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NurseryTrees.com, LLC
November, 2023
The entrance to our River Growing Fields
This is an opportunity to purchase an ongoing business that has a dominant position in a lucrative "niche market", and a unique, hard-to-duplicate, inventory to service that market. There are also opportunities beyond Washington State should the buyer be so inclined. The details are as follows:
NurseryTrees.com, LLC is a nursery tree farm located in Snohomish, WA that specializes in "Instant Privacytm" trees. Not only do we grow the trees, but we also deliver and plant them, and we now have thousands of satisfied Customers. No other nursery or landscape company in Washington State has the experience, selection and inventory in privacy trees that we do.
Michael Gillie, who founded what has become NurseryTrees.com 28 years ago, is now 73 years old and has made a decision to explore selling the business. This “Sale Description” is the first step.
The Basic Business
Before After
The basic business is simple: plant trees for homeowners or businesses to screen-off their property from neighbors, roadways, etc. Often the results can be very dramatic. But, of course, the business isn't as simple as showing up with some trees--we need to first develop the Customer and work with them to define their project, analyze the planting area, select the right trees from our inventory, agree on the cost, do a professional job of installing the trees, and be available for support afterwards.
Note that “privacy trees” is a particularly valuable “niche” to dominate—sales are almost always for several trees, not just one or two, and buying the trees is not necessarily “discretionary spending” because people are so upset about the new house next door, increased traffic, etc. Likewise, a good privacy screen can significantly increase the value of a property in a more direct way than an ornamental tree can.
While "private homeowners" is our biggest Customer catagory, we also sell wholesale to landscapers and contractors. A selection of ornamental trees compliments our privacy tree offerings.
This many years into it, many of our Customers are return Customers or referrals from past Customers. We have also recently begun a "Hedge Maintenance" program to prune hedges that we have installed.
We have an "A+" rating with the Better Business Bureau (their highest rating), and the highest ratings on Angie's List, Yelp, Google, etc.
For more
information on our overall business approach please see the
section towards the bottom of any webpage, including this one. And also
please just spend some time looking through our website including the
"About Us" page, and at some point you
will definitely want to watch our 8 minute
Farm Video. Our
"Top Ten Privacy Trees" article is also very popular.
A National Opportunity
Besides expanding the local, Washington/Pacific Northwest business, there is a second, related, business opportunity here. Basically the local NurseryTrees.com business model could be used for either a national network of landscape businesses, or to fit within a larger organization’s product/service offerings.
“NurseryTrees.com” is an excellent domain name—we receive calls/e-mails from around the country (around the world, actually). There is a market for privacy trees everywhere..
Assets
Tree Inventory
Gold Rider Cypress hedged and natural (left), Green Giant hedged and natural (center), Thin Man (right)
Our tree inventory is constantly changing but our most-recent inventory in November of 2023 shows approximately 16,000 privacy trees. Privacy trees can be further broken down into “Hedged” and “Natural” forms. “Hedged” trees are those that we have been pruning each year into a ready-made hedges, keeping them narrower and thus able to be used in smaller spaces, of which there are a lot in the ever-more-crowded Northwest. In the center photo above you can see the narrower “Hedged” Green Giants on the left, and “Natural” Green Giants on the right.
To hedge trees properly takes several years, starting with small trees. To our knowledge no other nursery in the Northwest is doing this. Plus we have trees that others just don't have, like the Thin Man (right photo). We are also growing significant quantities of basic privacy trees in several sizes including Excelsa Cedar, Leyland Cypress, Green Giants, English & Schipka Laurel, and Emerald Green Arborvitae. All of this means that we have “privacy tree” nursery stock that can’t be purchased elsewhere and would take several years for anyone else to develop. As a result, our tree inventory puts us in a unique position in the marketplace.
These trees are located at our Nursery Property on the Old Snohomish-Monroe Road outside Snohomish, WA and our River Property growing fields a few minutes away. Click Here for links to alphabetical tree lists (privacy and ornamental) and informational webpages & articles. We will provide a complete inventory. By far the best way to be introduced to our farm and inventory is to watch our beautiful 8+ minute YouTube 2017 (drone) video:
Our Snohomish River "Growing Fields" Property
(Real Estate Included with Sale)
A sale includes ~13 acres owned and assumption of a lease for 13+ acre leased property located on the Snohomish River off of Treosti Road--Our "River Growing Fields". Most of our privacy trees are grown here--this is flat, fertile floodplain farmland, with row after row of trees. The YouTube Farm Video of our properties shows the River Growing Fields well. Please note that changes to our River Growing Field Lease are under discussion with the Lessor, which is one reason why discussing a sale of the property now makes sense--the right buyer may not need the leased property. This will be explained further.
