4 Easy Ways to Make'Additional Income with Your Scrap Wood

As you probably already know, being in the Tree Industry is high risk, but high reward. It's actually rated the #1 most dangerous job in the USA. It can also be costly to start up and maintain, but again, the rewards are also high.

So what if there was a way to make additional income off of what you are ALREADY doing!? What if I told you they were way easier and less risky? Wouldn't you want in on that?!
Here are 4 ways to make additional income with the skills and equipment you already have! And some of these jobs you might be able to pass on to your spouse, children, or friends and share the wealth!

1. Firewood

We might as well start here because it's probably the most obvious to you, but we have some extra ideas too. You have an overabundance of wood' what to do with it?? Many companies in the winter months will split and sell firewood in bulk, either by the truckload or the cord. This is normally more of a country-living thing, as many people who live on more land will heat their homes with wood burning stoves and outdoor wood boilers. BUT! What we suggest is selling wood in the city! Land, trees, and firewood aren't as available as they are in the country and people are willing to pay DOUBLE just to get some wood to throw in their fireplace. This makes spending all that time splitting and stacking a bit more worth it! And don't forget about campgrounds, gas stations, and any other place you've seen the smallest bundles of wood tied together and going for 5-$10! This is a huge way to make some easy cash and will bring in even more income if you're comparing cord to cord amounts. Campers are paying way too much for far too little wood due to the convenience of having it right at camp, which is a plus for you. Plus many of these places offer contracts so you can return the next year!

2. Wood chips

Wood chips are something most of you are giving away for free. And that's great! But why not ask for $10, $20, $50, or a donation if you're looking to make additional income. These chips are all natural, which is huge right now, and can be used in landscaping, gardens, walk ways, around trees, and so much more! Nine out of ten people don't have a dump truck, so they can't drive to the store and get that bulk discount; they're buying small, individual, inconvenient bags, one-by-one. We recommend that you reach out to private parks, garden clubs, home owners associations, and local garden stores and see if you can form a relationship! And this is just the start. We haven't even talked about dying your chips yet! If you have a surplus of chips, think about adding on to your company and getting a dyer and bagger. Now we're not talking $10 per HUGE LOAD, we're talking at least $4 for 2 cubic feet. Something to think about!

3. Mill and Wood Work

Wood working is hot right now. Sure, it's always been a no brainer for people more involved with nature to use free wood for outside decor, benches, tables, trim, countertops, and more but NOW it's becoming popular among everyone, and you should be a part of that! Again, maybe you won't make a killing if you're personally not milling the wood or doing the woodworking, but you HAVE to find a place to dump those HUGE, long pieces of wood you've loaded up after a long days work! If you don't want to take the time to split it, and it's too big to chip, find someone who could use the logs just as they are! You save them money from having to buy store bought wood, you make additional income, and now you just avoided dumping a trailer full of wood in your own backyard for the tenth time this year. BUT!!! If you do have the time and the space to mill, start busting out those countertops, cutting boards, trim, picnic tables, and more!! Have you or a friend rent a table at a craft fair, art show, or farmer's market and get paid for what comes easy for you!

4. DIY projects

This is where your kids, spouse, friends, and family come in! And maybe you too' if you have time in between chopping down huge trees! The Do It Yourself trend is crazy right now. If you're on Pinterest there's endless amounts of projects you can do with wood, twigs, branches, all kinds of natural material, and people are paying TOP dollar for things you think are junk pieces of wood. Hard, soft, it doesn't matter. You walk into a city store and you can now buy a bundle of birch branches to elegantly sit next to a fireplace, never to burn, for $20, easy. And they are in high demand. You may think this is nuts, but again, people in larger cities have no means to get wood in their concrete jungle. Logs cut into thin circles are making the best cake bases and placemats for weddings these days. Twigs are being used for abstract art inside frames. YOU may have no interest in this, but allow your crafty friends to have some fun and throw you some dollars when they are all done.

SO, are you ready to make additional income in those slow winter months? Do you have a side gig you want to share with the rest of us that's really been helpful in generating extra income!? We want to hear about it!