Buying a tree service with no experiance.

[Shamgarism]

There are business's u can own and no nothing about at first. Trees are not one of them. Every day ur employees go to work on a smoking hot day all they are gonna think about is that they are making money for a person who doesn't even know how to change chipper blades. And they will begin to plot their exit. How and why would they want to work for u do u think they want to explain daily how they get jobs done to make u money. You can take all the classes u want and not know how to rope a limb off a roof.

Actually you are incorrect. It is very small minded to think that an "outsider" cannot get respect from employees. The first thing they will be thinking about is whether or not their check will bounce, the second thing they will think about is if I can supply them enough work to have a career and take care of their family, and finally can i provide them the equipment they need to do their job safely and effectively. Respect comes from hard work and treating people fair. There are a lot of bosses who know way too much to be successful, their egos and pride get in the way. That being said I am assuming you commented the way you did because you don't know the answer to my original question?

 

[CalTreeEquip]

You may be getting somewhere here. It's true, if your a good businessman then keep your crew happy and business flowing should not be that hard. There is a lot of learning to do but you sound like your a born student so that shouldn't be a problem. Fact of the matter is most of us in this business are in it because we were not good students but we are good with our hands and bodies and are willing to do things no sane man with options would do.
My advise would be to find an arborist in your area, who is running is own small business but not making much money, who does good work and would be willing to buy into your business as a partner. He can run the field, you run the business. Good salesmanship, marketing and customer care will go a long way in this business with the right crew. Especial since so much of the competition is lacking in many of those areas.
I believe the East Coast company "The Care of Trees" started that way. A young but experience tree guy and an MBA got together and made it work.
Still there have to be a bunch of better ways to make a living if you have the business skills.
Good luck and look me up when its time to buy equipment.

 

[timberland ts]

You asked a question, resopnses were given, you got defensive, suck it up tree guys are a tough bunch, you need to earn respect

 

[Shamgarism]

You asked a question, resopnses were given, you got defensive, suck it up tree guys are a tough bunch, you need to earn respect

Suck what up? There were several useful responses and several responses that had nothing to do about the question I asked. Just like you. Did you even read my question? I am not being defensive, I am simply weeding through the nay sayers. If I had asked whether I was making a smart decision, then I would understand the different responses. But to simply say that I am going to fail without even contributing to what I asked, is a waste of all of our time.

 

[millbilly]

Shame could you give me any personal details? Age, married, children, how did you acquire the funds to buy the buisness. As for the certified arborist question, in my state its not required. One other thing, there are arborist and then there are arborist, if you get my drift.

 

[KenJax Tree]

I have 16 years experiance which isn't alot compared to some of you guys here but there is no way i'm gonna get told what to do by someone who has no idea how to do my job and has 0 experiance whatsoever in the industry.

 

[braiding4fun]

I began (along with other members of my family) a business in which neither I or my family had any experience. We had a general working knowledge. Eight years later it's going fine, and we've weathered a pretty lousy housing market. (It's a component manufacturing business for the construction industry). My point is this, if you are willing to work hard, if you are willing to bend over backwards to offer great customer service, and if you treat folks fairly and don't take shortcuts you can succeed, no matter what business. I'm no arborist, but I could be if I wanted to, just like you can. Hard work is more than enough to counter all the folks that say you can't do it. As for employees who won't listen to their boss because they think they know more than he does, well, you don't need that type of people in your company. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Shamgarism]

Shame could you give me any personal details? Age, married, children, how did you acquire the funds to buy the buisness. As for the certified arborist question, in my state its not required. One other thing, there are arborist and then there are arborist, if you get my drift.

Millbilly, I am 40 years old and I am married with a child. I have been working since I was sixteen years old. I have had many ventures over the years including, lawn aerating ,carpet cleaning, construction, but I have always invested my money wisely( Mostly real estate). I have been working in the corporate world for the past 10 years. I have always had a passion for the outdoors and committed myself to finding something that would get me outdoors. I wanted to find a company that would allow me to be physical and that had a proven track record. If the owner was not staying on board I would be looking elsewhere. I am committed to learning the business but I want to make sure that if something happens to the licensed arborist I have a backup plan. There are several jobs where the city requires an ISA arborist.

 

[Shamgarism]

I have 16 years experiance which isn't alot compared to some of you guys here but there is no way i'm gonna get told what to do by someone who has no idea how to do my job and has 0 experiance whatsoever in the industry.

I agree, if someone is telling you what to do, you just let me know and I will give them a piece of my mind.

 

[Shamgarism]

Yeah The Care of Trees is a big success story but it's pretty obvious we're not dealing with a John Hendrickson type here.

I predict Sham will lose most of the employees in the first couple of months, maybe weeks.

If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done.
- Peter Ustinov

 

[CalTreeEquip]

Shamgarism, I'm liking you more and more. I think you'll be fine. And no it's generally not very hard to find certified arborist these days since a lot of them are out of work since the recession. I actually may now a guy in CO who might be a good match. Let me try and find him.

 

[joezilla11]

this sounds similar to the thread started by ForTheArborist-the boss is skipping town on everyone. he mentioned getting a new owner and that the boss was going to give him the company and stay on and work for them...

 

[joezilla11]

have you thought about going in on some sort of deal with the arborist you are so worried about losing? the business you are buying obviously sounds like it depends on him

 

[Shamgarism]

have you thought about going in on some sort of deal with the arborist you are so worried about losing? the business you are buying obviously sounds like it depends on him

Yes, as stated earlier, he is going to have some skin in the game. Like I stated earlier I want to have a back up plan. You pretty much just stated the exact thing I originally posted.

 

[Shamgarism]

Shamgarism, I'm liking you more and more. I think you'll be fine. And no it's generally not very hard to find certified arborist these days since a lot of them are out of work since the recession. I actually may now a guy in CO who might be a good match. Let me try and find him.

Thank you, I would really appreciate the contact.

 

[millbilly]

Yep, an out of work certified arborist sounds like a plan!

yep my thoughts exactly.

 

[joezilla11]

you wouldnt need a back up plan if you could actually do the work yourself! oh wait thats pretty much what i said earlier..

 

[Grouchy old man]

There are two topics in this forum basically on this same subject. Is it my imagination or is this business becoming an "alternate" investment for those with money because the market, real estate and interest rates are in the toilet?

 

[yardguy26]

back to the original post. i think you will have a steep uphill learning curve. i started my business 6 years ago when i was 25. i had been working in the woods (felling, timber harvest, gps-gis work, heavy equipment etc.) since i was able to walk. one day a forester dared me to climb some steep pines on a mountain side and from then on i was in love. i went to classes, forestry school, arborist certification courses and so on. i think step one is doing the work. try it out. i learn everyday like most on here. climbing technics, estimating etc. go to classes, talk to positive professionals, watch work in action, go to some estimates on and so on. i started real small and have never lost grasp of my limits, not being afraid to say no to certain jobs. i dont believe this is a business to "buy" and sit back. most guys here would probably not respect an individual that has not done what they are asked to do themselves. hope this helps. bottom line is that tree work is a lifestyle to me and although i have bills to pay and mouths to feed, the overall bottom line is secondary.

 

[joezilla11]

I think if he was interested in learning the trade he'd be posting about that.

I'm with grouchy this is obviously an investment by a bored member of corporate America because he " loves to be outdoors and wants to be more physical."

I'm glad your real estate investments worked out but doesn't seem like your other ventures did, so what are you going to do if this doesn't work out? Buy a Jurassic park because you like dinosaurs?