You make some valid points and I agree on most. I think one of the biggest deciding factors between success and failure is how well a company is managed. It does not matter if its a one man show or a fully outfitted company if you don't have a long term buisness plan you will never get ahead. Alot of the bigger company's are very diverse, if one aspect of the buisness is slow they make up for it in another area wether it be in tree work or an entirely different entity all together. More now then ever people are shopping for the best price, We still have a great clientele that keeps us busy but for all the new customers 8 out of 10 times it comes down to price. For example earlier this week we had a $2,400.00 tree job that we used a 28 ton crane on. Shortly after getting the contract on this job I did another estimate around the corner were the guy just wanted this big silver maple put on the ground and left. The tree was over the house on one side and a service line and guide wire on the other, he also had a very nice ornamental garden at the base. I told him $1,200.00 put on the ground and left, he could not sign the contract quick enough. That tree took us 1.5hrs with the crane and bucket truck, that same tree would have taken all day roping it out, it had a broken center and no good gin points or tie in points at all. I would not have done that tree for less then 2k without the equipment. So anyways long story short we did $3,600.00 in tree work in less then a day and after expenses cleared roughly 2,600.00 Those same two jobs would have taken a qualified crew without a bucket or crane a solid 2 to 2/12 days to complete. I know the figures above are not a staggering amount but the fact that we can complete more jobs in a giving week then 2/3rds of the local competition really adds up at the end of the year. So the point of my rambling is, having the proper equipment pays for itself in the end, The company yeilds higher revenue, the employees are happier, you get a ton of great advertising with a 100'+ of boom in the air, tax right offs, more production means you are in more places which equates to more buisness, etc,etc...