วีดีโอ

Good on you for doing that !

A great video and the perfect song for it !! I just found your channel , it was the video about explaining how you price jobs . Keep’em coming !!

It's called capitalism. Suck it up buttercup.

Same problem I see. Lots of people with equipement and zero business sense...they think they're making money, but don't know basic math. The risk/liablilty you take hauling and operating expensive equipement by itself is huge forget how much work you get done after you show up. Along with wear and tear, people don't consider this and end up getting killed in deperation. They're trading their equipement wearing out for money...almost working for free after they realize they can't sell it for anything near what they paid. I started doing work for 750 per day and 400 minimum, but then increased to 1200 per day, 500 minimum... I notice no change in getting work (grading, fixing driveways, minor clearing mostly)...people either going to be able to afford whatever you ask and are happy they found someone, or they can't afford paying you anything. I also started charging for estimates...end up wasting time with 50% of them...if somone unwilling to pay for an estimate, I guarantee they're wasting your time. I never regret over charging, but rather under charging realizing it takes longer than expected. End of the day, this type of work is a rat race against dumb people with toys they want to play with unfortunately.

Can you do an update on this pond?

How wide, long and deep is that hole?

Just broke into the industry. I base all my jobs at day rates and I tell my customers that, if the job is smaller than a day I will tell them its not going to take me all day, but with my overhead, I cant go lower than my day rate unless I can line up 2 half day jobs in a day and run them both that day so they both win by getting my half-day rate with moves. ATM im @ $1600/day for my brush hog and $2700/ day for the forestry mulcher without moves. I always give veterans, farmers, first responders, teachers, and hospital staff a break on pricing(usually eating the moves and coming down on price 10-15%). But I agree with you you gotta know your price and when to walk away otherwise if everything doesn't go perfectly you could be paying the customer to do the job before you even take the chains off the machine at the job site. I had a job that was a little over a half day but thank god I charged my day rate and the customer understood where I was coming from with my pricing because 10 minutes after leaving the shop my truck went into limp mode (ended up being water in the diesel) and that cost me about an hour of frustration.

I run into the same problem where I’m at. I’m right at your daily rate and have a minimum. But there are some guys that do poor jobs and are cheap. Yet they still keep getting work. I pride myself on the quality of work I do. But Ive figured out 99% of customers don’t care what the end result is. All they care about is price.

You get what you pay for. Cheaper is not good, it comes with problems that shows later.

You get what you pay for. I wouldn't trust someone who underbids to have pride in their work.

I was charged $1850 per acre to clear(20) 3-5 inch loblolly pine and brush on level ground, thought that was steep. Renting one was about $6k a month

Just picked up identical machine with same head yesterday. What are you rates out there curious on what to charge?

You Fags either need to be youtubers or go to work…Quit advertising to get more wanna bee’s to continue to flood the market…THE GAME IS TO BE SOLD NOT TOLD!

Sounds to me like you are doing a good job at fair prices. My son just started the same sort of work down here on north central Florida. I have been helping him the best I can (Mostly on the bookkeeping and web side). I really don't understand how people undercut him.... Also getting in with the builders down here is a pain. Unfortunately I would bet a lot of the people undercutting the bidding is uninsured people doing fly by night crap with even worse equipment. I will give you a great example. I would in Fasteners/Safety/Hardware - All industrial. I had someone come in my shop asking for fasteners to put a 2 inch receiver mount (conversion) on a factory bumper to haul a tri-axel dump trailer.... Wait... On a late 90's F150. I refused the sale. Good on all your folks doing the right thing.

Finished and filled update?

IT'S GOD

😂 the look on your dad's face

Could you add a picture of your rear bumper/winch set up please sir

Thanks for clarifying. Is it possible to clear computer to rest the machine temporarily??😊😊

Competing on price is always a race to the bottom. Compete on quality of service. Answer the phone, show up on time, over communicate.

What toolbox and fuel tank you have?

Honestly, I would be fine with the customer talking about low bids. Let the customer take the low bid give them your card and say well in my past you get what you pay for there’s no way you can stop it being control of the low bids guys like that won’t be around forever, no way is he posting or advertising pictures leaving stumps behind

I know ya pain man. Seems like every time I’ve gotten on a piece of equipment the last two weeks something has broken down. Where ya located down south. I’m in south Alabama.

