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Seeking Advice to Start Snow Removal Business

5K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  ceoshank88 
#1 ·
Hello Folks,

I am new to all this, so please give me some time to catch onto all the details, and get familiar with this website.

I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so we are no stranger to snow. I am currently working a part-time job and starting college full-time later this month. I wanted to inquire about the possibility of starting my own snowplowing business, where I live we average 218 inches of snow.

A rough outline of my business plan is as follows:

Truck $20,000
Boss V-Plow $5,000
Extras (Lights, etc.) $1,000
1 Year of Commercial and General Liability Insurance $4,000

I am estimating my monthly expenses as the following:
Maintenance $420
Accounting $100
Fuel $500

What am I missing?

I want to know how many accounts you think I could handle (I am thinking just residential), and what you think my revenue, and profit would be. Also, what software is good for planning the routes, and keeping a log of times, conditions etc?

Here is the truck I was looking at: https://www.keweenawautomotive.com/.../Used-Truck/Houghton-MI/13098983/Details.aspx
 
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#3 ·
Hello Folks,
where I live we average 218 inches of snow.

A rough outline of my business plan is as follows:

Truck $20,000
Boss V-Plow $5,000
Extras (Lights, etc.) $1,000
1 Year of Commercial and General Liability Insurance $4,000

I am estimating my monthly expenses as the following:
Maintenance $420
Accounting $100
Fuel $500

What am I missing?
Houghton can get over gets 300" of snow.

what does $100 accounting mean?
Do you have a business like a LLc, INC or a CO?
you do know why having a business set up before hand is advantageous

Are you going to Gogebic community collage?
what are you studding? ski area management?

a job, school and start a business?
I'm thinking you are butting off more that you can handle.

if you still are thinking that you want to plow some snow.
forget the insurance, but register a LLC then post a add at the grocery store or any place with a notice-board and just plow a few residential drives when you can.

are you going to skip school for however ever long the storm lasts?

are you able to fix things yourself on the fly or will you need to find a good shop to fix your truck and plow?

there are a lot of plowjockeys in Houghton already, and its a cutthroat business so unless you can plow 24-7 , have a in, or are able to acquire $30-40k in work and have a back up truck your better off spending your money on school and beer.


PS your going to get a higher quality response at the other place" plow ...site" that is.
why anyone would post here for help is beyond me, connor,
 
#5 ·
Cost of Snow plowing in Michigan
$68.75 per hour (Range: $52.50 - $85.00)
$44.38 per visit for a typical driveway and sidewalk (Range: $35.63 - $53.13)

In the UP pricing will be on the lower side of the scale.

A residence with a 1 to 4 car driveway will take a snow plow a few swipes to clear the driveway. It will not take much more time to clean a 4 car driveway versus a 1 car driveway so that should not drive the price up. It will cost $25 to $50 per visit to plow a driveway. For most storms below 12" of snow.

most residential customers will also want their sidewalk cleared.
It may cost an extra $5 to $20 to shovel the walkway.
 
#8 ·
Where does the college kid just starting college get his money?

.A $25-$30k loan plus for truck &plow, Add in the rest of life’s costs like ,snowblower, salt, insurance, rent, Utilities ,beer , girls, school,Food and miscellaneous items is a fairly large nut to carry every month for a full time student.

Then during winter break(Christmas) and spring break you’ll be staying put in case it snows.
 
#16 ·
Snowplowing can earn you a lot of money however, it comes with a lot of headaches. Chances are when it snows, school will be closed so the conflict will be minimal. However, the biggest issue is the truck/plow breaking. Even if you purchase all new equipment, it will break. It is a given. You hit something you can't see under the snow or you skid into something. And if you truck gets disabled on your first account, then you may not be able to finish your route for the day and chances are, you will lose customers. This is also predicated on your ability to plow.

That being said if you want to dabble into the business, I would suggest you work for an existing company where you earn less money but eliminate a lot of the risks. You still will lose revenue if you break down but you will have support to help you get back up an running and the accounts will still be taken care of.

Snowplowing paid for many trucks of mine and I made a very good business of it with a peak of 5 trucks working at once. Now I have all my trucks paid and I sold most of them and the only driveways I plow are mine and a few family members for free. I gave away all my accounts to my workers.
 
#22 ·
You could probably make it work if you have a backup truck or someone to watch your back that you can trust. Plan on sacrificing some, meaning partying, holidays maybe, evenings, early morning. Start small and be sure any debt is manageable. You have to be patient and work hard,you have to survive the bad times and don't think your over the hump during good times. it will take a little while to get your name out there. Good Luck
 
#23 · (Edited)
Jumping into the snowplowing biz in Michigan? Sounds like a smart move given all the snow you guys get. Your initial cost breakdown looks pretty thorough. But don't forget to set aside some cash to get the word out about your business.

On how many houses you can handle, it's kinda like a puzzle. You've got to figure out how many driveways you can clear without overdoing it. Remember, travel time and snow heaviness will play a big role. For software, I haven't used anything for snowplowing, but I did use a route planner back when I was doing delivery gigs.

Oh, and a quick tip from my side hustle days - keeping an eye on the competition is key. I used this AdSpy tool for my online stuff. Knowing what others in your field are up to can really help you stay on top.
 
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