{"id":16678,"date":"2015-04-16T14:42:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-16T18:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/04\/started-with-chainsaw-and-pickup-truck-tree-removal-firm-now-has-eight-vehicles.html"},"modified":"2015-04-16T14:42:09","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T18:42:09","slug":"started-with-chainsaw-and-pickup-truck-tree-removal-firm-now-has-eight-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/04\/started-with-chainsaw-and-pickup-truck-tree-removal-firm-now-has-eight-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"Started With Chainsaw And Pickup Truck, Tree Removal Firm Now Has Eight Vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"high\n<\/div>\n
Chris Porreca started High Peaks Tree Removal modestly, but now has eight trucks, with chippers, chunk grinders and other equipment, and employs six people full time.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY BARBARA PINCKNEY<\/p>\n

Chris Porreca was a recent college graduate
\nwhen his father loaned him $1,000 to buy his first
\nchain saw and some climbing gear.<\/p>\n

That was in 1997, when Porreca operated his
\ntree removal business, part time, out of a single
\nred pick-up truck.
\nToday, Queensbury-based High Peaks Tree
\nService operates eight trucks–as well as chippers,
\nchunk grinders and other equipment–and
\nemploys six people full time.<\/p>\n

The company performs all aspects of tree
\nwork, including tree and stump removal, trimming,
\nland clearing and cabling to preserve trees
\nin danger of falling. It serves clients from Albany
\nto Ticonderoga, and occasionally beyond.
\nBut growth is not Porecca’s main goal. His mission
\nis to provide the best product and superior
\ncustomer service, knowing that if he does, the
\ngrowth will come.
\n“Customers appreciate the little things,” he
\nsaid. “There are a lot of guys that can take trees
\ndown, but to what extent are they willing to go
\nfor the customer and are they paying attention to
\nall the little details? Or is it just money driven? I
\ncan say without a doubt that that is not how this
\ncompany is run. It’s run for customer satisfaction.
\nMy philosophy is that success will follow that.”<\/p>\n

This was one lesson Porecca learned from
\nhis father, Carmen Porecca, who owns Kathy’s
\nMotel, Nordick’s Motel and Porecca’s Restaurant,
\nall in Lake George. The younger Porecca
\nbelieves entrepreneurship runs in his blood,
\nas his grandfather and great uncles were also
\nbusiness owners.<\/p>\n

But his father was his primary role model.
\n“I think that is definitely were I got my work ethic,” he said. “When you believe you can succeed
\nand do something, I think that helps. And
\nhe kind of led the way with that, without even
\nsaying it. And showing me that that was what I
\nwanted to do, I wanted to work for myself and be
\nin control of my future and my success.”<\/p>\n

But when he started out, Porecca was not
\nplanning to make tree service his profession. He
\nhad worked for a friend’s tree business in New
\nJersey for a while, and when he returned to the
\nregion after graduating from SUNY Oneonta, he
\nadded it to a list of jobs that also included tending
\nbar and managing one of the family hotels.<\/p>\n

“I would mix the tree work in here and there
\nbecause I enjoyed it, I enjoyed working outside
\nand interacting with the customers,” he said.
\nThen, primarily through word of mouth and
\nthe help of his wife Kelly, who has a background
\nin marketing, “it just kind of took off.”<\/p>\n

That does not mean there was no hard work or
\nsacrifice. There was plenty of both, and lessons
\nlearned along the way.
\n“I definitely have made some mistakes,”
\nPorecca said. “I think I was very green in the
\nbeginning.”<\/p>\n

He said one challenge was making the transition
\nto employer–a skill set he says he is still
\nworking on.
\n“I want everybody to be happy so every problem
\nthey have becomes mine,” he said. “I try to
\nbe involved in their lives as much as I can and
\nhelp wherever I can. We all have a good relationship
\nand that certainly helps because morale is
\na huge thing and what we do is stressful. There
\nis danger involved, its hard work–so if you are
\ngoing to come to work and not enjoy who you’re working with, it makes it very difficult.”<\/p>\n

Instead, High Peaks customers have commented
\non how well the crew gets along, and
\nhow what they do is “like a symphony.”
\nPorecca’s advice to other entrepreneurs:
\n“Keep everyone happy on the job and everything
\nruns a lot smoother.<\/p>\n

For Porecca, this includes investing in his
\npeople, by paying them fairly and helping them
\nbetter themselves through education and certification
\nprograms. This also helps High Peaks, by
\nmaking it stand out as the tree removal service
\nwith, for example, a certified crane operator
\non staff.<\/p>\n

Porecca also believes in investing in his
\nequipment, to keep everything as up to date
\nas possible. The right equipment allows High
\nPeaks to be “in and out” quickly, and to leave
\nthe customer’s property in better condition than they found it.
\n“That’s pretty much the goal,” he said.<\/p>\n

Although tree and stump removal, pruning,
\ncabling and land clearing are High Peak’s primary
\nservices, it will also do landscaping, trucking and
\njust about anything else the customer wants.<\/p>\n

“I don’t turn a lot of stuff down, even if it is
\nnot the most profitable situation, because you
\nnever know what something might turn into,”
\nhe said. “I think [small-business owners] who
\nturn things away and say ‘no I don’t do that,’ are
\nbeing shortsighted, if it is something you have the
\ncapability to do. My belief is to truly go the extra
\nmile and never leave a stone unturned, so to
\nspeak. I think that opened up some doors for me.”<\/p>\n

Porecca also goes the extra mile when it comes
\nto helping others. He and some members of his
\ncrew helped with the clean-up after Hurricane
\nSandy, for a total of six weeks. He also volunteers
\nwith a number of community organization, including
\nthe Double H Hole in the Woods Ranch
\nand the YMCA.<\/p>\n

“We do what we can, for selfish reasons,” he
\nsaid. “It makes me feel good.”<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy High Peaks Tree Removal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Porreca started High Peaks Tree Removal modestly, but now has eight trucks, with chippers, chunk grinders and other equipment, and employs six people full time. 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