I just don't know what I'm looking at????😊😊😊😊😊 lol 😊😊😊

The boom, the bolts to the boom...... broke... 😊😊

OH, REMOVE, AND RE-BOLT, LOL 😊😊😊😊😊😢😢😂😂😮😮😮❤❤❤❤❤

Wait are you saying the boom is bent?????? Then remove and Re-machine parts. Best regards 😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤

Ruining all kinds of artifacts.

So here is the question: Is it possible to do diagnostics and potentially clear the system temporarily, but you are going to have to get it fixed. For another question: Is that part you are referencing a manifold for the Hydraulics?????? If that is the case, then the sprocket gear is getting worn, kicking metal fragments into system and potentially blocking the Hydraulics. Clear and clean the Hydraulics, refill with Hydraulic fluid. 😊😊😊 hope it helps, thanks 😊😊😊 lol 😊😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😮😮😮😮🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Didn’t grease that trunnion bearing and it wore out and broke off the ⚙️

Where down south?

That other contractor won't be in business long. Stick to your plan... You're pricing isn't the problem. The other guy who is running cheap isn't putting anything away for when a big problem happens. WHEN it does he won't know how to get out because what he is making won't cover expenses then, and it's a death spiral for the business after that happens. New subscriber... Good content!

You’ve got a new subscriber here, 👍🏻👍🏻 I appreciate this video and listening to your rant. It definitely seems like you and I have a lot in common when it comes to pricing and our philosophy of business. I plan to watch more of your videos to hopefully learn more about mulching and land clearing. I’ve been a general contractor for over 22 years and I’ve almost always ran the equipment on my projects and I’ve loved it. I’m hoping to learn more about the mulching business so I’ll be watching more of your videos. I appreciate what you’ve put out to keep it up. 👍🏻👍🏻

I need to get out of El Paso and charge 6000 for three days of work that’s wild

As someone who has hired this work out dozens of times; one of the biggest recurring issues I see in your industry is that so many folks treat it as a hobby business and go out and buy the big ole expensive Kubota from their buddy at the shop; carry a couple grand a month in notes and then need to make a salary on top of it so they can drive the big truck and 'look legit'. Instafacesnap has ruined contracting because there's all these people out there who appear to be legit businesses and they're really a guy or two with a couple rented or old machines financed to the hilt and they wanna sell real estate or have a tech job on the side while hiring day workers or operators to do the actual work. Why would anyone hire Chad in the lifted Cummins to bring 2 day laborers over and run a bobcat ? These guys brains live somewhere between General Contractor and Project Manager with very few of them being actual proficient operators in their own right. While there are PLENTY of folks dabbling in the industry and doing a fine job; the fact remains that the majority of the 'land clearing and forestry' folks have a primary career and they're trying to exploit the housing and tiny home boom to make some side cash. All the more power to them. But the problem for any of us that KNOW what we want is that type person has it in their mind they want 100 an hour for their time plus a daily equipment cost. All well and good, but if I can rent equipment and hire an operator for 1/2 or 1/3 of what someone's quoting me, I know I'm being had. The work 'for the most part' doesn't require a degree or a high IQ. Certainly people get better results from life long experience in excavating but the difference between the sh1tty operator and the best operator isn't that great that you can expect to be able to charge a 1200 - 1500 day rate for mundane leveling work without clearing or haul away. If someone's just pushing dirt and leveling, sure, charge them a flat 2k for the work since you're passing up multi-day work or otherwise putting another client on hold to do a quick day job PLUS you're dragging a big piece of steel out to a site for a days worth of labor. But if you got something that's gonna cover your overhead for 3-4 days or a week or more and you and the client agree on a Flat Fee, then that should be the end of the conversation. That conversation is best served cold, up front and without hesitation. 'I'd really like to show you the kind of work we do, but for a 1 to 2 day job I have a $2500 day min and my 2 day minimum is 4k.' After that, it's fixed bid. I don't have a fixed 'per day rate' beyond 2 days'. In the end it all starts with communication up front. I recently needed 4 acres of Lob Pine mulched and leveled with a 100' circle carved out for a Chert pad. A guy (as described above) came out and quoted me his $2,500 /day rate for 5 days, for 2 guys with a Skid Bucket and a 2nd High Flo Skid Mulcher. Even with a generous reserve for maintenance and upkeep, plus fuel, delivery and pickup; the weekly rate on that Machinery is 2k for each for a total of 4k in equipment overhead for the WEEK and that's on the HIGH side for a small crew that mostly rents or leases gear. Someone that owns it and is spreading that cost out over the year probably has 2/3rds that overhead. Add in the 2 guys for a week at 80hrs and you get $112/hr each guy. Now, In what universe does an equipment operator get 200k / yr. salary ? Even if you're paying the operator (or yourself) $50/hr there's a TON of additional profit on that project. I'm very likely to consider shopping that job because you're trying to command premium rates for mundane / commodity work. Grading to a plan, precision trenching or other design based work aside; routine clearing and moving dirt should not be charged at the same rate as precision work. period. One of the major challenges small business like this will face is the pressure from clients who know the market, know the costs and challenge you to accept 'modest' profits. I don't have any issue with a small businessman who's honest, reliable and responsive; making 15% - 20% profit on their services. But knowing that most of these shops are paying dudes $25/hr on their best day to run a skid it becomes really hard to justify paying rates approaching $100 /hr. for the convenience of a 'do it all shop'. . I know you wanna cover all your costs in 1000hrs for the year, but not at my / our expense. I know I'll catch some hate for this, but if you're in the land management or excavation business to drive the lifted struck and have the ski boats and stuff, you might wanna do your time and build out a portfolio before expecting to charge those kind of rates for 'just above homeowner' grade work. And that's not directed at you personally; I'm just offering some insight from the other side of the table as to why you see yourself getting undercut. There's two parties at fault 1.) The cheap client who you probably wouldn't wanna do business with anyway and 2.) You, for not asserting your value proposition from the jump. .

