Austin Wilkey is looking forward to the opportunity to be his own boss with A.W. Tree Service.
Wilkey worked for farmer Ricky Belk for about four years and says it was a good job.
“He taught me work ethic,” Wilkey said.
But he wasn’t getting to spend enough time with his family, especially his daughter, Mere Austin, who turns 2 in February. So he began looking at other options.
He had some experience doing tree work with his father-in-law, the late Bob Henderson, and once equipment for the new business became available, everything else came together well. The equipment had been repossessed from Moore Tree Service, so he was able to buy it at a low price.
He said he hopes to be operating in about a week and already has jobs lined up in Greenwood just through word of mouth.
The business will start with Wilkey and two other employees, and he hopes to hire more within six months. It also will operate out of his home on Nicholson Street for the time being, although he plans to secure other space for a warehouse and office eventually.
He also intends to add more equipment later.
His services will include pruning and cleaning trees, tree and debris removal and stump grinding.
He will take calls at any hour, and he will look at a site and give free quotes for his work if asked. He’s open to other types of cleanup jobs, too, if he has the equipment for them.
Wilkey said he hopes to line up jobs as far as Indianola or maybe Clarksdale, and he might take work somewhere as far away as Oxford if the job is big enough.
He said Belk supported his decision to move out on his own and has given some valuable advice. He’s also open to suggestions from others. But he stressed that he’ll be accountable for the work; after all, he’ll be the one up in the bucket.
“From start to finish, I’ll be hands-on,” he said.
Wilkey, who has lived in Greenwood most of his life, said he loves the town.
“I know everybody, I know my neighbors, and anything I need, I can get it in five minutes,” he said.
He said he has spent the money and time to make sure the business is a professional operation, and he expects that to make a difference.
“If you’re honest with folks, you do what you say you’re going to do and you do a good job, the best you can do, I think business will just take care of itself,” he said.
- Contact David Monroe at dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.
com.
