Yet another business which is eccentric is the tree surgery business which is not found in many locations. The supply of the business being less, stands as an opportunity to make an easy entry into the market. This is because, as competition drowns the fear of getting defeated by a string competitor of the same market is eliminated. In this article you will learn about how to become a successful self employed tree surgeon. You will also learn about how to start tree surgery business along with qualifications and licenses required to run your business smoothly.
Though the business is now accelerated due to several non-spottable factors, tree surgery is one of the ancient practices. The business orients itself more towards science, than procedural practices. scientifically speaking tree surgery is known as Arboriculture and the tree surgeons are often referred as Arborists.
Understanding what is being done in this business is a mandatory step which is the only key for you to initiate it with a clear mind and path. So basically, arborists take care of the individual plants and trees eliminating the tress in forests and other huge environments.
All the practices involved in this tree surgery business, at the end of the day are connected to the health of the trees and plants. I’d probably call a tree surgeon a doctor than a worker. The business has its services starting from nurturing till removing and pruning, and again all done for the health of the plants and trees.
Why this business? Opportunities..
We are now in a society where people are making maximum efforts to save the environment from danger. This can be explained with an example of the increased usage of organic products than the conventional ones. Craving for organic food automatically increases the need for preserving the ecosystem.
On the same context, various new businesses are now emerging to with an objective of improving the beauty of a property with natural elements where trees and plants are among the list. So, with this, Tree surgery business is found to be one of the highly ranked businesses.
Drivers of TREE SURGERY business
Property owners
Here, your potential customer will be an individual who has a house and a number of trees around it. Irrespective of his knowledge in maintaining his trees or the number of workers he has at his place for basic maintenance, the need for a tree surgeon will definitely arise if the individual wishes to have those trees and plans maintained for a very long time.
Designing desires
In present scenario, the level of importance given by people for designing their houses and land outweighs the desire for showing themselves pretty. To achieve this, individuals contact designers and architects who are well trained in providing better designs for a property. As a result, they suggest these individuals to take help of an arborist. Having said this, there is a very transparent demand due to designing industry.
Improved results due to invasion of technology
It is always right to say that all businesses have their support system as technology. With the help of technology, now arboriculture has also reached heights in delivering unexpected results. Technology has not only made the work of arborists easier, but has also made considerable contributions in driving customers. Some of the recent innovations in the stream are,
- Battery operated chainsaws
- Ascenders
- Soil physical conditioner
Here are the steps you can take to become a tree surgeon:
- Get tree surgery training
- Analyse the market
- Write a business plan and register your business
- Buy or rent required equipments and machinery
- Research target market
- Focus on marketing
- Use social media and websites to get business
Also read: – How to start your own stump grinding business
Investment
As we have already discussed about the tools and machines used for tree related businesses, you will know how much of finance you will need to start with. Due to the newness of the business, there is no theory for how much investment is needed for initiating.
Your skills and knowledge in planning with the available funds can alone take you further after choosing this business. Roughly you will need $80000 to start a tree surgery business. However, there are few things without which tree surgery business cannot survive. These are the areas where you will invest your money.
- Heavy duty truck
- Maintenance tools
- Labour
- Chemical solutions
You can also rent machinery, trucks and other maintenance tools.
License required to start tree surgery business
Licenses cannot be generalised due to variations in jurisdiction from each country, however, the general procedure for it should be known. Visit your state’s government offices for knowing the procedures for obtaining a license. Most of the business licenses are processes in the Department of Commerce. You will have to obtain both local and state licenses for running this business without any legal problems encountered in the future.
You will need a contractor’s license which can be applied after knowing more about it from respective offices allotted by your government. Now, the surgeons who take the most important part in running the business will also have to obtain licenses to show themselves qualified.
Here again, as an owner of an Arboriculture business you will definitely have to possess this license. But, it is not important for the workers working in your business to obtain such a license. Necessary skills and experience can be set as areas of test.
Qualifications required to become a tree surgeon
Running the business with proper certifications and licenses is one another way to achieve a leader position in the market. This is more like an alarm for the others in the same industry who do not have such licenses. Coming to qualification, a course in Arboriculture is the base to be an arborist. To excel in the same field, you can choose to indulge yourself in higher studies. Various levels are offered and clearing them is in your experience and knowledge. Of those, the most common ones are,
- ISA Certified Arborist scheme
- National certificates and Diplomas for consultants
Subjects covered will be,
- Decay detection
- Pests and diseases
- Species identification
- Soils
- Fungi
- Trees and the built environment
Pay for the surgeons in your company
Decisions regarding this pay should be made after intense research in the pay scale market. This is because, there are two extremes where you face loss. One is providing more than what they actually have to be offered, and the other one is giving them lesser than what your competitors offer. The latter situation will leave your company empty in few days which is likely to meet a decline stage of the business. You should look for certified tree surgeons in Elk Grove to start your business.
How much does a tree surgeon earn
On an average scale, tree surgeon earn $32000 per annum in UK, USA, Canada and Australia. This pay may increase or decrease over time due to factors such as,
- Involvement of technology
- Automation
- Experience of the surgeons
- Price charged on the customers for the service
Pricing – Tree Surgery Costs
Pricing should be called as an art, rather than a technique. The better your pricing policies are, the longer you survive in the business. All you have to do is study the market. Your demand, the number of areas where you can offer the service, the overhead charges in your company etc. Pricing can be done in two ways,
- Piece basis
- Time basis
Piece basis
Generally, the charge for cutting down a small shrub is $34, and the charge for cutting down or clearing a large tree is $1140. These figures need not be replicated, but should be included in pricing decisions.
Time basis
Hourly or monthly charges levied on the customers for your service is known as pricing on time basis. This is employed in case of nurturing, maintaining, spraying, pest control, irrigation etc. Surgeons from your company can be allotted to different customers in a scheduled way to avoid any clashes. Also, scheduling will reduce deviations from quality.
Business Profits
Profits of the business cannot be ascertained during the initial stages, but you can refer to the profit histories of other companies which were involved in tree surgery business. Though you cannot arrive at a clear figure of profit that you could earn in tree surgery business, there are few tips to increase them.
Add-ons
Add-ons is an innovative technique which will increase your revenue by nearly 20%. This certainly means the introduction of additional services to your clients and pursuing them to avail that too.
Upwell
It is an idea of doing the same offered service at a bigger level charging more than the usual. You can convince your customers to opt this by bringing out the benefits of doing the same in a bigger way. By this, you enjoy a higher income than the usual.
Make use of technology
Maximum usage of technology will sound like increasing the costs of your service, but there are hidden benefits in it. Firstly, the level of perfection in work increases making it more attractive to the customers. Next, in the time taken for finishing one work you can finish two with the help of technology. Undoubtedly, all these contribute for an increased income.
Conclusion
The business has to follow the safety aspects apart from the mentioned information. High levels of risk are attached due to the usage of ladders, saws etc. Thus, knowledge on safety measures is also required to operate without being intervened with problems. Lastly, focus on training your surgeons then and there.
Due to the rapid changes in the usage of tools, there is a necessity for you to train the surgeons to the new changes. Also, conduct demo classes since you have an educational background in the same field. Concentrate more on marketing your service in local area. Doing good in your area is a tool for advertisement which will take your company’s services to other parts of the country.
