Good strategy?

[fastbub]

Hey folks,
I have been lurking here for a while trying to gather info about the business. I am a climber with threeish years of experience. I took a few years off after some injuries from a fall out of a tree. (For the curious, I was using SRT and the top of the tree came out on me. I was climbing the lowside of a bit of a leaner and had no other included branches other than the crotch my line was through. I know it was dumb and I learned the hard way with a 35 foot ride.)
Anyway I have been doing some side jobs for friends of friends etc. while I have been going to college for the past few years. Now that I am about done with college I want to get back into tree work.

I am hoping some of the experienced here could help me out with some info on how they got their start with their own business. The three big questions I have are: 1. How did you deal with startup costs? It seems overwhelming. I want to have a professional image to go with proffesional work. So I would want a decent truck with an arbor body, decent chipper etc. Did you guys get a small business loan? Did you start by brushloading your pick-up and gradually move up? 2. How much and how did you go about your marketing. There is a ton of work in my area and most of the reputable companies are backed up to the tune of months right now. I would love to get some of that work but haven't a clue how to get myself out there.3. How do you bid jobs? I am sure prices vary with the area you are in, but any general tips would help. Do you just do it based on time it will take to do the job? I want to be competitive in price and I don't want to cut others throats either.

I have a local tree company owner wanting to hire me to climb for him which I probably will to get back into the swing of doing this everyday, and he is interested in selling to me eventually. Is that an option some of you took or did you build up your own? I am sure it would be a stretch for me to buy his business anyway. Three arbor body dumps, a crane a bucket truck, two chippers, a tractor, splitters etc. etc. and 25 years of customers! It won't be cheap!!

Anyway sorry for the long post. Anything would be cool. Advice? Stories? Encouragement? Discouragement? Let's have it!

Thanks!

 

[TackleTree]

I honestly feel that all of these methods have been proved by one person or another. As far as one proven way, well there will be many opinions and have been in the past. Not sure if you have tried to use the search option, but it will allow you look up old threads and posts on similar subject.

My advice is start small, build clients, keep overhead low. dont accept jobs that are bigger than your equip, or skills, but you can rent if needed. Once you begin to rent on a consistent basis then you might consider buying. As long as you have enough business to keep your machines busy, and make enough $ to pay the note, you will be under way.

Dont forget about insurance.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

Go work for the local guy. Make some mistakes on his dime. Be honest about your intentions and operate as if you already own the business yourself. A couple of guys who use to work for me had a similar situation to the one you describe. They are now partners with a guy who is focusing more on landscraping and looking to get out of tree work all together. They are doing extremely well for themselves (they are cousins, about 26 years old)

IMHO this is the only way to go so jump on the opportunity

 

[fastbub]

Hey thanks for the quick response! Don't worry insurance comes first! I feel bad about having done a few jobs for friends and family that had a risk for damage (over the house etc.) without insurance but nothing ever happened. I am not that arrogant though to think that I could keep flying below the radar and roll without insurance.

I have rented a small vermeer chipper (6" max) from my saw shop as well as a nice rayco jr. The rayco is a fortune to rent, but I understand the teeth and machine on a whole need a lot of maintenance. The chipper is a good deal. So you have to line up a bunch of stumps before you rent!!

I agree that starting with smaller jobs and not going beyond my equipment or ability is good advice, I guess I am just afraid of turning business away. Perhaps there is an advantage to marketing myself as a "small job specialist" ?

 

[fastbub]

OTG Boston, thanks for the advice. I am definitely going to work for him just to get my climbing skills sharpened up. The jury is still out on buying a turnkey business if for no other reason than just the expense. Also I like the idea of building up my own from scratch although it might be difficult and my wife won't like the uncertainty of it all.

 

[OTG BOSTON]

OTG Boston, thanks for the advice. I am definitely going to work for him just to get my climbing skills sharpened up. The jury is still out on buying a turnkey business if for no other reason than just the expense. Also I like the idea of building up my own from scratch although it might be difficult and my wife won't like the uncertainty of it all.

