Your First Skid Steer Business in Canada

Who This Is For

This guide is for you if: You're in Canada, want to run a one-person operation (to start), buying used equipment, willing to sell work - not just operate, have some seat time (enough to not be dangerous), and have access to $15K-$30K for a down payment.

This guide is NOT for you if: You've never touched the sticks, planning to start a rental fleet, want to finance $150K+ on Day 1, or aren't willing to knock on doors and chase invoices.

Step 1: Understand How This Business Makes Money

You own a machine. People pay you to show up and do work. Money comes in two ways:

Hourly: $100-$175/hour depending on service and region. Clock runs while the machine is working. Simple. Predictable. But it caps your upside - a six-hour day at $130 is $780, even if you could've done it in four.

Quoted: You look at the site, estimate the time, give a flat price. A grading job you quote at $3,000 and finish in six hours pays $500/hour effective. Quoted work rewards speed and accuracy - which you don't have yet.

Beginner Target: 15-20 billable hours per week. At $130/hour average, that's $1,950/week. Over a 40-week working year (weather, holidays, downtime), about $78,000 gross. Subtract $30K-45K in costs. That's the real number.

Pricing Mode Rules

1. Start hourly for your first 20-30 jobs. Learn how long things actually take.
2. Track your billable percentage from Day 1 (target: 50%+ by month 3).
3. Move to quoted jobs only when your estimates are within +/-15% of actual time.
4. Once you're quoting accurately, quoted work is where the real margin lives.

Step 2: Pick Your Lane

Not every service works everywhere. Your market dictates which services actually sell. Three lanes. Pick the one that fits.

Lane A: Acreages and Rural

Best starter services: Brush clearing, post holes (fencing), grading/drainage, snow (long driveways). Typical billing: $200-$350/hr (brush), $50-$150/hole, $200-$400/push (snow). Biggest risk: Long travel between jobs eats margin. Lead sources: Realtors, rural municipalities, fencing companies, ag dealers. Starter stack: CTL (required) + bucket + brush cutter or auger + snow pusher. Works best in Alberta, rural BC, Manitoba, and anywhere with acreage developments.

Lane B: Urban Residential (Most Common)

Best starter services: Landscaping/grading, backyard drainage, small demo, snow removal. Typical billing: $100-$175/hr grading, $2K-$6K drainage jobs, $1.5K-$10K seasonal snow. Biggest risk: Crowded. Compete on quality and reliability, not price. Lead sources: Facebook Marketplace, Google Business Profile, builders, landscaping companies. Starter stack: CTL (for lawns/soft ground) + grading bucket + pallet forks + snow pusher. Works in any growing city or suburb.

Lane C: Light Commercial

Best starter services: Snow removal (lots/plazas), site cleanup, material handling, light grading. Typical billing: $150-$345/hr snow, $85-$140/hr site work, $3K-$10K seasonal contracts. Biggest risk: Slow payment (net 30-60). Need cash reserves. $2M CGL required. Lead sources: Property managers, parking lot companies, commercial GCs. Cold-call + rate sheet. Starter stack: SSL works if snow/paved-surface focused. CTL if mixing in grading. Best for operators with existing network of property managers or GCs.

Step 3: Choose Your Machine and Attachments

Two packages. Pick the one that matches your budget and whether you already own a truck.

Package 1: Minimum Viable ($21,500-$36,000)

• Older SSL (2012-2016, 2,500-4,500 hrs): $15,000-$25,000
• Bucket + 1 attachment (snow pusher or auger): $2,500-$5,000
• Used equipment trailer: $4,000-$6,000

Assumes you have a truck. For Lane C snow-focused, or someone testing the business before committing bigger.

Package 2: The Money-Maker ($40,000-$94,000) — Most Common

• Mid-range CTL (2015-2019, 2,000-3,500 hrs): $28,000-$42,000
• Grading bucket + 1 specialty + snow pusher: $6,000-$12,000
• Equipment trailer (14K GVWR): $6,000-$10,000
• Subtotal with existing truck: $40,000-$64,000
• Add truck if needed: +$15,000-$30,000

Handles Lanes A, B, and C. Popular models: Bobcat T590/T650, Cat 259D3, John Deere 325G, Kubota SVL75-2.

Step 4: Price So You Don't Lose Money

Pricing wrong is the #1 reason first-year operators go under. Not the machine. Not the market. The quotes.

1. Know your break-even rate. Monthly costs / expected billable hours = floor. For most financed CTL setups, that's $65-$85/hour. Below that line, you're paying to work.
2. Set a minimum charge. Mobilization cost + two hours of machine time, or $500, whichever is higher. A $200 job with two hours of travel is $67/hour - below break-even.
3. Charge mobilization separately. $150-$350 depending on distance. Quote it as a line item.
4. Pass through materials at cost + 15-20%. Gravel, topsoil, dump fees - all separate line items.
5. Pad quoted jobs by 30% until your estimates are proven. You will underestimate how long things take. If you think 8 hours, quote for 10.5. After 20-30 jobs, tighten to 10-15%.

Example: Quoting a backyard grading job

Site visit: 30 minutes. You estimate 6 hours of machine time. Your rate: $140/hour. 6 hrs = $840. Add 30% pad = $1,092. Mobilization: $200 (20 min each way). 4 yards topsoil: $45/yd delivered = $180. Mark up 15% = $207. Quote to client: $1,500 (round number, everything included). Finish in 5 hours: $300/hr effective. Takes 8: $188/hr. Either way, well above break-even.

