New To Plowing

[toast]

Hi gentlemen. Just thought I'd say hi and share a picture of the truck. Looking to get some more ideas as far as plowing goes as this will be my first season plowing. Thanks for looking.

[hockeypro1411]

Looks like a solid plow rig! Get a salter for the bed, and get to work. What do you plan to plow with it? A set-up like that could bring huge returns if you can get some commercial parking lot contracts. Good luck!

[Kodiak450]

That truck would make a real good set up! Get a V sander in the back, or build up the side walls and put a nice self feeding style spreader on it (the kind the DOT trucks use) and you tilt the bed to feed the spreader.

 

You say this is your first time plowing? Or running your own snow plowing business? You're pretty well set off nice to take on commericial lots with that truck. Just make sure if you do decide to go with a spreader, make sure the spreader can handle salt/sand mix. Some spreaders are limited and have problems with certain kinds on de-icing products. Whats cool about that truck is you can load up at a supplier and just tarp up the bed on the unused product. Might want to consider a spray in bed liner for it, so that the salt doesn't eat away at the metal over time.

[toast]

Thanks a lot for the advice and responses guys. This will be my first season plowing as a business owner as I've had some experience in the past. I picked up a pretty solid liability insurance plan up to $1,000,000 so I don't get bankrupted by a loss suit. I've also designed some flyers and plan on making myself visible during storms to pick up my first customers. If you guys have any advice I'm all ears.

 

I agree about the bedliner idea and was gonna use some rust converter and roll on some herculiner. Any thoughts on this?

[Kodiak450]

Flyers can work, but your better of thinking about investing in your local yellow book. I believe the yellow book cut off line is coming up so if you want to get in for 2010 i would look into it right away. $1,000,000,00 is what I have for a policy, I also tell my customers that i am not responsible for any slips and falls. Having them sign a contract stating that is also a good idea. I never had any problems before with slips and falls, but if you ever come across a lead that asks about slips and falls think twice about taking them on. Also tell your clients that they are responsible for staking their driveways/lots. Another tip is you'll need to stack snow, and most often i push it out on the lawns and there is a good chance the plow can scrap up the grass. In this case I usually will reseed in Spring for no charge, but some people can be real sensitive about their lawns. Just practice witht hat truck and get familar with it, especially near parked vehicles, you don't want to have any accidents.

 

You have 4wd on that truck?

[toast]

Flyers can work, but your better of thinking about investing in your local yellow book. I believe the yellow book cut off line is coming up so if you want to get in for 2010 i would look into it right away. $1,000,000,00 is what I have for a policy, I also tell my customers that i am not responsible for any slips and falls. Having them sign a contract stating that is also a good idea. I never had any problems before with slips and falls, but if you ever come across a lead that asks about slips and falls think twice about taking them on. Also tell your clients that they are responsible for staking their driveways/lots. Another tip is you'll need to stack snow, and most often i push it out on the lawns and there is a good chance the plow can scrap up the grass. In this case I usually will reseed in Spring for no charge, but some people can be real sensitive about their lawns. Just practice witht hat truck and get familar with it, especially near parked vehicles, you don't want to have any accidents.

 

You have 4wd on that truck?

 

Great idea about the Yellow Book. I was thumbing through my local book today and noticed about a handful of guys advertising for snow removal (expected to see more). Going to list in there for sure! I am going to go ahead and lock up my name by getting a license but don't want to get screwed with taxes. Any advice on a good way to be legit w/o screwing yourself in taxes?

 

The truck does have 4wd and after reading the thread about staying engaged I determined that the snow conditions should dictate what mode I use.

[Kodiak450]

Flyers can work, but your better of thinking about investing in your local yellow book. I believe the yellow book cut off line is coming up so if you want to get in for 2010 i would look into it right away. $1,000,000,00 is what I have for a policy, I also tell my customers that i am not responsible for any slips and falls. Having them sign a contract stating that is also a good idea. I never had any problems before with slips and falls, but if you ever come across a lead that asks about slips and falls think twice about taking them on. Also tell your clients that they are responsible for staking their driveways/lots. Another tip is you'll need to stack snow, and most often i push it out on the lawns and there is a good chance the plow can scrap up the grass. In this case I usually will reseed in Spring for no charge, but some people can be real sensitive about their lawns. Just practice witht hat truck and get familar with it, especially near parked vehicles, you don't want to have any accidents.