I bet she'll have no trouble helping you spend it when you start making huge dough!!!

 

[TackleTree]

I bet she'll have no trouble helping you spend it when you start making huge dough!!!

No doubt!

 

[Diesel JD]

Fastbub, just curious what your college degree will be in, and why you still want to do tree work. I find myself kind of drawn to treework, and I am a college educated guy who's in grad school at the moment... a lot of these fellows here also seem to be well educated I just wonder what the rationale is to go to school for all these years and then go back to the trees? Not mocking you, trying to understand some things I've been thinking about myself as much as anything else,
J.D.

 

[John464]

what part of NJ are u?

 

[treeseer]

I just wonder what the rationale is to go to school for all these years and then go back to the trees?

Put the knowledge to work. Keep it real.

 

[JonnyHart]

First of all I'd like to say I'm glad your fall wasn't any worse. I'm sure it helped you realize that seemingly simple mistakes and misjudgements can bring serious injuries or death. I hate to sound as if I'm stating the obvious, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I occasionally need a reminder.

Anyways, my goal is to start up my own tree service also, and like you, I want to do it the right way. Insurance from the very start, no employee off the books. I want modern, safe vehicle(s) and equipment, and at the same time, I feel I will fail if I have an enormous debt before I've even gotten to work. If you're getting a good price on chipper rental, then good for you, I would take advantage of it until you can buy. On the other hand, just because a tree service tosses brush into the back of a 3/4 ton pickup and slashes it down with a saw doesn't mean that they do sub-standard work. Most people in this game started there.

Excellent advice from OTG Boston! Become more aquainted with the day to day operations of a tree service, make some bucks and save what you can for what you need. Learn everything you possibly can from those more experienced than you (and if you feel that something is questionable, ask here). Be honest with your employer. Let him know your intentions and never try to pick up one of your employers clients or potential clients as side work for yourself.

Keep hanging around, there's tons of great info!

 

[fastbub]

Thanks everyone for the awesome replies! Diesel JD; my degree will be in criminal justice. I am applying to the police academy, but thinking about plan B too as it is very competetive and there is nothing else in criminal justice I want to do. So if I don't get in I will probably get back into tree work. I too am drawn to it. It is the only work I truly love. I got spooked a little bit but have learned from my mistakes and would love to get back!

 

[Climb020]

I like you fastbub am in a similar situation. I have an offer to be partners with a local company but want everything to be legit. The owner has approached be multiple times being he is getting up in age and his body just cannot take it for too many more years. By legit I mean paying and claiming taxes on income from Mon.-Fri. Insurance is a must and is already covered. If you go partners can you still fill taxes independently or do you have to stay in line with your parnter to prevent any legal problems.

I have the option of either be parnters of just do my own thing as a contractor but then I have to worry about the cost of insurance and the like correct? The company does about 50% percent of business in tree work so I want to be able to stay busy all year round by just contracting myself out the time they do lanscaping.I was gonna set up an appointment with an accountant to find out my options but I think I will need to talk with the owner on how is book keeping and such are done. Being only 22 I have a great oppitunity in front of me to eventually take over the tree care business but just don't have any idea of what the behind the scene holds. Any information or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[xtremetrees]

Why would you want to share the fruits of your labor with someone riding around in a truck.
You could run into one client that could send you more work than you want as a C.A. I have many potential customers seekiong me out from the C.A. listing but I simply dont wanna get big but it may be unavoidable.
Secureing the jobs is probably 50 % or more of my work as a small bus owner. Alot of sales. Its challenging and to me the hardest part.

 

[xtremetrees]

Why would you want to share the fruits of your labor with someone riding around in a truck.
You could run into one client that could send you more work than you want as a C.A. I have many potential customers seekiong me out from the C.A. listing but I simply dont wanna get big but it may be unavoidable.
Secureing the jobs is probably 50 % or more of my work as a small bus owner. Alot of sales. Its challenging and to me the hardest part.