​With the season of fall coming upon us, it's important to remember that trees don't care what time it is; they'll fall upon us with the changes in the air, and there are a variety of natural events to look forward to.  Ranging from thunderstorms and our air conditioning units battling the heat of our malfunctioning furnace that now is in need of a repair person to swing by, actually requiring some dusting off, to the chaos of mild weather and the confusion of what to do in the yard when a big challenge comes face-to-face with us; over 40 feet tall, to be more direct.  Our review this week goes to our friends over at Tree Care in Warren Mi.  ​

The owner, a native of the city, is a combat veteran in our community and happy to be serving those around him.  "Everyone who owns a home has a yard that needs to be maintained, and it feels better when it's done right -- with the exact same kind of care one of us would invest into our own grounds," he said in a recent interview at his home.  "To be able to pick up the phone and get the opportunity to help my neighbor with something that they aren't readily equipped to tackle, I would like to imagine my neighbors would do the same for me if I were in a jam and could benefit from a friendly voice and a comforting, resounding willingness to drop everything come over."  

He is so adamant about his goal to be available for his neighbors that the owner has hired a web designer whom he credits for the rapid and massive success of Tree Care in Warren Mi.  In only a matter of weeks, the web site has reached near the top of Google rankings and began generating phone calls almost immediately!  "I don't know where I would be if it weren't for my web consultant; he's probably the top reason I even have clients to serve," he said.  

His search engine optimization (SEO) and lead generation expert-for-hire, Chris Young, told us in a public venue interview that he understands what people go through when they start a business, as well as the seasoned business owners in the marketplace.  

"No one wants to be at the top of Google; period!!!  No one cares where their information is placed.  I can ask any business owner if they want their business cards stapled to page 1 of the Google rankings, and they react like it's another billboard in one of hundreds of hair salons in all of the Metropolitan Area."  

​He goes on to suggest that "...what business owners really want are the results that everyone talks about by being at the top of Google.  That simply means improving their web presence to get their phone ringing and/or getting interested, serious buyers, who have a genuine need, knocking on the company's doors with money in-hand!"   

Since leaving active-duty only recently, this honorably discharged United States Marine has been searching for those hungry business owners.  "Give me a business owner who is in business to get more buyers, is hungry to expand their operation, and take on more clients, and I'll say that's the type of business owner that I want to shake hands with. "  

When asked how he met his tree service client, his response was "...I was just in the right place at the right time.  I sent him a video of a few tips on how he could make himself more competitive in the marketplace, and he called me back to say he didn't only want to compete... he wanted to dominate!"  Thus, began a partnership for years to come as they work hand-in-hand to bring high-quality service at a competitive price to those in the Detroit, Metropolitan area.  

       Though the housing bubble made various parts of the Michigan area look like a complete ghost town, the years since have been a strange time to be a homeowner. We find our mortgage rates lower than ever, average salaries are climbing, there’s more work out there, and the economy as a whole has been climbing, which has been great news for those who struggled through the housing market collapse. Even some of those who lost their homes wound up getting one back, but now we find a different kind of problem.

            Now, there just isn’t any more home out there in the area for people to buy. The number of available starter homes has slowly been declining to the single digit percentiles for almost the first time in history, now that people really know the value and importance of their homes, they are quite hesitant to let them go, and you can’t really fault them. And though this winds up good for the local economy and community, to have so many local residents who are happy in their homes, it hits a point where we just can’t grow anymore.

            Though having a strong housing market is the idea of any city really, it can be daunting when trying to look for expansion in the wake of a housing dry spell. The secondary disadvantage is the inevitable rise in housing costs due to the supply and demand rules, which in turn will raise mortgage costs across the board, and all manner of issues can arise. The solution of course would be to add more housing, but we’re firmly aware that the solution is a lot easier in thought than in implementation in this particular case.

            Now we’re sure that there are wiser brains than ours looking into the matter, but we can’t help but look at the issues that the closed market is putting forth right now. With so little housing, it could fill up quickly, especially seeing as with word of mouth spreading the information that Detroit is turning back into one of the better places to live. It’s a bittersweet result, one that has us happy for the current state of the city, but one that can’t help but wonder what the future holds. No matter the outcome, we can only hope that it’s one that furthers our progression.
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            We should count our blessings, there are many other cities out there facing the exact opposite of our situation. Many markets still have yet to make the slightest bounce back, and here we are lamenting the high point we currently sit in. All we can do is hope that the balance strikes, and that we can continue to have a solid and strong community with room to make for more members to join. No matter what the outcome, we will always be here, for better or for worse, as we have for so many years now without any form of regret. ​

            SEM Business Review ​aims to deliver the news that your community cares about the most.  If you know of a business owner in the area that performs meaningful, quality work and you would like them to be recognized for the amazing talents that they share with the community, please connect us.  We can have one of our recognized journalists interview the for-profit business owner to get the scoop that is sure to place our readers on the edge of their seats to learn more about them.