How a Passion for the Outdoors Helped this Business Owner Leave the Corporate World

Jesse Harris left the corporate world to follow his passion for arbory and start SaveMore Tree Service. After purchasing his Bobcat mini track loader, business quickly began to bloom. Read the story below and watch the video to learn more about Jesse’s journey. 

Growing up in the Harris family, pick-up sticks was more than just a game. It was their livelihood.      

“My dad opened his tree-service company back in 1972,” Jesse Harris says. “I remember helping out at a young age by clearing away sticks and assisting with the cleanup. I grew up in this business.” 

What started as picking up sticks for his father’s tree-trimming business quickly grew into a passion. An arborist at heart, Jesse eventually followed in his father’s footsteps to open his own successful company, SaveMore Tree Service.  

“Before opening SaveMore, I worked for a couple of corporations,” he says. “I was good at what I did, but I knew what I really wanted – I missed working outdoors – so I saved the money and started my own business about three years ago.” 

Saving more with mini track loaders 

SaveMore Tree Service offers tree removal and trimming services, stump grinding, storm prep and cleanup, land clearing, emergency tree removal and Christmas light installation to southern Florida’s Palm Beach County. 

Operating in an area ripe with tree-servicing companies, Jesse and his team have come up with a simple and effective way to keep SaveMore top of mind. 

“As far as I’m concerned, there are three simple rules to running a successful business,” he says. “Offer fair prices, provide excellent customer service and do a good, clean job. That’s it. That’s what I focus on.” 

Jesse’s three simple rules seem to be working. In only three years, he’s earned more than 150 five-star reviews online and glowing personal comments from his customers. 

“I care about what I do, and that’s clear to our clients,” Jesse says. “Our motto is, ‘Don’t pay more when you can call SaveMore.’ We try to be the best while charging a fair price, and that’s made possible by our MT85 mini track loader. It helps us do the job faster, and that’s incredibly valuable.” 

Keeping costs low with his mini track loader 

What gave Jesse the courage to live out his dream? Some might say it was in his blood. Just ask his 15 brothers and sisters, five of whom have their own tree-service companies. 

“Ever since we were five years old, my brothers and I have helped out with the family business,” Jesse says. “I became a certified arborist when I was 21 years old, and it’s still my passion.” 

But before he could go back to his roots, Jesse had one important thing to check off his list: purchase an MT85 mini track loader. 

“I waited to start my business until after I bought the MT85 mini track loader,” he says. “Once I had it, I opened SaveMore the very next day. My brother used an MT55 for his business, and after seeing the success he had with that machine, I knew I needed something similar.” 

Jesse opened SaveMore in 2017, and after a little trial and error he soon learned an important key to his company’s future success. 

“When I worked for our family and other tree companies, they had 15 or 20 crews working at one time,” Jesse says. “I realized that number came with a lot of headaches and expenses. There were times we had to scramble because some of the guys weren’t as reliable as others. So with SaveMore, we operate smaller crews, so we’re able to build better relationships with our customers and become more profitable. It’s all about great customer service and high-quality work, so I only hire the best. I’d be nothing without my crew, so I try to take good care of them.”  

Whatever the job, Jesse’s team knows they can rely on the power and maneuverability of their mini track loader, also called a mini skid steer, to help them work as efficiently as possible. 

“It’s not uncommon for us to remove 45- to 50-foot tall palm trees,” Jesse says. “The MT85 is perfect because it’s better on the customer’s lawn, and I’m able to use the grapple attachment to pick up heavy logs and large palm fronds. On jobs like this, if you don’t have the right equipment it can lead to more grunt work for the crew. The beautiful thing about this machine is that it virtually eliminates manual labor. When you use the MT85, your back is fine and you’re not stressed out because it’s reliable and easy to use. That’s huge.” 

In addition to removing the logs from fallen 50-foot palm trees, Jesse relies on the mini track loader and a variety of mini track loader attachments to handle the smaller aspects of his projects, like stump grinding. 

“We love the versatility of the MT85 mini skid steer,” he says. “We are able to quickly switch between attachments like the grapple and the stump grinder. It’s so efficient being able to use them both, because it makes it such an incredibly universal and efficient tool.”

A team effort with Bobcat 

Building a successful company from the ground up is difficult to do on your own. Luckily, Jesse has a powerful support system at Bobcat of Palm Beach he can always count on. 

“My sales specialist, Scott Comfort, is one of the top names on my Christmas card list,” he says. “I didn’t know him before opening this business, but I consider Scott a friend now. He is very personable, knowledgeable and is always willing to go above and beyond should we need him to. Everyone at Bobcat of Palm Beach has been there for me, and I know they are on my side.” 

But there’s one relationship that supersedes even his dealer’s phenomenal service. 

“A lot of my success I owe to my wife, Kinsey,” Jesse says. “She has a great mind for marketing, and that’s been huge for bringing in new business. A lot of people spend big money on advertisements, but she’s strategic enough that nearly 80% of our promotional material is completely free. We take photos and videos of our projects or post discounts to our Facebook page, and that does a great job of attracting new customers. Facebook is the new word of mouth when it comes to advertising, and my wife is great at showing off what we can do. I honestly wouldn’t be where I am today without her.” 

Looking for a dealership partner that you can count on while building your own business? Find a Bobcat dealer near you.