Using Equipment You Already Own Can be Developed Into Business Opportunities

Truck Winch and Chain photo

Those who recreate in the outdoors often already own equipment that may be used to start their own businesses. In this particular case I am using a winch on my small-footprint Ford Ranger to pull weed trees from around the foundation of my house and out of my yard. In any large city were people are flipping older properties there will often be unwanted saplings that have started to grow next to foundations and along fence lines that need to be removed.

By using a small truck instead of the biggest, baddest truck on the block, you will be able to get into tight places where larger vehicles cannot and cause less damage to the yard. With a removable winch that can be attached to either end of the vehicle and the use of snatch blocks and tripods, trees can be removed from places that cannot be directly approached with a vehicle. So long as the winch operating cable is long enough to reach the winch and the winch can be anchored to a firm foundation, it can be used to remove these trees. This reach can be extended even further by using other lengths of cable attached to the winch’s hook or even by taking the winch off the truck, chaining it to a firm base and using it in this detached fashion.

This video also illustrates the use of a short length of chain which is used to make four wraps around the trunk of even small saplings and then tied with an overhand knot. This allows the winch cable to be hooked onto a strong chain, rather than to a length of cable where the loops are held by small clamps. The chain hook-up not only was more successful than using the cable, but many times stronger. The chain is much less likely to break while under stress than the cable-clamp connection. In any event the operator, and anyone else, should be well away from the tree being pulled.

Getting these one-half to two-inch trees pulled allows the smaller materials to be cut off with lawnmowers which will either suppress grown or kill the unwanted trees and shrubs. Using this technique I was able to extract some trees where the cable-wrapping method that I had previously used had failed or only broke the trees off, rather than pulled them. This was helpful in that the regrown tree often branched when it regrew and provided a wider base and low limbs which provided a firm grip for pulling-up the tree. Several of the trees that I successfully extracted had been stripped in previous attempts when the cable just ran up the trunk of the bent-over sapling and stripped off some bark and limbs. You can view the video below:

How and how much do you charge for such a service? I suggest that you charge on a travel expenses plus a fee for each tree pulled. Depending on the market and the difficulty of the set up, that fee could be from $20 to $50 per tree. The maximum size of the tree that you would be able to pull would be about 2-inches in diameter. Anything larger would need to be cut off and poisoned or grubbed out. The most difficult situation would be in an urban area where there was a two-foot distance between buildings that had to be cleaned. In this event the winch can be taken off the truck, attached to a railroad tie braced on the buildings and operated with an extended power cable connecting the truck with the winch. Because of the nature of the operation, the safety of the public and to prevent someone from walking away with your winch, this now turns into a two-person operation with additional labor costs.

If a builder or property owner needs your services he will require a bid for your work with time start and completion dates. This would need to be turned in and often approved before you start work. You can try for half of your charges on signing and the remainder on completion, but most commonly you will be paid after submitting an invoice at the end of your work.

This is an example of one type of business opportunity that I describe in my forthcoming book, Create Your Own Job Security: Plan to Start Your Own Business at Midlife which will be available in August. I am accepting prepaid orders for the book which may be made by using the PayPal button below. I also have a Bonus Offer that includes a Free e-mailing of the Table of Contents, Preface and a Book Chapter, Love Your Work and Live Longer. There is also a Super Bonus for the first 25 to respond which is a Free 15-minute telephone consultation. To receive either reply below and describe what you would like to receive or discuss. I will reply and set up a time and date for the consultation.