Motivation

[MasterBlaster]

 

[CoreyYLTG]

I'm a one man show who hires subs for the work I have. I myself also sub as a climber. Last year I just friggin' hated doing tree work. I was beyond burned out with it and just about everything in life. So I jacked my prices way up and became honest to the point of rude with customers hoping I would work less. I ended up working less, but making more money for way better clients.

Tree work is expensive because it is expensive for me to do it, and expensive for the home owner to not have it done. Rational people understand that and will pay a premium for quality. Customers I don't want don't understand that. Good luck RegC.

 

[MasterBlaster]

and expensive for the home owner to not have it done.

Not necessarily - that's what makes trimming a hard sell. Most people call the treecos only when they have to.

 

[SkwerI]

If trimming is a hard sell then you're selling to the wrong clients. I was in the same boat as Corey but hired a guy and bought a chip rig instead. A big plus is that one of my biggest clients (big landscape outfit) now just has me do the entire job instead of just putting it on the ground for his laborers to load by hand into a truck. And I'm doing more of the types of jobs I want to do and less bullshit. I might trim palms once a month now instead of 1-2 days per week. They won't pay my crew rate for palm trimming.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Around these parts, trimming is a want - not a need. The populace here likes to hang on to their money.

 

[SkwerI]

Yes, exactly. Which is why I posted that first sentence.

 

[Raj]

Only trims I get to do is more sun for the garden or internet clearance.

 

[No_Bivy]

the point is when your inner voice starts saying " i need something different" its time to listen. The problem isn't always solved by changing business strategies. Buy more equipment? Do I want to be a slave to this equipment ? Do I want to manage an ever changing turnover of employees who some become competitors? Is there a time I can let this biz go and not worry about details of what I need to do or what I should have done?

fact is there is no one answer. For Brian, and epiphany was hiring an employee was a game changer. For others ..these employees are the bain of their existence. Is it time for a change? Can I rise to challenge to the fear of the unknown? Hard questions. I say go for it....whatever you choose. But....if you launch into justifying that one action will make your same path better.......think twice. Is there more to the story? Will that new chipper solve your problems. Will the way you bid your prices higher solve your inner struggle of "why am I doing this".

re invent yourelf. It might be the best medicine.

 

[pantheraba]

Good insight...from someone that did re-invent themselves.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Very few people I have known were happy with being an employee.

Most times their employer were unhappier.


It can work sure........sometimes.

 

[treebilly]

I think of this a lot. I carry no degrees so that means schooling, which is not completely out of the picture. I have an open job offer for two different townships and the county. The local state outposts have said they would fast track me if I applied. I’m just not sure I could handle the lack of work. I’ve been on “efficient work” ( not supposed to use production work anymore) for so long, I don’t know if I can handle sitting for half a day at a time. I have a good friend that after 20 years of busting his ass, changed into a cake walk job. Loved it at first but is now losing his mind from how boring it is. He admits if he had that job right out of school that he would be a worthless POS. I’m not sure I’m ready to settle for that yet.

 

[MasterBlaster]

My only degree is a DD-214.

 

[Raj]

Arty Battle school 6A here.



It all boiled down to: know when to say "fire".

 

[Tree09]

It depends on what you can see yourself doing. From what I've seen, some college degrees can make you money, others are a complete waste. Maybe switch over to industrial rope access, or some rigging trade. Unfortunately travel may be part of the equation going that route...

 

[canadianclimber]

Doing the same.

I'm a one man show who hires subs for the work I have. I myself also sub as a climber. Last year I just friggin' hated doing tree work. I was beyond burned out with it and just about everything in life. So I jacked my prices way up and became honest to the point of rude with customers hoping I would work less. I ended up working less, but making more money for way better clients.

Tree work is expensive because it is expensive for me to do it, and expensive for the home owner to not have it done. Rational people understand that and will pay a premium for quality. Customers I don't want don't understand that. Good luck RegC.

 

[Stumpshot]

My orthotist in Mobile, AL had a successful business for years and years, his own medical building near the hospitals, anything you could want. However, he was on his 3rd business manager/secretary that he had to fire. The previous one was incompetent and wasn't doing duties, so he was losing out on invoices and billing. The next one embezzled from him, violating many levels of trust. Ultimately, he decided to sell his building and begin working for another orthotics company. The stresses of being his own boss and running his own business without trustworthy help were sending him toward a nervous breakdown. He seemed much happier to be an "employee" pulling a very, very good wage without the business management stresses. That was at the age of 55, so he has a good decade or more time till retirement.

