The market for tree cutting will grow by over 8% in the next few years. And houses with trees planted on the property add over $31 billion in economic value annually in the U.S.
So what does that have to do with you?
Maybe money does grow from trees. If you’re in the tree cutting business, anyway.
Homeowners love trees. But most people aren’t picking up a chainsaw and climbing the trunk themselves when those trees or their roots interfere with power lines, the home itself, or other projects in the yard and nearby area.
There’s a science to tree cutting, and it’s dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.
That’s a big business opportunity for you.
Here’s what you need to know about starting a tree cutting business and why buying an established company instead makes sense.
Buying a Tree Cutting Business Vs. Starting One
Tree cutting has an occupational learning curve. You also need expensive equipment to get started. If you start the business on your own, all the education and equipment costs fall on you.
Starting and running any business is unpredictable. But when you take on all the risk and need costly tools to test out your idea?
You have to put all your eggs in one basket and hope it works out.
The time to find out there’s no demand for tree cutting in your area is not right after you sign on the dotted line for a massive equipment loan.
As a newbie, you likely can’t buy the top-of-the-line bucket truck even if there is demand. So you’re limited in what jobs you can complete. And if you’re the only person on staff, you can’t take on big jobs.
The good news? Plenty of people who own tree cutting businesses want to retire and pass their business on to the next generation.
If you find someone else who doesn’t want to hang out of trees like a monkey anymore, it’s a win-win for you to buy their business instead.
An existing tree service business will come with:
- Years of revenue statements (to help plan cashflow & busy seasons)
- Equipment
- Trained staff
- Permits and certifications in place
With an existing company, you’ll use real profit and loss statements to budget properly. If you do it right, you’ll score quality equipment for much less than what you’d pay new.
You can find tree businesses for sale online on websites like BizBuySell and BizQuest right now. You can also find off-market business listings by networking or using BizScout (a tool we built and own to help entrepreneurs find their next business).
And with seller financing, you can score a deal that’s good for you and the previous owner.
It’s easier than getting a huge loan that saddles you with high interest. And it’s more effective getting a small loan that forces you to pick and choose what equipment you’ll start with.
But if you’re still convinced you want to start from scratch, then this is the guide for you. We’ll show you what it takes and point out how it differs from buying a tree service along the way.
1. Develop a Comprehensive Business Plan
Successful businesses start with a plan. Your business plan lays out the core components of your new company, including:
- Your services and pricing
- Your target market
- Your budget for startup and operational expenses
- Your expected revenue
- Your marketing plan
Tree cutting companies don’t just cut down trees. Your additional services might include:
- Stump grinding
- Tree removal
- Tree pruning
- Tree trimming
- Deadwooding services
Decide what you want to offer and what equipment you’ll need for each chosen service. It’s easier to start with something simple, like cutting, and go from there.
You reduce your risk by writing a thorough plan, so start by analyzing local competitors and their offerings. Use what you learn to craft your own goals.
Even with comprehensive research, it’s still a gamble to launch any new company. It’s hard to predict how many people need tree cutting.
Buying a tree company that’s been around for a while bypasses this uncertainty.
They already have customers and understand how demand works in their market. Your business planning process becomes a lot easier when you have a handle on real demand. Instead of working on a theoretical plan, you’ll get to modify and improve an existing one.
2. Secure Necessary Permits and Licenses
You must register your business with the state and obtain proper business insurance coverage.
When you register the company and get your business license, you declare your business name, address, and whether you’re starting a sole proprietorship, limited liability company, or corporation.
Occupational hazards are high for tree cutters. You’ll need insurance coverage, including:
- Commercial car insurance for any damages or collisions with the company vehicle
- Workers’ compensation insurance to protect any employees who may get hurt
- General liability insurance for any damages or injuries on someone’s property
- Equipment or commercial property insurance
- Professional liability coverage for any mistakes
Your state may also require a permit to operate a tree cutting business. It gets even more complex when you consider that your locality and state may also mandate pre-approval for individual tree cutting jobs, too.
You can check out this guide for a list of tree regulations by state.
If you buy an existing business, you can skip over many of the licensing and registering headaches.
You can start with the peace of mind that the owner already secured needed licenses, permits, and protection. And that the business already has processes in place to get pre-approval for any jobs.
3. Finance Your Business
If you have personal savings, credit cards, or lines of credit, you might use those to jumpstart your business.
But the highest costs in a tree cutting business come from equipment, so you might need to turn elsewhere to secure necessary funding.
If you don’t have the funds on your own, check out these options:
- Small business owner grants (usually available at the local or state level)
- Local investors
- Bank loans
- Equipment loans
- Business loans (such as SBA loans)
Each of these will come with drawbacks, though.
The pool of small business grants is small—if there are any in your area at all. And getting a grant is more competitive than you think. Better brush up on your grant writing skills if you want one of these.
Getting an investor on board may sound like the next best thing, but most people don’t know how to raise investment money. And, if you do get an investor, they will want a permanent share in your business.
