Starting my own business, need advice.

[Treeguru]

I know there have been several threads related to starting up a new business, but everyone's situation is a bit different.

About myself: I am an ambitious 24 year old, living on my own with my future wife. I recently graduated with an associate's degree in landscape horticulture, I am ISA certified and hold my state's pesticide license. I consider myself very knowledgeable in horticulture/arboriculture, but like us all, there is always more to learn. I have alot of passion for the industry. I have several years of experience in the lawn/landscape biz and have worked at a young, but large arboretum for the past 2 years where I maintained over 3,600 trees/shrubs consisting of over 900 different species.

Business: Lawn/Landscape/Tree/Consulting

Lawn Services: Mowing, fertilization, insect/disease management, aeration, overseeding, sod, thatching.
Landscape Services: Design, removal, install, fertilization, insect/disease management, mulching, pruning.
Tree Services: Removal, planting, pruning, fertilizing, insect/disease mgt., lightning protection, cable/bracing.
Consulting: Diagnosing, appraisals, risk assesment.

Obviously these are alot of services to offer, but these are just my options. I am in a large, heavily populated suburban area. Starting out I will be on my own with very little capital, just a few grand for some equipment. I have a truck/trailer and access to storage facilities at no cost. I am not wanting to get into the mowing business, nor the landscape design/install biz. I am an arborist/horticulturist, and would like to primarily focus on plant health care eventually, maybe doing a few small installs here and there. I'm not a climber either. As much as I would like to be, I can't do heights.

I figured I could start out buying a good mower and get a few dozen accounts for 1-2 years, doing some design and installs and mulching here and there. Once I generate the cash, buy some equipment and continue adding services, eventually dropping the mowing services. What do you guys think? Any advice or start-up stories are helpful. I am in the process of creating a business plan during my winter downtime.

 

[bowtechmadman]

What will set you apart from the large scale businesses such as True Green and the current mowing services, tree services etc..? My first thought is being such a broad base of services you think very highly of yourself and abilities. Not sure one person can really be able to be an "expert" on so many things. Almost sounds like you want to be a General type contractor where you do the consulting then sub out the different services.
You mention in your tree services that you will do removal, pruning, and cable/bracing...yet you don't climb. I would those services in a heavily populated area would require someone who climbs.
My perspective is strictly as a homeowner who would be seeking some of these services...the customer if you will. Just some questions I'd ask if seeking services.

 

[BuckmasterStumpGrinding]

Get a job with treevet. He is in Cincinnati. He got banned a few months ago but someone might know how to get ahold of him. He is an @:$;' for sure but he knows his ****.

 

[BuckmasterStumpGrinding]

Find a good tree service that needs a landscaper. Get hired on and let them sell your services. You can haul brush for them to make a living and they can sell your service as theirs and share the profits from it. Treevet always seemed to have the richest customers around that would like your services.

 

[Treeguru]

Thanks for the feedback.

Bowtechmadman- I was actually an employee of TruGreen's for several years before deciding to persuit my horticulture degree. Nearly all of my co-workers and management lacked even basic horticulture knowledge, which was frustrating because I became so fascinated with the field but could never get any answers. Ultimately the services that I would like to offer would be those similar to TruGreen, but focused more on landscapes and actually doing them correctly. If a customer of mine has a landscape full of Taxus, I'm not going to pressure them into paying me $50 to come out and spray them with insecticide before they die. In addition to those services, I would like to have a tree crew that does the large tree work. The rest of the services listed up there are just ideas for me to gain the capital really.

BuckmasterStumpGrinding- I'm not sure who treevet is, but I most likely know them or am at least familiar with them. Do you know the company name?

 

[BuckmasterStumpGrinding]

shaw tree service

 

[BuckmasterStumpGrinding]

introduce yourself in the 101 forum. the business management forum does not get much traffic.

 

[Jwearb]

I know there have been several threads related to starting up a new business, but everyone's situation is a bit different.

About myself: I am an ambitious 24 year old, living on my own with my future wife. I recently graduated with an associate's degree in landscape horticulture, I am ISA certified and hold my state's pesticide license. I consider myself very knowledgeable in horticulture/arboriculture, but like us all, there is always more to learn. I have alot of passion for the industry. I have several years of experience in the lawn/landscape biz and have worked at a young, but large arboretum for the past 2 years where I maintained over 3,600 trees/shrubs consisting of over 900 different species.

Business: Lawn/Landscape/Tree/Consulting

Lawn Services: Mowing, fertilization, insect/disease management, aeration, overseeding, sod, thatching.
Landscape Services: Design, removal, install, fertilization, insect/disease management, mulching, pruning.
Tree Services: Removal, planting, pruning, fertilizing, insect/disease mgt., lightning protection, cable/bracing.
Consulting: Diagnosing, appraisals, risk assesment.

Obviously these are alot of services to offer, but these are just my options. I am in a large, heavily populated suburban area. Starting out I will be on my own with very little capital, just a few grand for some equipment. I have a truck/trailer and access to storage facilities at no cost. I am not wanting to get into the mowing business, nor the landscape design/install biz. I am an arborist/horticulturist, and would like to primarily focus on plant health care eventually, maybe doing a few small installs here and there. I'm not a climber either. As much as I would like to be, I can't do heights.

I figured I could start out buying a good mower and get a few dozen accounts for 1-2 years, doing some design and installs and mulching here and there. Once I generate the cash, buy some equipment and continue adding services, eventually dropping the mowing services. What do you guys think? Any advice or start-up stories are helpful. I am in the process of creating a business plan during my winter downtime.

Any update 4 years later? I am in a similar situation myself right now. 24, Certified arborist, pesticide license, associates in turfgrass management, bachelors in plant and soil. Been working in the tree industry since I was 15, with a 3 year pit stop on high end golf courses participating in construction projects. I have the opportunity to take over my fathers tree service but besides me he lacks anyone with any sort of tree/landscape competency. The costs and head aches of running a tree/landscape business seem like they outweigh the financial reward.