Included on this property is a well with pump, raised electrical hook-up, and currently "dormant" public water hook-up (as a back-up to the well); with buried PVC irrigation pipe and above-ground low-water-usage sprayer irrigation serving most of the properties.
NurseryTrees.com Domain Name & Website
Included in the sale is the domain name www.NurseryTrees.com and the related copyrighted website. This is a valuable domain name that shows a long-term presence in the marketplace. It is recognizable and memorable and could obviously be used far beyond Washington State. The right buyer, should they be so inclined, could take our Washington State model for Privacy Trees and establish similar businesses throughout the country under this domain name, or fit this into an existing business structure.
Note that Michael runs the NurseryTrees.com website using "original" internet equipment, including Microsoft Front Page 2001(!), a computer dedicated to the website, and a web hosting service. This system is incredibly outdated, but easy to use and "if it ain't broke" . . . . We are actually kind of proud of this system but, that said, a purchaser would probably put replacing this on their "To Do" list, or perhaps incorporate the NurseryTrees.com "Privacy Trees" operation into an existing website.
Valuable Search Engine "Organic" Rankings
Our NurseryTrees.com webpages enjoy excellent organic (unpaid) search engine rankings in several key privacy tree terms, and have for many years (we are pretty sure that "longevity" and quality, relevant information are important Google factors).. These search results are a valuable asset and drive significant high-quality traffic to our website. If you experiment with various search terms and geographic areas and you will almost always find NurseryTrees.com pages. For example, here are the first two organic search results for a Google search for "privacy trees Seattle"
Our "Top Ten Privacy Trees in Washington State" article is also a common search result:
Here's a Google search result for Excelsa Cedar, a popular privacy tree:
Please note: Google is constantly changing its algorithms which can affect our free organic rankings. And, of course, our business volume goes up and down with the economy. When necessary we have used the paid Google Ads program with good results.. For example, here is a screenshot of (paid) Sponsored Search result using a cellphone when the search (as shown at the bottom) was for "privacy trees Seattle". Expensive but effective.
We also have an established Link-Exchange Program with nurseries around the country—good for search engine optimization.
Equipment
NurseryTrees.com, LLC owns a full line of equipment to operate this business including 4 Isuzu NPR 14’ flatbeds (one a Club Cab), a GMC dump flatbed, a 2014 GMC Pick-up, a 2023 Ford Ranger pick-up, a Dodge flatbed stakeside pick-up, a CAT Materials Handler, a Bobcat Materials Handler, two Kubota Excavators, a small Kubota tractor, two Toro Dingos, 4 Golf Carts, and miscellaneous light equipment and tools. These would be included in a sale.
Registered Trademark
NurseryTrees.com, LLC is the owner of the registered Trademark “Instant Privacy” as in “Instant Privacytm Trees”. Click here for a link to the Trademark documents. This should be discussed more.
Goodwill
"I don't think I've ever been as happy with something I've purchased."
Sarah, Sammamish
We have thousands of satisfied Customers throughout Washington State. We have never had a negative BBB or social media review, or lawsuit or claim of any sort. Our approach has always been the long-term one of "the Customer is always right" (even when they aren't).
"You’ve done some work for me and I referred you to several people because you did such an awesome job and my trees are beautiful!"
Melissa, Kent/Renton Realtor
Revenue
NurseryTrees.com Yearly Revenue 2005-2022
Figures taken from monthly Washington State Sales Tax Returns/Federal Tax Returns
This is a very satisfactory growth line and 2023 Revenue is running at approximately the same level as 2022.
Of course, it is important to say that "Past performance is no guarantee of future results".
Miscellaneous
Debt
NurseryTrees.com, LLC has no debt other than ongoing monthly operating expenses. All equipment & real estate is paid for. The River Property lease is $5,000 per year (currently in negotiation).
Employees
Almost all of our employees have been with us for many years and are experts at what they do with a proven track record of success. Presumably they would wish to continue working for a new owner. This will obviously need to be discussed further.
