Part 4
With our ‘12 Faces of Arb’ feature, we’ll be taking a look at 12 inspirational women who’ve chosen to make their living in this sometimes tough but always exciting industry.
Find out more about Women in Arboriculture
12 Faces of Arb
Consultant
Tracy Clarke
Tracy Clarke Tree Consultancy
I have worked as an arboriculturist for over twenty years. I consider myself fortunate to have worked closely in my career with some very enthusiastic arboriculturists, are great thinkers and doers who have supported and believed in me, and I have also made a point of fully embracing all new opportunities that come my way in my career so that I can continue to challenge myself.
I now run my own arboricultural consultancy business in Essex. I set this up in 2017 after having worked for a private consultancy for the previous thirteen years. The move was a huge leap of faith, with lots of important things at risk, but once I made the decision, I got firmly stuck into planning the change. For quite some time I had already been keeping a note book which was the centre of all my ideas, my worries, my plans and lists of things I needed to do and during my working days on the road I listened to lots of podcasts about the success of others in their businesses to inspire me and give me confidence that it was the right thing to do.
Two years on and I have never been without any work to do and in fact within my first year I have another full time consultant working in the business, who brings a wealth of experience with him, especially in ancient and veteran trees, so we’ll see where that might take us, and the prospects are very exciting. As a business we provide a variety of arboricultural consultancy services and some landscaping services, we even climb trees to carry out aerial inspections from time to time!
Owning my own business enables me to do all the things I know and love; my work is varied and interesting. Building a business needs commitment and courage, I have learned lots of new skills, passed new qualifications and continue to work with other professionals who are interesting and creative. Ultimately in running my business I feel in control and involved in all the things I want to be to drive the business direction forward.
Above all else the one thing that stands out most to me, is the support of others from within the industry and my professional circles, I really couldn’t have done it without them, they were there for me to help make the transition smooth, and because of that I will strive to be that support for others trying to do the same.
My advice to anyone wanting to do this, is to plan it well and go for it, I’ve had the full support of my family, and whilst it might be occasionally uncomfortable and at times a bit scary, this is when we grow as people!