Meet Brandy Brown | CO-Owner Blue River Tree Care

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandy Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandy, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
Nineteen years ago, we were young, in love and expecting. Life was full of surprises, but in a way that was not only a blessing, but also terrifying. The idea of giving up on anything didn’t even seem plausible, unfortunately that also applied to the things in our life that were no longer serving us, but we couldn’t distinguish between the two. That may sound confusing and I think the concept of “never give up” was so ingrained in us as young people coming from difficult lives, that you forget that “giving up” sometimes can be a good thing. If I haven’t lost you yet, let me explain a little more.
My husband and I were two broke kids when we fell in love. He had his own small business which barely supported him and basically kept him doing what he loved to do, but without much profit. I was in between colleges, with little idea of what I would make of the hodge-podge of education and job experience I had accumulated. Both of us were in the same financial boat, both coming from chaotic childhoods trying to figure out how we were going to make it this world. We had that in common, we were both desperate to have lives completely opposite of the ones we grew up in. Keep going, work harder, do better, were common themes in our lives, especially when we married, brought a child into the world, and started a new business, all in the first three years that we were together. It sounds great on paper, people said we were ambitious, and called us go-getters, but in reality we were still holding quite firmly to the patterns and themes we knew as children.
We took everything home from the business, stressed to make even the most unpleasant clients and people happy, and put our business before “us” over and over again. Giving up was never an option, it felt like failure. We continued to tell our selves if we just work harder, care more, and don’t give up, it will get better. We added to our family, to our business and continued to push forward, the business was successful, life however didn’t always feel that way. We just kept going, the phase “give up” carried a weight that felt suffocating. Even as I put the phase down on paper and say it in my mind, it feels negative, that connection though comes from my own personal trauma and may feel very real for others as well. There are many areas in life where one can give something up and it is an absolute positive. For example, someone can give up eating poorly, give up smoking, drinking, or any bad habit and it has a positive outcome, so why at this time in our lives could we not give up the bad habits? Looking back, I would say because the thought of giving up anything good or bad, would have meant having to know the difference between the two, but we were looking through a lens that wasn’t always clear. The lens was blurred with life experiences and trauma, the bad habits were often disguised, as these habits may have once helped us at point in our lives but we could not see that now they were holding us back. Habits can be tricky like that, they can switch from good to bad and they can do that very quietly.
How to know when to keep going or give up, started with us taking out the negativity around the phase “give up”. We started working hard on things that served us at that time in our lives and essentially gave up on the things that no longer served us. Does that mean we gave up caring about making the unpleasant people we met or worked with happy, or just gave up talking about business at home? No, I wish it was that simple, however when we started seeing “give up” as a positive, things started to change. We started seeing the relationship between the two. Give up working Saturdays just to take care of the “squeaky wheel,” meant more time to keep going on other things. Give up fear and keep going with faith, meant a stronger feeling of connection in life. Give up feeling alone and replace it with counting on others, meant making sure everyone felt they added value and we were here for each other. Giving up meant to keep going, just on another path with things that served us more and in result business got stronger, our team worked better and felt more connected. We grew as partners, as parents and as business owners. So I guess after nineteen years, we have realized that it is never as simple as keep going or give up, and knowing which to choose, they are very much intertwined into each other and one can open the door for the other.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Blue River Forestry and Tree Care we are committed to the conservation and care of Boulder County’s urban forest. That commitment starts with only bringing knowledgable, experienced and properly trained arborists to our client’s properties. We take pride in our professionalism as well as safety and set the bar when it comes to tree care culture. We employ ISA Certified Arborists and our philosophy toward education is simple: you can never have enough.
Blue River Forestry & Tree Care is the realization of a goal to provide the Frontrange and its surrounding areas with a higher standard of tree care. This goal was formulated after years of working in the tree service industry and experiencing a lack of urgency and understanding as to the proper methods of tree care and for safety. Inspired by the need to improve the industry, we completed the education and certification standards set forth by the International Society of Arboriculture and began what would be an ongoing commitment to excellence in the industry. Blue River Forestry and Tree Care celebrated its 16 yr anniversary in 2024 and we are looking forward to another great year.
How did we get to where we are today business-wise. Was it easy? I don’t think I know a small business owner that could answer this questions with a yes. It wasn’t easy and still isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Each day brings a new challenge we must welcome and overcome , sometimes this means changing paths and other times it means paving a whole new road, but whatever it is, we face it together as team.
When we first were starting off many years ago, a client told us, what set us apart from the rest, was that we cared. It seemed so simple, doesn’t everyone care about what they do? The answer isn’t always yes, that was surprising to me, but now after so many years in the industry, I realize that caring is actually the thing that sets us apart. Caring might seem simple, but when you are working with biological living organisms, trees and people alike, it might just be the most important thing. So I would say our brand is built on caring, caring about trees, and the people we work with and for.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love to explore new places to eat in both Boulder and Longmont. If we were headed to Boulder, a stop at Zoe Ma Ma or Hapa Sushi for lunch would be a must before shopping. I think one of my favorite Pearl area stores to hit is Rebecca’s Herbal Apothecary. Next would be any hike in the Boulder Longmont area. The Sleepy Lions Tail at Button Rock Dam has become one of my favorites. On a Saturday during the fall you would probably find us at Verde in northish Boulder and then off to a CU game. Let’s GO Buffs.

In the Longmont area we actually have quite a few favorite restaurants to choose from. All with great family vibes and wide range of different foods. Swaylos and The Roost are two we visit often and after a relaxed hike up Rabbit Mountain with the pups we usually stop for pizza at Urban Fields.

I love to do different classes and events in the area and am always searching for the “what’s happening today” to find local events to try new things. Recently we do one of those paint and sip classes at Whimsy and I think my friend and I laughed for the whole 3 hours. I have found a couple at local vineyards too where you can paint a pot and you get a plant, which is a major bonus.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout goes to 3 very important people in my life. My hubby and co owner of Blue River Forestry and Tree Care for building a life and business with me, and for being dedicated to always learning and growing. I really do love the people we are growing up to be! Our children would be the other two, they are people who inspire me on a daily basis, and have taught me so much through the years.

Website: https://www.bluerivertreecare.com

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