Starting my own contracting business

[roscoe erf]

Well, they all seem to disappear and never post again.

If I was a cynic I might suggest they were started by someone else to create traffic.

There was a chap Aaron and his mum who followed up after asking questions. Which was good. Think a tff member went to help and never returned!

Defected from Scotland was that to get away from wee Jimmie cranky or bossfarmer

 

[czechmate]

There must be some form of fever attached to grass that prevents invoicing, our Parish Council has had terrible problems over the years getting monthly invoices from grass cutting contractors, they all seem to prefer to just send one invoice in November. Not only does it give a false impression of the account balances for months on end, but unless your record keeping is 100% its virtually impossible to know in November what was done in March.

Hmm, maybe that’s the plan.
We used to use a man in van “mechanic” who would bill this way and his bills could be absolute works of fiction. Or put this way, now we use a main dealer, our bills are a lot less.

 

[ARW]

I started when I was 15 buying a Massey 3630 with a few problems my old man being a mechanic we soon sorted it, I passed my tractor test at 16 and starting doing odd bits of trailering ect for foke and used it for transport to general farm jobs then I brought a 2250 gal tanker a year or so later did a bit with that up and down then a contractor I worked for sold up so I brought a silage trailer few other lads did the same one the chopper and one a buckrake and away we went, since then I’ve brought two more tractors umbilical pumping kit and loads of other things works busy now and I work full time at contracting it’s taken a lot Of money and a lot of make do and mending of equipment to get what I’ve got now I’m very lucky to have a dad that’s helped me so much with fabrication of machinery and repairs of tractors, my best paying jobs are my sprayer flail mower and grassland subsoiling can work away on your own and hardly any competition around hear so I’d buy a good classic tractor (mf6290 tm155 ect) and a sprayer and a few bits like that and have a go

You aren’t the typical contractor though, you have the skills to make your own gear and repair old machines, also you have a workshop to do it in!

 

[glasshouse]

Have you ever heard the saying "pick your customers, or your customers will pick you instead"?
Meaning that to be a successful business, you have to try and steer it towards the good customers that you want to work for, and avoid the bad ones as much as possible.
Get bills out promptly, whatever, and put a 30 day payment term on. Any good customer will pay promptly, and anyone who hasn't paid within 30 days... will at least be on your radar for next time...
I could not understand our silage contractor last year... we asked him for a bill after 1st cut... nothing. Then after 2nd cut... nothing. Then after 3rd cut and wholecrop, he stings us for the whole lot, in October which was quite painful and NOT when we wanted money going out.

You should have sent a payment after first cut to account.
I

 

[glasshouse]

There must be some form of fever attached to grass that prevents invoicing, our Parish Council has had terrible problems over the years getting monthly invoices from grass cutting contractors, they all seem to prefer to just send one invoice in November. Not only does it give a false impression of the account balances for months on end, but unless your record keeping is 100% its virtually impossible to know in November what was done in March.

The job rarely changes one yr to next.
If contractors loved paperwork they wouldnt be contractors

 

[haybob]

As said , find a good paying tractor job for a few months for a good reliable bit of cash in bank. Start off as a self employed relief man on a few places. If you want to spend big, buy a digger. cheaper option hand held hedge cutter. See how it goes with small steps and build slowly

 

[davedb]

You aren’t the typical contractor though, you have the skills to make your own gear and repair old machines, also you have a workshop to do it in!

Yes I’m very lucky in that respect