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Understanding the true cost of growth is essential for success

Tom Wood, CLP, owner of Wood Landscape Services, Ltd., in Hilliard, Ohio, takes a practical, philosophical approach to business. Says Wood, “Being successful requires having some common sense and then knowing what you don’t know.” The strategy has helped him grow a design/build/management company from literally nothing 15 years ago into an operation that is fast closing in on the $2million mark.

“It is relatively easy to grow a company from zero to $.5 million,” Wood relates. “It becomes increasingly difficult to reach $.75 million, and more difficult yet when targeting revenue in the $1 million to $2 million range.” The challenge, he adds, is to understand the true cost of growth, and that means having more than a modicum of business know-how, something he admits he lacked early on in his career.

Full-service menu

Wood Landscape Services has four divisions — planting, construction, maintenance, and lawn care — and employs 28 people during peak season. The company serves high-end homeowners and a select number of commercial properties located throughout the north side of Columbus. Business is divided 65/35 percent between planting-construction/maintenance-lawn care. The founder’s long-term goal is to maintain the current level of design/build business and leverage existing accounts to grow more full-service management customers.

His goals were not always that clearly defined. As a student at Ohio State, Wood worked for a landscape contractor. After graduating with a degree in landscape horticulture, he ran a landscape design division for a local contractor and then hired on with Red Roof Inn as one of two corporate horticulturists. He worked for the motel chain for a year and a half, traveling up and down the East Coast servicing existing properties and awarding landscaping contracts for new ones.

In 1987, after gaining enough air miles to have free tickets on eight airlines (miles that would go unused), he left the corporate world. For the next two years, he worked for a couple of other contractors and then ventured into an entirely different career.

“I was always curious about acting,” recalls Wood. “To scratch my itch, I spent eight months trying to get various parts in movies and plays. I had some success in commercials and even did a little ‘hand modeling,’ of all things. Then, one day I drove to Pittsburgh for a movie audition. When I walked into the studio, there were 40 other people vying for the part, and they all looked and dressed just like me. I figured it was time to go back to landscaping full-time. In fact, as I look back at that period of my life, I can safely say that being an actor is more difficult than being a landscape contractor.”

Bold move

On his way back to Columbus, Wood decided to start his own company. He used $5,000 in savings for entry capital and purchased an old truck, trailer, and a few pieces of maintenance equipment. Through good old-fashioned hustling, he grew a modest book of residential mowing and maintenance accounts, and, by the end of his first full year of operation, he had enough business to hire two employees.

Soon, though, Wood realized that hard work and common sense could take him only so far. He was well-versed on the technical side of the industry, but lacked many requisite financial skills. In other words, he knew what he didn’t know. To help fill the void, he joined PLANET’s legacy group, ALCA, eight years ago. “I try to do something every year to expand my knowledge base,” Wood explains. “In 1997, I went to a conference in Baltimore. I was impressed with the program and the networking opportunities and joined the association.”

Two years later, he retained a green industry consultant to help him set up a budgeting system and plan. The move allowed him to better understand, and plan for, the costs associated with doing business. He brought the same consultant back this year, and he now has extended his long-range business plan out three years.

“It is amazing,” says Wood. “For someone who never knew much about the financial side of doing business, I now can prepare a yearly budget in a day.” Just as amazing, he adds, two years ago in St. Louis, he passed his CLP exam on the first try. “I took the exam because, as a company, we are dedicated to reaching the highest level of professionalism. In the same spirit, I want all my crew leaders to become certified landscape technicians.”

He continues, “I would be remiss if I failed to give credit to the group of dedicated individuals we have on board. Without them, healthy growth would be impossible.” He also attributes his company’s success to having a pure passion for his work and putting clients’ needs first. “To be successful — truly successful — requires having a good mix of people, the right priorities, and a love for what you do,” Wood adds.

“As for growth, I want to provide opportunities for employees. I’m not interested in being the biggest, but certainly one of the best at what we do. When you are consistently moving forward, it can be fun to grow.”

01/06
Rod Dickens, PLANET Contributing Writer