Tree Surgeon's Podcast with Henri Ghijben
Hosted by Tree Surgeon
A UK-based podcast where a seasoned tree surgery business owner shares hard-won lessons on scaling, finance, and operations.
This is a business podcast for the arboriculture niche, focusing entirely on the realities of running a company rather than the craft of tree work. The host, Henri Ghijben, is exceptionally transparent about his own past failures and current financial metrics, using his story to teach lessons on profit, loss, systems, and sales. The show serves as both a public journal of his business journey and a lead-generation engine for his coaching and mastermind programs.
“The host's radical transparency about his own numbers—including a £1.6M turnover and specific profit margins—and his major past business failure sets this show apart. Unlike generic business advice, every lesson is grounded in the specific, often harsh, realities of the UK arboriculture industry.”
Who hosts this show
Henri Ghijben is a UK-based entrepreneur who hosts the Tree Surgeon's Podcast. After leaving school with no formal qualifications, he built a large tree surgery business that ultimately failed, forcing him to start over. He successfully rebuilt his current company, HRG Tree Surgeons, into a multi-million pound operation and now uses the podcast and his coaching programs to share his experiences with other business owners in the arboriculture industry.
Credentials & credits
- Founder & Managing Director, HRG Tree Surgeons
- Founder, Tree Surgeons Business Academy
- Founder, Tree Surgeons Mastermind
- Arboricultural Association Approved Contractor
Other ventures
- HRG Tree Surgeons
- Tree Surgeons Business Academy
- Tree Surgeons Mastermind
- Fail Forward Podcast (previous show)
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01Real Cost of Debt #shortsJun 26, 2026 · 49s
- 02We are tree surgeons for a reason. #shortsJun 23, 2026 · 29s
- 03S2 EP3 Building a Business, Losing It All and What Comes Next | Lee MorrisJun 16, 2026 · 1h 08m
- 04S2 EP2: 5am Starts, Six Teams and How I Actually Run HRG Tree SurgeonsJun 9, 2026 · 12 min
- 05
- 06Ep 18 Stop Breaking Your Back - Use Machinery to Scale Your Tree BusinessDec 16, 2025 · 9 min
- 07Ep 17 Tree Surgery Business Planning: How I Grew Net Profit from 20% to 33%Dec 3, 2025 · 13 min
- 08
Notable episodes
- 01S2 | EP1 Henri Ghijben's Story: No GCSEs, a Business That Failed & £1.6M Turnover | The Relaunch
This episode details the host's full backstory and the core mission of the podcast, making it the ideal starting point.
- 02S2 EP3 Building a Business, Losing It All and What Comes Next | Lee Morris
A prime example of the show's interview style, featuring a raw, in-depth conversation about business failure and recovery in the industry.
- 03S2 EP2: 5am Starts, Six Teams and How I Actually Run HRG Tree Surgeons
A classic solo episode where the host breaks down the specific systems, routines, and structure of his own successful company.
What you'll be asked on this show
Henri begins interviews by establishing the guest's origin story in the industry. He builds rapport by sharing his own similar struggles, creating a peer-to-peer dynamic rather than a simple Q&A. He probes deeply into the mechanics of business failure, asking for specific reasons behind financial crises or operational hurdles, and also explores the personal and emotional toll on the owner. A key feature is his habit of pausing to define industry jargon like 'CP7' for the broader audience, making technical discussions more accessible.
The show alternates between solo episodes and guest interviews. In solo shows, Henri is direct and motivational, often sharing his personal routines and business metrics. In interviews, he acts as an empathetic peer, using his own industry experience to build rapport and ask highly specific, informed questions about finance and operations.
Questions Tree Surgeon keeps coming back to
8 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Tree Surgeon reaches for it.
origin
1- Q.01
“Tell me about your business and how you got started in the industry.”
This is his standard opening move to establish the guest's backstory and credibility.
mindset
1- Q.01
“How was your mindset and how did you feel during all that stress?”
He asks this after a guest describes a crisis, shifting the focus from business mechanics to the personal, emotional impact.
money
1- Q.01
“What was the reason your pipeline of work disappeared?”
He uses this to dig into the specific causes of a major business failure, often related to contract loss.
industry
1- Q.01
“Why do you think rates in the industry seem to be getting worse, not better?”
This question elicits the guest's opinion on wider industry trends and competitive pressures.
process
3- Q.01
“What was the challenge with [specific operational detail]?”
He asks this to explore the practical, day-to-day hurdles of running a tree surgery business.
- Q.02
“Was the work given to other suppliers, or did the client just not give it out?”
A follow-up probe to understand the precise nature of a contract loss.
- Q.03
“Are you ready for tomorrow?”
This is the host's company motto, which he uses as a thematic question about preparation and planning.
craft
1- Q.01
“For people who don't know, what is [industry jargon]?”
He frequently uses this device to make technical conversations accessible to a wider audience.
Signature segments
- · Motto: 'A rising tide raises all ships.'
- · Motto: 'Are you ready for tomorrow?'
- · Sharing specific profit and turnover numbers
- · Discussing his past business failure
- · Podcast 'relaunch' announcements
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically fellow business owners from the UK arboriculture, utility, or specialist access industries. The show often features founders who have navigated significant growth, faced near-catastrophic challenges, or have a specific area of operational expertise.
- Lee Morrison S2 EP3 Building a Business, Losing It All and What Comes Next | Lee Morris
- Nick Wilsonon Ep 16 Revolutionising Waste Management & Efficiency in Tree Surgery with Nick Wilson
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast's primary commercial goal appears to be lead generation for the host's own ventures, the Tree Surgeons Business Academy and Mastermind program. Calls to action consistently direct listeners to waitlists and free resources for these paid coaching services.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Tree Surgeon
People also ask
- Who is the host of the podcast?
- The host is Henri Ghijben, founder of HRG Tree Surgeons and the Tree Surgeons Business Academy in the UK.
- What is the podcast about?
- It's about the business of tree surgery—focusing on finance, operations, scaling, and leadership, not the practical skill of climbing trees.
- Is the podcast still active?
- Yes, it was relaunched in May 2026 and now follows a regular fortnightly schedule.
- What is the format of the show?
- It's a mix of solo episodes where the host shares his own business strategies and long-form interviews with other owners in the arboriculture industry.
- How can I pitch to be a guest?
- The podcast does not publicly solicit guests; it appears guests are sourced from the host's professional network and mastermind community.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The primary platform is YouTube, with episodes also available on major podcast apps.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]HRG Tree Surgeons | About Ushrgtreesurgeons.co.uk
- [02]Tree Surgeons Business Academytreesurgeonsbusinessacademy.co.uk
- [03]Forestry Journal | Henri Ghijben of Southampton-based HRG Tree Surgeons and the Fail Forward podcastforestryjournal.co.uk
- [04]Tree Surgeon's Podcast with Henri Ghijben | YouTubeyoutube.com
- [05]Tree Surgeon's Podcast with Henri Ghijben | Podfollowpodfollow.com
- [06]Henri Roy GHIJBEN | UK Companies Housefind-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
- [07]Fail Forward | About Henrifailforward.co.uk
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