How the Firewood Business Started My Business Success

And that is why I watch your channel. !
May I forward this video to all three of my adult children . ? .

I've thought about it a long while ago, but the conditions here make it near impossible. You have to have a great deal of land with many, many trees already grown, and that is something I don't have but, also, that nobody around here has. "Here" means Northwest Spain.

At most, and once you have already got your (very expensive) equipment, one could think of telling people "I'd buy your trees in order to make firewood out of them" but, be it to sell to somebody else, be it just to process it for the owner, I don't see it working here.

And that's before you get burocracy in the way. If I, owner of some piece of land, want to cut some trees down, I had to ask for a permit, even if it's some invasive species, which is ridiculous.

And finally, at my age, it's too late to begin such a physically demanding job, but I like to use my chainsaw every now and then.

Do you still do biochar Michael ? I was a commercial fisherman , bought my first house at 33 with a mortgage , bought my second place at 43 for cash . I still live there , use chainsaws etc. because it's a few acres and stuff needs to be kept in check , otherwise retired now .
Earlier I was a fitter machinist then a laboratory tech. even did a bit of retail for a while but the wide open spaces always called .

Good on ya. But I gotta say, I work like you do for my own firewood. For me it's horrible picking wood off the ground, my back does not thank me for it. That's why it's not strange to me that absolutely everyone who does firewood professionally in Norway has a automatic machine on their tractor, which dumps the split wood straight into 1.5m³ pallet bags where they dry.

Great advice. Sadly in most parts of the UK it's not possible to do this anymore - there's planty demand for hardwood logs, but unless you are lucky enough to own or have permission to fell/thin a considerable area decidious woodland and have the capital to buy a setup a drying kiln, it's just not possible to setup as a solo operation. Environmental & planning regulations are now far too restrictive - all firewood legally sold to the public now has to be kiln-dried - which is pretty pointless as kiln-dried wood re-absorbs moisture from our damp climate after a week or too - so it is using energy (and producing CO2 emissions) to achieve the same thing as naturally seasoned firewood).

Totally agree. The point of working for someone else is to get them ahead, not you. As risky as being self-employed might be, it is nowhere near as risky as working for someone else. When a buisness goes bad, the last person fired is the boss; that is only because the owner needs them to fire everyone else first.

Perfect. 🙂

Great words of wisdom!! Stay Hydrated and Have a Safe Day

I was independent for 14 years in the DC metro area. Renovations, demolition, commercial and residential we did it all. Luckily I for a job that gives me the freedom I need and the stability my family requires. I don't see my boss for weeks at a time. If I need time off I tell em. My stress levels are minimal.

I'm glad you made this video it reminds me of my transformation from a nobody to good home, $34k monthly and a good daughter full of love

What other businesses have you had success with since you began with firewood? Just like you I started on the right path and only took “40 hour week jobs” when it was convenient for me. Then I was offered a state agency job which was the worse decision of my life. I lost a whole decade on call 24/7 for them and was in Hell for most of those years. There were some good people there but the snakes (2 legged) were unbearable for me. Escaped and started a junk removal business which did great until this last year and a 1/2.
Still didn’t go back to the 9-5 though. I work VERY part time and make as much or more than my ex-coworkers. 👍🏻
Screw the same ole- same ole!

What were some of your other business?

Since you put it this way......

I mostly want to comment on your working method. Good use of the winch to drag branches to one spot to be cut - I will try that myself. I am obsessed with efficiency, and I noticed you are picking up and setting down the same piece of wood multiple times. Each move takes time and energy - repeat 1000 times!
I am making storage bins from used pallets I pick up in town, each holds almost a half cord, I have about 20 now. I have a pallet fork on my tractor loader, and a wood splitter on the back. I set the bin down beside the felled tree, turn the tractor around, cut lengths, split them and put the pieces into the bin. I don't touch the wood again until I take it to be burned in the stove. It doesn't always work out that way, and it would take a lot of bins if I was full time, I am just for my own use.
About myself, I am on a farm in Southern Ontario in the COUNTRY of Canada. I have a small scale market garden for nearly 50 years, with a few beef cattle. Lucky to have lots of trees - farmers around me are removing trees to grow more corn/soy. Still farming, lucky to be in Canada where as a senior I get social assistance from the government. I am concerned that you Americans may loose that when president elect Musk and first lady Donald move into the White House together. I wish you well.

yes, I rolled the same way, finding my wealth in freedom to follow my nose and have free time whenever I wanted.

I've been wanting to do this, but commercial firewood permits where I live are auction based, so I've been nervous getting started. What are your thoughts on that?

Everything you said is dependent on good health. Where would you be if you lost the ability to cut wood and move about in the woods? What would happen to your free life and income? What would you do then? God has blessed you with strength to continue with that lifestyle and inherited woodlands to work in doing what you love. Many people unfortunately don’t have that luxury.

A great story! But can you delete that scummy scammer's (@Wallis-I3p) comments below? Some poor, sad viewer might fall for his lies and be financially ruined. The world is full of gullible people.

Working for yourself makes your income.....unlimited!

You said “going out on a limb”, during a video about firewood. Droll, very droll…..intentionally?

This is inspiring. Thank you

you have no snow in your county very long season off make a wood stove

I don't appreciate how you skipped one very valuable part of this plan for everyone. and that is not everybody has a forest to get their supplies for their business.

