Wisconsin checking in!

[RenPest]

Hi,

Just thought I'd poke around and decided to join. I have a few questions to ask as I am launching a new business. This will be my third, but a lot has changed since the last one and my partner handled a lot of the details that I didn't, working out in the field on projects.

I'm hoping to gain some knowledge on setting up a specific type of LLC. I'm totally confused on this and it will take a while to sort out.

Anyway......I'm glad to be here.

-RenPest

[Harold Mansfield]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to jump right in and start asking questions.

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum RenPest. Looking forward to chatting with you and thanks for joining the community.

[David Hunter]

Welcome!

What type of businesses have you owned in the past and what's the current business you're working on?

[Business Attorney]

RenPest, welcome to our group. I look forward to seeing more posts from you.

[RenPest]

Welcome!

What type of businesses have you owned in the past and what's the current business you're working on?

First one was a small home maintenance and tree biz when I was 13, strapping block and tackle and chain saws to mine and my older brother's bikes. We turned it into a firewood service business supplying firewood to over 500 condos and multiple homes.

My second was Environmental Consulting and training operators for small SBR package water plants. Did some wetlands restorations and lake and stream studies.

This one will be a small pest control company.

[Fulcrum]

How did you like the firewood business? Debating on adding this to my business in the next 18 months.

[RenPest]

How did you like the firewood business? Debating on adding this to my business in the next 18 months.

It depends on your area. I'm originally from a resort area. One with a vacation home boom back in the day. People would pay to have their wood "processed", meaning that once the lot/land was cleared, they would want a cord of cut and split wood left. There were always log lengths left over. They would pay extra to have the woods "cleaned up" and we would haul it to our stockpile. It was glorious! Make $ twice on the same product. Age it out, cut and split it and sell it again.
Then I got in with rental agencies to stock ski lockers at condos. Each locker would hold one row of wood, about 8 logs wide and we would stack it waist high. We would get $40 for that. This means back in the 80's, we would make about $400 a cord. This would have to be carried in armload bundles. It was a lot of work. The service was also 24 hours. We always had a full truckload in our pickups in case we had to run out at 2am. This would keep drunk renters from breaking up the furniture in the condos and shoving it into the fireplace. Many times we'd see furniture hardware bolts and hinges in the bottom of the fireplaces:D
But.....it put me through college with no debt.

It all came crashing down when some drunk renters, careless with ashes, placed them in a paper bag and set them out on the deck, burning down four of them. The fire was pretty bad because these condos were on the side of a mountain making efforts to fight it very difficult. They ripped out all of the fireplaces.

Sure was good while it lasted.

The problem I see is that not every firewood operation has so much raw product to work with. We had that. We had so much of it that we were paid to haul any extra away. This was raw woods, no fields or farms. Every lot needed clearing. Wood and logs were never at a premium, but the backbreaking work it takes to make it a useable product for sale was. ;)

[MamaYard]

Actually there is always good market for fire wood. Maybe not as good as described here in this post.

[Fulcrum]

Actually there is always good market for fire wood. Maybe not as good as described here in this post.

Depends on the market. Insurance companies are trying to squeeze out wood stoves as are some municipalities. I actually pay a premium on my insurance because I have wood stove heating in my shop.

[MamaYard]

We are still doing OK in our area. We may even be far removed from those challenges that you expressed. Or perhaps our heads are buried in the ash. Here is my promise = I will be sure to revisit this post if I learned that things do change. They do have minimum lot size for the outdoor furnaces.