Tree Work Now: A Business That Stands Tall
Tree Care Company Credits its Success to Delighted Customers, Loyal Employees and FSBDC at DSC’s CEO XChange Peer Network
April 29, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or HThayer@ucf.edu
Trecia Arrington, Sub-Center Director, FSBDC at DSC, 386.506.3317 or Trecia.Arrington@daytonastate.edu
Orlando, FL – The path to long-term success is rarely straightforward for a small business, but certain best practices can make the journey smoother. Delighting customers, valuing employees, and seeking support – rather than going it alone – are just a few of the key ingredients to success. Evan Keller, founder and CEO of Tree Work Now Inc. in DeLand, Florida, has embraced all three of these proven fundamentals, and with the guidance of the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at UCF, and its CEO XChange executive roundtable, those strategies have helped propel his company forward.
Tree Work Now is a leader in tree trimming, removal, and comprehensive tree care services. Recently celebrating its 20th anniversary, the company now serves more than 1,500 customers annually across seven Central Florida counties.
“We are really pleased to have over 680 reviews on Google with a 4.9‑star average,” Keller shares proudly. “The way we’ve achieved that is by WOWING every customer with our effort and by being the most trusted tree experts in Central Florida with our certified arborists, very talented crews, and professional office staff. It’s a difficult industry but easy to stand out by adding a little extra professionalism in the way we communicate, in the way we do our work, in the way we clean up afterwards, and in the way we protect our customers’ property. In the end, just WOWING customers every day is what has helped us stand out over the last 20 years.”
Keller believes that exceptional customer service begins with exceptional employee care. “Really the key to our success has been how we treat our employees,” he affirms. “We know that happy employees make happy customers. So creating a family atmosphere by having good benefits, by being flexible with work schedules, by even offering mortgage assistance really shows our employees that we care.” The results are clear: staff turnover is low and many of the company’s 25 employees have been with Tree Work Now for five years or more, with several surpassing a decade.
Just as important as care for customers and employees is the support system Keller has built around himself as a business owner. Alongside his brother – “an amazing partner” who oversees operations – and a seasoned leadership team, Keller has also relied on the FSBDC at DSC’s CEO XChange, a peer-to-peer roundtable of growth-minded business leaders from non-competing companies.
“We’ve been a part of the CEO XChange for almost a decade,” Keller explains, “because there’s been such a supportive network there that help us keep learning and growing, and just having folks that understand what you go through as a business owner has been invaluable. Having a peer network of fellow entrepreneurs running similar sized companies has been a great mutual support both personally and professionally. We really support each other and even coach each other through those challenging things we’re going through. They give you support when you need it and congratulations when you’ve hit a milestone.”
Keller’s commitment to wowing customers, caring for employees, and collaborating with fellow CEOs has paid off. “Over the decade I have worked with the SBDC and have been part of the CEO XChange, our revenues have increased, our customer reviews have more than doubled and I’ve gained confidence in how to grow the company,” he reflects. “It’s been a good journey. I plan to continue with it for as long as I’m here at Tree Work Now.”
For information about Tree Work Now, please visit https://treeworknow.com/.
— FSBDC —
About the FSBDC at UCF
Hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), and with its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of part of UCF’s Office of the President and the Florida SBDC Network.
The Florida SBDC at UCF provides aspiring and existing small businesses with no-cost consulting, low-cost training, and access to business data and research resources. In addition to its core service offering, the Florida SBDC at UCF also offers specialized services to qualifying companies, including capital access, market growth, government contracting, international trade, business continuation, cybersecurity, disaster planning and recovery, and more. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 9 service centers across Central Florida.
In 2024, the FSBDC at UCF served 2,277 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 2,855 jobs impacted; $564.3 million in sales growth; $57.2 million in capital formation; $161.1 million in government contract awards; and 142 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com .
About the Florida SBDC Network
For nearly 50 years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.
In 2024, the Florida SBDC Network delivered 107,812 hours of consulting to 15,474 small business clients – resulting in business owners securing $304 million in capital, $732 million in government contracting, impacting 19,800 jobs, increasing sales by over $3.8 billion, and creating 1,019 businesses.
With over 40 offices statewide, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Department of Defense, State of Florida and other private and public partners. Full funding disclosure available at www.floridasbdc.org/funding-disclosures/.
The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.
FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com
