My Tree Service “Master’s” Degree

December 4, 2024

My Tree Service “Master’s” Degree

I had the trip – and learning experience – of a lifetime in 2024, traveling the U.S. for two months visiting 11 tree care companies in eight different states. After seeing those top-quality operations, I am back home applying – and looking to share – the lessons learned.

(L-R) William “Billy” Davis, Tad Jacobs, Mike Earl

Born into it
I have worked in the tree care industry my entire life. My father, George Bofinger III, started Bofinger’s Tree Service, an accredited, 16-year TCIA member company based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before I was born. By the time I was 5, I was spending my summers and other days when not in school riding around with my dad to sales jobs and job sites. I loved it.

By 6, I actually was left with the crews to work alongside them raking and doing whatever I could at my age. The years passed by fast, and eventually I became our shop mechanic and learned the ins and outs of tree care, from chain-saw use to bucket-truck work and more. I loved it, and I eventually asked my parents to let me quit school sports so I could spend even more time at the shop during my last two years of high school. The day after I turned 18, I became a state-licensed arborist. This was my goal all along.

(L-R) Stephen Vernon, Joe Pipitone, Josh Guin

From there, my parents determined that I needed to go away to college or I would end up not completing college and just continue working with our crews. There is nothing wrong with not going to college, but they felt I needed to get away and learn from outside our company before I joined our team full time. So I applied to and was accepted at Auburn University’s Forestry Department, and, begrudgingly, I headed off to get my forestry degree. I now see the importance of the degree I earned, and I know that I am better for it. Yes, on-site learning is much more fun, but the time spent in the classroom did set me up for life after school.

Grad-school idea
While I was in college, my parents and I came up with the idea of me traveling the country and visiting all different types of tree-service companies my parents had come across during their years as a TCIA-accredited company. They felt the schooling was good, but hands-on knowledge learned from some of the greatest operations in the field would be my finishing school, or, as they like to say, my “master’s degree.”

(L-R) Aaron Taddiken, Kyle Cutshall

The idea sounded great to me right from the start. So I graduated and headed home for a few weeks to plan the trip.

On the road
On May 29, I headed out in my pickup truck with something of a rough-draft plan of the visits I would make. Nothing was set in stone, but we had a general idea. Along the way, I managed to make visits to Palfinger USA and Hubler Bros., which were not on the list but were just an added bonus. The contacts and the tree services I visited on my two-month tree-service “master’s” program included:

William “Billy” Davis, CTSP, president of Arborscapes LLC, an accredited, 18-year TCIA member company based in Powhatan, near Richmond, Virginia.
Andy Ross, CTSP, president of RTEC Treecare, an accredited, 27-year TCIA member company based in Falls Church, Va., just outside Washington, D.C.
Stephen Vernon, operations manager and team lead with Harrison McPhee Inc., an accredited, eight-year TCIA member company based in Millis, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
Joe Pipitone, owner of Top Notch Tree Care, a nine-year TCIA member company based in Kingsley, Pennsylvania.
Josh Guin, CTSP, QCL, president/CEO of Oak Bros Tree Care & Removal LLC, an accredited, 10-year TCIA member company based in Bloomington, Illinois.
Noel Boyer, BCMA, president of All About Trees LLC, a Tree Guardian company, a 14-year TCIA member company based in Springfield, Missouri.
Tad Jacobs, former president of Treemasters, a Canopy Service Partners company, an accredited, 17-year TCIA member company based in San Rafael, California.
Aaron Taddiken, founder of Taddiken Tree, an accredited, 20-year TCIA member company in Boulder, Colorado, now SavATree – Boulder, a SavATree Company, and Kyle Cutshall, CTSP, branch manager with SavATree – Boulder.
Mike Earl, CTSP, owner of Old Growth Tree Service LLC, an accredited, nine-year TCIA member company based in Eagle, Colo.
Joshua Morin, owner of We Love Trees, a five yar TCIA member company based in Niwot, Colo.
Noah Silverman, CTSP, owner of Noah’s Park Tree Care in Reno, Nevada.
Joseph “Joey” Eves, CTSP, owner of Rancho Coastal Tree Care, an accredited, nine-year TCIA member company based in San Diego, Calif.

(L-R) Surfing with Joseph “Joey” Eves, Boating with Tad Jacobs., Mountain biking with Mike Earl.

With every visit, I gained more and more insight into the tree-service industry. It was such an amazing feeling to be allowed inside these fantastic companies and given so much incredible knowledge on how these business owners had created their companies and run them day to day. I had my years growing up in a tree service, then my years at Auburn University in forestry, and now these visits were just the icing on the cake. They pulled it all together for me.

