Restrictions. Regulations. Red tape. No matter what you call them, government-imposed rules – whether they’re coming from city hall, the statehouse or federal officials – are typically burdensome for small businesses. |
When severe drought squelched water resources in Atlanta, irrigating a property became a moral issue. “We planted flowers for customers who called us back and said, ‘I need you to take them out because I have people giving me a hard time,’” says Jim McCutcheon, CEO and partner, HighGrove Partners, Austell, Ga., noting how watering a landscape was vilified by neighbors.
“Even if a customer wanted a landscaping job installed, they shied away from it if it required watering,” he says.
That was in 2008. But even today, in a declared “non-drought,” property owners in the Sun Belt city are only allowed to water on three assigned days per week. And listed in bold on the Atlanta Watershed website is a phone number residents can call to report any “water violators.”
McCutcheon and other landscape contractors were never violators since irrigation is part of their business. Still, HighGrove Partners’ competitors were shutting down their irrigation divisions or cutting back big time. The drought was killing business.
Meanwhile, HighGrove took a different path and rolled out an environmental stewardship program focused on water management called KnowWater. As a result, the company actually tripled its irrigation business during a very stressful time.
“I spent some time out West with a team we assembled to figure out what we could do to become a better company through this crisis,” McCutcheon says of incubating the KnowWater plan.
The goal was to implement an aesthetic and cost-effective method for maintaining and enhancing landscapes so HighGrove’s primarily commercial customer base would continue installing flower beds and irrigating properties, even during the driest of times.
The KnowWater sub-brand is a win for customers who desire continued landscape installation and maintenance with a water-sensitive bent. And it’s a win for HighGrove, elevating the firm to a respected, eco-friendly status in the community.
How They Do It
The KnowWater program involves a Water Conservation Survey where an analysis of water consumption is performed. Existing irrigation systems are evaluated and a plan is drafted to improve the system. From there, customers can opt for KnowWater’s irrigation system renovation service, which includes nine options for saving water (from pressure regulators to rain harvesting systems). Customers can take on a project in full or in phases depending on their budgets.
HighGrove’s water-sensitive suite of services positions the firm as a leader in landscape water conservation, McCutcheon says. The marketing and educational resources the company developed to support the KnowWater brand position the company positively in the public eye. Essentially, the KnowWater approach alleviates clients of that moral “water dilemma,” he says.
“We make it easy for the customer because we developed communication pieces that (property managers) can give to their tenants that talk about our water conservation surveys and the long-term benefit,” McCutcheon says.
HighGrove Partners leaves no question that actions taking place on clients’ properties are for the good of the environment. Technicians wear special uniforms with a Water Conservation Surveyor logo. While performing KnowWater services, signs are planted on the property that read: Water conservation survey in progress.
Another Opportunity
Piggy-backing on the success of this model, this year HighGrove is developing a stormwater management component that will fall under the KnowWater line of services. Ironically, now that Atlanta is out of its drought and has been experiencing a good amount of rain, water runoff and quality issues have prompted municipalities to crack down on property owners who are in violation of laws that were basically ignored for years.
Recently, McCutcheon has been hearing more noise from customers who are being warned or fined. One golf course customer racked up more than $300,000 in fines because of run-off violations.
“As I started looking into this, I realized that not only are the (stormwater and runoff) laws being enforced more aggressively, but many municipalities now see them as a means to generate revenue,” McCutcheon says.
HighGrove Partners also sees opportunity here – to protect its clients from writing checks for punitive fines.
“This is a chance to extend our services further and really provide customers with an outlet to find an expert where, in my opinion, there isn’t one (in our area) that exists,” McCutcheon says.
The company implemented a water quality pilot program for some clients and held a customer advisory council meeting to present the business plan and gather feedback. In July, HighGrove Partners will hold a symposium for customers, featuring representatives from the city’s environmental protection division, irrigation consultants and other relevant speakers. The company hosted a similar event for KnowWater.
