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25 contributions to OWNR OPS
Slope pricing help
Was out to quote an 8 acre lot on a fairly decent incline with light/med vegetation tree removal. Since I have a 333g I would like to rent a piece of equipment (like an FAE PT175). Besides the rental price, how would you quote this job assuming they wanted all the little stuff gone but leave the big trees? Note: Each line is 10ft
Slope pricing help
0 likes • 4h
Austin's build-up is the right way round. One thing I'd add from the rental side, because that's where these go wrong for me. When you rent for a specific job, the clock doesn't start when you start working. It starts when it lands on your yard. Weather day, a breakdown, waiting on the owner to move something, that's all on your dime. On a slope job with an unknown production rate that exposure is bigger than people plan for, because if you're wrong about acres per day you're wrong about rental days too and the two compound. Two things I'd write into the quote. A daily rate for anything beyond the estimated days, so an overrun doesn't come out of your margin. And leave the big trees defined in writing, with a diameter, because light and medium vegetation means one thing to you and something else to the owner when he's watching you work. What's the rental running per day, and how many days have you got it budgeted for?
FB Ads
Really struggling with my FB ads here.. On our 3rd creative, this one has been in the 'Learning' phase for over 5 days now. Only received 3 leads so far. I have an "intro" attached to my lead form that talks about minimum pricing (trying to weed out poor leads) but the intro isn't showing up on the ad side for potential clients.. Who can help with FB ad questions?
FB Ads
0 likes • 4h
Jason, the intro not showing is the easier half. On a Meta instant form the intro card gets skipped whenever the form is set to the default flow and someone taps through from the ad with their details already prefilled. If you open the form and set it to a Higher Intent form, Meta adds a review step and the intro card actually gets seen. Worth checking your intro is on the Intro section and not sitting in the headline field too, that catches people out. The bigger issue is 5 days in learning with 3 leads. Meta wants around 50 conversions in a week to exit learning, and on a lead form at low budget most people never get near that, so the ad set never stabilises and you keep resetting it every time you swap creative. Each new creative restarts the clock. One thing before you change anything else: what happened with those 3 leads? If you called them and they were tyre kickers, the pricing filter isn't working and that's the fix. If you called and got no answer, that's a speed and follow-up problem, not an ad problem. Different repairs. Which was it?
Hey fellas looking for some feedback
I will be launching a forestry mulching specific company with a new 275xe and a fecon head. I filed my LLC with the state and got my EIN. I created my Facebook page and also did my Google account. Soon I’ll be renting a skid steer from cat to take to my buddies property to mulch so I can make content and make videos for my pages. I have a 2022 Chevy 2500 dmax. It is paid off and I am looking for trailer ideas. I DON’T have a flat bed so I am worried about having space on a tandem 10k axle bumper pull trailer. I would like to have a job box for spare parts and maintenance items. Also store a grapple bucket. My truck is setup for a gooseneck as well I know the ride quality is better and I would have more space but is it really necessary? I have a class A CDL. Any input on what I should be doing from now until January when I start scheduling jobs for February would be appreciated and any input on the trailer setup I should go with would also help.
0 likes • 1d
Cole, on the business side, I’d use that practice job for a simple before-and-after example showing what was cleared and what the owner can use the land for now. It gives people something specific to picture when they enquire. Are you still aiming to book February jobs, and have you decided where those first enquiries will come from?
0 likes • 16h
That gives you a clear runway, Cole. I’d run those test enquiries all the way through to a quote and a confirmed booking, including one customer who goes quiet. If you want a second set of eyes on the business side before December, I offer a 30-minute planning call for $100 CAD. We can map your enquiry-to-booking process and leave you with a written checklist to test. Would that be useful for where you’re at?
What's your hourly goal?
Currently doing my first job, and learning I didn't price it high enough lol. Learning is never free tho so it's fine, I'll still make a decent little chunk. My question it, after machine depreciation, attachment depreciation, fuel, consumables, insurance, etc., what is your goal for profit for your time in the seat per hour? My guess is I'll end up in the $180-$200/hr range on this job. Many thanks to all who reply.
0 likes • 1d
Brian, how did that first job finish up? One useful check is comparing the hours you allowed with the total time it actually took, including hauling and cleanup. That gives you something concrete to adjust on the next quote. Was it extra time that caught you out, or costs you hadn’t included?
Officially overwhelmed
OK for those of you who have followed the template offered here by Austin and Jacob, you have probably reached the "I can't juggle this much anymore" phase. What is the first step? Jobber or something similar? If so, exactly HOW has it helped take some of the day to day time consuming parts of this business away? Yesterday while in the skid 8 hours I responded to 7 leads. All within 30 seconds of getting them. The META algorithm is now clicking on all cylinders and most of my leads are actually GOOD leads, which leads to another problem; How to visit this many sites to give quotes? I really only have Saturdays to do quotes and so far I have 11 visits this Saturday with 3 more days of leads to come in. So far, nobody has fallen through the cracks but I'm at the point that it could (will) happen. None of these are $20k jobs, mostly $1k -$2k jobs. Do I start weeding them out waiting for larger jobs? I can only do so many. It's just me. BTW, I am in my second month of this adventure. I'm in Central Florida and it's supposed to be saturated with mulching people. What I've gathered is that most of them are just waiting for jobs to come to them. Any and all help is appreciated. Just don't know what trigger to pull next.
0 likes • 1d
Ron, did you end up getting those site visits under control? Cole’s point about checking fit before driving out makes sense. I’d also group visits by area so Saturday isn’t mostly travel. Is the bigger headache now fitting the visits in, or keeping up with quotes afterwards?
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Michael MacKrell
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@michael-mackrell-5885
I've generated $500K with my contracting company. Now I give away all my knowledge and tools free to help other contractors. blackmountaintech.ca

Active 8m ago
Joined Sep 22, 2026
Vancouver Island, BC
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