Joseph “Joey” Eves

Lessons learned
Once back home, I sent everyone I had visited a letter, telling them I was overwhelmed with the wealth of knowledge I had gained by visiting their businesses. I truly cannot thank them enough for spending their time with me and imparting their knowledge.

If you asked me to list out everything I learned on the trip, there would be no possible way to do so, but I did make a basic list – which I included in that letter to my hosts – of the things learned on my tree-service “master’s” program.

Here are the top things recommended to me:

Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) – This set of business-management concepts and tools helps with delegating day-to-day duties and setting up systems of responsibilities, putting the right employees in the right positions.
Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) – Most said they most appreciated that TCIA membership promotes relationships and helps spread knowledge throughout the industry.
Creating a positive workforce culture to make for happy long-term employees – Everyone had different ways they did this, but here are a few examples:
Morning visits: Time spent solely talking about non-work life.
Weekend get-togethers: Climbing and all hanging out together.
Weekly shout-outs: Your name goes in a bucket to get a chance to be pulled for prizes.
Quarterly or monthly companywide events: Things such as crawfish boils, cooking burgers at the shop for employees or renting out places to host parties.
Organization – From crew trucks to medical kits and so much more, setting in place lists or routines that are properly maintained helps immensely with efficiency and safety.
Sales team – Everyone has a great way of creating incentives for sales reps to sell, but you must have salespeople who put the company’s success before their own and know what they are talking about.
Morning meetings – These can be very helpful, and can be structured differently. You can have them focus on safety, how the employees are doing personally or work-wise, talk about next week’s work and more.
Delegate hiring – Getting a headhunter to help you find specific employees, such as a PHC technician, office staff and/or climbers, tends to work better than posting job listings.
Compost teas and soil drenches – A very cool way to fertilize trees/shrubs and a lot safer for the environment; this is a direction some of the companies I visited were going, and it is something Bofinger’s is moving toward.
Tracking numbers – This can be good to help notice when things are starting to slow down and how the company as a whole is running and operating. Our company has numbers run down for each day and even broken into each crew, so we know daily income and crew incomes for every job.
Outsource office staff – This can help lower office-staff costs and can help speed up processes by having other people write your proposals and answer your phones at a cheaper rate. Some companies use services like cfoforhire.com for a part-time CFO, and this allows them to have the knowledge of a great accountant without the full-time-employee cost.
PHC programs – A lot of companies had contracts for customers to sign that set up fertilizing on a schedule; this makes it so much easier than reselling PHC each year.

Noah Silverman

Q & A
TCI editor Don Staruk quizzed Thomas for a bit more information.

Did you work for or with these companies during your visits?
“Throughout my visit, for the most part, I went around with upper management, sales associates and the owners to see how they run their business differently and what makes their business successful. At some of the companies, I actually got out and worked with (crews) in the field, but for the most part, I saw more the ins and outs of how their business ran.”

Where did you stay?
“I stayed mostly in hotels, but a few owners asked me to stay in their homes, which was really cool.”

What were one or two of the extracurricular activities you took part in during your “studies?”
“I had a wonderful time exploring the country. I not only learned a lot about the business world, but also had plenty of fun. I picked up new skills, like how to surf, and enjoyed some mountain biking and wake surfing. Additionally, the food experiences were incredible; I got to taste some of the most delicious food from all over the country. Overall, it was a perfect blend of learning, adventure and delicious food.”

(L-R) Noel Boyer, Out with Jackie and Josh Guin, On the job with Joe Pipitone and his crew.

Did you take notes?
“Throughout each day, I would take notes on my phone, and every night when I got back to where I was staying, I would sit down and go through all my notes while it was fresh in my mind.”

What does your job consist of now, and moving forward?
“My job title here (at Bofinger’s) is operations manager/sales associate; I handle day-to-day operations and help organize the crews, go meet with customers, do sales and go look at jobs throughout the day.”

Did your parents give you a test when you got home?
“My parents did not give me a test when I got home, but I sat down with both of them and went through everything I had learned throughout the whole trip. After that, I sat down with (the employees of) our entire company and talked with them about some of the things I had learned and the cool things I got to see.”

Thomas Bofinger is operations manager/sales associate with Bofinger’s Tree Service, an accredited, 16-year TCIA member company based in Baton Rouge, La..

Feedback From the Field

We asked some of those Thomas Bofinger visited during his “master’s” tour to comment on his trip and his visit with them. Here are some of their responses.