Not Included in the Sale
The real property and houses at 13510/20 Old Snohomish-Monroe Road are the Gillie’s private residences and will not be included in a sale of the business. The NurseryTrees.com Office and some tree inventory are located on this property and a “transition plan” will be worked out to move them both over time. This is a good location for the business but it is not unique.
Price and Other Sale Terms
Included in Sale
The NurseryTrees.com domain name, website, LLC business entity, intellectual property,
customer lists, goodwill and ongoing business.
All tree inventory at both the Snohomish River Growing Fields and Nursery Office properties.
River Growing Fields real estate that we own; the lease is assumable (but currently in negotiation)
.
All equipment used in the business.
A written and digital "Operations Manual" prepared by Michael describing how to run the business.
It is important that the transition be as smooth as possible and so it is anticipated that NurseryTrees.com, LLC owner and Manager Michael S. Gillie will play some role in the transition. To be discussed.
.
Purchase Price
The Purchase Price and terms are not yet set.
From Michael
"This has been a very fun run--Sally and I have made a good living and watched the kids grow up, while enjoying the great outdoors and working with friends. But we have reached an age where we need to consider retiring, and the business has reached a point where it can't grow much more without some investment of time, energy and money to take it to the next level. I would enjoy seeing that happen."
PLEASE NOTE: The above is a preliminary sale description designed as a starting point for future discussions and is not an offer to sell. It is possible that a sale structure and terms would be different than that outlined above: or the sale efforts may be discontinued at any time. Any material facts contained herein should be independently verified as part of due diligence. Also, Seller may keep sale discussions open for a period of time to allow contact with all potential purchasers; may modify the above sale terms, approach, and/or timeline; and may select or reject any particular prospective purchaser. All to be discussed further prior to a legally-binding agreement being entered into.
Contact for Further Information
Thank you for your considerations. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact our Manager:
Michael S. Gillie, Manager
NurseryTrees.com, LLC
(425) 350 5477 (cell);
michaelgillie@live.com (personal e-mail)
About Michael S. Gillie, Founder & Manager
The following is from the “About Us” section of our first website.
April 22, 2001
(as shown by the Internet Archive “Wayback Machine”)
Example Notices Posted over the last few years:
Please Note:
We have been overwhelmed with new business this spring and our Spring/Summer planting calendar is full. As a result we have "paused" accepting any new business while we conduct an inventory and study the situation, with a likely outcome being that we will not accept any new business until the fall. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Please Note: The following sizes are only available for sale if NurseryTrees.com is also hired to plant them: (Why?)
Information Contained in each NurseryTrees.com webpage:
OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES:
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This Chart helps you easily compare mature sizes, growing conditions, etc.
for all of our privacy trees.
__________________________________
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See our Trees Growing in the Fields!
We have a beautiful 8 minute drone video of our Snohomish tree farm
with many of the trees identified. Click here
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Studies: Trees Add Value to Property
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Privacy Trees: We are a nursery tree farm specializing in Privacy Trees for screening. We sell retail & wholesale, for residential and commercial projects and we "deliver & plant" our trees. Our most common project is planting a line of privacy trees for a homeowner. We have several thousand privacy trees growing at our Snohomish farm. Plus we have many years' experience in "what works where", professional planting services, ongoing support, and thousands of satisfied customers. Buying directly from a grower has great advantages--fresh trees, great selection, and low prices--you maximize your purchasing power. We also have privacy trees that are not available elsewhere, such as our "Hedged Privacy Trees" and "Thin Man" Arborvitae. You can see our hedged and natural privacy trees in our beautiful 8 minute YouTube Farm Video.
Ornamental Trees: We also have a nice selection of Ornamental Trees, with many of our trees being on the "Great Plant Picks" list for the Pacific Northwest.
Delivery & Planting: We usually deliver & plant our trees for Customers. Click here for more information.
Free Estimates: We will help you determine which trees are right for your project, and provide you with free, no-obligation estimates. This is often accomplished by e-mail and phone, usually first using our online Free Estimate Request Form. Where necessary, we will send one of our experts out to review the project (no cost or obligation). More information
Location: We’re conveniently located just 15 minutes north of Woodinville. Here's a link to our "Directions" page. Please also read the next section.
