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Employee retention has never been much of an issue at McHale Landscape Design, a $20-million full-service landscape and maintenance company based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. In fact, the company has many long-term employees who have been with the business for two decades or more—including McHale’s 50 foremen. But Kevin McHale, president, says he was getting […]
Like many other landscape business owners, Richard Arlington says he got his start in landscaping as a kid. Mowing grass, raking leaves and shoveling snow was an easy way to earn some income. Upon returning home from some time in the Marines, Arlington says he couldn’t find a job—so he returned to doing what he […]
Though his son has grown up around the business—and the industry—Cody Whelchel, owner of Texas-based Cody Landscape, says the process of transitioning business ownership to his son has been more complicated than he anticipated. Currently in the midst of that process, Whelchel, who founded the landscape design, installation and maintenance business in 1986 along with […]
Let’s face it: As a result of the lack of knowledge available to people about the landscape industry and the career potential within, its image is tainted. This is particularly true with younger generations. “Students and parents think it’s a dirty job and that you don’t make any money in landscaping; we just have this […]
Chris Lee admits he can’t pinpoint exactly what got him into the landscape business. But he is certain that the opportunity to “do his own thing,” and to “put his stamp on something bigger than himself” were driving factors. Since founding Earthworks Inc., in 1979, Lee—who serves as president—has adapted and evolved the business many […]
A savvy business owner knows he or she constantly needs to be on the lookout for a growth bottleneck. If they want their businesses to continue to grow and perform, they need to remove these “hold-ups.” But what if the owner is the bottleneck? That was exactly the case for Doug McDuff and his business […]
Like so many other landscape professionals, Mark Borst, owner of Borst Landscape & Design in Allendale, New Jersey, says the labor pool in his area often feels quite dry. It’s an ongoing struggle to find qualified workers. That’s why, about seven years ago, Borst began experimenting with employee referral rewards. Since that time, refining the […]
A high school summer spent working on the grounds crew at a local golf course set Krisjan Berzins on a path toward the green industry—he just didn’t know it yet. At the time, he says he was just trying to earn some summer income. “One of the best perks was that we’d start really early […]
Switching companies—or even just positions within the same company—always brings a new set of challenges. For Bill Horn, East Branch Manager for Gachina Landscape Management in Menlo Park, California, 30-plus years with the same company had him used to a certain way of doing business. Horn brought his ideas to Gachina and had to find […]
Like so many other landscape business owners, Bret Achtenhagen, president and CEO of Bret Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Services in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, was struggling with attracting, hiring, onboarding and retaining quality individuals to add to the company’s production teams. As a result, Achtenhagen says the company was growing faster than its ability to develop foremen and other […]