This talk really resonated with me. When I was 10 I started my own landscape business. But when I turned 18 I made one of the stupidest decisions in my life, I decided to find out what it was like to work for someone else. I started working for another larger landscape company. In 60 hours working for the other company I made the same as I did working 10 hours for myself. Fast forward 18 years and now I’m working for myself again. I’ve been working for myself 1-1/2 years now. I would say it’s easier starting out as a teenager than now that I’m in my late 30’s with a wife and 7 kids. Even though I can go to college for free with the GI bill I’m glad I never wasted my time on it. When I was growing up I was unschooled and graduating with a 4th grade education. Best thing ever. One of the most expensive and most useless things anyone can ever get is a college degree. All it will do is get you ready to fit in a dreary mold.

I liked your story very much - just one thing: didn't you have a huge advantage, of always having the land to go and get wood from? I can imagine that if you have to organise or even buy your access to land all the time, it's gonna be much harder? But let me know how you see it..

Good stuff 👍

Sound words. I know a few guys that followed a similar path working in the woods. I had a different path.
My path was marrying my one true love and working in a sawmill. Kids came along, wife was unhealthy, and we lived check to check. That mill shut down in 12 years. Worked at another local mill 27 more years and it shut down. Covid killed my wife of 40 years. I'm retired with 5 level spinal fusions and have slowed down as well.
I remember thinking about guys that went on the road in construction, maintenance and trucking. I'm glad I never had the balls to do that after seeing how my marriage and kids turned out compared to theirs.

I agree with everything you said. Not everyone is meant to go to college. But not everyone has the physical ability either. Just make sure you don't get hurt as your legs, back and hands are your job! Everyone should see both sides to owning a business vs. working for someone else.
The grass is usually greener on the other side!! Thanks for the great videos!

LOL Goood talk.

You nailed it with this one (coming from an ex corporate guy that quit his job and started his own business 20 yrs ago).

Agree completely. Lived this for over 25 years now. Had to take on a PT "job" for a little while a couple times when we moved and I had to start over but I love the freedom of working for myself.

Selling firewood saved my butt one winter when times got hard during Covid. Plus it kept me healthy, in the woods, breathing clean air while getting my head straight working alone.

Wow!!!!, what a awesome video, a lesson, an eye opener, much more than just a firewood video, Thank you, it just confirms that I made the right decision quitting my full time job and dedicating more time for my firewood business and honey bee business, no more "I'm not having time to make money, I have to go to work"!

Great advice. And yes.. firewood cutting, splitting and stacking is a great escape from the realities of life.

Wilson you rock

Respect! And your chainsaw cross cut technique is good on your back as you keep it mostly dead straight. Man, you can just tell when people have used a chainsaw for many years sustainably. Firewood is my only heat source here, and I too enjoy the process of cutting, splitting and hauling. Fortunately like you there are thousands of trees here, and the forest needs thinning. Like your philosophy too, makes a lot of sense. Cheers. Chris

In 2 years I am entitled to retire. My pension won't be high enough. I equipped my self with a pickup truck, flatbed trailer and half owner ship of a 1.7 ton mini excavator. All bought in cash.

Already did three jobs. One was the initial one my brother in law set me up. Garage demo. Neighbor needed a trench for electrical to garage.

Electrician liked my work and got me another job to do for him.

I love cutting and bucking wood. This could be my side hussle too.

Merry Christmas wilson and Happy New Years , i enjoyed the video

For you Mr. Wilson and others who made money selling firewood as youngsters. Did people buy the firewood even though it was green? Or were you cutting dead trees that were mostly dry? Just curious how this worked as far as making a living. I cut grass, shoveled snow, and was the alternate paper boy in my neighborhood and that was a little bit of money. Wasn't until I got my first job at the carwash that I had "decent money" (I made $15 an hour after profit sharing was added in and that was in a time when a McDonalds 10 piece nugget meal was like $5 or something...min wage was ~$4 and change I think back then)

Selling firewood (even for a brief moment in life) was how I met the mother of my child. For a city dweller it was a daunting experience using a chainsaw the first time, though I managed to learn and became proficient enough. Cheers for sharing, they never tell you about the worst of jobs, I told many bosses to stick their job over the years (they never like it when you do)!

Love your attitude. Stay humble

Merry Christmas, my friend 🧡

I can totally relate to your choice of career path. I had mostly the same thoughts and decisions when I was young in high school. Started my first business when I was 15. I've owned 35 businesses. I got 2 engineering degrees and retired when I was 55. God and life has been good to me!

Great job. Perfect explanation. Gathering firewood can and should be very rewarding. Physically and monetarily, but mostly mentally. "I did that" is a great feeling

What is your main business now?

Great story but not relevant today. You must be massively disconnected if you think somebody can do well with a firewood business in 2025.

Loved this video.

So while you're shitting on "regular jobs" and "bosses" and people who value education and making false equivalencies left and right, you're not saying how you acquired land needed to start your business though. Everybody knows that you need money to make money, especially in this economy. All I want personally is to be able to own some land and do not only this but a million other projects, and know for a fact you don't need to be anti social to do so. You seem to be incredibly fortunate and blind to the fact that other people may not have access to what you already had while blatantly downplaying society's very role in where you stand now. That must be the american way.

How/where were you able to harvest timber at that age? Did you own forest land at 18 or have family who did? Or is there some other way to harvest and sell firewood independently that doesnt require owning land