Bobcat Work

arnoldjch

I have been entertaining the idea for some time in getting into the site work trade. I want to start it off by providing bobcat services in my geographically areas. Well I have had some experience(operator) in this trade mainly because of my brother. He was into this business a couple of years ago ( later sold it ) so pretty much when it comes to bobcat work its priced by the HR. or per completion of job.

But my main obstacle is where I'm located is one of the places, if not the place, were the housing slump has hit hardest. Not so much construction going on, we are basically in a halt. In conclusion, is hard to get work.

Since many of you are in this industry which type of contractors usually are more in need of bobcat services? Is it better to price by the HR. (like most) or per completion? Any other inputs are much appreciated!

rino1494

Skid steer services are mainly needed by homeowners who need some driveway stone spread or some small grading done. Pricing by the job is where you make your most money, if you bid it right. You might wanna start off by the hour till you get an idea of how long things take. Set a minimum like 3 or 4 hrs and charge for moblization. Good luck to you.

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tgeb

Welcome to the site!

A couple questions come to mind right away,

Why did your brother sell out? Was it due to the market not being able to support him, or was he doing OK and left the business for other reasons.

Have you talked with him looking for advice, he knows the area and may have some old connections, as well as you could learn from his mistakes.

If construction is down, you are going to likely have a tough time getting started as there is probably a feeding frenzy for any of the work that is available.

It's a tough time right now to get started but I am sure it can be done, you might get some jobs and simply rent a loader for a week or month and see how it goes before making too big of a commitment.

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Tom

www.gebcon.com

arnoldjch

Well, in regards of my brother he was simply tired of this industry. He was tired of long working hours, a lot of stress and the responsibilities involved.( in my opinion he didn't hired a competent office personnel so he had to basically do everything) He was able to manage all this things well. But another opportunity arose in which he was going to be better off financially and wasn't going to have all the hassle that he had with his site work company. So he sold it.

I worked with him as an operator. I mainly operated bobcats, backhoes, dump trucks, rollers and mini-excavators.

Well he has some connections that he can refer me too. They can give me some work from time to time but nothing steady, since basically I'm very limited to what I can do since I only have a bobcat ( the piece of equipment he let me have before he sold the company)

But as for now things are not looking so good for S. Florida in the construction industry

tnmtn

i am new to this bussiness as well but have noticed this seems to be a popular line of work for many to try to start over in. me included. as far as bobcat work, things are tough and with the expenses associated with going into this legitamately i think you will be hard pressed to make it worth the time and effort. the guys i see that are doing well with machinery use it to save time on their jobs. ex.: plumbers that repair sewer lines having their own mini ex. or landscapers using their skids to do their work more efficiently. if you have good enough connections anything is possible. it seems more and more gc's are having their own skid steers that are on site for their needs. and homeowners are tightening their belts a little in my neck of the woods lately.
good luck,

dayexco

what's scary about getting into "bobcat" work...is is nationally, if it's anything like locally.....you have a dairy farmer that has a skiddy, an uncle that has a skiddy, a 3rd cousin that has a skiddy...and they all work for $40 an hour...i wish you well.

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someday, i'll be as patient as Nick.

joasis

I bought my last Bobcat from a guy who wanted to do job site cleanup and basic skid steer work. He invested nearly 20k, I bought it all a year later for 10K.

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WVBartMan

If I were you, the only way I would get into Skid-steer work is on a part time basis. I would find a full time job somewhere and do your skid-steer business in the evening and weekends. In your business plan/model I would focus on obtaining enough work to pay for the skid-steer and the truck/trailer it took to haul it along with your Excavating Liability Insurance. If the business grew sufficiently enough to operate it full time then and only then would I consider leaving a steady paycheck for your own business.

TempestV

My dad runs a company that mostly does remodels and additions. He frequently hires a guy with a skid steer to do his excavation because it's often in a tight confined space and a skid steer is the only thing that will fit.

Marcus

well no offense but im hoping that this tough winter will weed out some of the part time mine ex and skids out.
With that said dont forget that you can market all of the attachments that go with those skid steers. There is so much stuff so make a list of attachments, market to all of those thiungs associated and rent the attachment as you go. I think you would be able to do alot of different things, increase your market size.

Alan Mesmer

Im not sure about FL. but NE Ohio is in the dumps right now. I know for sure that a startup bobcat business would be a tough road. As others said I think I would try to do it part time at first and see how well you can keep up with insurances and other costs. If you determine that you can go it full time then go for it. For me personally business right now is much harder than 8 years ago when I started out. The big guys are looking at smaller jobs that they normally would never have looked at and the small guys are cutting each others throats to survive.
It seems that almost everyone now has a mini-ex and a skid steer so you need to somehow seperate yourself from others by offering something different. Find a niche or a hole in your local market for something you can offer that others can't or are not willing to do. Some homeowners like it when you can do their work on weekends so they can be there to observe the job. Many times I have worked weekends being watched over by a homeowner only to have them add more billable work for me to do for them. Stay flexible and creative and you will have more potential success.
Good luck.
Alan

Blackhammer

Florida is in the pits right now. People are renting the skid service for 40-60 per hour without any trip charge or minimum. I have a track loader and use it daily. Haven't really gotten any calls for only skidd work.

arnoldjch

You are right! Also, since things aren't so well around here and due to competition( bobcat servicemen) many GC and competitors drive down prices.

I have work for the bobcat from time to time as I stated above. But nothing permanent. I don't see any signs of light through out the remainder of the year.

Although, what Ive decided to do is just to this in part time basis while we wait for things to speed up in this part of the region