based service,” explained Ben. “If you’re doing it well and correctly, peo- ple are paying for that.” Conversely, tree removals maintained the lowest profit margin because of the high level of competition for this service. SOFTWARE When selecting business management soware, Ben suggests ensuring cli- ents are the number one priority. “Having a business soware sys- tem that’s confusing to the clients or doesn’t make sense to the clients … then you’re not client-focused anymore. You’re you-focused,” he says. “Make the soware fit your business. Don’t make the business fit the soware. When you have a soware system that doesn’t ac- commodate that, that’s a problem.” As Ben has said for many years, “We are in a customer-service business that does tree care. If the business soware helps you to be client-focused, then it’s an asset. if not, then it’s a liability.” INSURANCE When it comes to insurance, Ben sug- gests regularly shopping around. “Don’t simply stick with the same in- surance you’ve had for 20 years be- cause you like the guy or you like the girl,” he says. “You should shop for that on a consistent basis.” Be aware of your coverage limits and being specific on expectations. Make sure you know these things before you need to make a claim to avoid sit- uations where you thought something was covered and it wasn’t. “Insurance is like anything in busi- ness,” explains Ben. “You have to un- derstand what you’re getting for what you’re paying for.” BEING FLEXIBLE Ben admits that it was hard to rely on people in the beginning of his business,
Plant health care is by far Ben's most profitable service that his company offers.
He emphasizes the importance of hir- ing employees that specialize in differ- ent tasks. “They will help out as best they can,” he says. “But if it gets out of their comfort zone, they’re done. They can’t do it.” WATCH YOUR MONEY! Ben’s final pearl of wisdom is to not let someone else blindly manage your money. “Nobody watches your money like you watch your money,” he says. “There have been more than a number of tree care companies throughout the years where someone had been skimming off the top.” For larger organizations, Ben suggests having a third-party service audit the books.
especially since he had been involved with everything in the field. “But I learned that trusting people, training them up, and allowing them to do the things that I asked them to do — and letting them fail at times — was worth the effort.” Now, Ben does his best to clearly com- municate client expectations and then give employees the space to figure it out, even if it’s not how he would do it. “You have to get over that. Because no- body does it the same way,” he says. “The results have to be the same, but the process can be different.” CLIMBERS CLIMB, MECHANICS FIX A challenge many growing small busi- nesses face is knowing when to hire a dedicated mechanic to service all the equipment for their tree care company. Aer all, it’s unlikely one employee will be able to do every job required. “We learned pretty quickly that when we hire people, they are going to stay in their designated lane,” he says. “I don’t expect a tree pruner to tighten the belts on a chipper.
“That’s the best way,” he says.
Sage Advice is a regular series fea- turing veteran tree care professionals with something to say. Do you know of someone who should be featured? Email editor@arbortimes.org and let us know.
ArborTIMES Winter 2024 | 49
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