Business questions and a few concerns..

[Mark Currie]

Hello everyone. This is my first post to this site, so I just wanted to introduce myself first. I'm a forest technologist from New Brunswick, Canada that has some climbing experience. A friend of mine and myself are considering starting our own company that will provide tree care and landscape management to private and corporate clients. Right now we're just in the planning stages and I wanted to ask a couple of questions.

First of all, I hope that I'm posting on the right board?

I was wondering what method people find best for first starting out with their own company? We're doing up some flyers to post around at various locations and also are checking with the local newspaper to get a small ad printed as well as inserting a flyer in a run of papers. I guess we're checking on the cost right now. I was also thinking going door to door in certain areas of the city with high tree counts.

I guess one of our major obstacles would be the fact that there are a few tree services around (one of which I worked for after I moved back from the US) and they do quite suspect work (I could go on about this, in an entirely different thread). I guess we want to get our name out and to educate homeowners about the benefits of proper tree care.

Anyway, if anyone has any comments, suggestions, criticism, etc. I'd be grateful to hear them.

Thanks in advance,

Mark Currie

 

[pigwot]

Welcome Mark,
Licensure and insurance and proper, safe equipment and use of PPE are a very good start. Look professional, but more importantly 'be' professional. There will always be those who do 'suspect' work. You don't have to disparage them. Rather just market your professionalism, do good work, and yes, educate your public, and success will make you too busy. People will reward a company that does a proper, professional job...and you know the old adage, a happy customer will tell two others, an unhappy customer will tell ten others (paraphrasing).
Best of luck to you.

 

[Mark Currie]

Actually, my partner and I sat down and discussed licenses and insurance tonight over a couple of beers. There are some government programs that are available for startup companies, so we're going to try them. So, for that stuff, we'll definetly need it for that, as well as it being the right/smart thing to do.

Just driving around the city, there are tons of trees around.. all in need of some TLC. That, plus our passion for trees is the reason that we're thinking of going forward with this in the first place. It's just that arboriculture isn't too big around here yet, so it might be a hard sell for the first little while. Alot of people's attitude is, "It's a tree. Cut it down, another one will grow in its place." I guess that's where the education part comes in.

Anyway, thanks for the comments.

Mark

 

[jonseredbred]

stay small

 

[B-Edwards]

The #1 problem with my business and most everyone else i talk to who owns thier business all say that finding the right (help) employees is that problem. Good employees need not take offense to what I just said. Bad employees will and i dont give a sh=t,, everything offends them. If you find the right guys (honest, work ethic, good people, humble,) you and them will flourish. Good luck I hope you reach your dreams!!!!!!!

 

[Quercus34]

You may find that you will need to educate the public about tree care and more importantly how your services can help them. You could drive around looking for hazardous trees or dangerous situations and informing the property owner of them. Developing a web site is a great tool for provinding information about all this.

If you and your partner are both going to be owners of the business you will need to decide who will be responsible for what. Someone needs to manage to books, handle marketing, purchase equipment, pay the bills, handle employees etc..

 

[northernmover]

Be realistic with how fast your company will grow...you probably won't be making a good living for a couple years. A lot of money will be tied up in equipment and insurance. Local newspaper ads are a great way to start, the more ads, the more work you will get. Good Luck and welcome to Arborsite!

 

[USFWC]

First and foremost...PLAN. A good plan will keep you from making mistakes that will cost you in both time and money. The bad thing about the plan is that you will constantly be making adjustments, so make sure that you have options within your plan when things do not go as you had wished. Plan for the best and work toward it, but identify what you need to do when things are tough.

Starting out, you are going to feel like you 'need' all sorts of things to really succeed, but if you think about everything a little more critically, you can easily weed out was is needed and what is just 'fluff'. NEVER skimp on safety equipment though.

Funding for many things is going to be difficult at times, so have a good relationship with a bank that is willing to give you a line of credit to help you through those times.

