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When Walter and David Wray, owners of Wray Brothers Landscapes in Bethesda, Maryland, graduated from college in 1992, they had no thoughts of becoming landscape contractors. In fact, the brothers seemed destined to be teachers until fate disguised as an opportunity stepped in, and Walter found out he could turn a summer mowing gig into a moneymaking proposition.  

At the time, he was between jobs and spending the summer with his folks. To earn some extra cash, he started to mow a few of their neighbors’ yards. Walter enjoyed the experience so much that he decided to try to transform it into a full-fledged business.

  

Cautious Start

 

The move was unlikely for a Davidson College graduate who had a degree in political science and a penchant for languages. He had spent time teaching in Costa Rica, but something about being an entrepreneur clicked with him. “I didn’t think at the time that landscape contracting was what I wanted to pursue as a lifelong career,” Walter recalls. “But I liked what I was doing and decided to go forward very cautiously and borrowed $5,000. I invested only in the equipment I needed and asked lots of questions.”

  

After five years, Walter’s new venture was generating some serious money, to the tune of $600,000 a year in revenue. Then, his brother stepped up to the plate and offered to partner with him, buying half of the operation. Within a year, the brothers expanded their revenue base by buying out several of their inefficient rivals. The move allowed them to rid themselves of competition, and it added density to their high-end residential market.

  

“I believe I had two attributes that lent themselves perfectly to growing our business,” Walter recalls. “First, although it wasn’t my intention to talk political science with customers, my degree gave me an entrée with high-end clients who often wanted to discuss, among other things, politics. Then, the fact I could speak Spanish helped me recruit and retain a Hispanic workforce.”

 

Fast Learners

  

Now, five years after David joined the company, Wray Brothers generates $2 million in annual revenue and has 18 full-time employees. Approximately two-thirds of its sales are in maintenance (five crews), and the remainder is in design/build (two crews). Walter notes that along the way he and his brother have learned some valuable lessons. The following points are a few of them.

 

·         Plan, plan, plan … Walter says advance planning has been extremely beneficial. The process allows the company to focus on its destination and to establish ways of getting there. They start with budgets and add ongoing training to support an updated production calendar complete with a sales and marketing strategy.

 

·         Focus on employees … Walter says the company pays particular attention to the needs of their employees and encourages them to set goals as well. Each is evaluated three times a year, and production crews receive bonuses that can be as high as 8 percent of their annual pay.

 

·         Listen to professionals … Walter says the company is always striving to elevate its professional standards. Three years ago, the brothers joined ALCA. Since then, they have attended seminars, forums, and other industry events and used ALCA members as sounding boards. More recently, they have participated in ALCA’s Trailblazer program, receiving a visit and more than a little insight from ALCA veteran Trailblazer Rick Doesburg, CCLP. The company’s design/build division also trained many of its masonry subcontractors, an approach learned from ALCA Trailblazer Gary Kinman, CLP.

 

When asked to identify the primary reason for their success, Walter thinks for a moment, smiles, and then says, “This is probably a simple answer, but it’s necessary no matter who you are. Hard work!” Today, you will still find David and Walter out in the field, but both understand that hard work has its limits. To grow the business, they feel they need to delegate more responsibility, retain and train managers, and hone leadership skills. They are more than ready for the challenge.

 

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By Rod Dickens, ALCA Contributing Writer