What battle wounds do you have?

How do you like the Kubota hydraulic cooler? And where did you get that rear bumper with the winch?

I've delt with customers telling me that they had gotten a lower price before. And I wonder if the customer is lying just to get a better deal, or if the other contractor with a lower price even has insurance or does quality work. Maybe the other contractor is new and is trying to build his business and is offering lower prices just to get their name out there. Maybe the competitor isn't basing his price thinking of his or the company's future ie. rain delays, replacement of tools and equipment, maintenance, inflation. So when a customer tells me some other person quoted them a cheaper price, I say well I can't come down, this is what I charge for this kind of job and then I leave. I know what I'm worth. and will never lower that. The only discounts I give are military, senior citizen, repeat customer, and a discount on future jobs if the customer recommends me to a future customer and I get that job.

One thing to keep in mind...stating the obvious, but sometimes it's that simple. You work 4 days for 1k ea. I work 2 days for 2k ea. It's the same ammount of money, remember not everyone is your customer and the person that gets every job isn't pricing appropriately. You should focus on perfection and going the extra mile more then doing more hours for less, careful when discounting larger projects, the complaints you will receive will not come from your large jobs, they will come from the small quick jobs

good video. you are 100% correct. you get what you pay for. And yes your workers are a reflection of the boss. You know your worth so keep it up.

What length tilt trailer do you have? Do you feel like it’s enough for a skid/cutter m/grapple/plane?

No you don't get paid for travel time. Your first error is thinking that hourly is the way to bid a job

I'm able to do the job less than the competition because I don't have the overhead most guys do. So I'm able to transfer affordable work to the customer

Great job! Im learning from you. Tfs

It starts with debt how much do you have vs the other guy

Bro you really need to learn how to cut expenses and work on your own equipment. Those hydraulic lines can be reman for $100 to $150 and you can replace it yourself. Many operators think the need heavy equipment and feel like they need to bulldoze thru every job. I have light equipment and get the job done and at a good rate. I don't even have a big skidstreer. Finding the right attachments and being smart about using them. Having systems in place, finding ways and processes to work smarter. Learn to weld and turn wrenchs and buy used quality equipment. Don't overpay for warranties and services and give yourself a raise and open more opportunities for yourself by living within your lowest budget and not over spending or splurging thinking you deserve it because "you work so hard"

That $1k/day dude ain’t got leather seats and sunroof!

I'm thinking about starting a brush clearing business in Oregon. I'm about 30 miles east of Portland. I have a Takeuchi TB260 and I have been looking at mulching heads for it to clear some of my property. I'm also thinking about buying a skid steer because I need one for lots of things around my property, and if I bought a disk mucher for it I could do just about everything. I have my own business already so I have some free time to start up another business. Just not sure how much demand there is for this type of work and if it makes financial sense. I want to do it to make money, not play around. It gives me hope when I see videos like yours. I thought I might just start doing jobs with the excavator mulcher and see how it goes. I like your channel, I wish I was as articulate as you.

Hey brother, soon price cuts will be the new normal. 5 years from now it will be higher than it is now. Just make it through the dip that’s coming. Best wishes my man! By the way I’m seeing the same thing over here in Florence S.C.

Day rate in northeast most charge 2500-3000$ a day