Treeguy020: should you do your own work on your own time? Absolutely. For many new, aspiring climbers it's your only recourse to gain the skills & gear necessary to be a top climber. I've worked for large, interstate residencial/commercial tree co.s, small res. tree co.s, utility r.o.w. tree co.s and finally for myself. I am now a humble civil servant, that makes me a 100 percent buzzy in terms of my arborculture career at this time, not at all a conflict since my current "paycheck" career is not in arborculture. My take is you use your own gear, bid appropriately, treat customers as you would like to be treated, stay within your ablility as much as possible, complete reputable work you can be proud of and don't directly compete against your boss by bidding on jobs in his/her backyard that they would normally bid on. You may need to get a few jobs under your belt to afford gear, all my initial proceeds went to gear I think, maybe some beer too.
All of us treeguys are gadget hounds by nature aren't we??
As far as insurance, licenses, permits, etc..... do what's appropriate when you can. It's a Catch 22 for some here to suggest a new guy run right out to get ins. without actually having the income to get it.... I think there's a lot of green envy here and a despirate need to control lurking in this thread. In the end CYA(Cover Your Ass) because no one else will, if you're doing sporty T/Ds and taking in decent proceeds, by all means acquire insurance and do it right.
Every industry in this great country of ours has contractor guys doing side work, buzzies, cashies and whatever else you want to call it. Many times using the oldest form of commerce known to man, barter. I've done jobs for rent, equipment, commodities, beer and even motorcycles. That's what makes this country a great capitalistic society. Over control is for communists and socialists.
To paint all side workers or buzzies as crooks, vagabonds and general tree hackers is completely outrageous. I've done many side jobs were I had to "fix" or undo the work of overworked, hurried "professionals" and I remember being on that side too. Being pushed by a low balling sales-slug, who knows diddly squat 'bout climbing and being told not to interact with the customer period, even when the company is not meeting their expectations. I've found that not only are customers getting the work done cheaper by buzzing, but getting a higher standard of customer service as well when the crew is not being driven by the commision rate and high overhead nut clock. But let me not paint all the fine, professional tree co. owners/operators here with the same broad brush of criticism that they are spreading. I'm sure their companies complete good work, they work hard and treat their customers well, just wanted to give a view of the other side. There is a huge side benefit for company owners with their guys doing sides, they gain more experience than their tight time schedules allow for and their guys are likely to buy equipment they'll use on the company's time. Bottom line is, my time is my time and what I do with it is my business. Unless you want to pay me sit on my couch and watch March Madness on my time.