I am similarly built and prefer to let others buffer the business stresses and endless sales & customer relations. I'd probably develop an ulcer if I had to field all that customer-facing stress, instead of just doing the work, 50% of it is interacting with a machine rather than coping with people.

 

[cory]

So I jacked my prices way up and became honest to the point of rude with customers hoping I would work less. I ended up working less, but making more money for way better clients.

All this is stuff I know but seeing it in print here helped me decide tonite about 1 particular custy- nah I won't be looking at her work, she got cheap on me in the past, nice lady though, but nah, we done.

Thanks for the clarity, Corey!

I'm emailing her now

#noregrets

 

[MasterBlaster]

Screw me once, shame on you...

 

[pantheraba]

All this is stuff I know but seeing it in print here helped me decide tonite about 1 particular custy- nah I won't be looking at her work, she got cheap on me in the past, nice lady though, but nah, we done.

Thanks for the clarity, Corey!

I'm emailing her now

#noregrets

You go, bro! There's other fish out there.

 

[vharrison]

I think of this a lot. I carry no degrees so that means schooling, which is not completely out of the picture. I have an open job offer for two different townships and the county. The local state outposts have said they would fast track me if I applied. I’m just not sure I could handle the lack of work. I’ve been on “efficient work” ( not supposed to use production work anymore) for so long, I don’t know if I can handle sitting for half a day at a time. I have a good friend that after 20 years of busting his ass, changed into a cake walk job. Loved it at first but is now losing his mind from how boring it is. He admits if he had that job right out of school that he would be a worthless POS. I’m not sure I’m ready to settle for that yet.

First, you are not your good friend, you might take a whole different approach to a new job. You might see the benefit of insurance, 401K, paid vacation, paid sick days and make the most of it. You might see the opportunity to advance into a position that would let you run the whole department on the county's dime. You might enjoy going home at the end of the day and not having to worry about the chipper that some idiot put a piece of metal through. In the morning, you will just call someone and have it fixed. According to your profile, you are a young man that is sought after, you might want to explore the idea of working for a township or the county. Just saying.

 

[Altissimus]

Reg jobs (pun , yes) have their upside for sure. I only wish I could somehow do it ...

 

[Stumpshot]

According to your profile, you are a young man that is sought after, you might want to explore the idea of working for a township or the county. Just saying.

I compare our crew to the city forestry dept. as we drive by and see them "working" with their lackadaisical attitude and slow pace. Being gov't employees, they aren't as motivated, since they get paid the same rate no matter how hard they work. There isn't as much incentive of risk vs. reward that we as a private company have -- the harder & faster we work, the more money we make. We probably make 4x as much as their workers. But then again, there is a lot to be said for the middle positions to management (benefits and pay scale) -- but that pace of life (and indoor work) may drive you crazy. Plus, those types of positions generally require schooling which you would have to commit to ahead of time. Some of it may be easy, take being a Certified KS Arborist -- it's just a 10 day course at K-State in Manhattan. We are considering adding it to our resume (perhaps me!) for the added credibility and the ability to add value-added services such as pin oak iron injections, ash borer treatment, etc. -- which could be lucrative.

 

[squisher]

Not to pick on you GP but I often find the calculations of self employment get hazy. Do your guys make 4x as much or gross 4x as much? So if the state guys make $25/hr you and your guys are seeing $100/hr on your pay stubs?

Just saying, expenses as well as unpaid time are often left out or glossed over in comparing self-employment to employment. I've had nearly a decade of accountant put together year ends to peruse over from my old tree business. It's easy to say raise your prices, raise your prices, raise your prices. But some markets are competitive and keeping a crew of good guys together means working fourty hour weeks year round through the thick and thin times. I always felt a real commitment to keeping my guys employed and their cheques full. At times that cost me.

But no matter the arrangement there will always be times when it kind of sucks. That's why it's called work. I used to warn my guys at times when I had my company not to be having to much fun as then it wouldn't be work anymore and we wouldn't get paid. . And at other times when a job was miserable and hard for whatever reasons I'd use my other motivational speech, suck it up buttercup.

 

[Mick!]

This work isn’t supposed to be super fulfilling all the time and all clients aren’t obliged to be appreciative, they just have to pay.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sweet avatar! If you want, I can turn it upside down for you... that would be even moar groovish!