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Igniting a new era

How Eagle Creek Nursery operates as a family-owned business.

By Kristen Hampshire

It’s the cycle of life. The loss of two uncles, owners in the family business, resulted in the end of an era for Eagle Creek Nursery in Indianapolis.

It was the beginning of a new age for the company, which was founded four generations ago in 1916. One uncle had been overseeing operations for the last four decades; the other was mostly retired. The family had not anticipated the loss – the uncles died within a month of each other.

“We reached a fork in the road at that point,” says Mark Esterline, who had been in charge of landscape maintenance and worked in the family business since the early 1990s. He is now president. “Being a family business, everyone had ideas about what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go, and here was an opportunity to make some changes.

“We had lots of ideas, but no real plan in place on how to execute them,” Esterline says.

Esterline’s uncle had been managing plant procurement for the nursery, along with daily banking and insurance. Esterline immediately began taking over these duties. “We had a void there and everyone was so busy in their own part of the business, someone had to step up and start doing more,” he says.

The company continued to move forward, not slowing its pace. But the fact was, Eagle Creek Nursery had been riding steady for some time, Esterline says. “Under the past management, we had gotten lethargic and were not growing anymore,” he says. “When you have someone who has been in charge of the business for 40 years, change is tough.”

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Class is in session

Dean Murphy shares his insight on how he and his team have grown Terracare Associates. It’s an exclusive opportunity for L&L readers to look behind the scenes at how one of the largest companies in the landscape and lawn care industry runs. Visit bit.ly/deanmurphy to take the virtual tour.
 

‘Digital’ chamber of commerce

Gain new customers using social media.

By Jason Scott

As many of you know, local Chambers Of Commerce, Business Network International Groups (BNIs) and other networking associations are great places to find new customers and leads for many business owners over the years. In fact, many longtime Chamber Of Commerce members rely solely on the referral network for new business.

Their involvement with these associations has created some long-lasting relationships and referrals. With more people online, we have a huge opportunity to apply the same traditional networking concepts in a “digital way.” I have had great success with having new customers fall into my lap due to the commitment I have made online.

The key is spending time online where your buyers are having conversations. It is similar to how you would network at a Chamber event, but you engage with them in a digital way.

• Step 1: Identify the influencers in your service area (for example: local journalists, politicians, real estate agents, property managers, town administrators, business owners, attorneys, etc.). These are people you would have been getting in front of at local networking events. And these are people with whom you’d like to share your message.
• Step 2: Now that you have identified them, follow them. Follow them on Twitter and re-tweet their tweets. Connect with them on LinkedIn and comment on their posts. “Like” their business page on Facebook and be sure to give them a review, or comment on a post. Subscribe to their blogs and comment on their articles.
  

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The author is president of Distinctive Landscaping in Attleboro Falls, Mass.