In this month's member spotlight we introduce you to Joshua Jarvis, the owner and senior consulting arborist for Jarvis Tree Experts in Atlanta. Josh is an ISA Certified Arborist, a Certified Tree Care Safety Professional, and he holds his ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
He has performed work under each HMI service line, including deployments to provide emergency tree removal services after numerous CAT events. He’s a great resource for information on tree care and also travels the world doing mission work. Learn about Josh and his experience by reading our Q&A below.
How has HMI supported the growth of your business?
HMI not only created its amazing network that provides us with work during major storm and local storm events, but they have an entire back office team that helps train and support our teams along the way. That type of training has allowed us to better serve our clients through higher levels of knowledge and professionalism, thereby helping to improve our client retention and closing rates by 8-10 percent.
What advice would you give arborists new to the HMI program that may help them be successful?
It’s quite simple: Learn how to communicate at all times under highly demanding circumstances, while keeping a smile on your face. The team at HMI helps us out tremendously, but it’s incumbent upon our teams to remember how important it is to be respectful at all times.
What challenges have you overcome when you first started handling HMI referrals?
The biggest challenge is being open to innovation. By that I meant that continuous training is a must in our ever-changing landscape. I try not to be “know-it-all,” and that allows me to remain teachable.
What makes your company distinct, particularly with competitors in your market?
We do our best to provide as much training to each of our team members in the realm of arboriculture. Our goal is to keep our teams engaged by helping them increase their knowledge and provide ongoing training. Continuing education is especially important to our employees who have specific areas of interest area. We want to help increase their knowledge. Every member of our sales team is a Certified Arborist, and we are striving for every member of our company to become certified by the end of 2024.
Is there anything especially challenging about serving clients in your area?
Our region has a lot of pop-up companies that still operate in a dangerous manner, sometimes making it difficult for us to educate our customers when, in fact, these companies aren’t truly our competitors.
Also, I use the HMI mobile app almost exclusively. It helps with getting things entered and processed in a very timely manner, while saving A TON of paperwork. I encourage other members to consider using it, if they aren’t already.
What else would you like us to highlight about your business?
I founded Jarvis Tree Experts so that we don't just serve as an ordinary tree planting and removal company. We go much further as certified arborists who provide expertise for all levels of tree and landscaping projects.
We work on everything from small residential projects to major municipal, commercial, and multi-family developments. Our teams aim to save as many trees as possible and help prevent damage with proper planning.
We specialize in emergency tree removal, clearing sites without causing additional destruction. We routinely consult with developers of commercial and residential communities, city planners, and insurance companies to provide expert planning services, assess damages to trees and shrubs, and offer timely follow-through when emergencies arise.
Tell us about your passion for traveling overseas doing missionary work?
I’ve made several service trips with Rotary International. A recent trip included leading groups of 10+ children and chaperones into Nicaragua where we built water towers that supply local schools with drinking water and sanitary water for handwashing. Power outages happen frequently there, and without access to clean water, the kids would be sent home. The water supplies allowed them to continue their education throughout the day even if the power went out.
That same group helped build eco stoves to move smoke exhaust to the outdoors when cooking. During the rainy season, mothers would have to cook inside with poor ventilation. As I understand it, they would often suffer from health issues, lung problems, and some would pass away at earlier ages due to something as simple as proper ventilation. It is such a rewarding experience helping people in developing world countries benefit from things that we often take for granted.
I’m now planning for the next trip with students from Alpharetta, GA to build a community center in Pelotas, Brazil, a small community south of Porto Alegre, near the Uruguay border. This community center will enable young adults and children to build relationships with those who can help prepare them to get accepted into college without having access to financial resources.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to Josh for advice about working with HMI, questions about the profession, or his mission work.
