What is your tree care business actually worth — and what happens when you're ready to sell?

Most owners will go through this process exactly once. The buyers across the table do it every day. That gap is where millions of dollars get left behind.

In this episode, I sit down with David Mitchell, Managing Partner at Hoss Tree Advisors — the only M&A advisory firm focused exclusively on the tree care industry. David has seen hundreds of deals from the inside. He knows where the process goes wrong, what moves your valuation up or down, and what most owners get wrong before they ever take a meeting with a buyer.

We cover:

- How EBITDA and multiples determine your sale price (and what actually moves that number)

- The difference between private equity, large strategic buyers, and family offices — and which type fits your situation

- Why your equipment does not add to your valuation, and why this surprises nearly every owner

- What the due diligence process actually looks like (hint: it's been compared to a colonoscopy)

- The realistic timeline — it's not 30 days. It's six to nine months minimum.

- What the "second bite of the apple" really means and how likely you are to actually get it

- What you can do right now to increase your valuation, no matter when you plan to exit.

This episode is for you, whether you're fielding calls from PE firms today or just starting to think about what an exit might look like someday. Knowing what your business is worth — and what drives that number — changes how you run it right now.

Full show notes, complete transcript, and an M&A glossary in plain English:

https://treecaremarketingsolutions.com/selling-your-tree-care-business/

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About David Mitchell:

David Mitchell is a Managing Partner at Hoss Tree Advisors (hosstreeadvisors.com). Reach him at david.mitchell@hosstreeadvisors.com or 615-625-1551.

The Tree Care Business Show is hosted by Monica Hemingway, founder and CEO of Tree Care Marketing Solutions and a licensed arborist with a Ph.D. in Industrial Psychology. Each episode goes deep into the business, marketing, and growth strategies that actually work for tree care companies — from owners and industry experts who've built real businesses and solved real problems.

No fluff. No generic advice. Just straight talk from people who know this industry.

New episodes are released regularly. Subscribe so you don't miss one.

Find every episode, full transcripts, and show notes at: treecaremarketingsolutions.com/podcast-2/

Follow the show:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Facebook: facebook.com/treecaremarketingsolutions

Jeff Van Meter has been running Top Notch Tree on the South Shore of Massachusetts for 26 years. Of all the tree care companies we work with at TCMS, he has the highest percentage of leads coming from social media.

He's doing it in 10 minutes a video. With his phone. No crew, no script, no fancy equipment.

In this episode, Jeff walks through exactly what he does — the short job-site videos, the longer FAQ-style content he films with a videographer, the tools he uses to edit and post, and how he thinks about consistency over perfection.

We cover:

- Why Jeff started doing video and what made him take it seriously

- The two-video approach: quick job-site clips vs. longer FAQ content

- How he uses AI to generate video topics and captions in seconds

- The platforms he posts on — Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube — and what's different about each one

- CapCut: the free editing app he uses to stitch clips together from his phone

- How he got comfortable on camera (he'll tell you he's still working on it)

- Why "good enough and consistent" beats "perfect and occasional" every time

- How TCMS turns his videos into SEO content that shows up in Google search

One thing that surprised me in this conversation: Jeff said it best himself — he doesn't care about being known as a TikToker. He just wants people to call for tree work. That clarity is exactly why his approach works.

Full show notes, complete transcript, and links to Jeff's YouTube channel: https://treecaremarketingsolutions.com/tree-service-video-marketing-strategy/

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About Jeff Van Meter:

Jeff owns Top Notch Tree, serving the South Shore of Massachusetts since 1999.

tntreecare.com | 781-871-8008

The Tree Care Business Show is hosted by Monica Hemingway, founder and CEO of Tree Care Marketing Solutions and a licensed arborist with a Ph.D. in Industrial Psychology. Each episode goes deep into the business, marketing, and growth strategies that actually work for tree care companies — from owners and industry experts who've built real businesses and solved real problems.

No fluff. No generic advice. Just straight talk from people who know this industry.

New episodes are released regularly. Subscribe so you don't miss one.

Find every episode, full transcripts, and show notes at: treecaremarketingsolutions.com/podcast-2/

Follow the show:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Facebook: facebook.com/treecaremarketingsolutions