One thing that never changes is the media latches onto “bad” news much more than good news, and often, the bad news becomes the prevailing sentiment.
I’m not going to pretend I’m not influenced by that either – in this very blog I’ve recently been discussing shortages (both in materials and labor), rising inflation, rising interest rates, and similar. Of course, I try to put an equipment financing spin on it, but still, the overall tone is sometimes more influenced by the negative than I’d like. So let’s change that for a post.
I was on Facebook yesterday, and saw some posts from a friend who owns a tree service company. My friend is quite successful – he started more than twenty years ago with a chainsaw and some secondhand tree climbing gear, and through hard work, he now has 40+ employees, about 15 vehicles/pieces of heavy machinery, and is the name for tree service in his area.
And he was posting this past Sunday evening about his new (financed) chipper, showing videos of this thing just eating full 50’ trees, pulling them in and turning them to mulch in a minute flat. Also in this video was his new smaller crane (also financed) that picks up the cut trees and moves them into chipping position.
But what really struck me was not the equipment, After all, he’s been financing tree equipment for years, and it’s helped fuel his growth. What made me take notice was he and the 12 other guys in the video were working on a Sunday.
I reached out to him and asked him how business was. He said he has never been busier. Here in 2022, with inflation, shortages, rising rates, etc. And he said something that really resonated with me: People still need things done. Except now, there seems to be fewer companies to do them.
In my friend’s case, one of his competitors hung it up last year, fed up with rising labor costs and his help leaving because they found better-paying jobs. My friend adjusted and continued to pay competitive wages. Yes, he had to raise his prices a little, but he’s hardly alone. And him raising prices for his services has not mattered in his phone ringing – again, people still need things done. Storms still happen. Trees still fall. And you need both skill and the right equipment to do the job. And he has an ample supply of both. He was already the biggest guy in town, but he still puts in the work. Because he knows success is no accident.
It doesn’t matter what your industry is: I’m writing about a tree service here, but I’m pretty sure that most industries have seen a shift – either in a reduced service level, delivery times, etc. There is always opportunity for someone to put the work in on a Sunday because nobody else can (or will).