Starting a new business

[Oberon]

I've recently been trying to get things going with my own Tree Service. I've been felling trees and cutting wood for years for my dad (who burns wood to heat his house). I love being outside and doing this kind of work so I figured I'd give it a shot. I bought a couple of saws, a bunch of climbing equipment(harness, spurs and a flipline, and a SRT rope system), and a few pieces of rigging equipment. I have truck and a 16' equipment trailer that I built a couple of years back. I work construction for my regular job, and the kind of work I do is pretty technical and I also do alot of rigging. Times are slow with my normal job so I'm looking to start my business small, and right now I don't have to rely on the tree business to pay the bills and survive. Until business takes off(HOPEFULLY!), I plan on using the money coming in from the business to buy needed equipment...Stump Grinder, chipper, ect. (I've had my eye on a new saw for a couple of months, but my wife won't let me buy it until I get my first job and we just had our first baby so I guess I can't argue). I have my insurance set up to go, and just need to give my agent 24 hours notice before I start my first job.

I guess my question is, and I know this has probably been discussed before, but starting small, what kind of advertising would probably work the best? About a month ago, I had one of the local sign companies design and install some nice graphics for my truck. I have business cards, and have been putting them up on every bulletin board I see along with tear-off flyers that I made on the computer. I printed up some envelopes with my company logo and a basic flyer and my business card that I put on the door when I see a tree in need of service or removal. I put an ad in one of the local small town newspapers. I've had a posting on Craigslist since the end of January. I know times are slow and the economy is heading down the tubes, but after all has been said and done, I've had one person email(from Craigslist) me for
an estimate. He had 6-8 mature oaks he wanted removed, and stated that he would like to do something soon. He said he was out of town and would call me the next week to set up an appointment, but never got back with me. I emailed him once to stay in touch, but got no response. I decided not to be pushy and leave it at that.

For some reason I thought once I got my truck done, I'd at least start getting a call or two a week. My new dilemma is this: Should I pay to put my name in the Yellow Pages or start a website? And if I go with the yellow pages, which one? We have 3 different books where I live...At&t, yellowbook, and I'm not sure what the other one is called. From the research I've done, a website will cost me about $200 per year including building the Web Page. To get just my name in the yellow pages, no description, just the company name in bold will cost around $420 per year. That doesn't even include listing me on the internet yellowpages(which would just about double the cost). If I'm going to go with the yellowpages I need to decide by June 6th. and the new book won't be out until mid July (which is fine since I have a 3 month job starting next week in North Carolina).

I'm a hard working, honest and reliable guy. I have good people skills and due to my regular job, have good problem solving skills. I think once I get my name out there and get some word of mouth going I'll do fine.

Any suggestions? (On the advertising or just starting out in general)

[WoodsFire]

I know there are a lot of people that do advertise in the phone book but I don't think it's worth the money. Get a business line and they'll automatically put your number under a "Tree Service" category for free. After a while the other books will pick up your number and do the same to keep up with their competition.

Word of mouth is THE #1 way to get business (not to mention it's free). A website is a good way to advertise and it let people check out your work (pics, stats, equipment). I use FreeServers which charges $7.95/month to have a page without the annoying ads at the bottom of your page. It's pretty easy to build a page even if your HTML-tarded. They also have statistics so you can analyze your site and make it easier for customers to find you using search engines.

Depending on your area, you may want to try flyers, mass mailers, door hangers, newspaper classifieds etc. but that can get pretty expensive. Craigslist works good in my area but it seems to get me more stump grinding than tree work for some reason.

Since your starting out part time I suggest putting 100% of the money you make back into your business for at least a year or two. The biggest mistake new business owners make is getting greedy. And when you hire help... "Pay Steak, and Eat Hot Dogs!" (Jeff Fox) Happy helpers always work faster than disgruntled ones!

[B&B Yardscape]

Sounds like you are doing everthing right so far.

My suggestion would be to ask all the friends and relatives to work on their trees. Do it at a reduced cost. Do it when people will see you doing it. Like the weekends.

Drive your truck everywhere. It takes more than 3 months to start getting phone calls. Plus when the weather gets nicer, people will be thinking more about their yards and trees.

Start a web page. Most beginner sites can be built pretty easy using the standard templates provided by the web hoster. Look at other sites to see what you like. Not just tree sites either. Pick a color scheme that is like your logo on the truck and business cards and stick to it. You want people to see that color, that logo, the web site and think of you.

Skip the Yellow pages for a while to make sure you are going to make it. No use having an add in the pages next year if you are doing your full time job full time. Or on the other hand if you are doing the tree business full time and don't need to advertise.

Good Luck

[flyingsquirrel]

One thing I did not see mentioned as of yet would be networking. Network, with other companies in the green industry in your area. Landscapers and lawn services are just a couple. Offer up your services. The only thing with it is you have to have a little steak to give if you want steak in return. But thats not a problem normaly if you concentrate on trees. People are always asking me if I mow or do landscaping. "No, but I know someone that does a really nice job" and I get the same in return when it comes to the trees. Ive got guys that mow, hardscaping, landscaping, landscape design, and general maintenance. I even got a couple carpenters and painters, that recommend me, and I do the same for them.

[WOOD]

Good advice by all. I have been at it "full time" now for 3 years and if it wasn't for my wife I'd be having a tough time eating but as stated above reinvest a comfortable amount in the business. Pay good wages for good help. Do a few jobs for less than normal rates for family or friends when others can see your work. I do the yellow pages and get good numbers but mine is more suburban tree work. Above all else practice excellent ethics and high performance integrity and you wont go wrong!!

[WoodsFire]

Gotta love a sugar mama!

[Oldmaple]

When I started I ran an ad in the local "shopper newspaper". Make your ad a little different from all the others, I offered a 10% discount for new customers. Timing is everything on ads. Spring is best for ads in the shoppers.
Always work on Saturdays. Your best advertisement is your work and more people will see you on Saturday. I get most drop by quotes (while you are here can you give me a quote?) on Saturdays. Hope it helps.

[WoodsFire]

If you don't mind leaving your truck parked around town you can get a lot of free advertising just by having your phone # on the door! I live in a small town area with little crime but I don't think I'd do that if I was in a bigger city. I also have a contract with a golf course that allows me to park my equipment and vehicles at the clubhouse. I've got a lot of jobs through that!

[treeboy]

Hopefully you don't mind me adding a question to the thread. What do you guys think about partnerships? Any advice? Good and Bad experiences? Things to watch out for?

Thanks

[WoodsFire]

The best advise I can give is to only enter into a partnership if you HAVE to! If that's the ONLY way you can get through your initial startup then by all means go for it. A lot depends on your partner too. A lot a partnerships work great but a lot also end up breaking up friendships, marriages, etc. Make sure there is a lawyer involved to make sure both parties are represented in the agreement and that there is a way for both parties to get out of the partnership if that time comes... and exit strategy if you will. Make sure the individual(s) you are partnering with is transparent about their personal financial history and records to make sure that there are not credit and debt implications that will be reflected negatively in your business.