TreetopAO

Afternoon all, Currently a senior tree officer within a district council. My responsibilities range from commercial/contract management to consultations on major developments. I've only been 'off the tools' since 2016 but, very keen and a fast learner. However, beyond my time 'on the tools' my professional experience is limited to local authority. I'm growing tired of the politics...restructures, streamlining, members of the public....and have been considering setting up my own consultancy firm. Now, i know this would be a risk to just jump ship...but like colleagues before me, I'd be interested in trying to set my own firm up beyond my employers borders to avoid a conflict of interest, and in a perfect world, building my business whilst retaining my existing job. Don't get me wrong I like my job but, LA's in my opinion are fast becoming an unstable place to work, and my concern for my role being 'streamlined into a joint collaborative customer focused hybrid hub based pay reviewed career graded' role....in other words being swept out from under my feet are growing. Has anyone considered, or done similar to this? Equally, is the grass greener in the private sector? Is a switch from LA to Private achievable? Thanks.

It's frustrating that reputable arborists are carrying out high standard work on private land, but public trees arguably one of our greatest visual assets is at the mercy of tree teams made overnight for a contract with little experience, under high pressure, and don't want to do the work in the first place!

Yea I agree with that 100%.

Sorry in advance but this is a rant. Keeping names out of this... Large companies. You know, the landscaping companies that find their way into council contracts, with ridiculous prices that can be absorbed, undercutting the local competitors. Out of interest, have any gone bust? Has it ever backfired? As in my experience to date, I feel they capitalise off of overworked councils, with heavy handed and frankly spineless rouge trader approaches to squeezing more and more money out of a job until their rates are on par, or greater than the local competition they so aggressively outbid to get the contract. Am I alone in saying there needs to be a radical re think in the tendering process for certain contracts, before arb can continue to progress?

Thanks all for your feedback. My main concern is conflict of interest. My predecessor set up their own business and ran simultaneously, but in another district... This may be the only way around it. What type of consultancy? I'm yet to decide, from my AO role I'm involved in some fairly large and exciting projects ranging from heritage sites, to restoration of Manor houses, eco towns etc. Most likely 5837 surveys, residential then larger clients hopefully. Local opportunity? I'd fear my own tree company would be out of the question, way too many small teams and 2/3 large teams in a 10 mile radius. Really looking for the basics.... How do you set a company up?! Really appreciate the responses.

Hi All, Last time i posted here (under a since closed account), I was a total newby looking for someone to take me on as a trainee. Worked my way from groundy, to climber, whilst studying a level 4 before taking a job at a local highway authority. 2 years later moved to my current position as a planning focused Arb officer. I love the job, its a great platform to further develop myself professionally, however does bring its challenges! Council politics, high planning demand, and my biggest challenge - managing a contractor with a dedicated arb team, who are dedicated to winding me up...but that's a rant for another day. I want to future proof myself, and start up my own business in my free time. Iv studied the local market, and believe consultancy is the way forward. Big question....How?! How does one set up a consultancy company? PI insurance, Kit, how to work out what to charge, finding clients, just about everything apart from the job itself i'm unsure of! Can anyone offer some words of advice?? Most appreciated,