Well to start off I am 19 and In about a year or so want to start an exacavating company doing foundations/footings, water/sewer lin installations, grading and basically anything small. My father is a general contractor that does commercial and residental construction and I would do work for him. I would like to get a dump truck, tag trailer and backhoe and rent the rest for now. Basically, I just wanted to get some insight and recomendations for starting a excavating company from poeple in the industry.
Work for another contractor for about 5 years and then if you still like this line of work, maybe start doing sidejobs until you have enough work to keep you busy.
Well I've been doing all the excavation work that we have had ranging from footing excavation, trenches for water,sewer and gas lines ect. for the past year and a half operating. I found out that the building end wasn't for me and I enjoyed doing earthwork.
I'm in the same position as you. I'm 19 as well, going to college right now for a business degree. I've been working in landscaping and very light excavation for the past 3 years and enjoy it. However, I realize I will never be able to jump into the excavation business until I work for at least 2-3 years for someone else. There's just so much to learn, just as soon as you think you know it all something comes up and you're in trouble. It's best to learn from guys that have done it for a long time, do the mistakes on their clock and not yours, and not worry about having to make payments on equipment when you're just getting your feet wet in the business.
Yup, i would work for someone for a few years, learn everything you can. Maybe start doing some side jobs and get your name out there for when you make the plunge and start your own thing.
I also advise working for somebody else for a little while. Try to get a job with a company doing exactly what you want to do. Going to work for a larger company will help you become a better operator, but you won't learn squat about the technichal side. Im 28 and have recently started my own business. I spent 2 years with one of the largest contractors in NC and with the exception of becoming a better operator, learned nothing that helps my new business. Ran lots of nice equipment, CAT 330, PC300 Excavators, 621 pans, D5, D6, D7, D9 Dozers, ect... But the scale of the jobs meant we were just a crew moving dirt and lots of it. Somebody else dealt with the technichal side of what the job was getting done. Smaller companies tend to involve the employees in all aspects of the job more...
what stroker said is true we have had guys that come in and talk about what a great operator they are, talking about how they can do anything. But they cant do a damn thing unless someone walks them through every single thing they need to do. I work for a smaller company and on the excavation side of the business it is only me, another operator (he's also the boss), and our truck driver. We do just about all the dirt work from developing, to final grading around the houses grading the driveways, etc. So I get to do a little bit of everything, and i always know what im doing and why i am doing it. I would think that if you enjoy diging for foundations, doing the sewer/water hookup and all that jazz then i would just stick around where you are for a while and learn all you can, make your mistakes on somebody elses time, then start doing your own thing. and hey whats up with all these 19 year olds , im 19 too :thumbsup
In all seriousness, (speaking as an old fart--old enough to have kids your age and older), it's encouraging to see people your age that aren't afraid to show they have the ambition to seek success in a field where hard work is the rule, rather than the exception. Go for it, guys... :thumbsup