just wondering if its worth it I have a 97 Dodge 15000 and just wondering on what plow would you perfer cause I have no clue between Meyer,fisher,western,diamond and all the others out there.and any other info would be greatly appreceitated thanks Mark
thinking about getting into plowing
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i prefur boss plows... there well built and dependiable, fast on and off... but boss, fisher, western, blizzard. all make good plows if your going to buy a plow i would see what is available in your area and what kind of dealer support you can get for the plow... dealers that are open 24hrs during a storm is also a good selling point... its always nice to be able to get parts when ya have a breakdown in the middle of the night...
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Adam's plowing already gave you a good answer on what type of plow. A lot really depends on dealer support, but if you stay with a commercial type plow you'll at least have a good start.
(This is something I had been working on. You might find some of it useful.)
Things to consider in starting a snowplowing business (besides pricing).
1. Do I have the time to commit to plowing? If you are unavailable during particular times of the day or periods of time, you’ll be severely limited in the types of accounts you can take on.
2. What equipment do I have now? What will I purchase/lease before beginning to plow? If you only have a pickup and plow, you won’t want to go after accounts that need salting. If you have a ¾ ton pickup with an 8’ blade and a tailgate spreader, you won’t go after a 50 acre mall.
3. What is my market area? The closer together the accounts and closer to your business office (likely your home), the better.
4. What type of accounts will I pursue? Residential? Commercial? Industrial? Each will affect several things including type of insurance and equipment needed.
5. Do I have the expertise and equipment for this type of account? (obviously you’re asking this when you look over a proposed job).
6. For any particular job, you will need to consider - How am I going to approach this job, where am I going to push/stack the snow and will there be enough room for future pushes? What is going to be affected by where I plan to pile snow? Will I need to have snow removed from the site? You need to have the equipment for snow removal or arrange for it.
7. A big consideration: How am I going to handle the inevitable equipment failure? Do you have friends you can call on to fill in for you? Do you have backup equipment? How about if you’re sick and can’t get out? This is a real problem - even people using brand new equipment can tell you stories of how their $35,000 brand new truck bit the dust and spent the next week in the shop. In the meantime, they missed out on thousands of dollars because they didn’t have a backup truck.
8. Do I have the required insurance for the type of accounts I’m pursuing?
This is just a partial list. I’m sure others can chime in, also. Notice I have not even mentioned looking at how much to charge. Another good resource would be to develop a Business Plan. For an example of that, visit the Small Business Administration web site.
(This is something I had been working on. You might find some of it useful.)
Things to consider in starting a snowplowing business (besides pricing).
1. Do I have the time to commit to plowing? If you are unavailable during particular times of the day or periods of time, you’ll be severely limited in the types of accounts you can take on.
2. What equipment do I have now? What will I purchase/lease before beginning to plow? If you only have a pickup and plow, you won’t want to go after accounts that need salting. If you have a ¾ ton pickup with an 8’ blade and a tailgate spreader, you won’t go after a 50 acre mall.
3. What is my market area? The closer together the accounts and closer to your business office (likely your home), the better.
4. What type of accounts will I pursue? Residential? Commercial? Industrial? Each will affect several things including type of insurance and equipment needed.
5. Do I have the expertise and equipment for this type of account? (obviously you’re asking this when you look over a proposed job).
6. For any particular job, you will need to consider - How am I going to approach this job, where am I going to push/stack the snow and will there be enough room for future pushes? What is going to be affected by where I plan to pile snow? Will I need to have snow removed from the site? You need to have the equipment for snow removal or arrange for it.
7. A big consideration: How am I going to handle the inevitable equipment failure? Do you have friends you can call on to fill in for you? Do you have backup equipment? How about if you’re sick and can’t get out? This is a real problem - even people using brand new equipment can tell you stories of how their $35,000 brand new truck bit the dust and spent the next week in the shop. In the meantime, they missed out on thousands of dollars because they didn’t have a backup truck.
8. Do I have the required insurance for the type of accounts I’m pursuing?
This is just a partial list. I’m sure others can chime in, also. Notice I have not even mentioned looking at how much to charge. Another good resource would be to develop a Business Plan. For an example of that, visit the Small Business Administration web site.
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One other thought i happen to have if you decide you want to get into the plowing i would definatly plow for someone else as a sub for the first year or two till ya get some pushing time under your belt this way you will be able to better estimate how long it takes you to complete jobs of different sizes and learn some of the other aspects of the job while working for someone else also it allows you to focus on the plowing while they have the job of being the one to secure and collect $ from the customers... also when subbing if you have a breakdown you dont have to try and find someone to cover your route so you dont lose all your customers. and the final advantage to subing is if you decide that plowing is not for you then you can get out without having a bunch of commitments with customers to break...
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