[joey h]

I'm currently doing construction in Winnipeg, MB and soon I'll be getting layed off and forced to collect ei.
So I've got a buddy that wants to start a business with me...we're trying to get a bunch of ideas and go from there. I was thinking along the lines of "snow removal" and "junk romoval". We currently have 2 trucks, 1 trailor and a snowblower and we were thinking about getting a plow and obviously some shovels. We know we're not going to get rich doing this but we're pretty sure if we diversify and advertise we could just do tons of odd jobs and stuff to try to make it like a full time job. I'm hoping that we'll each be able to make about a couple grand a month. So I'll list in order jobs we can do to get payed. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

1) Snow Removal
2) Junk Removal
3) Eavestroughing (My buddy has experience and can teach me)
4) Painting (My buddy has a few years experience and can teach me)
5) Garage Cleaning
6) Leaf Bowing
7) Handy-man work

I think if we say that we specialize in Snow Removal and Junk Removal we can put in our flyers that we also do other jobs such as eavestroughing, painting, leaf romoval etc. that it will help get us extra jobs. I'm not sure how much to advertise though. If it did explode hopefully I could hire someone. All in all it seems like we need very little money up front maybe $500-$1000 for advertising and very little for tools and supplies, and it could pay off huge, we should probably make around $20/hr to start ayway. Any feedback though would be greatly appreciated especially if anyone has experience in any of these fields.

Thanks!

[mnt11592]

Just a Suggestion: If you plan on starting a business such as this, make sure you know exactly what your doing. Make sure your buddy teaches you everything and that you practice on family and friends for a while. No one was a half a$$ job done. Also, have a professional name for your business (not joe's snow and junk removal). Get a logo designed, get business cards, and have a professional website designed.
As For Advertising: Your local paper is a great tool, but nothing beats word of mouth especially with service businesses like yours.

I wish you the best of luck with your business.

Matt

[joey h]

Thanks Matt, I agree with everything you said. Although I don't think I'll need a website right away but hopefully down the road I will, I plan on being as professional as possible ( logo, t-shirts, business cards, etc.). The only thing I'm a little unsure of is pricing. I was thinking of getting a couple of quotes from the competitors just to get a rough idea. If anyone has ever tried anything like this, please let me know how you did it, I would greatly appreciate any input. I'm just a little curious how much business to expect and how quickly it will grow. Thanks.

[joey h]

Thanks mnt! I'm thinking of having at least a couple businesses. My buddy has lots of painting experience so he's willing to teach me and go 50/50 in a painting business. Also it's a couple months until snow season in Winterpeg so we're thinking of also starting a snow removal business and I'm thinking we'll try to incorporate junk removal and odd jobs in our advertisements.

[LightWerkz]

Well I can say you dont want to price yourself to low. The sky is the limit. You need to make people believe that this is what your charging for it. People are willing to pay more for a quality service, I know this first hand.

Whatever you do, do not undervalue yourself and service.

[Streamline]

remember that there will always be a market for high priced quality items, but if you are always lowering your prices you subject your business to what your competition does.