Farm Visits: We are a working farm not a retail nursery so we don't keep regular retail hours; instead we set up appointments so that we can focus on your project. This is particularly important during our busy seasons. Here's a link to more information about why "appointment only" is the best approach. So please set-up an appointment instead of "just coming out". Thank you. (425) 343-2650; info@nurserytrees.com.
Covid-19 Precautions: In accordance with the Governor's directives we have made some changes in the way we do things. For a detailed break-down of these steps please see our "Covid-19 Precautions" webpage.
Payment: We don’t require any money “up front”—you only pay when the job is completed (unusual exceptions to this are large/special projects or lengthy “holds” on trees). Be careful of contractors asking for “up front” money; they might not come back!
Warranty & Support: When we plant your trees we include staking (if necessary), transplanting fertilizer, and an easy-to-use watering system that hooks into your garden hose. More information. We also give a one year Warranty on trees we plant, for no additional charge. More information We have a detailed “Care of Your Trees” section of our website, and provide ongoing support--we're available to answer your questions as your new trees grow. More information
Customer Service: We pride ourselves on our Customer Service—real people answering the phone. We have an "A+" rating with the Better Business Bureau (their highest rating), are an Angie's List Super Service Award winner, have excellent reviews on Yelp, Google, etc. and a 100% satisfaction rating with eBay.
Our Business: We’ve been in business since 1995 and have a dedicated, experienced staff, most of whom have been with us for many years. See: "About Us" for our history. We are a registered Washington State contractor (License Number: NURSEL*956J1). More information Be sure to hire a registered contractor -- to go to the Department of Labor & Industries website to check a contractor's registration, click here. As it says there: "Unregistered contractors carry no bond or insurance to protect consumers. Consumers can face serious issues if anything goes wrong on a job." These liability risks are in addition to fraud, poor workmanship, worthless warranties, etc. We are fully bonded and insured, of course.
Customer Satisfaction: Most important of all is what our customers think of us:
"I am really pleased with your work. You saved me several thousand dollars, steered me away from trees that wouldn't work, provided healthy and beautiful trees, did a great job planting them, and did everything on time and on schedule. You can quote me." Jo, Vashon Island
"Our privacy bank of trees has done nothing but grow well into maturity. Our back yard and deck area is totally private and the 10 trees your team planted [in 2005] are rich, leathery and dark green. We remark on them every day it seems. Please include me in any of your "Testimonials" as you would be hard pressed to find a more satisfied customer." Jim, Port Orchard
"For quality vs. value, your trees are the best landscape purchase I’ve ever made." Jeff, Seattle
"Michael, I just wanted to pass along a note to tell you how thrilled I am with the trees. The effect they have brought to our new courtyard in the front of our home here in Seattle has exceeded my expectations!" Chip Hanauer, Hydroplane Driver--Click Here to see his project.
"I work in customer service so I know good service when I experience it and you have my top rating. I would definitely recommend you to anyone who needs new landscaping. Thanks again.” Carol, Camano Island
"The [new] trees were a great privacy feature when we sold the last house! We now have a much larger space we want to talk with you about . . " Katherine, Fall City
“My compliments to your crew. We’ve had a lot of contractors working on our house recently and we’ve seen the entire range; and your guys were excellent. The trees make things look so much better—I started smiling as soon as I saw them going in." Holly, Queen Anne
"You guys are the best nursery I've ever done business with! And I have dealt with a few. You did what you said you would, on time with attention to detail rarely found. From the beginning of the quote process all the way through to the last detail you made it easy. And you work to ensure that the trees will thrive after planting with detailed advice, a complementary irrigation system, and a website filled with useful information. Most nurseries will just dump off the goods and tell you best of luck, put some water on them. You provide a quality product that sets you apart. Your crew was friendly, polite and operated as a well organized team. I would recommend you without hesitation! Thanks for doing a great job!” Ryan, Buckley
"We can not believe how beautiful your trees are. The privacy is unbelievable. If you ever need a testimonial let us know. Our yard is perfect! We sit there and say "my oh my”! Suzanne, Tacoma
"I don't think I've ever been as happy with something I've purchased." Sarah, Sammamish
Many More Testimonials (click here)
Our Convenient Location
15 minutes from I-405/Bothell-Woodinville
View Directions to our location.
Sales by "Appointment Only", please
Serving Washington State Since 1995
13510 Old Snohomish-Monroe Road
Snohomish, WA 98290
425-343-2650
(425) 953-5780 fax
Sales by "Appointment Only", please
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