I feel as though I've walked in PTS' shoes at one point in my career. Many years ago, when I was one of the 'small guys' looking to become one of the 'big' guys, a really big job came along requiring me to take a leap of faith in buying more equipment and hiring more employees. I took the leap and did the job. In the span of 3 months, my company grew from 6 employees to 12 and my capital investment quadrupled. It was a big leap for my 5-year-old company but it forced me to go after bigger fish in order to keep my new investment alive. I agressively pursued other accounts and soon became a tri-state tree service - one of the biggest in the area. It wouldn't have happened without initiative, caculated risk and potential for growth.
So, the question was posed - 'how can a midwest tree service grow so much that it can support 15 employees and all that equipment'? Well, growth isn't as much about market location as it is about market potential. Potential is as much a state of mind as it is a geographic location.
Because the population in the midwest is so strung out across areas, you generally have to be willing to diversify and do a bit of traveling if you want to grow. And there is a lot of potential to grow in the midwest if you're willing to take some calculated risks. PTS sounds like someone who's willing to take some calculated risk in order to grow his company. I only know the guy from reading some of his posts on this site, but, he's probably grown up his whole life with a strong worth ethic and with strong moral character - someone who knows how to treat his customers and his employees with a lot more respect than some of the other blokes on this forum.
There's a heck of a lot more to starting, maintaining and growing a successful business that just owning a chainsaw in an area where there are a lot of big trees. It takes ambition and character in addition to 'know how' if you want to succeed and grow in this business. It's the 'magic 3' that any good businessman has to have if he's going to survive and even find growth potential in what others see as a 'slowing' economy.
It's an old adage but, some see the glass as half full, some as half empty. My guess is PTS is a half-full kind of guy where treeinovator is just a bunch of bitter suds...
PTS, good luck with the growth. I hope you find the right person for the job and wish you the best...