In tree care, it’s easy to get consumed by the urgency of the day – storm calls, high-risk removals, employee situations, scheduling pivots, equipment issues. But if you want a sustainable company – one that thrives even when you step back – big-picture thinking must be woven into your daily execution.

Seattle Tree Care grew its business by acting like a home-service company – tracking jobs, leading teams and investing in customer experience. All photos courtesy of Seattle Tree Care.

My husband and I started Seattle Tree Care in 2007. In the early years, we did everything ourselves – sales, scheduling, job support, bookkeeping – not to mention the actual tree work. But as the company grew, we had to grow, too, shifting from doing everything personally to building a business others could help lead. That transformation took more than hustle. It required strategy, systems and a willingness to stop thinking like arborists alone and start thinking like business owners. Much of it came through trial and error, but keeping our eyes on where we wanted to go helped us make better daily decisions.

Kelsey and Peter Gruenwoldt.

Think like a home-service business
Tree care is deeply specialized, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from adjacent industries. Our customers compare us to plumbers, roofers and HVAC companies, not just other tree services. Their expectations for communication, professionalism and ease of doing business are shaped by those industries, too.

We have a lot to gain by studying what works there: technology adoption, sales strategy, operational systems, marketing, client-experience models and even the metrics used to assess value.

One of the most powerful shifts I made came when I stopped seeing myself as just a tree care company owner and started thinking like a home-service CEO. That mindset pushed me to improve how we track jobs, lead teams and invest in our customer experience.

“Sales” is not a dirty word
The biggest lesson from other industries? The importance of sales – and no, “sales” is not a dirty word. In our early days, demand was high enough that we simply sent an ISA Certified Arborist to assess and recommend tree care. It kept the schedule full but lacked intentionality and wasn’t built for growth.

By studying sales as its own discipline, we shifted from relying only on arborist knowledge to creating a repeatable process. And sales, at its best, is service – helping people solve problems, achieve goals and make informed decisions. Some of our longest-standing customers started with us telling them, “Your trees look great; I don’t recommend any work right now.” That kind of honesty builds relationships, trust and long-term loyalty.

Takeaway for owners: If you don’t have a sales process, start by mapping the five most common questions you answer on site. Train your team to answer them consistently, and you’ve already taken your first step toward a scalable sales system.

Empower others by building systems
Every stage of growth requires letting go of something you used to do yourself. If you’re doing it more than once a week, build a process for it. Write it down. Record a video. Delegate it with structure.

That’s how you start replacing yourself – one task at a time – until you’ve built leaders who run each department, freeing you to focus on the company’s future.

Branding matters. A clean, well-branded truck and a crew in high-visibility uniforms send a clear message of professionalism.

Example – Building arborists from within:
Finding skilled arborists is one of our industry’s biggest challenges. Six years ago, we built a structured pathway for production-team training and development. Our culture is strong, and we learned it’s often better to hire for cultural fit and train for skill.

We use TCIA training modules, on-the-job instruction and skills checklists to create a career-progression pathway. It allows someone with no experience to see a clear road to becoming a safe, competent and well-paid arborist. One of our first hires through this program is now our arborist crew production supervisor, with his CDL, EHAP, TCIA modules and Crew Leader Qualification credential – and he’s preparing for his ISA Certified Arborist exam. That’s a success story built on systems.

We also have documented processes for estimate intake, scheduling, job costing and client follow-up. These systems free up our time, keep the team aligned and make scaling possible.

Takeaway for owners:

• Choose three processes you handle most often and document them this month. You’ll be surprised how quickly that clarity pays off.
• Safety as a system and a signal.
• As companies grow, safety isn’t just about preventing accidents. It’s about creating a culture of discipline, preparation and care.
• Safety should be built into training, reinforced daily and owned by everyone.

Here’s the deeper truth: Systems shape culture. When your team sees that safety, communication and service are built into your processes, they internalize those values. Culture becomes something people live.

Our progressive training program not only boosts morale by showing each employee a clear career path, it also ensures everyone gets trained to the right safety standards. And, it gives us the documentation we need to stay compliant with OSHA and Washington State Labor & Industries. One system solves multiple problems: safety culture, transparency for employees and regulatory compliance.

Takeaway for owners: Tie safety into your existing systems, not just your meetings. If it’s built into your workflows, it will stick.

Focus on clients and crew – not competitors
It’s tempting to watch what others are doing, but real momentum comes from focusing inward. Ask yourself:

• Are we making it easy for customers to say yes?
• Are we equipping our team to succeed?
• Are we earning five-star reviews and referrals?

“Our progressive training program not only boosts morale … it also ensures everyone gets trained to the right safety standards,” says Kelsey Gruenwoldt

Recurring revenue is a key marker of sustainability. For tree care companies, plant health care is a natural fit. It keeps you on the property between pruning cycles, deepens client relationships and increases lifetime value.

Branding also matters. A clean, well-branded truck and a crew in high-visibility uniforms send a clear message of professionalism. When customers recognize your name before you send the estimate, you’ve already won part of the sale.

Takeaway for owners: Build systems that deliver a consistent customer experience and strengthen your brand. The more you invest in your clients and team, the less you need to worry about competitors.

Strategic vision drives daily execution
To grow sustainably, you need both daily excellence and long-term perspective. That means carving out time to think strategically, study other industries and refine your systems.

There are many tools for this. Some owners adopt the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Others work with business coaches, like we did. Early on, I simply carried a notebook to capture every project idea. Over time, this evolved into shared Google Docs, and now our leadership team meets weekly for 90 minutes to review priorities and track progress.

Whatever method you choose, make it consistent. In the early days, the goal is to give yourself 10,000-foot clarity. As you grow, your role shifts to giving that same clarity to your team, so they can then execute daily and move the business in the right direction.

Takeaway for owners: Pick one way to carve out strategic time each week – then treat it as non-negotiable.

Closing thought
In the end, this business isn’t just about trees – it’s about people. It’s about building companies that deliver expert care, empower great teams and thrive beyond any one individual. The more intentional you are about building systems, empowering others and keeping your eyes on the big picture, the more likely you are to create a business that lasts.