Starting out on your own.

I have to check I limits of approach here in Nova Scotia.I have my utility ticket for New Brunswick but not sure if it's good here.There will be a fair amount of travel here.There are alot of smaller communities spread out.
 
On a shoe string budget what equipment would you recomend?Good ground guys around here are very hard to find.It seems like I have to retain the guy that I work with now everyday.
 
It will be worth going out on your own phillip,buying equipment that suits your territory is the key and not over capitolising on equipment,Sometimes its better to have contractors use there man power and machinery.
 
Talk to Stan Kochanoff in Falmouth. He is a consultant who may be able to steer some pruning work your way.

Your market is presently based on removals because it is not educated on the value of trees. Educate them, and yourself.
 
I don't know if I can ask this here but what is the name of his company or who does he work for?Falmouth is a couple hours away from where I'm at(Pugwash),but it would be nice to know a few more arborist in the province.

Would join community gardening group be a thing to help educate people on pruning or would this be consider pushy tactic?
 
There are so many important thing to running your own business, identifying the important one(s) is pretty tough. You can likely do the physical end of the tree work, business skills will make or break you. You need a high profit margin, meaning you need to keep your costs as small as possible. Some people do this by cheaping out on old equipment then lose profits as equipment fails and time is lost.

I would seriously look at wether your area can sustain you full time. Nova Scotia is pretty rural and poor in some areas. Are there enough customers to support a fulltime service? Are you fighting a losing battle trying to be paid well enough? Are you customers even open to the idea of an arborist vs. tree cutter? It has been suggested that you educate the public, do you have time to educate enough people to make a living from?

Lots of questions but remember as a self employed person you only get paid what is left over after everybody else gets their money.
 
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Would join community gardening group be a thing to help educate people on pruning or would this be consider pushy tactic?

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Surely volunteering to teach a prunning class for the gardening group would be a great way to educate your community, and generate some work for yourself.
 
I don't really have a lot of extra time to do a lot educating or volunteering.In this area full time tree service my not beable to make it.There is a lot cottagers in the summer months here,which would probably more open to a full service landscape company.
 
I already hear less than a solid base. Cottagers are at best 4 or 5 months of work, what about the rest of the year? Pretty tough to pay February bills when you have not had steady work since September or October.
 
I should mention,that my wife and I have couple of others things going on to,wild blueberries and maple sugar.In this area cottege season goes from about mid April to late October
 
Only you know your financial needs and what your local market is like. I know from living in a rural area customers expect a lot for their money. From running a business I know that a chipper and truck require money every week wether you use them or not. Don't get into a situation where you have cost that you must cover yourself. If you are not making money at trees then is it worth doing?
 
stan's a consultant who has worked there a long time, all over nova scotia; try the yellow pages. yes work with gardening groups and govt agencies. time spent volunteering and educating can be very cost-effective.

you can't afford NOT to raise tree awareness in your area. it need not cost a lot.

good idea to diversify. learn al aspects of tree care
 
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