[livingwaters]

Just starting on my own this year, and i want to be legal by the first light of spring.

Any Californians out there with advice about licensing?

I'm a hardscape installer, ponds, rockwork, retaining, etc.
Just me for now but hope to have a helper or two by next fall,
insurance? workers comp?

[Bill Schwab]

The peoples republic of California will not allow licenses to LLC's. the liberal lawyers in the legislature wanted to make sure that all of of bad cheating contractors could be easily blamed when something goes wrong. If you have one employee or more, you fall victim to our work comp laws as well. Most likely because it is just yourself, and you have no history with any work comp carriers, you will have no other choice than to use State Fund, our state run work comp organization. They are slower than I have ever seen in any other comp carrier, they will process every injury allowing the worker to blame the employer without ever challenging the claim, and they charge 4.7 times more than private carriers in neighboring states.
Other than that, they are great so long as you don't ever need them.

As far as beiung legal by first light of spring....That's about right. If you apply to get into the line to take your contractors license exam, by Thanksgiving you should be able to actually take the test. Plan on setting aside 5 hours from your day even though if you know our industry, you can pass in about an hour. They will tell you right on the screen weather you passed or not, and assuming you pass, you then need to secure a bond, and liability insurance in excess of 1mm, then it will take you 4 months to recieve your physical license.

In preparation for the test, I would recommend getting the private study guides. As you prepare yourself, don't study the booklet. Study the proper answers for each question. So long as you do that you will be fine.

Working without one, you face a $6,000.00 fine and can get 6 months in jail. If there is a conflict, because you have no license, no matter how well your work turns out, the stautory law read that you will be ordered to pay 10% of the monies you collected as a non licenced contractor back to the home owner. And there is no leeway on that.

Honestly, I would find something to do that you can do legally,because if you get nailed in one of those sting operations the CSLB has, it is going to cost you dearly.

[livingwaters]

Thanks for your advise Bill,

Is there a certain license just for landscpe contractors?
Are there different licenses for different tipes of landscaping, maint., hard, etc.
Who do i contact to get more info locally?

[Bill Schwab]

You want to study for the C-27 exam, landscape contracting. If I still have them I can send you the study books, the problem being if they tweeked the questions on the test as most scholars do, those study guides won't help you. The minute you sign up for the test, you will be inundated with all kinds of companies who sell study booklets, there are even some that guaranty you will pass within 3 tries, or your money is refunded. I would not go for one of those, you have to have the confidence enough in yourself to be able to pass. It's a pretty tough test, 150 questions pertaining to business and California business law, the second 150 pertaining to our specific trade. You take the business side first, and if you can't pass that, they will not give you the landscape side, however if you do pass, and cannot pass the second 150 questions that are trade related, they will reschedule you, and you won't have to take the business side all over again.

Costs are as follows: The C-27 license will cost you a total of $375.00. The first 125.00 is to secure your slot in the trest room, and they figure of you pay that you will be there so the seat they sold is filled. After you pass, you will have to come up with a bond, Pacific Surety of HCC will provide that for you, and a credit check with a score over 600 will be expected to get the bond. you can get bonds with worse credit, but they are going to doink you for a grand a year rather than $400.00 or less.

After you got proof of a bond, they will nail you for the other $250.00. Then you play the wait game. It is the best example of a licensing program I have seen, with one major glitch. The process takes entirley too long and there is no excuse for it. They will tell you if you pass on the Computer monitor the day you take the test..So, you wait 4 months to take it, and then another 3-4 months to get an active license. And, they are so understaffed that enforcement is a joke. If they were serious about it, every illegal alien driving into the supply yards would get followed and nabbed.

Go to Google, type in CSLB, and about the third line down you can follow the links to get an application. I think they have an office right in Santa Cruz, rigth next to the best skate board deck company in the US!

[livingwaters]

Thanks again Bill,
You are so kind to take time and share with a newbie.

[Bill Schwab]

Any time Living. I am a strong advocate for licensed contractors and if the entire country would adopt licensing programs like we have here, it would be harder for whack and hacks to jump in and mess with pricing and other livlihoods.

[cjwittnebel]

I'm also starting a business and will most likely be forming and LLC very soon. I have been reading the posts on this board and will say that by far this is the most constructive forum I have been on.

I am looking for honest feedback here - I have a 4yr degree and have been Employed as a marketing analyst over the past 8 years and have made a good living. I;ve done landscaping on my own house and have helped out friends and family on paver patios, drain tile ditch, irrigation install and various plantings for shrubs over the past few years.

I am looking to start by doing hardscapes - patios and retaining walls in year one and adding irrigation systems and water features in year two. I am extremely motivated and study the hell out of things before jumping in so I am reading books and attending seminars right now in preperation for next Spring. I will also be desinging landscapes and am very proficient with computers and software so I should be able to pick up the design software quickly.

Straight out- Give me your feedback on whether I am nuts for doing this without ever working for a landscaping company first. Also, I am planning to purchase a pickup, dump trailer and a high end design software suite along with misc. tools. Planning for one full time employee to work with me to start and add more according to work load. Planning to pay cash and store the equipment at a nearby farm for $20 per month so there should be little to no monthly overhead as far as equipment and rent go. The skid steer will be rented until I can justify purchasing one. Insurance and liability are another matter and I am waiting for quotes on those as I type.

What is your feedback, should I go all in and take out loans to buy first rate equipment and should I work for someone else first?

Your feedback is much appreciated.
Thank you-
Collin

[Bill Schwab]

Until you grow into it, the 20K you will spend on a high end computer and design program would be better spent on tools that will make you money and save labor. I am a pretty much anti tech person, we have way too much of it for our own good insoceiety, and that promise of saving time and money that PC makers made has never held true in the small to mid sized landscape company. You don't really need anything other than a QB program and a word processer to get going. I strongly recommend QB Pro contactor 2005, or 2006 if it is comming out.
And, at the same time, I feel companies will grow into a position where they have had to spend alot of money on a design program. As we have had to do. With the price tag I could have bought most of another mini excavator and could have been billing $100.00 an hour for that machines time.....

Research your market along with all the other stuff you are working in. Does it demand, or even grant a big bucks program that will without a doubt take your focus away from other things far more important on start up that devoting time to a program. Then there is the over sell. Before you sell big dollar jobs, or what is referred to as "high end", you absolutley need to eb able to supprt the work you sell. In other words, putting your
companies actions where your mouth is. It is easy to sell high end work with very little other than yourself. Supporting that sale is a whole different animal.

.
What you are going to find out is that there are not enough hours in a day, you don't have enough arms and legs, and your head is not big enough to possibly wear another hat. When it is all said and done, buy only what you need to in terms of softwares because they change it so fast they are often out dated and unsupported by the time you have that slot of time made so you can dedicate to using them.

Paying cash for equipment is a good thing, however, you can do alot of other things with that money by working off someone elses. For example, you put that money in a high yeild account with an auto pay each month you make money you never knew you had by letting your money work for you, rather than you working for your money.

There is alot to learn in the field of hardscapes, and where with a patio, all you need to do is base it out properly and make sure pavers are level, (summed up here) with retaining walls, you need far more technical knowledge and might want to study that a while before you jump in.

Good luck, and feel free to ask anyone here about anything.

[cjwittnebel]

Thanks Bill, your insights are much appreciated...