Loans come with baggage, too. You’ll need to start making money fast if you want to pay off the loan before the interest becomes too much.
Financing is another step where buying a business has the advantage.
If you purchase a tree cutting business, you can propose seller financing.
You develop your own deposit and payback terms with the seller. Paying back the previous owner with a part of your profits may wind up being much more flexible than any bank’s offer.
4. Acquire Essential Equipment and Tools
You can always invest in bigger or better equipment down the road, but you need some things to start.
Budget for:
- At least one chainsaw
- A bucket truck
- Block trailers
- Ladders
- Climbing ropes
- Helmets
- Eye and ear protection
- Gloves
- Solid boots
- Orange cones
- Saddle
For the big equipment, look into leasing vs. buying.
In the future, you might also plan to obtain a stump grinder, brush chippers, or bush hogs.
If you choose to acquire someone else’s tree service business, you can start accepting many jobs right away because you possess all the tools you need. Plus, the previous owner can train you how to use everything safely (if the deal doesn’t come with a trained crew).
5. Set Up Operations and Processes
Set up smooth operations from day 1.
While every job’s a little bit different, you can work as efficiently as possible with good workflows for job execution and cleanup.
Make it easy for clients to hire you. Use online booking and scheduling systems. So many tree companies don’t do this, and they lose business because of it.
When you can pinpoint your schedule and promise someone what day you’ll be there, you earn a reputation for professionalism and reliability. Accurately schedule your jobs to keep customers happy.
Speaking of happy customers, use a CRM or other automated reminders to get reviews from your clients right away. Those reviews build your brand and generate more business.
New business owners face an uphill battle when it comes to operations. You have to know how to do the work, be in the field all day long, and still squeeze in operations time.
With an existing business, operations are a part of the purchase. You’ll start out with a business that has at least a part of its act together.
Instead of piecing together logistics in between chopping down trees, you’ll spend your time looking for ways to make operations even better.
6. Build Your Brand and Online Presence\
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You need an online and offline presence for potential customers in your area to find you.
Building your offline brand is straightforward. You’ll want to get a clear and distinctive logo and place it on any company shirts or vehicles.
From there, you can use old-school tools to get the word out, like:
- Business cards
- Fliers
- Road signs
Networking is also your friend here. Talk to other business owners, family, and friends to see if they know anyone who needs a tree cut down. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and it spreads like wildfire when you do a good job.
Building an online presence includes three components:
- A website designed for local search engine optimization (SEO)
- A Google Business profile with your contact information, hours, and reviews
- Social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok (before and after posts of your work perform well here)
Reviews are one of the most important marketing materials for service businesses. Your Google Business profile is more important than you may think.
When people need a service and don’t know who to call, they go to Google. If your business shows up with 0 reviews, people will have a hard time trusting you can get the job done.
Let people know how important reviews are. Every time you complete a job for a happy customer, let them know that they can share their praise with others online.
Marketing and building a brand can be a grind. But if you choose to buy someone else’s tree cutting biz, you can build on their existing reputation and marketing strategies.
It’s far easier to grow from an existing reputation than to start from obscurity.
7. Hire Your Crew
Yes, you can do tree cutting alone.
But plenty of jobs require more than one person.
Get some help to take on more work and spread out the physical labor.
You’ll pay more to hire experienced pros but spend more time training novices. Make your choice by looking at your current demand.
There are pros and cons to each approach.
If you can hire someone new for less money but train them in your exact processes, it may work out better over the long haul. But, an experienced pro can get to work right away and will know how to avoid the most common accidents and injuries.
Either way, invest in your team by:
- Conducting safety training
- Buying the right safety gear and ensuring it’s used on every job
- Supporting workers who want to get further training or certifications
Not having a crew will keep you from the best jobs.
But you can hit the ground running with a team that’s already used to working together by buying an established tree service. If you buy from someone else who built a crew, also see if you can keep that operator on for a little while as you train so there’s no downtime.
Growing and Expanding Your Tree Cutting Business
It’s hard to get your first few gigs as a tree cutting service. Over time, if you can secure plenty of business, you can scale it.
Tree cutting is a good gig on its own since you can charge at least a few hundred bucks for most jobs. But the real money comes into play with bundled services, like:
- Cleaning gutters
- Window cleaning
- Mowing lawns
Or, if you’re not into those things yourself, partner with complementary businesses to offer more value to each customer. Build customer trust by showing up on time and quoting accurately, too.
Listen to your customers to optimize your services, pricing, and execution. You’ll get more repeat business and word of mouth referrals this way.
Branch Out with Your Own Tree Cutting Business
If you love the great outdoors, maybe a tree cutting business is right up your alley.
You can start your own tree cutting business by putting in the time to understand the market and raising the funds for the equipment.
Or you can skip over a lot of those early-stage struggles by finding someone else who did the hard work but wants to move on to their next chapter. When you buy someone else’s business, you can step in and grow your own success.
