Getting back into the tree business
- Thread starter tomstrees
- Start date
tomstrees
Participating member
[ QUOTE ]
There is more treework going on in New Canaan CT than most any other place on earth. Massive amounts of money, high population, large and small properties covered with trees. Lots of big tree services and small ones, and medium ones.
[/ QUOTE ]
I will make some other comments that may help others on compliance and other issues. Full legal compliance involves licensing if doing many aspects of tree and even some landscaping work in Connecticut; sales and use taxes on invoices; having full insurance, including workman's comp. which runs about 30% of payroll; DOT compliance on trucks. Minimizing risk is partly common sense, learning from those who have been in this business a long time and have a lot to teach, and partly taking the courses that help minimize risk. I hired climbers like Mike Johnson from Round Hill Tree who would come over after working there and do pruning and removals. He had been in the business long enough that just having him work for me was like having an experienced crew around. He had run his "Tamarack Tree" svc. on his own but regulations became too onerous so he worked for others. He called up the IRS once when a pang of conscience prompted him and he ended up roped into a lot of back taxes and interest. I also paid huge back taxes. If there was more communication of compliance issues we wouldn't have these problems.
There is more treework going on in New Canaan CT than most any other place on earth. Massive amounts of money, high population, large and small properties covered with trees. Lots of big tree services and small ones, and medium ones.
[/ QUOTE ]
I will make some other comments that may help others on compliance and other issues. Full legal compliance involves licensing if doing many aspects of tree and even some landscaping work in Connecticut; sales and use taxes on invoices; having full insurance, including workman's comp. which runs about 30% of payroll; DOT compliance on trucks. Minimizing risk is partly common sense, learning from those who have been in this business a long time and have a lot to teach, and partly taking the courses that help minimize risk. I hired climbers like Mike Johnson from Round Hill Tree who would come over after working there and do pruning and removals. He had been in the business long enough that just having him work for me was like having an experienced crew around. He had run his "Tamarack Tree" svc. on his own but regulations became too onerous so he worked for others. He called up the IRS once when a pang of conscience prompted him and he ended up roped into a lot of back taxes and interest. I also paid huge back taxes. If there was more communication of compliance issues we wouldn't have these problems.
