How Mike Started a Sawmill and Stump Grinder Business

After getting his Woodland Mills sawmill he said he needed a stump grinder, which led to his tree stump removal jobs

It was a bad storm a few years ago that led Mike to get his Woodland Mills HM126 Portable Sawmill. 

The Wisconsin landowner said about a hundred pine trees had been blown down in the massive snow storm, and he said rather that let the trees go to waste, he talked with his wife and decided to put the lumber to use. That led him down a track which would end up with him forming Jozzy's Milling and Stumping, his side stump grinding business where he also offers tree removal and custom milling jobs.

"It started as a hobby and it really took off," said Mike.

How Do You Start a Stump Grinding Business?

For Mike he didn't intend to turn his Woodland Mills portable sawmill or WG24 Stump Grinder into the cornerstones of a new business.

Once he had his HM126 he started getting asked by friends and neighbours to do some milling jobs. They'd bring in trees and he would mill it up into useable lumber for a small fee.

"It started out as a small little hang out and BS for a little while and mill up a couple boards for them," says Mike.

After doing some of his own property cleanup he realized he also needed a stump grinder to get rid of pesky stumps. He considered buying an excavator but he wanted something he could easily haul on his tractor.

That led him to getting the WG24 Stump Grinder instead.

He started doing advertising on Facebook Marketplace and getting jobs cleaning up stumps. It helped that a lot of tree service companies would come in and take down trees, but none in his area offered stump removal.

It was an open market for him to come in and make money, and he wasn't expecting it to take off like it did.

The Whole Tree Removal Process

Mike says he offers a suite of options to his stump grinding customers, whether they want the hole filled in with top soil or wood chips or left as is.

"It depends on what they want, I'm pretty flexible," says Mike.

He also continues to get milling jobs, mostly by people who see his sawmill from the road and pop into his driveway to check it out and ask if he'd do some milling for them.

All this while he continues to work a day job, and he runs his side business during his free time. Yet it's become a larger part of his life as it's ramped up from a hobby to something much more.

"It really surprised me how well it took off," says Mike.