Snow plow co-op

[W-n-K Landscaping]

I was just wondering if anyone out there has tried to set up a business agreement with several small independent contractors. Someone has mentioned this to me this fall and it started me thinking about it. I understand that their would be a legal involvement, but I was wondering if anyone had thought about setting something up with other plowers in the area.

I think it would be a great service to our area if an arangement could be made so that we could offer snow plowing, salting, possibly pre-treatment, snow removal with a loader and truck if needed, as well as moving banks back via snowblower- what I currently do.

I figured that this would be the perfect place to ask if anyone has tried this before, and what the outcome/pros/cons might be- and also a way to bounce ideas off of you guys while setting this up. IMO this and SIMA are the premiere sites in the industry providing a massive cross section from small one man operations to multiple trucks with equipment. What better palce to use as a sounding board for some of these ideas, and possibly help people in other areas of the country in possibly a similar endeavor!!

Thanks for any help or ideas that might arise in this thread!!!

Bill

[CNY Joe]

Bill, I haven't tried that with snow plowing, but I currently do something similar with my company now with a small company in N.J. and another in Metro NY. Give me a call if you would like to discuss this further.

[W-n-K Landscaping]

Joe- you were the one that got me thinking of this at our last luncheon. I thought about it after your comment and wondered what it would take to go one step farther. I'd like to be able to offer more services, and tackle larger accounts, but lack the support of the heavy equipment, etc... What better way to keep people in the industry busy, as well as consolidating advertising/quoting/administration costs down. I look forward to getting some time to talk with you on this. I'm curious to see how far we can take this.

Bill

[CNY Joe]

I thought thats where you might have gotten the idea from...lol:D

[CNY Joe]

I just wanted to refresh this post, and see if anyone had any opinions on this subject.:feedback

[W-n-K Landscaping]

Hey guys! How about a little feedback here! I see this thread has been looked at 108 times so far, but Joe and I are the only ones who have posted. Are we carzy for thinking about trying this, or is it feasible? Has anyone tried this in the past? I would like to here good or bad points here. I know this has been done in other areas of business, so why not in show removal? I am not looking to set up some pyramid scheme, or even a money making machine to generate some bucks for the top few guys. Instead what I am looking at trying to do is to set up a program/partnership where everyone is an equal partner( or somewhat equal, I understand that there will be a few who do most of the work, and watch what is being done to ensure that the work is being done up to the agreed upon specs) who gets paid for the services they provide. I am looking to possibly involve some of the local excavators who shut down during the winter to be able to offer larger machines to move and possibly even haul snow away. I understand that alot of the local guys already have contracts in place, but I am hoping to be able to offer the ones who don't one. Any thoughts at all would be helpful on this matter. And if there is anyone in the Syracuse area on the boards who are interested drop either Joe or myself a line, we'll be glad to talk it over with you!

Bill

[johngus]

I think thats a great idea,I too have thought about it but figure that most larger companys with big equipment really don't need a small time one truck guy to help them.thats why we have subs,right?I would definetly be interested in something like that if theres anyone else in my area would consider such a thing.very interesting concept,maybe SIMA could get it going.