Stephanie Leonard

Brad Rose Landscaping is the definition of a family business. Company co-owner and Vice President Stephanie Leonard; her father, Brad, who started the company; and husband, Eric, work for the company and because of remote learning, Leonard’s two daughters, ages 11 and 12, are at the office when they aren’t at school.

The 9-month-old daughter of the company’s office manager has been coming to office since she was 3 months old because daycare isn’t an option due to COVID-19. Oh, and the Leonard’s Rottweiler, Apollo, clocks in a few days a week at the Rensselaer, New York-based company.

“So, it’s crazy around our office on a daily basis but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says. Here is Leonard’s average day.

Monday through Saturday I am up at 4:45 a.m., but on Sundays, I will sleep until 6:30 or 7 a.m. I go to the gym four times per week and do CrossFit type of training. This is 50 minutes that I block everything out, focus on me and make my mind and body stronger. But before I leave for the gym, my husband and I spend about 45 minutes drinking coffee, planning our day, get caught up on things, etc. After the gym, I either go right to work or head home to get my girls ready for school. They attend school in person two times per week.

My commute is pretty short, only about 12 minutes. I listen to XM Radio Hair Nation Station 39. This brings me back to my teens when life was carefree and stress free.

I arrive between 7:15-7:30 if coming right from the gym. If I am doing drop off to school, I’ll get to work around 9 a.m. It is important for me to see the staff before they all roll out, so that is why I really like coming in directly after the gym, but the mom guilt kicks in.

Once the crews roll out, I take about 10-15 minutes to regroup with office staff and make sure all bases are covered. Then, I spend about 10-15 minutes talking with my father about anything and everything. The key ingredient in my life is communication.

Lunch is hit or miss. I generally just have a snack around 11 a.m. and then have a huge dinner when I get home around 5 or 5:30 if I am in the field. If I am in the office, I will eat a heavier lunch and then have a light dinner with the family.

After lunch, I tend to get with my assistant, Emily, and my father to plan the following day and recap on any happenings, weather, equipment, customers, problem solve and plan the next day.

When the girls were in school five days per week, I would leave at the end of the school day which was around 2:30 and finish my day at home in my home office. Now, I’m there until 4-5 p.m. I tend not to do much work from home lately.

COVID-19 has had a few positives and those would be the ability for clients to meet during the day because they, too, are working from home. The other is I get to have my girls with me at work.

I will say that dinner every night with my family is very important. My husband is a phenomenal cook. Growing up, we always ate as a family and my husband’s family was the same way, so it is one tradition that we try to hold on to. I like reconnecting with my family, listening to my girls talk about their day and my husband talk about his day. So, unless it is an emergency, I won’t answer my phone, but I will check it a few times in the evening. But if a client is calling me or emailing me after hours I will answer or reply because typically that is pretty important.

Usually I am asleep by 8:30 p.m. I do require 7-8 hours of sleep, where my husband can function on 4, so he definitely stays up later and shuts the house down, makes sure kids are good and pets are all set.

Weekends are for family and watching my girls play basketball. I will check emails and spend 1-2 hours doing miscellaneous things but that is before the girls get up or if they are playing with friends.