After you get all of the necessities in place, find a source of consistent work and then good employees. You get good employees by offering them good pay, benefits and a future (job security). My business is about 1.5 years old and I am quickly learning this fact. I protect myself initially by having them on as independent contractors. If I have openings for them, those that prove themselves worthy of a permanent position through hard, intelligent and honest work will be getting a good paying, permanent position with benefits. Remember, unless you are buying very expensive equipment or a business office/building, your payroll is going to be your biggest expense. Learn ways to reward those that are making you money and get rid of those that are not pulling their weight. Letting anyone go will be hard as being a good boss requires a certain level of personal involvement, but do not get overly-involved as it will be a disservice to yourself and your other employees...you have a responsibility to them as well as to yourself to succeed.

Next...train your employees VERY well. Even the best of employees will fail if you do not give them adequate training. Train them especially well on safety issues and have mandatory safety meetings at least once a month and have a quick safety check on every job, every day.

Well, I could write all night, but I need to get to bed! I hope everything goes well for you and if you ever have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] or just PM me.

 

[clearance]

Alot of people's attitude is, "It's a tree. Cut it down, another one will grow in its place." I guess that's where the education part comes in.


Mark

This is true, they do grow again. Welcome to the site, good advice has been given already, mine is to not shy away from removals, if someone really wants a tree gone-do it. Good luck to you guys.

 

[1I'dJak]

I've rece4ntly started my own business as well... i'm luck in that most of my work has been climbing and topping trees for the logging industry, which for certain parts of the year provides solid work...since we've been shut down for snow i've been doing res work....i have personal workers compensation coverage but have been unable to get liability as i'm just starting out and my previous years' income has been fairly low....they said we want to see more time and money...bit of a catch 22 but i always tell the homeowner the situation and i only do jobs that i'm confident in...i'm in small town bc and i'm finding that there is that mentality (cut 'er down) mixed with an interest to preserve trees...due to the winds here most of i've been doing a lot of spiral pruning, for the most part talking people out of topping (unless its been topped previously) & removals...there's a fine line between 'educating' people and acting condescending which just turns people off... especially older people who've seen more than i have...be civil, offer advice but don't act like a know it all...i haven't advertised yet, most of my work has come from word of mouth and neighbours seeing me...the heavy winds here have helped out as well

 

[toscottm]

New Business: Professionalism

Mark,

My recommendation is quite simple and redundant to the answers provided. Basically, just be 'professional'. Don't act professional, 'be professional'.

Educate clients, provide value added service, practice good arboriculture and practice good business. Join the ISA and take advantage of as much training as you can - be an expert. Be sure to register and maintain good standing with the worker's compensation board. Obtain proper business insurance that addresses the unique risks of arborists (see: www.treesure.ca - Canada's only insurance exclusively for arborists).

From the marketing and promotion point of view, find ways to make your advertisements work for you. Offer to write 'editorial' as a soft-sell of your services. Does your local newspaper have an 'Ask the Expert' article? Offer to participate. Have a web site! With the technology of a Content Management System (CMS) so inexpensive and easy to use (if you can post messages here, you can build and maintain your own website) this is a must. Write a regular newsletter. Share 'hints & tips'. Be knowledgeable, be visible and be the choice!

Let us know how things go.

Best wishes for success!

Scott

 

[Tedmc]

Professionalism

Scott,

Just responded to your insurance post. Again you are on the mark. I have been doing my homework for three years now just to think about starting my own company. Joined ISA ( Southern Chapter US ). studying for certified arborist exam, working in the industry, and attending seminars, conferences,etc.. Professionalism is key to my own success and to that of the industry. Thanks for your advice!

 

[demott]

New business

Mark in any business number one priority is sales not the work. You will need to become an expert at advertising to make your self different from the competition. You're right in saying that people need to be educated. Take that thought and expand on it for your advertising.
Check out
http://www.dankennedy.com

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Unless you are remarkably better for qualifications than existing companies, you main need may be to just get your name out there for people who don't have a service yet, or may want to change.

Honestly, I wouldn't waste much breath and ink on a bunch of education stuff on flyers.

Put all that stuff on your website.

If you didn't see the link elsewhere on this site, you might check the END of this page >> http://www.mdvaden.com/search_engine.shtml

The latter 15% or so of that page deals with getting your name out via all the other advertising pointing to your website.

The first part deals more with ranking, which is of little relevance for you right now.