Contract climbing

I just saying there's so much other work to sell that can be done solo. Part time employee and sub contractors here.

Reed Wortley
CTSP #01739
ISA CA #SO-6953A
 
FMecky said:
There is most likely a thread about this but I couldnt find it. I just moved back to Chicago and left my amazing employer arbor-X. I needed to come back home for certain reasons. Ive worked for the big main companies out here and thats not what I want to go back to... I really want to get into contracting but I dont have the slightest info to get started. Im 25 and have been doing this Since I was 21. I hope I can get some insight from you guys or you can just laugh at me lol. Thanks again guys!
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Matt, I wish you the best of luck out there. You'll find your path. If it's not immediate, just keep your focus and never let up. Getting involved in your local Chapter would be a great first step. Cheers, brother.
 
Thanks Eric I appreciate that. Its a shame I had to leave out there. I got my oceans two teather just waiting on my black wrench. Everything you guys are posting is true. I like being a well rounded soon to be arborist. This spring im pretty sure we have planted maybe 150 trees. Very different but to do it the right way and to take pride was the best.
 
Education and marketing is the key.

If the market you want to work in does not exist...

Create your own market! Your imagination is the limit. Guess who has the time and money to care about trees...people with money, usually.
You want to fight for that nasty tree in the trailer park every swinging dick can back their $10k bucket up to? Or do you want to work on the water front at a million dollar property, where the home owners want only you?

I do not want to be just another "tree guy" fighting for all the big nasty removals...even though I thought I did five years ago and now we dominate that market in my area.

We are advertising under "tree care" this year. The only tree care in the area. We are the only service to offer (proper as per ansi) pruning. We also started cabling (static and dynamic) and bolting. More money in it then I thought. We are about to offer natural mulching once our yard is set up to sort and store chips and compost.

We are also looking into two separate crews when it gets busy. A take down crew. And a clean up crew. Separate equipment. We don't always have to clean up after a job. Those are the best! Get paid to make a mess and run with the money. The clean up crew can do smaller less technical jobs as well as clean up after the take down crew. Kills me to try and make a mess fast enough to get the crew ( who loves to watch me work) busy for the rest of the day so I can return calls, runs bids and errands. High paid guys should not be feeding a chipper and raking. Imagine take down crew just keeps ahead of clean up crew. No waiting for the other. Could team up on big jobs. Lots of options here. We currently do not have to deal with big wood. We have a buddy who has a 40' kboom and 20' flat bed that can get any where our bucket can. We stage the logs and get the f'out! Customer saves and we make more. Why would I want a log truck...so I can sell fire wood?! I like working in trees and make the most money doing so.

Maybe you climbers should start as high end " treecare arborists"
Find a landscaper to show up and clean up after you.

Imo the I.S.A. exam is a joke, sorry. I'm not saying don't get it...definitely get it, cause it is not hard. Sadly it's all there is, and I have heard other tree guys act like you have to be really smart. I think the friggin CDL exam is more annoying them the ISA exam. I had my ISA CA for years and let it lapse cause no one cared. I will be getting it again soon as we are entering a new phase of marketing, and I'm going to make it matter. Still to this day none of my "competitors" are CA. I do have a bachelors in environmental science, founded on soil science, plant biology, you know...where trees and stuff grows. Just get the ISA study guide and read, that easy. Just make sure when you advertise or tell people you are an ISA CA, let them know you do cut trees down and prune them...As per industry standard. Be that pro they want to know.
Hey!
"Let's make American treecare great!"
 
Jeff. Thanks a ton

Frash thats where I wanna be. High end properties with tree care. I'd gladly never spike another tree. Bartlett has the market for high end ipm and phc around here. Mostly a removal market for the smaller boys. They sure have the marketing for tree care.
 
I have thought about what you said in years past. If and that's a big if I ever start up my own biz again I think that would be my focus. One of my favorite things to do is cable. I love it but never get to do it anymore. I totally agree with you writhing you said!!
 
The thing is all about being able to service whatever that call is that comes in. Especially when your starting out. If your going to be picky to start out then it's going to take you twice as long to get established. I have a very tough market of all removal guys. I can swing a stick and hit at least 10 companies that all have cranes. I started my business with the idea of preservation. However, when someone calls and they have their mind made up that they want that tree cut down, your not going to change it. I have tried. Sometimes I can, most often I can not.
Removals for us keep the lights on. I have found that I can actually make really good money doing removals because my crew is efficient. We are safe, efficient, and have good equipment. Also, people around me pay for customer service and that means a lot. I get more jobs because I call people back.
I think that it is import to be able to do the removals, yet have the skill set and the education to sell all the other serves as well. Now, we are often doing the back yard removal and the front yard pruning and fertilizing. Like is GOOOOD!!
 
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