operator school even though I want to start my own business?

- How did you advertise and get your name out?

- What would you start out with? (I’m thinking a skid & mini-ex)

I’m not looking to be some huge company. Just make some good money and do something I like doing and am pretty good at (everyone I’ve worked for says I’m good with machines.)

[AtlasRob]

OK I have a ton of questions but 1st let me tell you what I’ve done and where I am in life so you can get some understanding of me.

[B]
Questions:

-

- What if I specialized in some type of excavating?

- Do you think you could make good money even though a guy with a tlb and dump truck is a dime a dozen here?

- Do you think it’s worth the money to go to an operator school even though I want to start my own business?

- How did you advertise and get your name out?

- What would you start out with? (I’m thinking a skid & mini-ex)

I’m not looking to be some huge company. Just make some good money and do something I like doing and am pretty good at (everyone I’ve worked for says I’m good with machines.)

Welcome aboard JJK, dont panic if you dont get an immediate reply, it is getting to be difficult to keep up with the number of new posts, and some regulars only get on here a couple times a week.

That said, heres my :my2c though it should be pence this side of the pond :D

I wont touch on moving, I dont know your country well enough to comment.

I would say dont specialise at start up. You need as broad a work catchment as you can get. Later on you might find yourself specialising but I would let that path come to you rather than you forcing it.

Why compete with the guys that are a dime a dozen, make yourself different. Can you provide more of a package a complete service.

I have very mixed views on schools. Personally from what you say you have done and want to do I would not recommend operating school, but other here will disagree :) You have to remember I am in UK.

You have got to get yourself out there, face to face is how you meet people and make contacts and WHO you know is as, or more important than WHAT you know. Not fair but true, you need names and numbers for contacts.

Learn you market, what do the customers, contractors, property owners, state, need. Find that out then you know what machines you need. Might be a chain saw and chipper, or mower, or mini X. What does the market need?

Good luck, homework sucks when you are at school, but this is where it will really help you. :drinkup

[JJK]

thanx for the reply man!! yah, homework sux, but I do most of it in school so its not too bad.

Also what I meant by specializing was like getting the necessary permits to do like oil tanks & septics. I agree that when starting out I need to offer as much as possible but I think here in NJ its all about the niche you find.......kind of like "Nac" - yes I've been browsing a TON on here. :notworthy


Another "?" what would you guys do?

1. Go to college for at least 2 years & then start up
2. Not go to college and startup right away
3. Go to college and run the business p/t while in college

Thanks Again,

Jared


btw - I'm really looking forward to some more ideas and answers (even if they don't have to do much with what I've said above.) :thumbsup

[RoadDoc]

Go to college. In my case, the insurance company would not have underwritten my policy if I didn't have a degree. This may not apply in your particular case, however, I know many of the courses I took for a B.S. in Construction still help me today. If you hate school as much as I did, you could work while you take courses at night or in the off season. I crammed a four year degree into eight year. (That probably has more to do with my schoolastic skills than anything) Rob is right. The more folks you can network with, the stronger start you'll have. Another plus for college and maybe a reason not to move away from what you already know....

Just some thoughts....

[JJK]

What would you go for? I was thinking business & landscape design???? I'd like to have my own company & if I stayed here I probably wouldn't see any huge work. More like new front yard/backyard, walls, etc.

I'd really like to hear from a NJ on this moving "?". I just don't see what else can be done in NJ that requires an excavator besides government work. Most of the landscapers are buying minis & skids so they've got most of the residential stuff covered. Its not like they can put much more houses in.........

[JJK]

127 views and only 2 replies................come on guys I really want your imput.

[RoadDoc]

Any degree will be better than none at all. What they are looking for is the ability to follow through over the long term. Look at college as basic training for the buisness world. Once it's done, it helps for the rest of your career. The first two years are just the basics. This gives you time to nail down a major. Once you have a chance to explore the market for the type of work you want your business to be in, that will help you pick a major for school.

By the way, front yards and back yards and walls aren't such a bad business to be in. There are many many profitable companies here in Atlanta that focus only on that market. With the economy slowing home sales, people will be looking to spruce up what they have.....

[JJK]

What do you think of getting a degree in Landscape Design & then transfering to Business Management or something along those lines?

Yah, I know its good money (I actually work for one p/t) and its not a bad idea...........I'd also like to do other work as well. Just want to hear from some guys to see if they think there will be enough work in a couple years....

[Turbo21835]

I cant say a lot about college, was never one for school. That being said, something to do with civil engineering and something to do with business will give you a good groundwork for an excavation company. Guys with a truck and tlb are a dime a dozen, and a lot of them aren't worth a dime. You mentioned something about a skid and mini. Ill tell you, that is a versatile combo. Plus all you need is a pickup and trailer. You know landscaping. You said youve been around hardscaping.

