How He Bought a Tree Care Company (and Built an Empire)
From The SMB Deal Hunter Podcast by Helen Guo
May 8, 2026 · 1h 6m · Episode 94
About this episode
Brian Hartman shares his experience of acquiring and growing a tree care company while navigating financial challenges and investment decisions.
Want help buying a business? https://smbdealhunter.link/pro-yt In this episode, Brian Hartman breaks down the year-one cash crunch that nearly killed his first acquisition (despite 96% revenue growth), why he turned down private equity offers ten times a day before saying yes to one that let him keep control, and the operator playbook he's now using to roll up tree care companies across three states. ◼️ How he grew his first tree care business from $2.6M to $5.1M in year one and almost went broke doing it ◼️ Why long-term contracts hurt operators (and how transactional pricing let him raise prices through 9% inflation) ◼️ The minority investment structure that let him keep control of his business while joining a fund ◼️ What he learned from a 73-year-old tree climber in Jacksonville that changed how he runs his entire fleet ◼️ The first 5 minutes of an owner conversation that tells him whether to walk away from a deal regardless of price Subscribe to the SMB Deal Hunter newsletter (200,000+ subscribers): https://join.smbdealhunter.xyz/ Follow Helen: Twitter: https://x.com/HelenGuo _ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-guo-06674523/
People in this episode
Host: Helen Guo
Guest: Brian Hartman
Topics covered
- business acquisition
- cash flow management
- private equity
- tree care industry
- entrepreneurship
- business growth
Keywords
- business acquisition
- cash crunch
- private equity
- tree care
- revenue growth
- long-term contracts
- transactional pricing
- investment structure
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: SMB Deal Hunter
Products: tree care company
Places: Jacksonville
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