I do love tree work, but lately I've started compiling a list in my head of reasons why if I had it to do over again I might consider doing something different. I'm thinking it might make an interesting tail of winter topic. The worst aspects of tree work and why I sometimes wish I never got into this nightmare in the first place list. Just off the top of my head, and not in any particular order, here are some of the worst aspects as The MDS sees it:
1) The people I'm sometimes (usually) forced to deal with in the course of simply trying to make a living doing a difficult, highly dangerous job that I love. The dreaded employees.
2) The simple fact that no matter who you are, and how safe you try to be, you never know when it's your time for death or (arguably) worse, serious injury. That's a grim reality once you truly understand it and see it happen.
3) Winter.
4) Easy entry level for Goobers and tards of all types (good for them, but not so much for professionals trying to earn an honest living)
5) Lack of predictable revenue so that one can have a normal life.
6) Way too hard to make it sustainable unless maybe one wants to get involved with all that froofy twig chasing, cabling and spraying BS.
7) Finding, growing, and/or retaining normal, quality workers that are stupid enough to want to do this long term.
8) Highly competitive. It gets old, but hard to curb the hate.
9) Total lack of attractive females in the workplace.
10) Dirtbag workers with zero common sense and mechanical ability trying to destroy your equipment at every turn and in every way possible.
11) The ever-constant low bidding morons and upstarts.
12) Rampant substance abuse and general creepiness of the various workers we get to pick from. Lol.
13) The worker driving skills.
I know there's a lot I missed here, but that's a good start for anyone actually considering "starting your own tree business". There are good parts, but in the long run I kinda wonder if they're actually worth it. Just my two cents. Feel free to add anything I might've missed.
