The Tree Service That Makes $40K/Year from Firewood
ISA certification, storm canvassing, and turning removed trees into live-edge slabs. Growing a tree service business.
Dave ran a five-man tree crew in suburban Ohio. Good work, decent reviews, the usual slow months between November and March. Then one winter he started milling the larger trunks he removed into live-edge slabs instead of hauling them to the dump.
He sold his first slab, a 36-inch walnut from a backyard removal, for $1,200 on Facebook Marketplace. That was more than the removal job itself. By year two, firewood and slab sales were generating $40,000 in annual revenue from wood he used to pay to dispose of.
Dave did not discover a secret. He discovered what the best tree service operators already know: the real money is not in doing more jobs. It is in extracting more value from every job you already do.
Get the ISA Credential (Almost Nobody Has It)
Only about 5% of tree service operators hold an ISA Certified Arborist designation. That is a staggering gap, because homeowners absolutely care about credentials when someone is dropping a 60-foot oak next to their house.
Arborists with the ISA certification command 30-50% higher prices. Not because the certification makes you a better climber (you probably already know the work), but because it eliminates the homeowner's biggest fear: "Is this person going to destroy my property?"
The exam is not easy, but it is achievable with study. And once you have it, put it everywhere. On your truck. On your estimates. In your Google Business Profile. When a homeowner is comparing three quotes and yours is the only one from a certified arborist, price becomes secondary.
Storm Canvassing: The 72-Hour Gold Rush
One owner in North Carolina closed $80,000 in three days after an ice storm. His entire strategy: be first on the ground with door hangers while everyone else was still fielding phone calls.
Post-storm canvassing is the highest-ROI activity in this business. Here is why it works so well:
Urgency is real. A tree through someone's roof is not a "get three quotes" situation. They need someone now.
Competition is overwhelmed. Every tree service in town is slammed. The companies that physically show up in affected neighborhoods, not just answer the phone, win disproportionately.
The math is simple. Print 200 door hangers with "We're working on your street today. Call for priority scheduling." Hit the hardest-hit blocks within 24 hours of the storm. Even a 5% response rate is 10 calls, and storm jobs average $1,500-$3,500.
Between storms, offer "free hazard assessments" door-to-door in neighborhoods with mature trees. Walk the property, point out deadwood or structural issues, and leave a written report. About 30% of those assessments convert to paid work.
Realtor Partnerships for Pre-Sale Tree Work
Home inspections flag tree problems constantly. Overhanging branches, dead limbs near the roof, root systems threatening foundations. Sellers need these resolved fast to close.
Approach five active listing agents in your area with this pitch: "I will do free 15-minute tree assessments for any of your listings. If the seller needs work done, I will prioritize the timeline to keep your closing on track."
Agents love this because it removes a common closing delay. You get a steady pipeline of motivated sellers who need work done quickly and are not price-shopping aggressively because their agent recommended you.
One relationship with a busy agent can generate 8-12 jobs per year. Five relationships and you have filled a significant chunk of your calendar.
Turn Every Removal into a Revenue Stack
Dave's slab business is one example, but the principle applies broadly. A $2,500 tree removal can become $4,000+ when you stack additional revenue:
Firewood sales. Cord wood sells for $200-$350 depending on species and region. A large removal can yield 2-3 cords.
Stump grinding upsell. Most homeowners want the stump gone too. That is an additional $150-$500 you are leaving on the table if you do not offer it on the spot.
Mulch and wood chips. Instead of paying dump fees, sell or give away chips to landscapers and gardeners. Even free disposal saves you $50-$100 per load in dump fees.
Live-edge slabs. If you have access to a portable sawmill (or a friend with one), a single walnut, cherry, or maple trunk can yield $500-$5,000 in slabs.
The operators who treat every tree as a raw material source rather than waste to dispose of consistently outperform on revenue per job.
The Compound: Credentials Plus Speed Plus Relationships
The ISA credential gets you premium pricing. Storm readiness gets you surge revenue. Realtor partnerships fill the gaps between storms. And revenue stacking means every job generates more than the estimate.
These four moves compound. The certified arborist who shows up first after a storm with a realtor referral in hand and mills the wood afterward is operating on a completely different level than the crew posting "free estimates" on Craigslist.
Start with whichever move fits your current situation. If storm season is approaching, prep your canvassing materials now. If you have downtime, study for the ISA exam. If you are already certified, call five realtors this week.
The tree service business rewards operators who think beyond "cut it down, haul it away." The wood has value. The credentials have value. The relationships have value. Capture all of it.