Contractor Profile: NaturaLawn of America – Chris Karcher: A Franchisee For Life

Karcher started his career in 1986 as a lawn technician for the Milwaukee, Wisc., location of Barefoot Grass Lawn Service, a national franchise company at the time, which is now a subsidiary of Trugreen-Chemlawn. Within a year, he was promoted to market manager of Barefoot Grass’s newly opened Boston branch. He spent almost three years at that location working at establishing the business in the large metropolitan area of Boston.

After four years of working under other franchise owners, Karcher got the ownership bug and purchased his own Barefoot Grass franchise in Davenport, Iowa. He managed to turn that business into a success as he spent 1990 through 1997 owning and operating the franchise. That experience gives Karcher some added confidence with opening up his second startup company as he said, "I like working with lawns and franchise operations. I think it’s a proven system." He decided to leave the Iowa location when Trugreen-Chemlawn purchased Barefoot Grass, and he moved back to Kansas to be closer to family and friends.

In contrast to his prior 11 years in the lawn maintenance industry with a large franchise company, Karcher spent the next two to three years working for a friend who operated an independent business, New Frontier, in the lawn care industry. Here Karcher worked doing computer support and field staff training, but he never quite got rid of his franchise ideals. He decided last year that he wanted to work for himself again, so he did some research, decided on NaturaLawn of America, completed his training from September through December and opened the doors just after New Year’s this year.

He is excited to have his own business again. "I think a franchise operation – if you get into it with a good franchiser – can be a great experience for anybody because it gives an opportunity to people who want to work for themselves, who don’t want to deal with corporate ladders and who want to do something they really enjoy," explained Karcher.

NATURALAWN OF AMERICA. NaturaLawn of America entered the Damascus, Md., lawn care market in October 1987 as a purveyor of a natural organic-based fertilization program in conjunction with an Integrated Pest Management program (IPM). The company’s goal is to promote the use of natural lawn care over traditional chemical programs. The company became a franchiser in late 1989 and has since grown to more than 40 locations in the U.S. and Canada with combined revenues of more than $13 million in 1999, compared to $300,000 in its first year of independent operation.

Each NaturaLawn of America franchise location is independently owned and operated and offers the company’s line of proprietary products for IPM. Its lawn care program is based on the premise that "[NaturaLawn of America is] not growing a lawn. [NaturaLawn of America is] building a soil foundation." That foundation is built using the company’s organic-based products, which include important minerals – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – all from natural sources. These nutrients help build healthy soil that encourages dense root systems and vigorous turf and promotes active soil organisms, such as earthworms and beneficial insects. Although their products may be more expensive because they come from natural sources, the company believes the fertilization benefits of the natural substances outweigh the cost factor.

Although NaturaLawn of America prefers to take a natural approach, that does not mean synthetic products are out of the picture. The goal is to use biological and biorational controls derived from natural sources whenever possible and only use man-made products when absolutely necessary. "We want to use something that’s the least harmful to the environment and use it in the correct amount," explained Karcher. Some examples of biological controls the company uses are Milky Spore, Nematodes and Bt. These products can affect insects by deterring feeding because they make the grass taste bad to insects, by preventing insects from maturing, and by killing insects outright if they ingest the product.

NaturaLawn of America claims that its IPM system reduces weed and insect control usage on lawns by more than 90 percent compared to traditional lawn care. The IPM system relies on three functions: prevention, monitoring and controlling. Prevention includes conserving the natural enemies of turf pests by selective use of biological and synthetic controls, planting improved varieties of turf that have resistance to insect and disease attacks and using good cultural practices, such as mowing, watering, aeration and thatch removal. Monitoring includes inspecting lawns and soils for problem pests throughout the growing year. Controlling involves the use of control materials only when necessary to prevent major lawn damage. NaturaLawn of America’s purpose of control is not to get rid of all pests but rather to hold damage to an acceptable or unnoticeable level. "In a lawn, there are good bugs and there are bad bugs," said Karcher. "We don’t want to kill the good bugs, and that’s our approach. We’re not just a ‘see-and-spray’ organization."

KARCHER’S FRANCHISE. NaturaLawn of America was a natural fit for Karcher. "I love doing what I’m doing, and I’m working with a proven system and some great products that help benefit the environment," he said. In the Kansas City area, meaning both the Kansas and Missouri cities, there are approximately four potential NaturaLawn of America franchise opportunities. Karcher currently owns one of those four with exclusive rights to Johnson and Miami Counties in Kansas, an area of about a 50-mile radius. He likes how the company has split up the metro area from a service standpoint. "For one franchise to service this large of a geographical area is fairly difficult," he said. "I remember doing it in Boston, and we were averaging about 35,000 miles a year on our vehicles."

Karcher owns the first NaturaLawn of America franchise in the Kansas City metro area and may consider purchasing another area franchise, depending on the growth of his current business. However, if another branch opened up in the area, both Karcher and the other owner would benefit as they could produce promotional items together in order to reduce printing costs. The items would include both parties’ contact information such that customers could call the franchise that services their specific area.

Karcher’s current marketing devices include direct mail, radio advertising and telemarketing. However, his best source of new customer accounts thus far has been referrals. As a standard part the NaturaLawn of America franchise agreement, Karcher uses a van that features the company name and logo, and all promotional literature includes the company’s corporate web site address. Because NaturaLawn of America is a maintenance company, Karcher said he will look for opportunities to find landscaping companies that don’t offer maintenance, such that he and the other companies can refer one another’s services to their customers. However, he plans to take his time following through with this idea so he can make sure he finds a reputable company that he feels comfortable trading referrals with.

Karcher plans to market his business year round, while his treatment season is generally from March through Thanksgiving. He is expecting revenues of more than $100,000 this year and anticipates almost doubling that each of first three to four years in business. More accurately, he predicts to make $200,000 in 2001 and then $350,000 in 2002. His goal is to get at least 1,500 customers within his first four years of operation.

The franchise’s current customer base is about 99 percent residential because Karcher hasn’t had the time or resources to market his services to commercial clients. "Being a new organization we don’t have the equipment or manpower to handle that as of yet. But that will come in the future," he explained. The move to more commercial jobs will mean the franchise is growing and Karcher will have to increase his employee base of two employees, including himself, and his equipment inventory, which includes a 100-gallon Westheffer spray unit and Lesco spreaders. Right now all of his equipment and products for jobs fits in one self-contained Chevrolet van.

With his 14 years of training through working in the industry, a forestry degree from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, agronomic training and licensing in a few states, Karcher is looking forward to the road ahead for his NaturaLawn of America franchise. He is also excited about the opportunities of promoting natural lawn care and IPM programs in his area. "It was a way to get another opportunity for the future and to build a business for my family. I think Kansas City is really looking forward to something like this. I think natural control products are the wave of the future for lawn care," he said.

For more information about NaturaLawn of America, visit the company’s web site at www.nl-amer.com.

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