Small Business Showcase: Wetmore Tree Care, Inc.

Kris Wetmore owns Wetmore Tree Care, Inc., also known as Family Tree Care. The landscaping services and tree care provider is based in North Carolina, focusing on the Asheville and Hendersonville areas. Over the last four years, Oakmont Capital Services (OCS) and Kris have partnered with one objective: growing Kris’s business. A relationship based on collaboration, Kris recently wrote a letter to Kristy Doll, Lead Account Manager and CLFP, after his most recent heavy equipment financing experience. At OCS, we enable our small business customers to achieve their dreams. Below is Kris’s letter, which reveals how he, Kristy, and the entire OCS Family made it possible (together!). 

Built on Success: Wetmore Tree Care and America’s Castle

Dear Kristy (and the Oakmont team),  

Please receive my deep and heartfelt thanks for partnering with Wetmore Tree Care, Inc. over the last four years to help us grow. You have given us significant trust and I would like to share what that trust means. I started working in the tree care industry fifteen years ago when my life took what looked like a disappointing turn. I had to start over after a severe illness and a divorce took everything from me. I decided to take the opportunity to reinvent my life and work for myself.   

I began with a 1982 Toyota truck, hope, and some debt. I worked hard on any side job given to me. Sometimes, that meant moving people or hauling trash. Regardless, I always took the money and bought something to help me with tree maintenance. Two years later, I was out of debt. I spent the next five years self-financing, growing, learning, and executing excellent work.  

Pictured left to right: Kris Wetmore, owner of Wetmore Tree Care Inc. taking a selfie in his new 92’ track lift financed by Oakmont Capital Services; The famous Biltmore Estate (also known as America’s Castle), and Wetmore Tree Care, Inc. with the chipper that OCS financed; Completed in 1895, the house is considered one of the largest privately owned homes in the United States and is now a popular tourist attraction.

Everything changed six years ago when the Biltmore Forest Country Club invited us to help them as they reimagined how trees are involved in golf at their Club. The first project involved removing forty trees in a month and the last project involved the removal of one hundred and twenty over a month and a half. We have had to acquire market-differentiating equipment every year to accommodate them. Soon after, the Biltmore Estate came calling. The Biltmore Estate, also known as the Vanderbilt Mansion, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II in the late 19th century, is one of America’s largest private residences. This imposing building and its grounds are now a popular tourist destination along the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Service providers surrounding the area covet working with the historical landmark. 

Pictured above are different rooms inside the Biltmore Estate. You can see the detail and care that went into each area of the house, whether it be the entryway, the billiard room, or the banquet hall.

To be one of a select few landscapers and tree service providers to service the Biltmore Estate would not be possible without Wetmore Tree Care, Inc.’s relationship with OCS. The CMC90HD+ Arbor Pro lift I purchased sets us apart from any other company offering tree maintenance services in this area. After I added this lift, we secured a contract guaranteeing the stability of our relationship with the Biltmore. 

How did Kris Wetmore secure a contract with the Vanderbilt Mansion? Through hard work and a competitive advantage: heavy machinery. Pictured above from left to right are examples of equipment Kris has financed with OCS: Stump Grinder, Wood-Chipper, Arbor Pro Track Lift, and Skid Steer.

A picture of Frederick Law Olmstead, the famed American landscape architect, hangs in the Biltmore Estate. He and George Vanderbilt took great care to preserve the forests surrounding the estate.

I am taking this moment to assure you (Kristy) know how grateful I am and how highly I regard our relationship. Celebrate with me and please make sure your whole team knows that what they do is incredibly important to business owners like me. It can be hard to understand one’s value when they’re not in the field or if they’re behind a computer screen, but it has made a huge difference for us at Wetmore Tree Care, Inc. 

Gratefully and respectfully,
Kris Wetmore
Wetmore Tree Care, Inc.
DBA Family Tree Care

Key Takeaways: The Mountain Mansion 

When the OCS family received this letter from Kris Wetmore, we were honored to get such kind feedback. His candid letter and success story exemplify why OCS does what it does; and how the entire Oakmont Capital Services team tirelessly works to help business owners expand their operations. For Kris to flourish, he collaborated with Lead Account Manager extraordinaire, Kristy Doll. He obtained the financing he needed to achieve a scale-up. After seeing the photos of him and his team hard at work on the mansion’s grounds, it is safe to say, he achieved his goals. Congratulations Kris on your success – we can’t wait to see where your company goes from here and we are thrilled to tag along for the ride! 

*

Oakmont Capital Services (OCS), founded in 1998, is a direct lender providing commercial equipment financing and working capital loans throughout all 50 United States. Our seasoned finance professionals work across many industry verticals, helping customers secure funding quickly and easily via a streamlined, virtual process. Our rates and terms are affordable, making OCS a reputable solution for equipment financing. The professional financing staff at Oakmont is the reliable choice for today’s financing needs. For more information, visit www.oakmontfinance.com.