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By any standard, Henry DeBoer is a successful landscape contractor. During more than 20 years in the industry, he has helped three companies realize their true growth potential by applying a simple rule. Says DeBoer, who owns DeSignia, Inc., in Charlotte, North Carolina, “We are a service company that produces quality landscaping. If you retain the right people, give them responsibility, and reward them, your successful growth will naturally follow.”

This rule applied to the family business in Toronto that he helped run for 14 years. It applied to the company that drew him to Charlotte as a consultant in 1998 and employed him for four years. It also applies today to DeSignia, a 24-year-old landscape construction/property management company.

“In each of my three career ventures, the scenario was similar,” explains DeBoer, who received a degree in horticulture in 1984. “The companies had tremendous foundations, but the owners were reluctant to delegate responsibility and empower their people. It doesn’t make any difference how talented one individual is; one person can only do so much.”

Fast start

DeBoer’s father started the family business in 1952 and built a solid reputation installing and maintaining residential properties in and around Toronto. The oldest of eight children, DeBoer was not only raised in a landscaping environment, but he learned to lead early in life. “My dad instilled a great work ethic in all of us kids,” he recalls. “He led by example, something that I endeavor to carry over to this day.”

After his father passed away in 1988, DeBoer took over the reins of the family business and put his education and leadership skills to work. One of his first actions was to delegate responsibility by empowering employees to make key decisions. This shift helped grow the business from $680,000 in sales in 1988 to $3.9 million less than 10 years later.

In 1998, he left Toronto to take on the challenge of developing an installation division for a Charlotte-based landscape maintenance firm. The following year, the owner offered him a vice president position, and he stayed in that capacity until leaving for DeSignia in 2002.

Applying business skills

DeSignia has 40 employees and generates annual sales of $3 million. Property maintenance accounts for one-third of this revenue with landscape construction, primarily in the high-end residential market, bringing in the remainder.

“Our industry has a tremendous number of very talented individuals,” says DeBoer, who, upon joining DeSignia, signed an agreement to purchase the company in 2006. “Landscape contractors are generally very good at what they do but often lack good business administration skills. I believe that this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a company’s growth.”

The new owner’s approach to business reads like a business primer. “I’ve learned to grow by talking with other successful entrepreneurs. I network, I listen. At DeSignia, I have a core meeting with the management every month. All employees are part of our team, and their input is welcomed. Your labor team is a huge factor in success. If you get the right people to work for you, success will follow.”

One of the biggest struggles that DeSignia and other companies face today is finding middle-management staff. “Finding middle managers is tricky,” DeBoer emphasizes. “Not only do they have to be skilled, but they have to fit into the company culture by having a good work ethic and the right attitude overall.” When possible, he hires people he knows. For example, he hired the company’s office manager after that individual demonstrated an excellent work ethic and enthusiasm during a maintenance project at his home. The administrative assistant is the operations manager’s wife.

Once employed, all team members participate in a rather unusual profit-sharing program based on performance. The amount employees receive depends on their immediate supervisor’s evaluation of their productivity, safety record, and respect for fellow employees, among other evaluation criteria. This approach empowers individuals up and down the chain of command to exercise and encourage positive work habits— with everyone working toward the same goals.

“We are always working on productivity and motivational issues,” DeBoer adds. “Our company recently took advantage of a county program to bring in an ESL (English as a second language) teacher. And I continue to believe that it is important to lead by example. Today, for example, I’m in the field helping one of our teams install perennials. I spend at least five percent of my time, if not more, in the field working with and encouraging our team members, and I routinely pass along compliments they receive from clients.”

Know your weaknesses

Like other successful business owners, DeBoer recognizes his weaknesses. He likes to design, but working with landscape design software is not one of his strengths. Since he also admits to being less than skilled at “turning a wrench,” setting up an efficient equipment maintenance program has never been at the top of his priority list. As a result, DeSignia recently retained individuals to shore up both areas.

“Because we are in the service business, we are in the people business, too,” DeBoer re-emphasizes. “My successes over the years, and our company’s success today, can be attributed to people — relationships with people, including employees, customers, suppliers, and other entrepreneurs. As I said before, an individual — any individual — can take a company only so far. It is so important to delegate responsibility. To do that means that you need employees who are ready to take on and shoulder that responsibility as part of the company team. It is also so important for owners, as team players, to be open-minded, to listen, and to ask questions. In our company, I lead by example, but I listen, too, to know just how to lead.”