Anyone have experience with companies that offer a dual service?

[joezilla11]

Example: roofing and tree service, or construction and tree service? I've been roofing for over 10 years and have been working for myself now for a few years while continuing to work with other contractors. In my pursuit to become an arborist ive been considering keeping my roofing business and offering trimming and pruning as it pertains to roofs and overhanging branches. I would continue to pass along the difficult tree services and removals to the experienced tree guys. Just wondering if this is a good marketable approach? This would be a long term goal after I get training and experience in the field. Tree work is what I want to do but roofing is what I currently know how to do. Thought it might help me transition into the field. Any thoughts or experiences? Note- a lot of my work is repairs and I come across trees that need this service. Also I have no problem giving up roofing as that was my original approach I just thought I could work off what I have. Thanks

 

[taylorsaw]

Seems like a logical service to offer with your roofing business. If you have clients that know you and trust you they will be glad if you can trim trees as a prevetative measure for the life of their roof covering. JMTC Brian

 

[Jed1124]

Just my opinion. I would not want a tree service roofing my house and I would not want roofers working on my trees. If you plan on becoming an arborist I would keep it separate from the roofing business. To many people think they can tack on tree work to a landscaping,construction, yard maintenance company. I think that is the main reason if you know anything about trees driving down the road can be painful looking at all the hacked trees.

 

[ATH]

...I would not want a tree service roofing my house and I would not want roofers working on my trees....

Me neither.

Just as a "for example": My mother in law was having some basement work done. We were talking about what they were going to do, etc... I asked where they were going to come in with the backhoe, and when she pointed to the place, I said "then I better trim that tree back". She said they told her not to worry about it, they'd take care of it. Maybe they could have done a good job...but the first picture that came to my mind was the operator would use the hoe to move any branches out of the way that he felt necessary.

When a roofer says "I can get those branches out of the way", I don't expect much better. When an arborist says "I am good at fixing roofs", I can't help but think 'sounds like you have given yourself a lot of practice...maybe I don't want you dropping branches on my roof!'

I don't doubt an individuals ability to do both...just too many "jack of all trades/master of none" type guys out there, and those are two long-term projects that I really want done well.

 

[Youngbuck20]

You mean like massage parlours? They offer massage and happy ending. Win win? lol

I did some work for a guy and after I was done all the trees he says: "Now were gunna advertise for tree work!" to his son. This guy does everything under the sun, as long as it makes him money, and by does everything I mean he knows people who do things, who he subs out and pays hourly when he makes the lump sum. He was a pain to work with and smashed a fence, cut my new rigging rope (still hasnt paid me for it) and almost killed his son while trying to avoid the cedar from going through the customers roof, the same customer that HAD the nice black chain link fence, that he smashed lol. Anyways. Business' should stay away from tree work unless they only do tree work. No one understands what needs to be done like us. "Just climb up there and cut it down!" - says roofer/framer/landscaper/moron contractor.

 

[B Harrison]

I offer everything, but tree service is for the most part as a contractor who is helping and providing equipment. I do not have liability for tree removal so use someone who does.
In my experience if a tree is over a house you want the insured (Commercial Tree Removal Policy) not general liability roofing insurance, theres a difference.

All other aspects of construction are my specialty with over 14 years of experience and all the equipment, the tree stuff for me is just fun, I am still learning and know my limitations before I contract in help.


I lose a lot of work because I price work to be done correctly and completely, I am the one who rakes your yard and mulch and throw a little grass seed the divits.

 

[bushwacker101]

Hey I own a tree service and I want to grow my business. I want to add a handyman service, I have seen a few guys doing it and have watched a couple videos on youtube. I think it will be good as once I done the tree I can do some other stuff around the house for the home owner for some extra cash. COME ON, GIVE ME A BREAK:msp_angry: and we wonder why tree service rates r in the tank, because "Tree Work" will make a good side income, you dont see legit tree services adding roofing, carpentry, etc to our line up of services! Stick to what you know, ever think of adding something that pertains to your business like evestroughing and such.

