Sales still above last year

Whatever you’re doing seems to be working well. Keep up the good work!

 

I think 100% delivery is going to become my policy. I have had two pick-ups now at my house and one person was an hour late and the other was 10-15 minutes late. The hour late person was very nice and gave a $20 tip but it was irritating.

 

At 32, I can work some days 12 hours straight but it is getting harder. Wish I had that day in day out!

 

All my neighbors and friends are retired military with a few retired law enforcement mixed in. All have health issues. Three of my military neighbors have 100% disability ratings, but seem to get around ok. Me, zero %. Being an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Diver for 26 years came with :90 every morning for working out in addition to all the extra pay and fun. Much harder to stay fit and healthy serving onboard ships most of your career. Only had three years of sea service time; six six month deployments.

 

Here is my dirty little secret why I will never invest in machinery to be more productive. I have alluded to occasionally buying cut and split firewood from my local logger. I supplement my inventory with buying when the weather doesn't permit me to cut or I am returning home from a delivery in or around Nashville. It is always pristine freshly cut hard maple, red & white oak; hickory is sold separately for $10 more. Zero bugs or rot. Here goes the math. Each bucket full is about 1.3 FCs. So three loads is four FCs. I can easily pickup three loads and re-split and stack most of it in 12 hours. With tips and my winter selling price that grosses around $1,100 and nets around $900. When I cut, which is about five to six days a week, I usually cut half a cord or more in the mornings and haul out around 1.25 FCs. About twice a week I'll go back in the afternoon and just haul out a load. On the two loads I haul out I net about $675. So I net $225 more if I just bought firewood even on my two load cutting and hauling days. For me, it is not about the $$, I enjoy the challenge of cutting and loading my truck with rounds and just being out in a peaceful forest. I receive little satisfaction from buying pre-cut and split firewood and delivering it on three hour round trips. I know this is a weird situation and an economist would say this isn't possible because others would do the same and drive down the price of firewood. This is my take. Young guys aren't interested in doing hard work and have no clue about providing great customer service and older people in my area just physically aren't able to. And my logger doesn't know about the Nashville firewood market or just can't find any employees to serve it. My purchased firewood still requires 9-16 months of seasoning, but that isn't an issue with the large inventory I keep on hand. That is my firewood story.

 

Just remembered. There is a guy that strictly buys hickory from my logger and sells mostly to restaurants around Nashville. I was able to find his advertisements from his name stenciled on his Ram 550 stake truck. I see him loading frequently so I introduced myself about six weeks ago. He couldn't stop talking about his business and all the famous clients he has served, but was informative never the less. I just listened and played the stupid city slicker. I sell my restaurant firewood for $50 more than him and about $100 more to residential burners counting tips. Restaurants do not tip!!! I net far more from the residential side which is why I don't actively pursue restaurants even though they are a steady year round customer. If I was to invest in anything, it would be a diesel 550. He can carry five FCs tightly stacked. I can carry four with my truck and 18' trailer, but he can get into driveways and alley ways that I sometimes can't.

 

This guy is I am guessing about 45ish. He is a good fifty pounds over weight and just strictly buys firewood from my logger, no cutting and hauling for this dude. He does side jobs hauling materials with his Ram 550 and dump trailer, but mostly depends on firewood sales. His big complaint was the loggers inability to keep a steady supply of hickory and mixed firewood. Yep. But since I cut about 75% of my inventory, that isn't an issue for me. For the past 13 months I have been cutting on the loggers neighbors property. So I know when there is inventory available and snap it up. I'll usually pre-pay for six to twelve loads and then get it when available.

 

So, I think I have sold a good amount of firewood the last two years out of my four years of selling. I have followed many YouTubers, read many books about firewood, and most importantly, read all the various threads on this site. So plan on starting a Doug's firewood thread all about selling firewood. Firewood is like gravel or concert, no competition after about 50 miles. So why not reveal all of your secrets about how to maximize your revenue?

 

We'll be waiting and watching for it.

 

99th load this morning from the big blow down site. Very nice day, started out at 59 with very low humidity and a nice breeze. Mostly shady in the woods before 9am. Bagged close to four FCs from this big ash and have more to cut from the top. Next on my list is this hickory which I think will yield 4-5 FCs counting the top. I don't leave much when cutting hickory and white oak.

 

Nice area

 

Load #100 today and it was a workout! I earned my adult beverages for this evening. Only took 12 hickory and 4 ash rounds to fill my truck. The hickory tree was still living, so extremely heavy stuff. Fortunately, it split into quarters easily. The trunk kept sliding down the hill as I attacked it. The bracing kept it off the ground and from completely sliding south. I would knock out the front brace after each cut and move them further up towards the top. Thinking about taking tomorrow off from cutting and get caught up on splitting and stacking.

 

That was a job...nicely done, my friend.
Glad that hickory split good, not stringy like some I've seen.

 

Yep, some hickory can look like a mop head after splitting. The fresher the better when it comes to splitting hickory from my experience. My wife didn’t enjoy the smell when splitting this evening. A wet horse is how I would describe the smell.

 

Yep, ive had some like that, pecan smells like that too.

 

Today was the most miserable cutting and loading day by far. Took almost four hours to bag another load of hickory. Will certainly get 4+ face cords out of this beast. Remembered yesterday I had straps and a come along in a box somewhere in my garage. They went with me today and made life easier and safer. Luckily there was another hickory about 10' up the hill I was able to use as my base. Had a round get away from me and roll down hill. It hit another tree about 15' down the hill and came to a dead stop. I leave no round soldiers behind, so I would have had a tough time retrieving it.
More blow overs on the other side of the gulley. I'll figure out how to get those when all the close-by stuff is cut.

 

I like to tell myself I made a certain amount in firewood the days I cut even though I will not be paid for it for 9-18 months down the road. Keeps me motivate during tough conditions.

 

Could you use a pulley and rope? In The Wood Yard had an episode about it, makes things a lot easier i think.

 

I know the temps have been hot. Good to have some shade...