Meanwhile, to build its credibility as a water quality authority, HighGrove Partners hired talent with expertise in this field. Also, some employees are pursuing water quality certifications. “We’ve developed an assessment model that we’ll take to our customers where we’ll identify risk factors and a suggested list of fixes,” McCutcheon says of the service, which is still on the drawing board. Similar to KnowWater’s irrigation conservation services, customers purchasing a stormwater management program can prioritize and spend according to their budgets.
“From a public relations standpoint, we’ll help clients gain public acknowledgement for the (water quality efforts) they’re making,” McCutcheon adds.
Outreach and education play a significant role in launching services that respond to regulatory concerns. Because even if customers decide not to buy a KnowWater irrigation or stormwater package, they respect HighGrove’s responsive culture.
“It shows clients we’re thinking differently – that we’re looking out for them and doing things a different way,” McCutcheon says.
The author is a frequent contributor to Lawn & Landscape.
Benton Foret is owner of two landscape firms.
License to operate: Benton Foret gets proactive.
As told to Lindsey Getz
When I first started out in this industry I wasn’t well-educated in licensure requirements. When I found out I didn’t have the proper licensure I needed I immediately got it corrected. That’s what we’d expect to happen with anyone operating without the proper licensure. Unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening today.
The state of Louisiana has a fairly stringent program to become licensed for landscaping and we’ve gone above and beyond the requirements to ensure we’re doing all the right things. It’s important to us to be ethical and honest as a company. Lately, we’ve noticed more out-of-state contractors operating here. Often, we presume they don’t have the proper licensure to operate here because they’re required to post it on the trucks and they don’t do so. When we see a truck that doesn’t look familiar or doesn’t look like it’s representing our industry well, we feel it’s our responsibility to inquire about it – just the way this happened with me when I first started.
But we have not gotten the response from our local agencies that we hoped for in these matters. The licensure is not being enforced.
The ability to fund these programs is the problem. There have been cutbacks due to the sales tax being down and the state is not able to completely man the agencies that secure inspectors and enforce the requirements. But that’s a problem because it’s a matter of safety. Our industry deals with heavy machinery and chemicals and it’s important that people are properly licensed to do so. You also have to be mindful of the impact on the environment.
In one instance we were negotiating a contract and our competition was from out of town. I wanted to make sure they were properly licensed for irrigation and found out they were not. When I called the Department of Agriculture I was first dismissed and told the license was fine. In the end my persistence paid off because we were right. The company was not properly licensed for irrigation. The Louisiana Horticulture Law states that no person shall receive fees, advertise or solicit business in a regulated profession or occupation unless he holds the appropriate license or permit, or has a regular employee who holds the appropriate license or permit, or is employed by a person who holds the appropriate license or permit. In the end, we got the job, and I hope that this individual is now properly licensed and can compete fairly with us in the future.
In Louisiana, I’m not very optimistic that these enforcement issues will be resolved quickly. With the recession, and now the oil spill in the Gulf, likely making the situation worse, I don’t see a simple short-term solution. But what we as a green industry need to do is be proactive. Encourage your friends in the industry that licensure is really for the better. It improves all of us. And if we’re aware of people doing things without the right licensure and we turn our backs to it, it makes all of us look bad.
I also believe strongly that your state representatives – congressmen and senators – are working for you. They need feedback on what they need to do. It’s pointless to fuss and make noise about a particular issue but never do anything about it. Giving your reps feedback is what you can do. We don’t get emotional. We just let our reps know frankly what the issue is and how they can help us. It’s a two-way-street. If they help support our issues, we help support them for re-election.
I would also encourage other landscape contractors to go out there and introduce yourself to these local officials. Too many of us have the wrong mindset – thinking that the green industry doesn’t matter to these officials.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re business owners and the state and federal economies are funded mainly by the driving forces of small business owners. Independently we may be small, but collaboratively we make a large portion of any demographic.
It should be part of the job description of at least one of your employees – relate regularly with local and state officials. Let them know who you are, what you need, and how they can help. Then some of these issues may actually get funding and be resolved. And in the meantime, we feel it’s a responsibility for us to be on top of ensuring our industry is well-represented. If we don’t think someone is properly licensed, we are proactive about checking.
In the end it makes all of us in the industry look better.
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