Step 5: Know Your Monthly Nut

These are real numbers for a solo operator running a financed mid-range CTL:

Goes out whether you billed 80 hours or zero. Two slow months without a buffer and you're scrambling.

Step 6: The Survival Stack

Five things that protect you from the disasters that end businesses overnight:

1. Locates before every dig. Call your province's one-call system before you put a bucket in the ground. Free. One severed gas line is a five-figure bill and a potential criminal charge. Non-negotiable.
2. Written scope + payment terms on every job. For residential: 30-50% deposit before you show up, balance on completion. Email the scope, get a reply confirming. Texts and handshakes are how you do $4,000 of work and collect $2,000.
3. Insurance certificates on your phone. CGL minimum $2M. When a property manager says "send your certificate," you send it in five minutes, not five days.
4. Demo red flags. Pre-1990 structures can contain asbestos. Demo pays well, but get 50-100 hours of grading and hauling under your belt first.
5. Track billable vs. non-billable hours from Day 1. Not approximately. Exactly. Most beginners overestimate their billable percentage by 30-40%.

Step 7: Fund It and Buy Smart

Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP)

Ask your bank or credit union about CSBFP. Federal government backs a portion of the loan, which helps startups get approved. Covers equipment purchases. Walk in and ask for it by name. What lenders care about: a short business plan (2 pages), proof you have clients or a plan to get them, and 10-20% down. Personal credit score matters.

Register for GST/HST Early

You're required once revenue hits $30K. But registering before that threshold lets you claim Input Tax Credits on business purchases - machine, trailer, fuel, repairs. On a $40K CTL, that's a meaningful refund. CRA's Business Registration Online takes about 15 minutes.

Inspecting a Used Machine

• Hours vs age: Under 500 hrs/year is light use, over 800 is heavy
• Undercarriage (CTLs): Tracks, rollers, sprockets - $3K-$5K to replace
• Hydraulic leaks: Check every hose and cylinder
• Final drives: Listen for whining - $2,000+ per side to replace
• Cold-start behaviour: How does it start when cold?
• Service records: No records = deferred maintenance, you're buying someone else's repair bill

Step 8: Your First 30 Days

Week 1: Setup

Open a business bank account - keep personal and business separate. Set up Wave or QuickBooks for invoicing and expenses. Save digital copies of insurance certificates. Put your business name and phone number on the truck. Set up Google Business Profile (takes weeks to verify - start now).

Week 2: Build Your Outreach List

Identify 10-20 potential clients in your lane. Post on Facebook Marketplace and community groups. Cold-email or call with a one-paragraph pitch and rate sheet.

Week 3: First Jobs

Take the first 2-3 at market rate. Don't discount to "get started." Use your minimum charge. Send a written scope before you show up. Collect 30-50% deposit on quoted work before you unload the machine. Take before-and-after photos. Invoice same day.

Week 4: Review and Tighten

How many hours billed vs. total hours worked? Were your quotes accurate or did you underbid? Call every client and ask if they need anything else or know someone who does.

Step 9: The Solo Ceiling

Year 1: Build year. -$5K to +$15K net. Year 2: Turns. Repeat clients, phone rings. Year 3: Pays. $50K-$90K net.

The people at Ritchie Bros after 18 months didn't fail because the business doesn't work - they financed too aggressively, bet on one service, or didn't keep enough cash to survive the ramp.

But one person, one machine, 24 hours in a day. You can't bill more hours than you have. To go past $90K, you need a different structure.

Step 10: The $200K Path (And Beyond)

This step is about turning your solo operation into something bigger. It's not mandatory - plenty of operators run a clean solo business for a decade. But if you want $200K+ in owner income, here's what has to change.

Stage 1: Prove It Works (Year 1-2)

Everything in Steps 1-9. The milestone that unlocks scaling: you're booked 2-3 weeks out consistently, or you're turning down $2,000+ per week in work you can't take.

Stage 2: Add Machine #2 + Operator #1 (Year 2-3)

Buy or finance a second machine and hire your first operator. Your role changes: you stop being the only production capacity and start being the person who sells, schedules, estimates, and collects.

Example: Machine 1: 70 billable hrs/month at $130 avg = $9,100/month. Machine 2: 60 hrs at $110 = $6,600. Combined: ~$15,700/month gross. After overhead (~$9,000): $110K-$130K owner income in a good year.

Stage 3: Three Machines + Foreman (Year 3-5)

At three machines, you're running a small contracting company. A lead operator handles site execution. You handle business development, estimating, and the pipeline. You're off the tools except by choice. Revenue: $400K-$700K gross. Owner income: $150K-$200K+ for a well-run operation. And you've built something with exit value.

Five Mistakes Every Beginner Makes

1. Pricing without a minimum. Three hours for a $200 job = $67/hour before fuel. Set the minimum. Enforce it every time.
2. Demo too early. Concrete demolition involves asbestos risk, rebar, disposal logistics. Get 50-100 hours of lower-risk work first.
3. Buying attachments for jobs you don't have. A $12,000 forestry mulcher sitting in your yard doesn't earn money. Rent specialty attachments until the volume justifies buying.
4. Not tracking billable vs. non-billable time. You worked 50 hours. Billed 22. That's 44% billable. If you priced assuming 70%, every quote lost money.
5. Financing the maximum because the bank said yes. A $32K machine with lower payments gives you room in slow months. The best machine is the one you can afford to park for two weeks without panic.