Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:33:30 +0000
From: mike resnik
Subject: Small business introduction: Collins Mountain Grading
COLLINS MOUNTAIN GRADING, (919) 929-3324, .
Website: www.collinsmountaingrading.com
I am Mike Resnik, and I write to introduce my business, Collins Mountain Grading. First I want to thank Gene for producing the Chatlist and for providing small businesses this opportunity. I also want to thank my friends and customers for voting Collins Mountain Grading Chatham’s Best for the past three years.
WHAT I DO (AND HAVE DONE). 1. Land clearing (usually small areas with few trees larger than 12†breast height) for “jungle taming†, yard enlargement, building sites, gardens, fence lines, farm roads, trails, and long and short driveways; 2. Land grading to level or improve landscapes, or to solve drainage problems; 3. Backfilling, spreading and moving dirt, gravel and topsoil; 4. Ditching for footings, water lines, and French drains; 5. Driveway and subdivision road grading, construction and re-construction; 6. Small pond construction and renovation.
My equipment has been ideal for most of these projects; for others a bigger machine could certainly have done the job faster. But, as many people have remarked, I am very skilled, and this has enabled me to get the job done within budget. My business has expanded enough to justify the regular employment of a very able and hard working assistant, Ken Withers, who does most of the hand work–chainsawing, shoveling, raking, placing rip-rap, etc. Sometimes we collaborate with other grading contractors with bigger equipment. (We also carry workers compensation
as well as general liability insurance.)
MY EQUIPMENT. I have a medium sized “bobcat†with removable, over the tire steel tracks. Weighing about 7500 lbs and powered by a 57 horsepower diesel, the machine looks and acts like a small “bulldozer†. It has a number of attachments, including grading and digging buckets, a forklift, a brush grapple and a small backhoe for digging ditches.. I sometimes use my farm tractor for grading longer roads and driveways. Finally, I have a medium sized dump truck for carting brush, logs, up to 6 tons of dirt or gravel and pulling my equipment trailer.
Please do not sell my little “bobcat†short. More than one customer and professional grader has used the term “amazing†to describe what I can do with it. On the other hand, when bigger equipment is needed, I will rent it or enlist the help of another operator.
ABOUT ME. For 39 years I was a philosophy professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, specializing in Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics. I retired formally in June of 2006, but still retain some ties with UNC and academic philosophy. My wife, Janet, whose pottery you may know, and I have lived on our farm on Collins Mountain Road since 1967. We have been busy clearing pastures, building barns, studios and rental houses, and raising horses and timber ever since. Janet gave me my first “bobcat†as an anniversary present. I learned to use it on our farm by clearing pasture land, digging two small ponds, building a three quarter mile road to our children’s house sites, clearing and landscaping their lots, and excavating their basements. My business was born when our son, Dmitri, suggested that I “stop pushing over OUR trees and go push over somebody else’s.â€
MY COMPETITVE ADVANTAGES. I am in this business because I enjoy the challenges it provides. I will dedicate myself to doing a good job for you. My equipment is suited for working on a small scale; my “bobcat†can get into most backyards. My rates are very reasonable; you can probably hire me for an afternoon for not much more than you can rent anything like my equipment, and get more done to boot. Finally, although my business is growing very nicely, I am still available. I can promise you that if you call or email me I will respond as soon as possible. If you decide to use me, I will be able to turn to your job within weeks rather than months. This is probably one reason why in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Chatham Journal-Chatlist Surveys, Collins Mountain Grading was voted Chatham’s best grading service.
Please visit my website (www.collinsmountaingrading.com). I think you will find it entertaining as well as informative.
Thank you for reading this.