Resurrecting Nickrosis in SF!

N

Nickrosis

Location
San Francisco, CA
Hi all! I just changed my profile for the first time since 2005!

I'm dropping in to say hello and apologize for not responding to PMs dating back to 2008.

Quickly - I moved out to San Francisco in April because my wife is in technology, leaving my dad and our family business behind in Milwaukee. He's replaced me with a much more skilled salesman and an operations manager, so don't worry about him.
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I am in SF and have launched a tree and landscape branch by the same name (Crawford Tree & Landscape Services). In my fourth month of business, I'm blown away by the response here. I've got a 3 week backlog of work, and I keep selling more with my labor rates creeping higher each week. I started at $15/hour when I first got here, have jumped to $65, and hope to be worth $100/hour in short order.

What I really need help with is connecting with other arborists and landscape care professionals. Several people are proving to be very friendly and helpful (tends to be the arborist way), but I am woefully behind in my local plant ID and insect/disease diagnosis. Just riding along with someone for a day to talk through topics like this would be incredibly helpful.

So far, I've got my Fictitious Business Name (publishing in the paper now), I'm taking my QAL test on Friday, I've applied for my contractor's license so I can take on jobs over $500, but I know I must be missing something.

Don't want to hire any employees until I incorporate (figuring at least 90 days from doing that) and have opened an account with Labor Ready on the advice of another owner to pickup day laborers.

If you don't mind forwarding my info to other professionals in the area, I would be tremendously grateful!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholascrawford

My email address is nicholascrawford at gmail. My local number is 415-562-GROW.

I'm tremendously thankful for everything that online arborist communities have done for me, and hope that you can help me again now! Let's chat! Ask me anything...

Nick
 
That's a lot of info Nick - lol

When I was on the Oregon licensing board, I recall the investigators would monitor messages like that. I have not been a board member for at least 6 years. And if anything, am somewhat not supportive of all they do anymore. In some ways, I wish the licensing or part of the tests would be abolished.

I don't mind folks bending rules a little, although my work and labor is all legitimate right now.

Up in Oregon, at least for landscaping, $500 was also a similar limit, provided it was not advertised for. But $500 per property in a single year was the allowance. I don't think the contractors board that licenses more tree services here has a similar dollar provision for trees. I think it's all or nothing - licensed or not licensed.

One thing I found irritating, at least in Oregon, is that a family member has to work as an actual "employee" and can't (legally) just come in and work for a day every once in a while.

...
 
MD!!

The regulatory environment out here is fierce. Wow what a difference from Wisconsin with little or no difference in the quality of the work being performed.

I'm just committed to getting my ducks in a row and doing it the right way. What's really surprised me is the need for qualified arborists and landscapers out here yet an unwillingness to pay for it by employers. The big companies out here offered me $20/hour which is a slap in the face considering my rent is $36k a year. Between rent and no-frills childcare (daycare and an after school program), I'm spending $4500 a month.

I feel the pressure to produce!
 
Ha !!!

I just stopped by San Jose for a day, on the way to the Giant Sequoias. Got to see what a million dollar house looked like. It was about half the size of ours, but a lot about 50% bigger. So I'd say a million dollar house down that way, is a $300 house up here. So I can imagine what you are saying about rent and other expenses. I had sort of heard about it ... but actually getting to see it with my own eyes was important to really get it in my head.

It was mind-blowing how expensive some restaurants were to eat at down there. Heck, little personal size pizza at $17 was almost as much as a giant pizza at the Italian restaurant here in Beaverton.

Did enjoy visiting down there though.

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