Not excavating but I've been doing my own thing for 12 years. Worked in the family business for 20+ years before that.
Operating the equipment will be about half of your job.
Some of the things you can look forward to spending your time doing......
Estimating and billing, book keeping, obtaining business licenses, maintaining equipment, calling on builders and other potential customers.
Some overhead items you may or may not have considered....
Phone, Fax, website, insurance on trucks and equipment, liability insurance, underground insurance, unemployment, workers comp and medical insurance for your employees, you'll probably need to be bonded, you'll probably need multiple business licenses which may or may not require training to obtain and renew, advertising, office supplies, fuel, licenses for your trucks and trailers, you'll likely have some continuing education in regards to safety and environmental issues.
You'll need a shop or at least a pole barn where you can store and service your equipment. Don't forget the tools you'll need to service everything.
For residential and land clearing work you'll want an excavator, a TLB, and a crawler loader with a 4 in 1 or grapple. For finish grading/landscaping you'll want a small utility or big compact utility tractor with a loader, box scraper, and maybe a harley rake. You'll need a dump truck and a trailer. Two trucks would be better. You'll need a driver/laborer and possibly a second laborer if you're doing septic installations.
You'll get an education about liens, waivers, draws, and general contractors that are very slow to pay, and sometimes don't pay.
I suggest talking to your local building department and find out what your license, bond and insurance requirements will be. Find out what your trucks and equipment will cost and if the dealers offer financing. You may want to consider leasing. Talk to a banker, and talk to an accountant.
As far as standing out from the crowd.... The best way to do that is with service, service, service! Under promise and over deliver. Never ever tell a customer that you can do something or complete a job that you can't follow through on. Inevitably you'll still have some unexpected "issues". Take your lumps and move on. The last thing you want is an unhappy customer.
Pricing.... many newbies think they have to have the lowest price. In a tough economy pricing becomes more important to customers but price shoppers are usually the worst customers. They are the ones that will try to get you to do extra work for free. Just say no.
There's a company called R.S. Means that makes estimating manuals and software. That can be a good help to you. If you don't have a business background you may want to take business and record keeping classes at a community college.
If you want to start up in 2012 you should be doing things now to get prepared.
Good luck!
