Get off the Phone and into the Canopy

You’re in this industry because you love to climb trees. It’s part of your DNA - the challenge, the technique, the thrill and the satisfaction of doing highly skilled work, caring for one of nature’s greatest wonders.

Are you among that class of climbers who have ventured out on your own and launched a business?

Even if there’s more money at the end of that rainbow, you may wonder sometimes if it’s really worth it. Once upon a time you were gliding through the highest canopies, defusing hazardous situations and growing as a highly-skilled, ultra-specialized tradesman.

These days, you spend time on the jobsite answering calls, time in the afternoons listening to voicemails, and time in between replying to emails and filling out spreadsheets. And the administrative tasks just keep snowballing. You’d rather have your boots on the air, but you’re stuck in the cab of your truck answering the phone.

The old solution for this all-too-common problem was to hire more back-office help. Maybe you’ve put that off because it means even more office work for you - posting job ads, reading resumes, interviewing candidates, not to mention training a new hire. Fortunately, the times are changing.

Enter the virtual professional - business staff with all the behind-the-scenes skills for keeping your operation afloat, all the while working remotely. Whether it’s managing your phone line or tracking your invoices, these women and men can take care of those tasks that cause you the most pain - those tasks that keep you out of the trees. Thanks to the digital age, you never even need you to buy these professionals an office chair, much less pay for office space. In fact, it is almost always cheaper to hire virtual staff than bringing on a traditional employee.

By employing virtual professionals, you can quit worrying about the phone calls you might be missing and focus on your technical crane takedown. You can enjoy a day of big tree pruning without the dread of following up on those 20 voicemails in the evening. Virtual professionals can also manage your CRM software, your job scheduling and your bookkeeping. If you’re hoping to grow your client base, virtual professionals can market your value as an arborist to your prospects through email, social media and ad campaigns.

Did you purchase a complex business software suite for tree care companies? Unsure how to use it? Look no further than your virtual staff. Any current green-industry business software can function “in the cloud,” allowing you and your staff to seamlessly manage your data through any desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. No more coffee-stained piles of paper in the cab of your truck. Your virtual staff is capable of handling it all remotely.

In the twenty-first century, the pace of business is relentless. Don’t get buried in the details, stuck on the ground answering the phone all day. With virtual staff managing your phones, your books and your business software, you can stay up in the trees and climb past the competition.

Here’s a bio about me:

As the owner of both Arbor Agents and My Virtual Paige  Michelle Myers offers a range of products and services.  Under the Arbor Agents umbrella, you can work with her team to create a dynamic website, maintain social communities or do targeted marketing.  My Virtual Paige offers remote answering, scheduling, dispatch and admin services exclusively thru Arborgold  the industry’s most powerful business management tool.  With a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marymount University, Michelle and her teams work remotely for tree, lawn and landscape companies nationwide, with employees located in every North American time zone to serve clients in real time.