Ben
Bushwacker Tree

 

[treecutterjr]

We stick to tree & stump removal. I have often thought of adding services, such as Mowing and maybe selling mulch (we already sell firewood). As far as going into a totally different field, I feel like it would make your legitimate tree service look bad. I occasionally due some hauling or demo-type stuff, when a tree crushes a shed or small garage. But, to Cut down a tree & then say ' "Hey, I can clean your Windows, Too!"' , would just make you seem like one of the boot-leg guys running around out here.

 

[capetrees]

I'd say go for it. Being on a roof shows you're not afraid of heights. Ladders come in handy in tree work at times(just spent a day on one taking out three trouble trees) and you're able to do labor, something not many are able or willing to do and most don't realize the effort. Without going into it in detail, I offer a number of different services throughout my part of the world and it's all because not every line of work is full time and thus there is a lack of people doing the work so I fill in these needed areas and do OK for myself. Ya, the tree work I do could be done by some of the big tree companies but I can do it so why not?

If you are willing to give it a try and can realize when you're not doing a good job or are in over your head, I say try it. It may become your full time job. I wouldn't give up the roofing just yet though. No guarantees if you jump ship.

 

[bushwacker101]

My opening statement was more a point at the OP, I have no plans at adding anything to my business other than just a tree service. My point is this, every Joe Blow thinks he can add Tree Service to his list of things he does and line his pocket with some extra it's ruining the rep of legit tree service providers (just look on youtube at all the hacks). Stick to roofing, plumbing, landscaping, etc and leave the tree work to the pro's.:msp_wink:

Treecutterjr we added a Davco mulcher/mower for our ASV 30 to our equipment list and if you can afford it and your area will support it go for it.

Ben
Bushwacker Tree

 

[woodchuck357]

Just because you may not be able to do quality work in more than one field

don't assume someone else is as limited. I know several people who are able to do outstanding work in totally unrelated professions. Others are happy working in very narrow endeavors.

I have always thought one should learn as much as possible about as many things as are interesting. Go for it, but only do quality work, no matter what kind of job it is.

Utube vids are usually on there because they ARE train wrecks.

 

[Overwatch]

Not everyone has the free-time to acquire the knowledge to attain proficiency in more than one profession; when it comes to manual labour, arboriculture is one of the deeper fields that takes much longer to master than many others, in my experience.

There are certainly no shortage of tree hacks out there- the resentment towards 'dabblers' and such by the professionals here is well-founded. If you're not going to be a low-balling dabbler, and are committed to tackling the field of tree care with huge investments of training time and money, then I don't see much cause to dissuade you.

 

[sgreanbeans]

There are many Jack of all trades that do it already. Have a guy back home that does this, they will build you a patio, roof, poor concrete, a retaining wall, whatever you need done, he will have a business card for it. Too bad he sucks at all of it. I would get request for out of the box stuff all the time. I would send that work to a pro in that field, and they would return the favor, works well.

 

[joezilla11]

Thanks for all the replies and to clear things up I don't offer services that I'm not qualified to do and I don't plan on becoming a hacker just to make a buck. But I do plan on investing a lot of time and money to learn the trade because im in a position that i can do that and I do plan on offering this service but again this is a long term goal as I become qualified and experienced enough to handle. My question was whether to market them together or keep it seperate. I asked this question because I come across home owners who want this service but I always pass this work on to the pros when I come across it. I agree that there are services that do not go together but there are aspects of tree work that do correlate to roofing and that would be what I could offer. I would not market a full tree service as that's not what I can do, or electrical or concrete as they do not relate, even tho I can I don't. The work is there because I come across it. I understand the idea of having one specialty but like some of you guys said a lot of contractors are qualified to do many trades and they do so. My good friend is a builder and does a majority of his work himself. The jobs he subs out isn't because he's not qualified to do it but because some jobs just require more man power to complete.

