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Experience is a great teacher, again and again

In 2004, Jeff Bowen, CLP, took two direct hits from hurricanes. Last year, he lost his biggest client, shaving $900,000 off an an-nual revenue of $2.3 million. And this year, he faces the prospects of growing back his book of business at a time when cus-tomers face severe water restrictions. Despite these setbacks and obstacles, the owner of Images of Green in Stuart, Florida, remains optimistic. “This will be my 13th year in business,” says Bowen. “I have a passion for what I do, and experience has been a great teacher for me. I anticipate having a great year this year, and look forward to building an even stronger company for myself and my employees.”

Hurricanes, droughts, and big accounts that do a disappearing act would put most company owners out on the street. Instead, these events served only to strengthen Bowen’s determination and drive to build a ¬bigger and stronger business.

Bowen grew up working in his father’s landscape contracting business near Chicago. After attending Southern Illinois University, where he studied to be a landscape architect, he took a job in Florida at Disney World. There he worked with a team that designed and built Epcot Center. He was later hired by BRICKMAN to work out of its Chicago-area branch, only again to return to the sunshine state to oversee a large BRICKMAN property there.

“I turned 40 in 1994 and knew that if I were ever to go out on my own, this was the time,” Bowen recalls. He gave notice in September and a month later, with a Ford F-150 and new mower, landed his first community account for $75,000 a year. With virtually no marketing funds, the young landscape management and design/build ¬company, Images of Green, grew exclusively by word-of-mouth and reputation. The new owner targeted home¬owner associations and high-end residential customers, many of whom traveled north during the hot summer months.

Thirteen years later, Bowen states succinctly, “I am a good plant doctor, but I’m still learning the business ropes.” In 2004, when two hurricanes crisscrossed Stuart within three weeks of each other, he learned that mowing dollars and cleanup dollars were not equal. “After all the cleanup work, and we did a lot, the company ended up losing money,” says Bowen. “Not that we didn’t want to help our clients. We did, but I failed to be a smart negotiator and recognize that we couldn’t trade a week of mowing for a week of cleanup, especially when the grass kept growing.”

Losing his biggest account last year was an even harder lesson. “We’ve never taken a loss like that,” Bowen emphasizes. “The sad thing is we were outbid by a company that came in with a figure well below what it was costing us to maintain the project. I knew then and there that we had to find ways to operate more efficiently.” His company has also put a plan in place to reduce the negative impact of losing its largest revenue stream.

First things first
Images of Green was able to withstand an economic hit or two because its owner is a good business practitioner. The company runs relatively debt free, and Bowen has a solid relationship with his banker. After losing his biggest account, he was able to refinance what little business debt he had. As Bowen explains, he never believed in loans longer than three years, and even aggressively paid those back. On the business side, he signs two- and three-year maintenance contracts, knowing that it can take a poorly maintained property at least a year or two to get back in shape. He lost a chunk of business last year, but having a good book of business and solid credit rating helped Images of Green weather the storm.

Bowen, though, still had work to do to become more competitive. He set up new systems to track and measure costs and began to scrutinize every aspect of his business, from how crews get out the door in the morning to how they maintain their equipment. He even brought in fuel tanks to allow crews to fuel on site instead of spending time on the road to “fill up.”

“Every little thing adds up,” Bowen relates. “To compete with some of the bigger companies requires that we optimize our operation without jeopardizing our service offering. In addition, I have begun to understand that what has allowed me to be successful, to learn by experience, will help me grow my employees, too. I have given them more responsibility, and they have responded in a big way.”

The other side of the coin for Images of Green is growing back its lost revenue without subconsciously becoming too dependent on large accounts. New accounts valued at more than $100,000 have to prove their worth. In other words, they are set up as virtual profit centers. Then, because Bowen doesn’t want to take another several years to reach the $2 million mark, relying solely on word-of-mouth is no longer good enough. The plant doctor is learning to be a marketer. His supervisors spend more face time with clients, thanks in large part to a suggestion from his long-time business and marketing consultant, Tom Oyler, and follow-up phone calls are leading to more enhancement work. Furthermore, Bowen plans to hit the bricks this winter and spring wearing his sales cap.

“I’m looking forward to doing more actual selling,” he remarks. “I’ve always enjoyed the people side of this business. I’m also looking to bounce back from a difficult last few years. Business hasn’t truly been the same since the hurricanes, and the area is just now beginning to get back to normal.” Experience is a great teacher, he adds. When combined with a positive mental attitude and a passion for your work, it can also be your ticket to success.