 

You have 4wd on that truck?

 

Great idea about the Yellow Book. I was thumbing through my local book today and noticed about a handful of guys advertising for snow removal (expected to see more). Going to list in there for sure! I am going to go ahead and lock up my name by getting a license but don't want to get screwed with taxes. Any advice on a good way to be legit w/o screwing yourself in taxes?

 

The truck does have 4wd and after reading the thread about staying engaged I determined that the snow conditions should dictate what mode I use.

 

 

 

You mean register yourself a trade name? Usuaully that is doen at a county court house or where ever your state holds the taxition division for your county. I had to scroll through these big huge books and make sure the name I wanted to use was not being used. Then there was a $30 precessing fee or something. This fee will very from state to state. Once you register it, noone can use it in your state. With taxes, once you are a registered business, or sole prop: You go to taxation office and get a tax id. Once you get your tax id, you can now legally collect your states sales tax. To be honest when I was starting off, I didn't go that route until my 2nd or 3rd year.

 

With those trucks, the duallys can be a PITA in the snow. For one you don't have beneift of having aggressive tires, so what you want to do is weight that truck down. What size engine is in it?

 

Your biggest challenge the first year is getting noticed and building up clients. If I were to start over, I would of immediatly jumped into the YB. It will take about a year cause it has to be circulated ect. You can also take out a small add in a local paper, but it can get pricey. Also there are ways to advertise online with places like google for free! I get 50% of my clients from online. Use to be able to register for alot of different places online for free, but that all changed over the years. Flyers are a PITA cause you gotta pass them out door to door and techanically you are not suppose to by a federal law, put anything in any mailbox. You can also drive around neigborhoods and hope to get flagged down. always good to carry a laborer with you to also act as a leg man to knock on neighbors doors while you are plowing a drive in the neighborhood. Hopefully the people that flag you down, will be willing to be added to your route as regulars. I'm not sure what state you are from, but pricing varies alot by area. I am from the bulleyes area where pricing is very good here. But am not in an area that sees over 50" for the year, sometimes if we're lucky.

 

I charge a base price up to 4" and then charge $10 an inch after 4" of snow fall, and higher amounts like $15 - $20 for commericial properties. Another factor is the current recession were in, it's not gonna go away that simple and fast and will take time. So don't get too frustrated if you can't build up cliental your first year. But great thing about the snow removal industry is people are willing to pay a contractor to plow because A: They need to get out of their driveway for work right away. B: They need to have a driveway clear incase they ever needed emergency medical service, ect. That plow you have on that truck is a great plow to have, it might lack having a back drag edge like mine, however it will do a really good job and fisher's trip edge is one of the better designs out there for that gen plow. Not sure if you read my maintenance thread, but there is some good valuable tips you can pick up from there. Like getting some isoheet (drygas) and adding a couple of capfuls to the fluid to prevent any moisture from freezing. Also get yourself some spare parts and keep them with you. Hose lines, valves, heat gun or a hair dryer. Would help if you had a inverter installed too! Change that fluid annually and take off the pump for the off season and store it away from moisture.

 

Also would be a real good idea to pick yourself up a light beacon, you can find some inexpensive ones at local auro part stores. One thing you want to be is noticed when plowing, this way if some yahoo does try to sue you for some reason, you have a beacon light. I personally don't think you really have to worry about much law suits when it comes to plowing, cause at one time it got real out of control with bogus suits. But thanks to harsh new laws for bogus claims, these bogus claims have went away practically. At least I have not heard of any of recent over the last 10 years from other people I know who are also in the business. As like with any business, it takes time to grow. The snow plowing industry is big bucks and you can make some serious money. One year I was literally making $1500 an hour. This was mainly from having X amount of commericial accounts and residential, that when we got a dusting - 2" these accounts had to be serviced and $1500 was the amount of money I made just from doing these accounts. And it only took me an hour to get them done. Generally you are doing $500 and up and hour for seasoned contractors and ofcoarse there is no limit on how much you can make, sky's the limit.

