How to grow your tree care division

Josh Skolnick managed a lawn and landscape business throughout middle school and high school in southeastern Pennsylvania. He grew the business to the point where he had several full-time employees working for him by the time he was graduating high school.

Initially, he didn’t intend to enter the tree care side of the industry. He focused on landscape maintenance and subcontracted his customers’ tree care needs to two or three local companies. Although the tree care side of the industry intrigued him, he says it seemed to be an intimidating market.

“You would see these big trucks and equipment and a lot of liability and cost,” Skolnick says. “There was a level of intimidation where you didn’t want to cross that bridge.”

In 2008, one of Skolnick’s customers asked if his company could take down a dead elm tree. So, he rented a dump truck and a chipper to remove the tree. That job led to other tree care requests within that neighborhood, which then prompted Skolnick to transition away from landscaping and into the tree care side of the industry. He launched Monster Tree Service in 2008, which has since turned into a franchise and reached $11 million in revenue this year. Skolnick attributes the growth to good marketing and good people.

Read the full story from the December issue here.