Get To Know Leaf & Limb: Meet Colin

This month, we meet Colin, the founding father and a formidable force behind Leaf & Limb.

The first question I ask everybody is to introduce yourself.

I'm Colin. I am the founder of Leaf & Limb. I started this business back in 1997. I’m currently in the process of exiting the business. I've gotten to the age now where I’m trying to take a backseat role. I’ll still be a little involved in the areas that are of interest to me. I’m still involved in training to some extent. Over the next few years, I'll phase out.

What do you think you're gonna do when you're not working at Leaf & Limb?

Maybe some traveling on the horizon? Lots of time with my grandchildren. I love that. Writing; I enjoy writing. I think I'm a reasonably good writer, so I'll probably delve into that. Art, mainly drawing has always been something that I have aspired to. I think I have some natural talent there, and I might explore that.

What originally drew you to this kind of work?

Well, originally, it was a necessity. I was part of corporate America. I was the operations manager at a large international paper company. I was overseeing three different shifts, so I had three different pagers. I was on call all the time, and life was getting a little too hectic. I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I had some cousins who were in the tree business. I went out and interned with one of them and found out that I really liked it.

So I started my own business to make my own decisions, hoping to run a better company than the ones I'd been part of. I enjoyed the outdoors aspect of it. I valued the freedom to manage my own time. I liked interacting with people and selling work. I was fortunate to find a business that fits who I am.

What's the most surprising thing about how it's all turned out?

Over the years, especially with my son Basil joining the company, I've become more passionate about trees. I always thought they were beautiful, but I saw their value as something more peripheral to my main business. The most surprising thing is that we have shifted from just chopping down trees to caring more about preserving them. I didn't see that coming at all. I give a lot of credit to my son. It’s been a genuine learning experience.

I think what I like the most is that we’re becoming a thought leader within the industry. We could possibly be one of the companies that changes the direction of the tree industry. We certainly would like to do that.

Tell me a couple of fun things about you.

I grew up under apartheid in South Africa. I was very happy when regime change came with Nelson Mandela. I have a very tender spot in my heart for South Africa. I love its nature; the beauty, the aesthetics, the wildlife. I lived in Cape Town. The beaches were beautiful.

I loved the vibe, the food, the sheer Africanness of it. My childhood memories are very happy ones. I attended an all-boys Catholic school. We moved to the Netherlands when I was 16, which was a pretty big culture shock—from a deeply religious, conservative country to a place at the forefront of everything permissible. You know, the Beatles were banned in South Africa because John Lennon said they were more popular than Jesus.

I am a 100% sucker for Hallmark movies. And I even get misty sometimes. Every single one has basically the same storyline. Two people get together. There's a little bit of contention at first, then they figure out they like each other, they fall in love, and then something happens, and one has to go. And the other one pursues them and voilà, happily ever after.