Hi everyone! I just joined the site today & was curious about pricing commercial lots. Do you do it per hour or per square foot? Like me know what your prices are to please that would be appreciated!
Located in Cambridge, Minnesota
You gotta step back. You're diving in head first after doing a route with your buddy. Have you looked at all the costs and considered the LONG hours involved with plowing? Not to mention missed holidays, canceled plans, and unexpected break downs.
There is a lot of behind the scenes business experiences that you will also have. We can't just tell you a number, because you may need to make more than that to operate, or our costs might price you out of your market.
Short answer, you need to add up your overhead first (insurance, equipment costs, office supplies and labor, taxes, etc), then figure out what you need to make a season to cover your overhead. Divide that by how many times you think you'll go out (don't just throw out a wild guess, do your local research). Then figure out your estimated operating costs (fuel, labor, maintenance, etc) per hour. From there, you will have a good idea what you need to make per hour to cover all your expenses. You have to then add your profit. Hopefully you will still be priced in your market range
You gotta step back. You're driving in head first after doing a route with your buddy. Have you looked at all the costs and considered the LONG hours involved with plowing? Not to mention missed holidays, canceled plans, and unexpected break downs.
There is a lot of behind the scenes business experiences that you will also have. We can't just tell you a number, because you may need to make more than that to operate, or our costs might price you out of your market.
Short answer, you need to add up your overhead first (insurance, equipment costs, office supplies and labor, taxes, etc), then figure out what you need to make a season to cover your overhead. Divide that by how many times you think you'll go out (don't just throw out a wild guess, do your local research). Then figure out your estimated operating costs (fuel, labor, maintenance, etc) per hour. From there, you will have a good idea what you need to make per hour to cover all your expenses. You have to then add your profit. Hopefully you will still be priced in your market range
There is a ton of info on here, just takes some time searching through it all. It's good you're waiting until next season, and can study all year. You may even be able to call around and see if anyone needs a driver for the remainder of the year. I'm sure drivers have come and gone by now.
I don't have one yet. I'm hoping to get a 95-98 Chevy/GMC K1500 extended cab in the spring. They seem like they would be a pretty good plow truck for starting out. I just figured I would start asking around and do some research right now until I'm able to start plowing.
I don't have one yet. I'm hoping to get a 95-98 Chevy/GMC K1500 extended cab in the spring. They seem like they would be a pretty good plow truck for starting out. I just figured I would start asking around and do some research right now until I'm able to start plowing.
Get at least a 3/4 ton if you're planning to plow commercially. That old I'd probably get a 1 ton. The older trucks don't have the same capabilities as the newer ones.
Easiest way to get into plowing is be an employee for at least a year. Use someone else's equipment before you spend $15k+ on new equipment. That or subcontract so you don't have to worry about finding customers or bidding, and can focus on learning business first.
I price my lots per push.I come up with my pricing the same way I price my excavating, construction, environmental businesses. Do the same, apply the basic business principles that you've learned in college ,night school or online.Its all the same! Pricing is just the end result of your application of your knowledge of your circumstances.
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