My suggestion is to go along these lines. Offer a service that no one else does. Take on all the little pain in the rear jobs. Someone wants some shrubs pulled out, go do it. Give 110% Make your connections that way. Take on the little jobs the big guys wont, or cant do. Your profit margin is going to be way tighter than theirs. You dont have huge overhead. It will take some time, so start doing this during evenings, and on weekends. Rent equipment, rather then taking out a loan to buy it. When you have the cash saved up, then buy it. This way you can afford for that machine to sit during slow times. Unlike a lot of guys right now who are giving jobs away cheap just to pay for their machines and keep their guys around.

As time goes, you will build a network by word of mouth. People will call you first. You can slowly and have sustainable growth with this. It starts out, someone needs a stump pulled out of their backyard. They know someone who needs some landscaping done around their house. They refer you to someone who wants a driveway. That person refers you to someone who needs a basement dug, driveway put in, septic system put in, and the yard landscaped. You see how it grows.

As for the economy. It roars for a while, then it slows for a while. Its natural. Work may be slowing right now, but in a few years it will be back on the upswing. You just need to learn how to keep steady during the slow times, and you will grow during the busy times. Word of mouth will get you farther than anything. Dont attempt to make a career subbing work of the big contractors. When times get slow, your the first thing they are going to cut out of the pie. Now your sitting trying to find work. Get a good customer base, supplement that with doing work for local and state government, or vice versa.

Right now im working for a guy that started his business just about the time things got slow around here. He does no advertising. He has a listing in the local yellow pages, and hes only gotten 4-5 jobs in the past 3 years from that. The rest of his work is from word of mouth. At this point in time he is scheduled out until late august, early september. Hes still out looking at jobs 2-3 days a week. He owns his pickup, a dump truck, trailer, and backhoe. Im his swing person right now, I operate, and labor a little bit, plus drive the dump truck. He has one other guy working with us right now. He has so much work comming that he is going to buy a decent used 20 ton excavator. Baby steps young sir, baby steps. They will take you to where you want to go.

Good luck

[JJK]

Thanx man!!! You guys are the best on here! Some AWESOME advice so far keep it coming!!

And yes I've been taking most of those pita jobs. lol Right now I'm mowing which brings in a steady stream of landscape work.

[RoadDoc]

If Landscape Design is interesting to you then that is as good a place as any to start. Turbo21835 has given you solid advice for the rest. Business is about managing your risks. Mowing sounds like your already off to a solid start.

Good Luck!

[JJK]

Thanx guys for the great advice! Now I'm out looking for a job.......not many guys hiring this year. :(

I only mow a little over 20 lawns and don't have enough work to keep me busy 4-5 days a week.

[hammerdwn20]

any luck yet?

[mtb345]

its picking season for const companys a lot of people out there with yrs of exp. nobody wants to admit but were in it good luck in finding work

[JJK]

any luck yet?

nope. going to talk to a friend of my dads early next week. no one's even hiring for laborers right now. pretty slow around here. Drove past a contractor today, just about EVERY one of his machines were at his yard which is a rare sight. :o

[ndbackpacker]

Since you're not even 18 yet, it's probably a bit premature to recommend relocating, but I will tell you that the economy isn't slowing everywhere. Depending on how long the current slow-down lasts, you might want to consider relocating. I just last month moved to Grand Junction, Colorado and there are just about unlimited laborer type jobs, due to the oil and gas boom around here, some of which could eventually lead to equipment operation. There are other areas of the country that are also booming due to the oil and gas industry, which is pretty much recession proof. I just thought I'd throw that out there as something to consider.

[hammerdwn20]

i dont know how your going about finding a job but i had no problem after about two weeks. Then i had to decide between 4. just keep looking and something will come around.

[JJK]

i dont know how your going about finding a job but i had no problem after about two weeks. Then i had to decide between 4. just keep looking and something will come around.

been using the yellow pages. two guys sounded interested and said they'd give me a call next week to set something up. :)

[Wolf]

been using the yellow pages. two guys sounded interested and said they'd give me a call next week to set something up. :)

try the bluebook also . . . thebluebook.com

tons of listings there, including good email contact information

also craigslist is a great source.

[hammerdwn20]

i also found craigslist to be a good source. i posted up a resume and got a great offer.

if you dont hear from your two guys dont be afraid to call them. A lot of the time theyre so busy they forget. If your somewhat ok financially dont settle with the first offer you get unless its everything your looking for. ie. hours, pay, benefits, type of work and will you get laid off in the winter. Also try the job out for a day or two to see how things are run. are they organized? could you work with these people everyday?

If you havent already get your CDL.

[diversified man]

JJK what are you looking to do as far as work wise i have a lot of site work going on right now. contact me back if you are intrested