 

Another thing..Once you get your phone number out there, you might eventially get calls from snow management companies. These companies are middle men, who own accounts to corporations and are looking to pay you squat to plow their lots. If you want and if you are lucky. Find out the information from the snow management companies about the lots they need plowed, go to the locations and speak with the manager. You might just be able to acquire the account and get them to sign up with you. These snow management companies are brokers and are looking to make money off you from sitting at their desk in their office. I've managed to acquire quite a few of them over the years and take these accounts from them.

[Kodiak450]

Nevermind about the beacon light. Just noticed in your picture you posted you already have a strobe on it. I would think of maybe adding hidden strobes or LED's into the tail lights so the rear is visible. that over hang from the bed, limits the strobes visibility from behind you. LED's are the newer technology out there and I plan on upgrading once the price becomes reasonable.

 

If you pick up some commericial accounts that have alot of sidewalks, you might want to consider investing in a snow thrower to save you time and money. The DOT trucks always push snow onto the sidewalks and it can add up in depth rather quickly and having to have yourself or your laborer/s shovel all that heavy snow will take time and toll on your back. If I were you, I would recommend investing in a snow thrower if the account has alot of sidewalks. Don't just go out and purchase anyone, get yourself a good one, one that would hold up. I've seen guys go out and get inferior throw away kinds like Murray and other cheap brands and the hassel of down time can add up quite a bit. A buddy of mine who also has a snow plowing business, used to practically buy a new snow thrower every 2 seasons cause he would buy the cheap brands and they would not hold up for commericial use. Finally he took the plunge and got a real nice Toro commericial unit and it is built really well. No cheap, flimsy hardware on it and is a soild machine.

[pistonslap]

Quote "I would venture to say, I'm getting $10 a ft in most cases" Do you mean you for a twenty foot driveway you get paid $200.00? Or do you charge that annually??

[Kodiak450]

Quote "I would venture to say, I'm getting $10 a ft in most cases" Do you mean you for a twenty foot driveway you get paid $200.00? Or do you charge that annually??

 

 

Sorry, I had an unfixed typo, thanks for pointing that out.

 

To answer your question about a $20ft drive. I used to live in an area that had small driveways like that and charged $40-$50 for them (depending on grade of driveway).

[toast]

Thanks would be an understatement Hen Avenger. I am definitely gonna take a bunch of your advice and apply it to my own customers.

 

I am in New York by the way...

 

My next research is going to be about whether or not I can pile snow across the street from a residential driveway. I am thinking this method would be easier as I can back into the drive and push it all out without turning around too much. In theory this is a good idea but since I am a noob I'll have to find out what works best and within the limits of the law. I am looking forward to the snowfall so I can have some fun already!

 

Thanks again Hen for the advice!

[Kodiak450]

I'm not familar about NY laws regarding snow, but I would assume if you pile snow across the street, as long as it does not cause an obstruction on a sidewalk or a driveway entrance, it is ok. Other thing you can do (if it is possible) is push the snow onto the customers lawn. I used to do this quite a bit. And if they have children, they usually love it because you make a huge snow mound for them. Just be careful you do not get hung up in the snow.

 

I once got hung up on a mound and had to use 4lo to get out and wound up waking up my customer at 3am. Though he wasn't pissed or anything, he actually brought me out a check. I was trying to stack more snow and push it in further, this mound was huge! It was already taller then the roof of his garage. When you get those really big snow storms, and are plowing in areas like your state which is very populated, you have limits on where to push the snow. I remember the Presidents day blizzard of 03, my customers driveways were barracaded in from 10' plus snow piles from the city trucks plowing their street. This one account i literally could not plow it because there was no where to push the snow. Wounded up using the snow thrower and discharging all the snow onto this one area which made a huge pile on the lawn.

[toast]

I recently put up some flyers in my local stores and got a call within the first day. I gave a free estimate today and I'm optimistic that more calls will follow. I also picked up my local paper and I'm in the process of listing in there. Thanks again Hen for the advice and I'll be sure to update as things progress.

[Kodiak450]

I recently put up some flyers in my local stores and got a call within the first day. I gave a free estimate today and I'm optimistic that more calls will follow. I also picked up my local paper and I'm in the process of listing in there. Thanks again Hen for the advice and I'll be sure to update as things progress.

 

Congrats!

 

Also do flyers in some post offices, I had success from PO's when I started off with flyers. Also deli's are good too.