Welcome back to ATCP in the Canopy, the official podcast of the Association of Tree Care Professionals. This episode dives into the story of a 20-year-old who lost almost everything to a Category 5 hurricane and started a tree care company with an F-150, $2,500, and a single Stihl 461. Get ready for a conversation packed with hard-earned lessons on marketing, culture, accountability, and what it really costs to build something that lasts.Host and ATCP Committee Member Austin Lee sits down with ATCP member Ty Picard, owner of Top Tier in Sulphur, Louisiana. Ty built his company from a storm cleanup hustle into a nine-employee, $2.3 million operation known for its professionalism, its wages, and a culture strong enough to police itself. Join us as he shares his unfiltered journey from zero equipment experience to business owner, employer, and advocate for higher standards in the trade.In this episode, you'll learn:0:00 - Introduction & Welcome to the Canopy1:03 - Hurricane Laura and Losing Almost Everything1:32 - Homeschooled, a Business Degree at 18, and the Itch to Own Something2:30 - From Day Trading to Tree Work3:27 - The Storm Chaser Horror Stories That Revealed the Opportunity4:25 - Ignoring the People Who Said Don't Do It5:45 - Starting With an F-150, $2,500, and a Stihl 4616:14 - Getting Turned In for Operating Without an Arborist License7:13 - Hiring Coby, the First Employee, Still Here Five Years Later8:11 - The Golden Rule: Own It, Fix It, Move On9:05 - The Rough First Year and the Cost of Cheap Equipment10:33 - "Your Parents Must Be Rich" and the Self-Made Myth11:32 - Learning on the Job and Never Being Afraid to Ask for Help13:23 - The Horror Story: An Excavator, a Four-Wheeler, and Midnight Cleanup16:11 - Transitioning From Storm Work to Everyday Residential Work17:11 - Branding Early: The Vistaprint Logo, Uniforms, and Yard Signs18:40 - When $20 Facebook Boosts Printed Five Phone Calls19:35 - Running 10 to 15 Lead Channels, and the One That Brought 167 Calls20:05 - Door Hangers in the Rain: Grinding When Work Slowed Down23:23 - Trading Your Time for the Marketing Money You Don't Have25:50 - What Didn't Work: Four-Wheeler Trailers and Secondhand Chainsaws26:48 - The Toxic Employee He Held Onto Way Too Long28:15 - Choosing Bryson Over the Better Operator30:11 - Nine Employees, $2.3M, and Shifting From Growth to Margin31:40 - Why You Can't Pay Someone $15 an Hour and Expect a Life32:38 - Five Employees Bought Houses, and Guys Knocking on Six Figures33:34 - Hire for Attitude, Train for Results34:33 - Aligning Employee Goals With Company Goals36:50 - What It Feels Like to Provide for Nine Families38:18 - Paying Himself Last and Reinvesting Everything39:13 - Growth vs. Profit: Do Benefits Eat Your Margin?41:38 - The $10,000 Crew Bonus Pool That Changed Everything44:33 - Crew Accountability and $5 a Minute for Being Late46:27 - Cutting $15,000 in Damages Down to $3,000 in Six Months48:22 - Carrot, Stick, and Letting Culture Police Itself50:34 - Radical Transparency: The Shared Note Everybody Could See52:56 - Why Ty Joined the ATCP53:55 - What Joe's Emergency Tree Response Class Opened Up55:51 - The $4,000 Weekend That Paid Back $17,000 in Three Weeks58:15 - The ATCP, the Louisiana Arborist Association, and Raising Standards Together1:00:12 - Love, Defined as Willing the Good of the Other1:02:06 - Lightning Round: Chainsaws, Lifts vs. Climbing, and Caffeine1:02:56 - Would He Change Anything? Regret, Anxiety, and Staying Present1:04:31 - The "Must Be Nice" Guys and What They Don't See1:06:11 - Final Advice: Choose Your HardWhether you're a solo operator with a saw in the back of a pickup or running multiple crews, Ty's story offers real, hard-won lessons on marketing, hiring, accountability, and building a place people are proud to work. Ty is 26. His climber is 27. His COO is 25. If you think you're too young, too broke, or too inexperienced to build something real in this industry, this episode will change your mind.About ATCP: The Association of Tree Care Professionals (ATCP) is dedicated to elevating the standards of the tree care industry through education, safety protocols, and professional networking.Subscribe to our channel to stay updated with future episodes of ATCP in the Canopy: https://www.youtube.com/@A.T.C.ProfessionalsLearn more about ATCP membership: https://atcpros.org/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AssociationOfTreeCareProfessionalsConnect with our guest: Top Tier: https://www.toptierswla.com/If you enjoyed this episode, please hit the Like button and share it with your fellow tree care professionals!#ATCP #TreeCareIndustry #ATCPInTheCanopy #Arboriculture #TopTierTreeService #TreeCareBusiness #Entrepreneurship #CompanyCulture #TreeServiceLife #SmallBusinessGrowth
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