Discover how 29-year-old Shaun Sykes transformed from a labor worker dragging brush to the proud owner of Arbor Image, a thriving tree care company. In this revealing conversation, Shaun shares the exact systems that allowed him to cut $47,000 in monthly overhead, increase gross profit margins from 40% to over 60%, and structure a successful ownership transition—all while making both clients and team members happier.
What You’ll Learn
- How to identify and cut unnecessary overhead that's killing your profits
- Practical strategies to increase your gross margins by 20%+ within months
- Why your pricing fears are holding you back (and how to overcome them)
- How to implement pay-for-performance systems that make your team more efficient
- Ways to leverage global talent to multiply your business capabilities
Time Stamps
- 01:16 - The Glass Wall Incident
- 03:30 -Tree Talk: Assessing the Yard
- 04:37 -Meet Shaun Sykes: From Laborer to Arborist
- 08:35 -The Business of Tree Care
- 17:36 -Taking Ownership: The Journey to Becoming a Business Owner
- 34:16 -Legal Aspects of the Deal
- 37:56 -Cutting Overhead Costs
- 43:46 -Leveraging Virtual Assistants for Efficiency
Snippets from the Episode
- "My unique skill isn't being an arborist, it's aligning incentives. That is my number one skill. I love writing up incentive plans and working with the team on bonus programs." - Shaun Sykes, Owner of Arbor Image
- "We were paying out less money per job on labor than we ever had, and they are making more money than they've ever had." - Shaun Sykes on the pay-for-performance results
- "We made a 20% price increase, didn't see a drop in close rate. So we took another 20-30% increase, and then finally saw a small drop to about 50% close rate." - Shaun Sykes on pricing courage
- "The biggest thing that started the confidence to make changes was getting our marketing in order and having way more than enough leads." - Shaun Sykes on transformation catalyst
- "Nearly every change we were scared to make ended up getting us more customers because we came across as more professional."- Shaun Sykes on implementing systems
Key Takeaways
- Start with your bookkeeping
- Track every lead source religiously
- Raise prices until you see resistance
- Align incentives across your entire team
- Cut overhead ruthlessly ($47,000 monthly)
- Require deposits and payment methods on file
- Leverage global talent for critical admin roles
Resources
- 24 Things Construction Business Owners Need to Successfully Hire & Train an Executive Assistant
More from Shaun Sykes
- Shaun Sykes - Owner, Arbor Image
- Arbor Image website
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