Monster Tree Service, the 130-plus-unit tree care franchise, named St. Louis franchise owner Tim Sansone Franchisee of the Year at the brand’s annual conference. Sansone spent 36 years in commercial real estate before he began exploring business ownership. He wanted a model that would allow him to hire strong operators to manage day-to-day business while he focused on strategy and long-term growth. After working with a franchise consultant, he found that fit in the tree care industry.
“The tree service business jumped right away to me because I had a lot of experience using tree service contractors over the years in our real estate business,” Sansone said. “I liked their marketing and branding. I met with the Monster Tree team, and I liked what they had to say. They were very interested in me becoming a franchisee, and so it just made sense.”
Winning the award was meaningful for the franchisee, both personally and professionally, and he sees it as a reflection of the culture his team has built over the past eight years. Trust is what Sansone values most in both leadership and hiring, so he attributes the award to the team around him.
“Trust is everything to me,” Sansone said. “If I can't trust somebody, I don't care how good they are, how experienced they are, they're of no use to me whatsoever. [The award] is certainly a validation of the efforts of all my people. I received it because I’m the official franchisee, but certainly it’s all because of the people that I have here.”
Sansone also credits the Monster Tree Service system with helping his team scale more efficiently over the years. From marketing and website support to CRM tools and proposal tracking, he says the infrastructure has allowed his business to stay focused on execution.
“What I like from the corporate side of things is they have provided good systems that we utilize,” Sansone said. “We have operators all over the country to share best practices with and none of us are really competing with one another because we’re in our own territories.”
That collaboration became especially important when storms and tornadoes hit the St. Louis market, with fellow Monster Tree Service owners stepping in to support local operations.
Sansone encourages entrepreneurs considering franchising, particularly at Monster Tree Service, to do the research early and stay focused on the fundamentals once the business is running.
“Make sure that you have the capital necessary to continue to reinvest in your business,” he said. “I would really prioritize sales and production. You need teams and crew members who can get the production done efficiently. I don't think you necessarily need to be a tree expert. Your job needs to focus on hiring the right people.”
One of the biggest lessons of franchise ownership has been understanding how to use the franchise system as a resource while still taking full ownership of the business. He said the support is there, but success ultimately comes down to how each owner chooses to build and lead within their market.
“I enjoy the business,” Sansone said. “The franchise model gives you the opportunity to have support for a general manager or somebody to run your operations and then you really are freed up to watch your numbers, watch your risk, watch your backlogs — all those things that make your business successful.”
For more information on franchising with Monster Tree Service, please visit https://1851franchise.com/monster-tree-service.
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After eight years with the brand, the St. Louis owner says the recognition reflects the people, systems and culture that helped build his business.
Monster Tree Service, the 130-plus-unit tree care franchise, named St. Louis franchise owner Tim Sansone Franchisee of the Year at the brand’s annual conference. Sansone spent 36 years in commercial real estate before he began exploring business ownership. He wanted a model that would allow him to hire strong operators to manage day-to-day business while he focused on strategy and long-term growth. After working with a franchise consultant, he found that fit in the tree care industry.
“The tree service business jumped right away to me because I had a lot of experience using tree service contractors over the years in our real estate business,” Sansone said. “I liked their marketing and branding. I met with the Monster Tree team, and I liked what they had to say. They were very interested in me becoming a franchisee, and so it just made sense.”
Winning the award was meaningful for the franchisee, both personally and professionally, and he sees it as a reflection of the culture his team has built over the past eight years. Trust is what Sansone values most in both leadership and hiring, so he attributes the award to the team around him.
“Trust is everything to me,” Sansone said. “If I can't trust somebody, I don't care how good they are, how experienced they are, they're of no use to me whatsoever. [The award] is certainly a validation of the efforts of all my people. I received it because I’m the official franchisee, but certainly it’s all because of the people that I have here.”
Sansone also credits the Monster Tree Service system with helping his team scale more efficiently over the years. From marketing and website support to CRM tools and proposal tracking, he says the infrastructure has allowed his business to stay focused on execution.
“What I like from the corporate side of things is they have provided good systems that we utilize,” Sansone said. “We have operators all over the country to share best practices with and none of us are really competing with one another because we’re in our own territories.”
That collaboration became especially important when storms and tornadoes hit the St. Louis market, with fellow Monster Tree Service owners stepping in to support local operations.
Sansone encourages entrepreneurs considering franchising, particularly at Monster Tree Service, to do the research early and stay focused on the fundamentals once the business is running.
“Make sure that you have the capital necessary to continue to reinvest in your business,” he said. “I would really prioritize sales and production. You need teams and crew members who can get the production done efficiently. I don't think you necessarily need to be a tree expert. Your job needs to focus on hiring the right people.”
One of the biggest lessons of franchise ownership has been understanding how to use the franchise system as a resource while still taking full ownership of the business. He said the support is there, but success ultimately comes down to how each owner chooses to build and lead within their market.
“I enjoy the business,” Sansone said. “The franchise model gives you the opportunity to have support for a general manager or somebody to run your operations and then you really are freed up to watch your numbers, watch your risk, watch your backlogs — all those things that make your business successful.”
For more information on franchising with Monster Tree Service, please visit https://1851franchise.com/monster-tree-service.
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