Again thanks for the responses it's nice to get some feedback

 

[joezilla11]

Thanks overwatch I understand the resentment toward dabblers which is not what I'm trying to be. Just trying to find a good approach and work with what I have in the time being as I assume it will take quite some time before I build the experience I would need to work as a qualified arborist which is my ultimate goal. I understand this could take several years which is why this is a long term goal and I'm just thinking out loud as I plan ahead.

 

[old_soul]

joe zilla its a good idea in theory but a business nightmare.

the only way to really pull it off would be to have separate companies, employees, insurance, accounting etc which means....double the headaches for you. Then each company, subs, or refer work to each other.

So much more equipment, insurance, risk on the tree side than roofing.

Not just as simple as "while we're here, we can trim that tree for you" When you have to come back a second time with a fleet of trucks, crew, your pricing will be up there with every other co. in town

Not trying to bring you down man, but I've researched into similar work around here and it ended up not being worth it.

 

[woodchuck357]

Not every job requires a crew

joe zilla its a good idea in theory but a business nightmare.

the only way to really pull it off would be to have separate companies, employees, insurance, accounting etc which means....double the headaches for you. Then each company, subs, or refer work to each other.

So much more equipment, insurance, risk on the tree side than roofing.

Not just as simple as "while we're here, we can trim that tree for you" When you have to come back a second time with a fleet of trucks, crew, your pricing will be up there with every other co. in town

Not trying to bring you down man, but I've researched into similar work around here and it ended up not being worth it.

Since I have been retired, I find myself doing a few jobs that I can handle without a helper. I make a fair profit for my time and skill, and the homeowner doesn't have to pay a part of the overhead for a company to maintain a large crew and every piece of equipment they feel they need to handle huge, difficult jobs.

Much of the time, if the homeowner had to pay the big company's price, a hazard would just not get taken care of.
Just last week I was called to do a little job and was told by the owner the large outfit she first called was very condescending, even belligrent because she was wasting his time even looking at her problem. His bid of $450 for a simple, 30 min, one man job made her positive he just did not want to do piddling jobs. She never even asked for a quote from me, just said do it and bill me.

With my record of many years of service and never having to pay a claim my insurance is low, my truck and equipment are old but very reliable, as am I. 'We may not be as fast as we once was, but we're as good as we ever was!' Maybe better.:msp_razz:

 

[woodchuck357]

I can list a few outfits that do a very poor job even tho they only do tree work.

There are many Jack of all trades that do it already. Have a guy back home that does this, they will build you a patio, roof, poor concrete, a retaining wall, whatever you need done, he will have a business card for it. Too bad he sucks at all of it. I would get request for out of the box stuff all the time. I would send that work to a pro in that field, and they would return the favor, works well.

I can also give you the names of handymen who can do excellent work on every one of the jobs listed in this post.

A bad example, as you have posted, does not mean the OP should not give it a try.:cool2:

 

[taylorsaw]

I have been self employeed all of my life. I make my living running a small construction company. I myself specialize in high end trim work. I worked for a small tree outfit part time to get through school and then came home to the family construction business. I have been to several climbing schools and have read every book I could get my hands on about the subject. I have found that a self employed person must be willing to do whatever they can land to keep food on the table. I do tile work, trim work, concrete, framing ,roofing, and all other types of repairs. I work for a tree service from time to time when they need help. I do the absolute best job I can no matter what I'm doing and my repeat clients know this and call me back for it. I am not taking anything away from the guy who only does one trade, I just find its hard for the small guy to make it if you do not diversify. If you can do the job correctly and safley I say go for it your clients will be happy to have someone they trust doing their work no matter what it is.Thats just this "moron carpenters" two cents. Brian

 

[KenJax Tree]

Does that mean you can drop branches on roofs and then then tell the HO hey no worries i do roofs too:msp_scared: