If I Lost Everything Tomorrow & Only Had My Knowledge, Here's How I'd Make $500k Profit in 2023

‍A tree service biz. 

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I helped a friend do this exact thing in 2018.

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Here's a step-by-step detailed breakdown of exactly how I'd do it:

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Assume I only have a credit card w/ a $10k limit. 

I'd buy this:

1. Used car $5k

2. Laptop & phone - $1k

3. Domain @Namecheap - $9

4. Site @carrd - $6

5. Logo @hatchful - Free

6. LLC @LegalZoom - $250

7. Shirts - @ooShirts - $10 per

8. Insurance @simplybusiness - $300

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Now what?

What's the biz name? Should be short, simple & professional. With an available .com.

I'll go with FastTreeCare . com because I happen to already own the domain. 😎 Never used it. Nothing hard to spell or too many characters.

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Next Steps

I'd go to YouTube and spend all day watching videos about the tree biz.

I'd find forums with tree biz owners & see what the pain points are & learn how to quote jobs.

Most importantly, I'd learn the vernacular. 

I have to sound like I know what I'm talking about. Why?

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Which sentence sounds more legit?

“Yeah, we can cut your tree branches.”

Or

“We’re going to thin the canopy to enable more symmetrical and healthy growth.”

Which guy would YOU pay $5k to?

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Now I need to find some tree crews, 'cause I'm not climbing trees.

I go to Craigslist and start looking in the services section & make a Google sheet to keep track.

I only want the Hispanic crews. Why?

Cheaper

Higher quality

More honest

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Here's my pitch on the phone:

"I'm starting a tree biz & need a good crew. Can you meet me at (public park) at (time)?"

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I'll have everyone meet me at the same park 30 mins apart. 

Most will be late.

I'll have everyone quote me the same hypothetical tree job.

"How much to take down these branches?"

I'll take note of all their prices in my sheet & interview them.

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- How long in biz?

- Referrals?

- Insurance?

- What equipment?

- Hourly or by the job?

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Do you get good vibes from them? I'd bring a Spanish-speaking friend just in case.

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Hopefully, this provides 5-10 good options.

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If a white guy shows up to an appointment in a wrapped lifted truck, I thank him & turn him away. 

He's a middleman to the Hispanic crews & will be 2-3x more expensive.

In short, he's future me. That's my competitor (and I'll crush him).

Moving on.

I thank everyone I meet & promise to call them when I have a job to quote.

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Now time to start marketing.

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This is my favorite part.

Back to Craigslist, also Facebook.

I'd post ads in multiple CL categories, on FB marketplace & in every local FB group.

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I'd tell my story!

Stories sell 10x better than products or services.

I'd tell people I was young & hungry to please. Bonded & insured.

And FAST! That's my name, right?

Most will spend $3k to have the job done tomorrow than $2k to be done in 3-4 weeks.

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POST THE STORY EVERYWHERE.

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Every city has 10-30 local FB garage sale or gossip groups.

Join them all. Start a conversation, don't just copy/paste your same pitch.

This is a high ROI activity. Trust the process.

FB doesn't want me to post services in marketplace, but I'll do it anyway. Bite me, Zuck. I get banned.

These posts will draw some calls.

Go to quote your first job & bring your shirts. Meet the crew around the corner & have them put your matching shirts on.

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Goes a long way!

Have the crew lead walk alongside me with the homeowner & ask most questions.

Have him text you what it would cost.

I double that price & quote the homeowner.

If they say no, I'd ask what price it would take to get the job done.

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I go with that price to learn the ropes.

I'd do every job with the crews to learn. This is invaluable.

Rinse & repeat to get first 5 jobs.

Calls slowing down? No worries, time for bandit signs (also known as yard signs)

These will be 10x more effective and cost $600 for 200 of them. Use DirtCheapSigns . com

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I want 18x24" signs, 1 color and 2 sided with 15" stakes.

They say:

FAST TREE CARE

PHONE #

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That's it. Both sides.

I'd go to Loopnet . com & learn traffic counts from busy retail areas for lease.

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After dark I go plant them EVERYWHERE:

- On all 4 medians of busy intersections

- Neighborhood entrances

- Grocery store entrances

- Anywhere with high traffic counts

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200 signs x 2,000 (conservative) views per day = 400,000 daily impressions for $600 paid once.

DIRT CHEAP & EFFECTIVE

I'm about to get thousands of daily impressions for pennies. 

I KNOW my phone will ring daily.

Sometimes callers will be HOAs and they’ll be PISSED. 

Who cares? They’re HOAs after all. Screw ‘em. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

(Never ask an HOA for forgiveness)

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My phone rings off the hook now. Referrals piling up.

I aim for an average net profit of $1,600/job. Some will be $500 & some $3k

1 job per day, $1,600 profit per job, rest on Sunday = $500k net/year.

Quarterly profit projection:

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Q1 - $50k

Q2 - $130k

Q3 - $150k

Q4 - $170k

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Once I have a handful of jobs I make accounts on 

- Thumbtack

- Angi

- Home Advisor

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Then I ask previous customers to leave reviews.

I keep every name, email, phone & address in a database.

After every job I knock 20 neighbors' doors and say:

"The Johnsons just got some trees trimmed. Do you need anything while we're in the neighborhood for a 15% discount?"

Saying the neighbors name brings instant trust.

Conversion rates will be insane.

Am I oversimplifying this? OF COURSE! This is Twitter. Will it be this easy? No way!

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Someone will lose a finger

Fall out of a tree

You’ll get sued

Customers will cuss you out and leave 1 star reviews.

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That’s business baby! It’s beautiful.

But you can scale.

Once this works, I go one town over & do the exact same thing.

New crews, same name & processes.

There's only 1 tree franchise in America: Monster

Be the Lyft to their Uber

This space is ripe for destruction

Anyone wanna do this? I'll partner with and/or invest in you.

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You can even use my domain: FastTreeCare . co

Tell me that name isn't perfect?

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Obviously, seasonality will be an issue in some areas. Whatever.

LMK if you ever do this and how it goes.

Imagine if every 20-30-something-year-old tried this in their hometowns?

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Always appreciate a follow @mhp_guy

I tweet about real estate, startups, and anything else I think is awesome.