Business Owners....What did you start with??

[mckeetree]

that's another thing I wonder about, how many of us learned the trade via line clearance. I know probably 70% of the people around here worked for Davey or Asplundh at one time or another.

Well you can stop wondering about me, line clearance would not have even paid my car payment and mortgage added together much less anything left for food, ins., utilities etc. I have a broke-#ss brother in law that has worked for asplundh (not a Mexican) for 28 years and he still lives in a trailer park.

 

[ropensaddle]

Well you can stop wondering about me, line clearance would not have even paid my car payment and mortgage added together much less anything left for food, ins., utilities etc. I have a broke-#ss brother in law that has worked for asplundh (not a Mexican) for 28 years and he still lives in a trailer park.

Now why did you go and say that hey I bet Chris Asplundh
makes good or Jill Asplundh! I started with Trees Inc. then Asplundh
then a local coop and none paid well or promoted on qualifications!
I have a bad taste toward corporations because of my experiance
with the pos running them, the lazy sob's do better than the working!

 

[Rftreeman]

Well you can stop wondering about me, line clearance would not have even paid my car payment and mortgage added together much less anything left for food, ins., utilities etc. I have a broke-#ss brother in law that has worked for asplundh (not a Mexican) for 28 years and he still lives in a trailer park.

I lived pretty easy on my salary (ain't ever lived in a trailer, not even double wide) but refuse to work for any one else again, it's time for me to make the good money now with 19 years of training that I was paid to learn.

 

[Koa Man]

I started in 1984 with a borrowed 1973 Toyota pickup.
I have come a little ways since then. I own a full size pickup now.

 

[chucknduck]

Well, I started a year and a half ago with a 1/2 ton ford pickup truck, a 032 AV from ebay, some rakes, and great helpers. Now I have a bucket, chipper, many saws, a trailer, and climbing gear.

 

[ccrider2240]

16 foot trailar i borrowed from my grand dads friend,,, Drank a lot more beer back then.:greenchainsaw:

 

[mastermind24]

i started 3 years ago with a 94 ram 1/2 ton but grew amazingly quick. ive bought way to much to list, financed a lot of it, spent all the money i should have saved for taxes, but at least i have the equipment to make the money to pay the $ i owe. its really hard to come from notihng, and every tree guy in the area cried about me outbidding them, but no one wanted to help me learn. now im better equipped than most of the guys out here, and we do better work.

 

[BC WetCoast]

i started 3 years ago with a 94 ram 1/2 ton but grew amazingly quick. ive bought way to much to list, financed a lot of it, spent all the money i should have saved for taxes, but at least i have the equipment to make the money to pay the $ i owe. its really hard to come from notihng, and every tree guy in the area cried about me outbidding them, but no one wanted to help me learn. now im better equipped than most of the guys out here, and we do better work.

Just be careful that you don't get caught in a cash flow crunch.

 

[Bermie]

I started with...

A redundancy cheque in '03....

and an 020t that I found and refurbed, my fave 021, basic climbing kit (B'fly, 120' XTC and a lanyard) silky, felcos and a rake.
All packed in a trash bucket and on the Honda scooter with my hubby

Now up to six saws, all the climbing, felling and rigging kit, a vehicle with four wheels, a stable of good part time helpers, and arrangements with the guys who own bucket trucks, dumpers and chippers.

 

[fireman]

I started out with a pickup truck flatbed trailer and farm boss o29 climbing rope and harness.Now we have nifty lift sd 50 97 topkick 1250 vermeer and all sthil chain saws ranging from 200t to ms 880 life is so much easier.

 

[squad143]

A Poulan 2300av that my uncle gave me, used spurs, linesmans belt, a Honda Prelude and a 4x8 home built utility trailer.

 

[lovetoclimb99]

a little goes a long way

yeah i started my buisness about 4yrs ago just working out of the trunk of my car. i know thats pretty funny but thats the way it was. all the gear i had fit in the trunk of my car. now i have a brand new 2006 GMC chip truck and a new 1290 brush bandit chipper and all the gear i could posably need. it takes time but a little bit goes a long way. my grandfather told me that back when i first started out and i didnt really know what that meant at the time but now i know what he was talking about.:monkey: