www.TreeEstimate.com
By Jessica Luther
A career in business was always Char Beck’s goal. She attended Adrian College to study business administration; she also was married and raising two small children at the time. Partway through finishing that degree, Char’s family was struck by tragedy: her husband passed away and she was left to care for her family on her own.
“I was not a Christian at the time, and I don’t even know how I got through that period,” she said. “I can say I believe God’s hand was always steering me.”
Despite the devastating loss, Char managed to finish her bachelor’s degree and move to Perrysburg, Ohio, taking a job with Libby Owens Ford in accounting. Four years after being widowed, she married again and moved to Pettisville with her new husband. In 1992, he convinced her to start a tree service company with him; though she knew nothing about the work, her business background would be an asset. They opened Clear View Tree Service and began providing pruning, removal and a variety of services to northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Char also found a niche for herself in Pettisville.
“Pettisville is a very spiritual community,” she described. “I began attending church and found what is ultimately the priority of my life- my relationship with God.”
It was this support system that provided Char with comfort during another difficult period of her life; after enduring years in a difficult marriage, and with some guidance from her pastor, she decided to file for divorce in 2003. After it was finalized, the judge decided that Char would become the sole owner of the tree business.
“It wasn’t even something I thought I wanted,” she recalled. “But I had been working in it for quite awhile and I understood the business.”
With help from her son, who was getting his MBA at the University of Toledo, they redeveloped the company. They decided to take things in a different direction and created www.TreeEstimate.com, a website for their business that allowed clients to fill out a form online and set up an appointment to assess the cost, then receive a price quote via email.
“We tried to make it as convenient as possible for our clients,” Char offered.
In 2007, while playing in a billiards tournament in Las Vegas, Char received a call from her son saying that they were receiving requests for work from New Jersey. Sure enough, an online search for their website put them as the number one site on the Internet for tree services. Once again, they decided to rethink the business. While still using their own crews for local jobs, they also reached out to other tree service companies: first in New Jersey, but eventually they got requests from all over the country and even internationally from Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Char said they match clients up with companies that are part of their membership base and charge a finder’s fee to the company, but not the clients. Their goal is to connect clients with companies within 24 hours of their request, and if they don’t already work with a business near the customer, they will try to find one in the service area for them.
“This is one of the least expensive forms of advertising for these companies,” Char said. “We spread our advertising dollars over a larger area and get more bang for our buck that way.”
She said her favorite part of the local business is landscape design, but they offer almost any service their clients might need in tree removal, pruning, landscape installation and maintenance. Despite setbacks, Char’s business sense and her faith combined to make her the business owner she is today.
“Doing the right thing in business is something my son and I talk about all the time,” she said. “I want to treat people the way I think is right, as well as make a living at this.”
If you found this story interesting, informative or inspiring please let Char know! You may contact Tree Estimate at 419-318-4455 or at 419-446-9441, email them at char.beck@treeestimate.com, or visit their website at www.treeestimate.com.
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