Could your tree service be a valuable asset, or just a job that owns you?

David Mitchell of Hoss Tree Advisors reveals what buyers really want and what makes a tree care company scalable, profitable and sellable.

We cover:

• The three traits of tree services that thrive.
• How to build a business that runs without you.
• Why recurring revenue increases company value.
• The numbers every owner needs to know.
• What buyers notice before making an offer.
• When to start planning your exit.
• The costly mistakes that can kill a deal.

Whether you’re running one crew or a multimillion-dollar operation, this episode will change the way you think about building your business.

CONTACT DAVID MITCHELL, MANAGING PARTNER AT HOSS TREE ADVISORS

Website: https://hosstreeadvisors.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 615-625-1551

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

From musician to production arborist and eventually independent consulting arborist, Brent Hocking’s career proves that passion can outmatch fear.

Brent shares what it was like to begin with zero experience, overcome a fear of heights, climb some of Ontario’s toughest trees, and navigate the physical and often overlooked mental toll of high-stakes tree work.

He also explains why being great at the job doesn't automatically make you great at business, and how a year of careful preparation helped him go independent successfully.

A candid conversation about fear, burnout, mentorship, family, business, and building a sustainable career in arboriculture.

Learn more about Brent:

Consulting: https://bhconsultingarb.ca
Virtual tree consultations: https://treetruth.ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-hocking-bcma-traq-2517005b

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

What really separates tree companies that thrive from those that merely survive?

Arborist and PhD candidate Stella Dee joins Graeme Knight to discuss the human side of tree care. From earning clients’ trust and building flexible workplaces to running a lean tree business and knowing when to say no.

They also explore climbing during pregnancy, balancing arboriculture with parenthood, pricing side work, tree-risk uncertainty, and Stella’s research into pruning, cabling, and tree biomechanics.

A thoughtful conversation about trees, people, and building a career that fits the life you want.

Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Search for Stella Dee

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

In this episode of the Arborist Growth Podcast, Graeme Knight sits down with Saby Sattler, an arborist of 18+ years across Europe, New Zealand, and Canada, and now Director of Sales at ArboStar.

Saby shares hard-won lessons on what separates thriving tree companies from those just scraping by: knowing your real numbers, building systems instead of dependencies, and competing on reputation rather than price. We dig into his journey from firefighter to climber to tech, why "busy" doesn't mean "profitable," and how the right systems can give owners their life back.

Whether you run a one-crew operation or 40 crews, there's something here for you.

⏱️ In this episode:

- The biggest pricing mistake owners make.
- Why the cheapest company is first to disappear.
- Building a business that runs without you.
- Pen-and-paper vs. modern systems.
- Why professionalism wins clients (not your rigging).
- What's next for the industry and AI.

📬 Connect with Saby Sattler:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saby-sattler/
Learn more about ArboStar: https://arbostar.com

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations on growing your arborist business.

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

In this episode of the Arborist Growth Partners podcast, I sit down with Matt Latham of Arborist on Demand to dig into what really separates thriving tree care companies from those barely surviving.

Matt shares his journey from hauling limbs at $8/hour to becoming a board certified master arborist, surviving the 2008 collapse of his first business, and building an 80% closing ratio by treating tree care as a human care business.

We cover the future of the arborist industry (ground-penetrating radar, sonic tomography, and where tech is headed), why professionalism and proper pricing matter, the case for plant health care over constant pruning, and the role of soil and microbes in tree health.

Matt also drops his favorite book recommendations and explains why mentorship and ongoing education are non-negotiable.

Find Matt:
https://www.youtube.com/@ArboristOnDemand
https://www.linkedin.com/company/arborist-on-demand-llc/
https://www.instagram.com/arboristondemand/
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZzmLWU9UvWrEv6Wr7
https://twitter.com/ArboristOnDeman
https://www.facebook.com/ArboristOnDemandUS/

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

Kacy Keeffe joined his parents' tree service after a physics degree at USF and helped grow it from $300K to over $3M in Tampa.

