Starting A Snow Removal Business
Who Will You Be Servicing?
Starting small is always a good idea, especially if you are in a region that receives a lot of snow. Larger snow removal businesses have access to the best contracts, including those at government buildings, retail centres, hospitals, banks, and HOAs.
Still, your first contracts can include smaller residential neighborhoods, smaller municipalities and even non-profits such as libraries and community centers.
Equipping Yourself to Push Snow
New business owners frequently want to go all out and buy every piece of technology available to succeed in their enterprises. However, adding trucks and snow equipment is quite expensive.
You need to make wise decisions about the equipment you purchase for your snow removal jobs depending on your current cash flow and whether you operate a green industry service throughout the growing season.
During the growth season, whether you own or operate a lawn care business or are a landscaper, focus on purchasing equipment that you can use for both your white and green enterprises. If you’re hoping to pick up a few driveways and a few parking lots, then adding a plow to your truck may be all you need.
Here are some must-haves you need for your snow pushing jobs:
- Add a snow plow attachment to your truck to move snow
- Get a snow blower to push snow off of sidewalks
- Invest in heavy winter clothing—to protect yourself from the elements
- Buy a top trailer if you plan to remove snow from the premises.
Selling Your Snow Pushing Services
It’s great to have all of the right equipment, but without customers, you won’t be making money. Here are some tried and true methods to sign up new customers:
- Door-to-door selling is still the best way to sign up residential clients.If you live in a snow belt, August and September are never too early to start this—because it’s still light outside and people can see you when you come to their door. Plus, you’ll be able to cover more doors during the early evening hours. Other direct selling ideas include door hangers, fliers, newspaper ads, and Facebook.
- For commercial clients, start locally.Mom and Pop’s, your local township, community centers and other small establishments are your best bets when you’re first starting out in the snow business.
- Consider sub-contracting. Sub-contracting is a great way to cut your teeth on your business. Your overhead will be lower since most companies only require that you have a truck with a snow plow attachment. It’s also a great way to build experience, your reputation and to learn what sets you apart from your competitors.
Also, you may want to sub-contract with your local government if they provide snow removal services to city-owned properties. If you live in a low snow area—where a snowstorm over 10” is considered catastrophic, you may come out the hero.
For example, one low snow city couldn’t adequately handle a 3’ snowstorm. The local library, municipal sidewalks and back streets stayed unpassable for almost a week after the storm moved away from the area.
Indeed, a snow removal business is a profitable way to make some extra cash. The hours may be long, and you could go a day or two without sleep, but for a short season, it’s very profitable. Use the above ideas to start slow and make money at the same time so that you can grow your seasonal snow removal business.
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Source: www.snowwolfplows.com
