# are there companies that only do snow and ice management



## teamgreendude (Aug 23, 2008)

hellow everyone i've got a question that always puzzles me. Are there companys that only do snow and ice management and nothing else in the spring summer and fall months. I've seen a few companies like reliable snow plowing and everest snow management but what do they do in the months when its not snowing is it a divsion or a trade name. could somebody please clear this up for me ?


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## dfdsuperduty (Dec 12, 2006)

drink  and spend time with their fam.


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## teamgreendude (Aug 23, 2008)

maybe deffinitly would love to that insted of work . so what do u do inthe months where there is no snowmy first guess would be commercial grounds care or concrete stuff but i dont really know . Im thinking of moving up to ohio and expand my company once i get enough work to expand uo there.


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## got-h2o (Sep 26, 2008)

There are a couple around here. 1 that I know of (I sub for them sometimes), the owner is a union operator with some pull at his place of employment. He takes his lay off time begining of snow season and doesn't return till spring. The other company is huge. I'd assume the off season is busy getting contracts ready, repairing, cleaning, fixing up equpt for the following season. I'd assume they have guys going all year long on maintenance.


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## Rc2505 (Feb 5, 2007)

What part of Ohio are you looking to re-locate to? If you are looking to only do snow and ice I really hate to e the one to tell you this but Ohio is not the place to try that out. Maybe in the snow belt around Cleveland, but the rest of the state sucks as far as making a living at snow plowing. So far this year I have had an outstanding month of Jan. Feb. we had one push / salting event. I think I have made more money salting this season than pushing snow. A grand total of 5 times out this year to push, 9 times to salt.


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## big acres (Nov 8, 2007)

Yes, for most regions north there are snow only companies. They are selling next years contracts starting now, while the customer is still mad at guy who blew it on yesterday's snowfall -I can't think of a better time to sell, can you?


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## got-h2o (Sep 26, 2008)

Rc2505;764453 said:


> What part of Ohio are you looking to re-locate to? If you are looking to only do snow and ice I really hate to e the one to tell you this but Ohio is not the place to try that out. Maybe in the snow belt around Cleveland, but the rest of the state sucks as far as making a living at snow plowing. So far this year I have had an outstanding month of Jan. Feb. we had one push / salting event. I think I have made more money salting this season than pushing snow. A grand total of 5 times out this year to push, 9 times to salt.


Wow, that would be sweet for seasonal. I've pushed over 30!!


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

Doing snow only in OH is like mowing grass only in AZ. (or another desert state)

Maintenance & selling contracts are the two biggest things I would think of. Finding Salt and Fuel for the next season. Taking a vacation and sleeping.


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## Rc2505 (Feb 5, 2007)

Yeah that would be sweet for seasonal, however, selling a seasonal contract here is like pulling teeth. Nobody will buy them, because we never know how much snow we are going to get.


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## fisher guy (Nov 11, 2008)

i wouldent mind only working thru the winter. even im pretty close to do that now lol im taking a month long vacation down to florida but then ill be back up to work for my buddy doing sewer hook ups and what lil bit of dirt work he has lined up if i could (meaning if there was work) i would work down in florida doin my heavy equipment operator thing during the summer then retreat back up here for the winter


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## teamgreendude (Aug 23, 2008)

i want to expand to wicklife ohio is about a mile from cleavlandand my grandmother lives there to and she said i could store my trucks and stuff in her four car gaurge( or however you spell it ) but i'll probably get situated in kansas city here with lawn maintence and tree care the money is good and easy to make i'll probably either buy out a lawn maintence company in cleavland or just buy about some lawn service accounts i've got the equipment so i'll stay here until i graduate then move up there


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## teamgreendude (Aug 23, 2008)

i found one guy that just does snow and ice management hers the web site www.reliablesnowplowing.net


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## fisher guy (Nov 11, 2008)

wow nice site i thought it was some fortune 500 company when i clicked on to it lol


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## RLM (Jan 12, 2006)

I do about 90% snow, within 2 years it will probably be 100% (or real close). Durring the winter we run about 15 guy, summer its just me. The sales season (or marketing season) starts even before the snow has stop flying, then there repairs, then equipment refurb, SIMA show, bidding, routing, etc. It really becomes a year round business. 
The main thing that pushed me into it was I have a wife with a good job (nurse), & kids. We wanted to be able to have a life outside of work, doing plowing & lawn maint. your constanly dependant on the weather, this way from May through October I make my schedule up, vacatations, etc. It has taken along time to get to this point, the biggest hurdle was convincing myself to get off a mower (making money) to go make sales calls. Once I did that we grew 50% last season & we had lost a large property (cheap builder) from season before (& still had that growth).


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## cod8825 (Feb 8, 2007)

Team:

A couple of things.

1) It takes a crazy amount of work to get to that point. There are three companies that I know of that do it alone here in KC. Snowmen, Snowfigthers, True North. A word of caution be careful about working with them sub pay sub par routes and the such. It can be done just be careful.

Matt


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## Longae29 (Feb 15, 2008)

got a nice letter in the mail today from a company that only does snow, too bad when they sent out their letters to contractors to get them to try and drink the kool aid they didnt take the time to customize their letter. I'm pretty sure this doesnt apply to me since i'm in southeastern wisconsin "The St. Louis market currently has openings in several areas"


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## RCSLINC (Nov 30, 2006)

I do snowplowing only.
Randy


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## GLSS22 (Dec 31, 2007)

The company that I work for is a "snow only" company. Like others have said, we primarily work on getting new accounts, equipment repair/purchasing, SIMA show and other things. It gives us good time to enjoy the summer, and get things done around the house(s). We still do some side jobs(ponds, hardscapes, and other landscaping) here and there but for the most part we are all snow.


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## KJ Cramer (Aug 20, 2009)

What company do you work for, if you don't mind me asking?


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

I own a snow only company, and that's the way it's been since day one. I have no desire to mow lawns, landscape, etc. Snow and Ice pay all my bills, and I spend summers getting ready for winter, sleeping in LOL, and of course, spending time with my family. I always seem to get roped into side jobs in the summer, but snow is our primary focus. I've thought about getting into lawns or landscaping, but it seems like everyone and their brother mows lawns, and around here anyway, the rates are very very low (not to mention the fact I hate mowing)...

Consequently, I do almost all of the legwork (contracts, sales, bidding, customer service, maintenance, setting up equipment, site surveys, drive staking, etc.) myself, so the months of August through October are my busiest months. It's a lot of work, but entirely worth it.


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## teamgreendude (Aug 23, 2008)

it must be enough to pay bills and buy new equipment but what would you charge per hour i know that lipinski is pretty big but how do you charge once i get enough stuff i would like to have a lot of commercial sites but one other question I'm about to buy my first truck(2002 dodge dakota sport) what plow would you guys put on it? i was thinking about a 7'6" western ultra mount or the 7'6" hts they have now.


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## JohnnyRoyale (Jun 18, 2006)

Snow only or summer only would be a dream come true for me. Till then....


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## GLSS22 (Dec 31, 2007)

KJ Cramer;796804 said:


> What company do you work for, if you don't mind me asking?


Great Lakes Snow Systems.


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