He's now a Board Certified Master Arborist, and a lawn care company recently bought out his parents' stake, keeping him on to run Arbor Bay and eventually expand tree care into the broader Southeast.

Kacy walks through what's worked: defining an ICP for every season, getting every sales rep ISA certified, turning one-time removals into recurring plant healthcare revenue, and selling ethically in Florida's unregulated market.

🔗 https://arborbayinc.com/ | @arborbayinc | Kacy Keeffe on LinkedIn

#TreeService #Arborist #TreeCareBusiness

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

Graeme sits down with Joe Boffa, Rocky Mountain Territory Manager at Rainbow EcoScience, to talk plant healthcare, what it is, how tree companies can get started, and why the margins might surprise you.

Joe covers everything from the low-barrier entry points for small operators, to licensing requirements, CRM options, and how to sell PHC services to your existing client list.

Topics covered:

- What plant healthcare actually is (it's more than just spraying).
- How one PHC tech can match the revenue of a 3-person tree crew.
- Where to start if you're a small operation.
- Licensing, what you need and what you don't.
- CRMs for managing plant healthcare programs.
- How to find your first PHC customers.

Connect with Joe Boffa:
🌐 https://rainbowecoscience.com/
📧 [email protected]
📞 720-854-8212
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsboffa/

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

Most people sell their business and retire. Rebecca Seibel sold hers and started over. This time, entirely on her own terms. She bought a horse, moved to an off-grid cabin in the Wisconsin woods, and built something she actually wanted to wake up for every day.

Now, as the founder of Tree Spirit Consulting, Rebecca travels North America training tree crews on everything from chainsaw safety to aerial rescue to leadership. Weaving decades of hard-won field experience into every course she teaches.

In this conversation, we get into:

- Why your "internal drive" determines whether your business survives.
- What it's really like being a woman in field arboriculture.
- The training most tree crews skip, and why that's dangerous.
- Why the $200 bid is disrespectful to the entire industry.
- What "build a company you want to work in forever" actually means in practice.

Connect with Rebecca:

- Website: https://www.treespiritconsulting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treespiritconsulting
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@treespiritconsulting

#TreeService #Arborist #TreeCare #TreeSpiritConsulting #WomenInTrades #ArboristPodcast #Chainsaw #TreeClimbing #SmallBusiness

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

In this episode, Graeme sits down with George Trott of G Trott Tree Consultancy in the UK - the first international guest on the podcast. George watched a tree crew swinging chainsaws at a holiday park when he was 18 and never looked back. He shares the full journey from climbing trees commercially to running his own arboricultural consultancy, and what finally pushed him to go out on his own two years ago.

They dig into what makes tree companies thrive versus just survive, the key differences between the UK and North American industries, and why staying curious might be the most important thing any business owner can do.

Topics covered:

- From tree surgery to consultancy - George's career path.
- UK qualifications vs ISA certifications in North America.
- Why three is the magic crew number in the UK.
- How to find ideal clients on LinkedIn.
- AI tools for lone workers and tree consultants.
- Planning applications, tree safety, and a wild WWII bomb shelter story.

Connect with George Trott:

Website: https://www.gtrotttreeconsultancy.co.uk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetrott/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtrott_treeconsultancy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558119736660

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.

Studying for your ISA Certified Arborist exam doesn't have to be boring. In this episode, I sit down with Chris Comer, founder of Tree Nerd, a visual, engaging ISA exam prep platform built by an arborist, for arborists.

Forget dry PowerPoint lectures. Tree Nerd pairs real video footage of arboricultural work with the science behind it, making complex material far easier to understand and retain.

Chris walks us through how to use the platform alongside the official ISA study guide, and introduces the community and study group features that make exam prep a collaborative experience.

Whether you're a tree service owner looking to get your crew certified, or an arborist ready to level up your career, this one's for you.

Find Chris at:

Joshua Tree: https://myjoshuatree.com/
Tree Nerd Academy: https://www.treenerdacademy.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-comer-2b9a561b5/

Visit ArboristGrowthPartners.com to connect or learn more.