Getting Started - Excavation

[wlmass]

I started an excavation business yesterday. Our first job was for my dad at his property. Rented the equipment used and spent 8 hours clearing debris, grading the yard, and making his property look better. Had my brother get a lot of practice in the machine, he's going to be running the equipment for me.

Here's what the numbers look like:

Equipment Rental:

Mini Excavator and Trailer - $273

Mileage on truck to pickup and return equipment:

42 miles @ $.57.5/mi (per irs) - $24.36

Operator Cost:

8 hours @ $20/hr - $160

Fuel:

4.8 gallons @ 1.63 - $7.82

Total cost for me - $465.18

I charged $800 for the job. This left me $334.82 after my expenses.

Some thoughts:

My costs will go up as this continues. I need to account for paying for business insurance, paying my vehicle payment, etc. It was a ton of fun running the excavation equipment around. It's a little harder than it looks to get the ground perfectly level.

Ask any questions! I'm pretty excited to continue pursuing this sweaty startup. I'd love advice from anyone with experience in this business.

Dog dug holes all over the property

Brother removing a small tree that was laying in the yard

Here's what it looked like near the end. We raked the yard more level after but it got too dark for an after photo.

 

[visions]

@wlmass Don’t forget about payroll taxes. That 8 hrs @ $20 is going to cost you closer to $35 an hr in reality.

 

[wlmass]

@visions Yeah for sure! I think this may be offset a little if I can get some traction and purchase my equipment instead of renting it on a per day basis. It’s pretty expensive to do it per day.

 

[felixtl430]

@wlmass My guess, based on nothing really, is you could have charged more. I get it's your dad, but going forward you could probably get by with 150 an hour if you're using heavy equipment.