Joseph Eves: “Thomas is a young, driven arborist and entrepreneur with more passion for our industry than most people I know. During his visit, he was very inquisitive and curious about operations, sales and scaling. He took notes and asked lots of questions while exuding enthusiasm and excitement. I even learned a few things from him! We even managed to have a little fun during his visit and went surfing at Tourmaline Surfing Park in Pacific Beach. I can’t wait to see what Thomas does with Bof Tree!”

Aaron Taddiken: “Thomas spent a day with Kyle Cutshall in our office. He was very curious and thoughtful about our business and the industry in general. I very much enjoyed my time with Thomas, and feel excited that he has moved into a leadership role at Bofinger Tree Service. I’m eager to see what he does going forward in the company and our industry at large.”

Tad Jacobs: “I met Thomas when he was 10 years old. I’ve seen him grow up in his father’s business, displaying his passion for trees from a very young age. He would work in the shop when he was in high school. George and I had collaborated together, helping one another grow our businesses in a peer format. His idea of sending Thomas on the road to work with the different companies he has known for years was brilliant, and something I think should be a mandatory step in generational transition.”

Mike Earl: “My hope is that Thomas truly understood how beneficial this was for his career, and that he has implemented at least one small item into his family business that made the entire trip worth his time. I know that George and I have reaped the benefits of relationships that have been fostered through TCIA events. Through collaboration, (relationships like these) will continue to allow businesses of all sizes and ages to level up and solve some of the most complex industry issues.

“When Thomas arrived, I supplied him with the agenda of items we were going to cover over the time he was with us. This allowed him to better understand the flow and cadence of the next few days. Just as in business, you get what you put in. The more thought and preparation you spend planning, the smoother the time will go during the process. Three key factors in our seasonal businesses are the preparation, the launch and the time we spend soaring through the day to day. If you build your annual business plans around these core philosophies, I promise you that you will (build on) your prior experiences and be able to better live the vision you have created for yourself.

“As in business, we spoke about our core values early in the process and made sure Thomas understood how much of my steering (my business) relates back to those values. It was a true honor to host him. And, of course, I had to not only show him why I love my business so much, but why I love my area of operation as well.”

Josh Morin: It was awesome to be a part of Thomas’s nationwide tree-care tour. It seemed like Thomas was able to see many different ways of doing business within our industry in a short period of time.”

Joseph Pipitone: “Personally, visiting other tree companies has been a huge factor in our growth and development. I always come home with something new to add to our company, and it is a blessing to do the same for the next generation. Having mentors is vital to growth. Being a mentor and sharing what has made you successful is a great way to remind yourself of the basics you built upon. If you want to better the industry, share your wisdom with a young person starting out.

“Thomas is a superstar. It’s clear that growing up with parents involved in the industry and the Tree Care Industry Association has given him a huge head start. His business acumen, wisdom and enthusiasm far exceed most people’s of his young age. Anyone can leverage this same advantage – get involved, attend TCIA events and trainings and find a mentor who is where you want to be!”

Andy Ross: “Thomas and I spent several hours talking about the tree business and the differences between the way their company does it and ours. There is always value in hearing how other people have solved similar challenges in different markets. I admire the fact that Thomas was able to take the time out and talk to so many people. I’m sure it was extremely beneficial and eye opening. We have a very creative industry that is full of problem solvers. We have a lot (of people) we can learn from.”

Josh Guin: “We had a wonderful time hosting Thomas. I’m a first-generation tree care owner. I built the business from scratch. I’m also a dad to three children. The perspective worth sharing: Full captivation of the heart for the tree care industry by Thomas. It was so cool to see a second-generation young man taking full ownership to travel and learn from other industry leaders in order to better himself for a leadership position at Bofinger’s some day. I can only hope that my own children would want to come and work with their mom and dad someday, regardless of what we are working on!

“A true once-in-a-lifetime trip for someone to experience so many different businesses in such a short time all across the country. Impressive to see, as I started in the business at 18 years old and while still in high school. That burning motivation is, unfortunately, rare to find, in my opinion, at his age. It was a breath of fresh air to experience Thomas and his passion for leadership and doing the right thing the first time.”

Noel Boyer: “Thomas called and asked if I would mind spending some time with him as he was passing through. I know that the Bofinger family has a first-rate tree care company, and I was excited to spend a little time with him. As we rode around, we talked about trees, business and family, and we spent a lot of time discussing company culture. It was great to hear his perspectives, not only from his experiences in his family’s company, but also from what he was seeing in the other companies he had visited before he made it to Missouri.

“Thomas was supremely polite and inquisitive, and left me with some great insight – and a collection of Bofinger’s Tree Service swag! I told him he would be doing the industry a disservice if he didn’t share his experience and some of the golden nuggets he picked up along the way. I’m excited that he is documenting his adventures for all of our benefit!”