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How to Keep the Home Fires Burning
A beginner�s guide to starting a successful firewood supply business
Fueled by the need to manage energy bills and create a
cozy home atmosphere, more Americans than ever are choosing to burn wood.
While manufacturers of wood burning stoves are reaping the benefits of the
country�s renewed nesting instincts, the popularity of wood fires has also
created a demand for firewood that's almost impossible to fill.
This demand has caused the price to almost double over the past several
years. And as more and more new homes are being built with fireplaces, and
more people feel the pinch of increased electricity and heating oil costs,
you can expect the going price for a cord of firewood in your area (a
4x4x8 foot stack) to increase by 5 to 20 percent each winter for the next
several years.
From suburban homeowners to city dwellers, most folks using firewood
simply don�t have the opportunity to cut their own � and most wouldn�t
know how to begin even if they did. And that�s where you come in. You can
get a piece of this lucrative market by starting your own firewood supply
business.
The market for firewood is large enough to keep several suppliers busy in
most areas. When the weather turns chilly, your sales will climb. And
during long cold periods you can expect sales to skyrocket. But firewood
sales are not limited to the colder northern states. Everyone with a
fireplace or wood burning stove is a part of your market.
It doesn't take special education or training to become a successful
firewood supplier. In fact, one of the real secrets is simply
understanding why the people in your area burn firewood and learning when
and how often they need it. After that, all you need to do is position
yourself to meet those needs. These steps should help you get started:
- Choose the type of firewood you will sell: mill ends,
or sawed up scrap lumber and
kindling; whole logs, for the buyer to cut per his specifications; or
fireplace and stove
wood, cut or split according to the general requirements of your
customers.
- Line up a source of wood supply for your business.
Lock in several suppliers to
prevent shortages. And as your business grows, consider becoming a
wholesale dealer
of firewood in your area by offering several different kinds of firewood
to meet
everyone's needs.
- Make sure you have the equipment you need to handle
the cutting and splitting
you�ll need to do. Start with a heavy-duty log splitter if you�re
considering a
smaller operation and look into the advantages of owning a wood processor if
you’re thinking of “going big.”
Not sure what type wood is best for your business? This
quick primer should help you decide:
Mill Ends
Best source: sawmills. You should be able to discover any number of small
sawmill operations within a 200-mile radius.
What to buy: Buy a truckload of mill ends, take them home, and package
them into small stacks of firewood � enough for one evening's fire.
Profit picture: A load of mill ends that you might buy
for $100 would be packaged into 200 small stacks of wood that could sell
for $5 per stack, giving you a gross income of $1,000. That's pretty good,
providing your sources of supply can keep up with the demand.
Advantages: Mill ends are clean, burn easily and fast,
put out a lot of heat. Broken down into smaller stacks, they�re ideal for
apartment dwellers or others in warmer climates needing firewood for just
a few cold spells each winter.
Other sources: local lumber yards, woodworking or
furniture manufacturing firms, and home building or remodeling
contractors. In many instances you can offer to stop by these places about
once a week and clean up the work site by hauling away the scrap lumber.
Often they'll let you have it without cost. The only drawback will be that
you'll have to sort this wood and saw it up into the sizes you want for
your bundles or stacks.
Smart business: When you have your wood ready to package
into bundles, we recommend using plastic shipping bands. The banding tool
is inexpensive, it makes a tight, neat stack, and the band can be easily
cut with a pair of household scissors. You'll save
time and increase your profits by hiring a couple of high school or
college students. They can prepare a number of bundles in a short period
of time, stacking the entire load onto a pallet or in an area for
selling. Establish a pay rate for 100 complete bundles. Check the time
it takes two students working at a reasonably fast clip to bind 100
bundles. Knowing the current minimum hourly wage rate, you can then
determine the labor value of each bundle and pay them accordingly.
Whole Logs
Best Source: A sawmill or logging operation near where you want to open
your business.
What to buy: Arrange to have whole logs (lumber rejects) delivered to
your wood lot. Profit picture: Your costs
shouldn't run much more than $3 per log even for premium wood, but will
depend upon the size and number delivered in each load. Charge twice as
much per log as your cost.
If you plan to offer full-service to your customers, they will select
the log they wish cut (at two times your costs) and pay you $10 for
sawing it into the desired lengths, $10 for splitting it, and another
$10 for loading it onto their vehicle. This comes to $150 to $200 per
cord of wood. Have your helpers working in teams efficient enough to net
you $100 per hour. Advantages: If you can supply
a suitable location not too far from home where customers can saw and
split their own firewood (or use your splitter for a nominal feel),
you'll have a steady stream of customers.
Other Sources: Contact the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management in your area for a permit to cut firewood in government preservation areas. Then you go out into the woods, saw up downed trees into eight-foot lengths, load them into your vehicle and haul them to your woodlot. Talk to farmers in your area and offer to "thin out" areas of standing timber or downed trees. Often, you can get this wood at no cost other than offering the landowner a share of the timber you take out. Don't forget about the road building, construction companies, and commercial and residential developers as sources of supply. Once you get into this business, you'll find sources of supply restricted only by your own initiative in making contact with the property owners. Smart Business: You'll need a large vacant lot — about one/half to a full acre, preferably on the outskirts of town. Put up a six-foot-high cyclone fence around your lot, setting a small garden shed or building to one side of the entrance gate to serve as your office.
Run an ad in your local paper inviting "do-it-your-selfers" to come out
and cut their own firewood. You may need to have helpers available to
move some of the logs about, pulling them behind a truck by a length of
chain. Consider renting chain saws, axes, and the use of your power
splitter. Allow the customer to select the log of his choice, and then
have your hired help saw, split, and load this wood into the buyer's
vehicle. The ultimate in service would be to include delivery and
stacking of this wood at the customer's residence.
Fireplace And Stove Wood
If you decide to run a pre-cut and split fireplace and stove wood
operation, you�ll need to combine all the principles we've discussed so
far. The most profitable way to begin is to set up a woodlot where whole
logs will be delivered. You�ll need part-time workers to saw the logs
into lengths that will fit your power splitter. A couple of other people
stacking this wood onto pallets as it's split, or for storage until
sold, would be all the help you need.
Once you've got your basic firewood supply business on a profitable
footing and running smoothly, you'll find your facilities and business
expertise ideally expanding your operation to include the sale of
firewood accessories, woodstoves, built-in fireplaces, home insulation
or weatherizing services, recycling, or perhaps even home remodeling.
The limit of your business success is dictated only by the boundaries of
your imagination. You can be successful. Make the decision to get
started today!
For more tips on getting started and on choosing the right wood
processing equipment for your business, contact Peter Hincks at
Timberwolf Corp. |
