Joshua Tree Experts looking to franchise

Joshua Malik’s love of climbing trees grew into a thriving business that now is looking to franchise. 

The Lehigh Valley native is the owner of Joshua Tree Experts, a company he started in his garage and has grown to cover a four-county area with 65 employees. 

“It was the adrenaline rush,” he said of starting in the business. “Climbing trees was cool.” 

While he no longer climbs trees, Malik said he does go on inspections to stay in the field, at least a little. 

Malik launched his company in 2005 after working in the business for 13 years, learning everything he could about the business. After branching out into lawn care in 2017 and pest control in 2020, he is now in position to franchise his business so “others can choose a lifestyle that will grow wealth.” 

The company started in Malik’s three-car garage with a 100-square-foot office. “I had about three weeks of work lined up when I started, so I felt pretty confident,” he said. 

The business took off and Malik found he needed to rent space for his equipment after six months. By 2009, he needed to expand again and bought vacant land in Stockertown for his offices and equipment. He also opened an office in Easton. Last March, he opened a second office in in Souderton.  

“When I started, it was just me,” he said. “I took on an employee pretty quickly. He is still with me,” he said. “Within three months, I had a full-time staff, including an office administrator.” 

To keep with his motto of “Keeping the home environment safe, healthy and beautiful”, Malik said his business targets preservation.  

“We do tree removal, stump grinding, pruning and plant health care, which includes fertilizing and spraying for disease, insects and viruses,” he said.  

The company now serves Northampton, Lehigh, Bucks and Montgomery counties. “We want to do a million services within 10 years,” he said. To that end, Malik has established the means to grow his brand with the franchises.  

“I want to take on owners who want to grow a business. I want them to look at us like a partnership all under our name,” he said.  

Malik plans to start with territories within Pennsylvania but sees the brand growing to other states eventually. “The territories will be by population size,” he said. 

“We will offer training for nine days that will be a mix of on site and field work,” Malik said. “We will help them build vendor relations, create a marketing calendar and community outreach.” 

The goal, he said, is to have the franchises up and running in 90 days. “We are looking for people who will do the work we require,” he said. “We want to make it valuable for them.” 

Malik, who belongs to peer groups that he says has helped him continue to grow through mentorships, said he will use those experiences to help new franchisees grow their business.  

Looking ahead to the next five years, he said, “We have a growth plan that includes opening offices throughout the country so we can be close to the franchises and support them.’