When to go on my own?

[TimBr]

thanks tim, well i have sacrificed a lot to get to where i am because lets face it, i can't start to work and hustle when I'm 50. at that point i got one leg in the box already. with how the world and economy is i don't see how its possible to save for a house etc just working my town job. i don't know who is " brian bixler " of bixvid fame. set it up. I'm always down to talk trees and business strategies. thanks

Hey, Riviezzo Tree!

This is a link to Brian Bixler's YouTube home page.

https://www.youtube.com/user/mrbixler1/featured

This is a link to his company's website.

http://www.bixlertree.com/services

Brian appears to want to make it easy for people to contact him and communicate with him. He includes his phone number on the front page of his website. He also has a page on his website that tells a bit about himself, and includes a box in which you can input contact information yourself, and leave him a message. This is the link to that webpage.

http://www.bixlertree.com/brian_bixler

Here is a link to an interview done by the great August Hunicke of Brian Bixler. August is one of the biggest names out there as far as producing amazing videos of arb work. All of his videos are well worth watching.

I don't know why I have not obsessively watched Brian Bixler's videos the same way that I have with August's, so I guess I need to give them a closer look. August seems to have a lot of respect for Brian Bixler, and that is saying something.

I do not personally know Brian Bixler, nor have I ever written to him or spoken with him on the phone. With what information I've given to you here, I think you can make your own overtures with Brian. In this way you may express yourself as you wish, with no chance of me misrepresenting what it is that you would like to see happen with Brian.

I hope you do try to contact him, and that he will be receptive to the idea of getting to know you better.

Sincerely,

Tim

 

[IPMArborist]

I would definitely recommend going out on your own, ASAP. However, I would really be honest regarding your business metrics and systems first. It IS entirely possible to make much more money working for yourself and I don't agree with some of the posts that it should take some time to build your business. If you own your own business and you are making the same amount as a crew leader at another company, then something is very very wrong. You should be able to pay yourself a six figure salary AND have the business generate profits of 10%-20% annually with 2-3 employees. Most tree guys fall victim to being equipment rich and income statement/bank account poor. They think that the only way to grow their business or make more money is to buy more equipment or add more crews. This is usually not true, they just end up with more iron in their driveway. The best option is to do high quality work with high quality crews (pay them well) and charge more. I routinely charge 50%-75% more than all the trees companies in my area and I'm always booked out 1-2 months for my team. Pensions sound great, but I'd rather rely on myself. Your retirement, healthcare, six figure salary, etc. are ALL costs of doing business and should just be factored into your pricing.

 

[ROYCE]

I would definitely recommend going out on your own, ASAP. However, I would really be honest regarding your business metrics and systems first. It IS entirely possible to make much more money working for yourself and I don't agree with some of the posts that it should take some time to build your business. If you own your own business and you are making the same amount as a crew leader at another company, then something is very very wrong. You should be able to pay yourself a six figure salary AND have the business generate profits of 10%-20% annually with 2-3 employees. Most tree guys fall victim to being equipment rich and income statement/bank account poor. They think that the only way to grow their business or make more money is to buy more equipment or add more crews. This is usually not true, they just end up with more iron in their driveway. The best option is to do high quality work with high quality crews (pay them well) and charge more. I routinely charge 50%-75% more than all the trees companies in my area and I'm always booked out 1-2 months for my team. Pensions sound great, but I'd rather rely on myself. Your retirement, healthcare, six figure salary, etc. are ALL costs of doing business and should just be factored into your pricing.

I actually have to agree that you can make a lot of money with a small crew. I just looked over my books and was extremely surprised what I have done with just a 3 man crew. I am new to the business thing and have been turing all my profit back into the business. That has worked well for us. Nice post, that is motivation to keep going and run a sold business. I was once told that those who do well in the tree business do REALLY WELL. That is true when I think of a lot of my old bosses.