Most guys think scaling to $1M means more gear, more jobs, and more ads. But the real shift doesn’t happen in your truck or your tools - it happens in your mindset.

The crews that grow fast aren’t copying what the big guys are doing. They’re building around what they already do best. They lean into what customers already trust them for.

This issue’s not about hogs. It’s about using what you’ve got and getting rid of what’s holding you back.

You don’t need to add junk removals, buy more gear, or reinvent yourself.
You need to stop hiding the parts of your business that are already working.

A lady I met recommended "My Voice Will Go With You"…
An obscure book about Milton Erickson, one of the greatest hypnotherapists who ever lived.

Here's a story that'll change how you think about growing your business:

One summer Erickson sold books to pay his way through college. He walked into a farmyard around five o'clock, approached the farmer about buying books, and the farmer said, "Young fellow, I don't read anything. I don't need to read anything. I'm just interested in my hogs."

"While you're busy feeding the hogs, do you mind if I stand and talk to you?" Erickson asked.

"No, talk away, young fellow, it won't do you a bit of good. I'm not going to pay attention to you; I am busy feeding the hogs."

So Erickson talked about his books. Being a farm boy himself, he thoughtlessly picked up a pair of shingles lying on the ground and started scratching the hogs' backs as he talked.

The farmer looked over, stopped, and said, "Anybody who knows how to scratch a hog's back the way hogs like it is somebody I want to know. How about having supper with me tonight? You can sleep overnight with no charge and I'll buy your books. You like hogs. You know how to scratch 'em the way they like to be scratched."

The lesson: Erickson didn't try to connect with the farmer. He just was who he was, a farm boy who understood hogs.

Your business becomes infinitely easier when you stop forcing the wrong approach. What got you to your current level of success won't get you to the next. The same mindset that built a $100k-$200k tree service won't build a $1M one.

If you've been stuck, it's time to change your mind. Nothing changes until you do.

→ Client education resource - TCIA's "Why Is Tree Work So Expensive?" page breaks down complexity, equipment costs, and safety requirements - perfect for sharing with price-shopping prospects.

I see tree service owners copying everyone else's marketing playbook, wondering why it doesn't work.

"The guy in my area runs radio ads, so I should too." "Everyone's on Facebook, so I need to be there." "That company uses door hangers, maybe that's the secret."

You're scratching hogs with the wrong technique.

The farmer didn't buy from Erickson because of his sales pitch. He bought because Erickson naturally understood something the farmer valued, how to treat hogs right.

What do you naturally understand about your customers that your competition misses? What's your version of "hog scratching"?

Maybe you're the guy who actually shows up on time. Maybe you're the one who explains the work instead of just giving a number. Maybe you're the crew that doesn't leave a mess.

Stop copying someone else's success formula. Start being the tree service owner your ideal customers have been waiting for.

Your natural advantages are sitting right there in the farmyard. Pick up the shingles and start scratching.

Want us to look at your marketing, show you where you're leaking money?
Book a $100 consult. Refundable if it's not worth 10x that. All you have to do is ask.

Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media