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"Successful? Who is successful? Me? No way," says Mike Russo, CLP, owner of Russo Lawn and Landscape, Inc., Windsor Locks, Connecticut. "I'm just your typical grass cutter who started mowing lawns while in college and just continued on."

Continued on, and how! From mowing lawns during summer breaks 13 years ago, this landscape contractor has grown his company into a $1.5 million full-service landscape management operation. He may not view himself as a success, but other landscape contractors looking to grow would do well to take a page or two from his business book.
 
"I am not just blowing smoke," Russo explains. "The turning point in my career came in the mid-1990s when I joined ALCA and realized I could become a true professional and make a career out of landscape installation and maintenance. Until then, I had nearly bought into the misconception that anyone can be a landscaper. The truth is, anyone can, but only the serious ones can turn their business into a career and develop a rapport with employees and customers."

Two Key Ingredients

Russo says he would be less than honest if he said he doesn't struggle with the human side of his business. "Nine times out of ten, if I have an issue with an employee's performance or attitude, it is not the employee's fault. More likely, it is my fault for failing to set up a system that properly trains employees and then establishes a framework for them to follow."

Continuing, he notes, "We have some tremendous people with us, some who have been here for 10 years. Our director of operations, Mark Stupcenski, for example, has been with us five years. He started out as a foreman on a maintenance crew, and now he runs our maintenance division. The growth we have gone through could not have happened without Mark."

If you surround yourself with dedicated, smart people you are bound to grow, he explains, noting one exception. "I am the biggest roadblock to growth today. I am at times in the mindset of a company with only five or six people. My time could be better spent planning and thinking about the big picture. Instead, I'm addicted to the day-to-day operation of the business. My challenge, today, is to let go of the reins and let my qualified staff take more responsibility. They are certainly capable of it; the challenge is for me to let go."

Like most landscape contractors, Russo has shaped a business in his own image. Shortly after graduating with a degree in business management, he looked for accounts that would foster growth. Gradually, his residential maintenance business took a back to seat to larger, commercial customers who looked to Russo's company to be a full-service provider. One hotel property led to another and, at the nearby airport, three FBOs (fixed-base operations) have retained Russo Lawn and Landscape for just about everything short of flying aircraft.

"When an FBO asked us to put in a parking lot, we said, 'Sure, we can do that,' and we did. When it wanted sidewalks put in, we did that as well. In both instances, we worked with qualified subcontractors, but the important point is our customers had enough confidence in us that they looked to us to get the project completed."

The trend has continued, with condominium customers asking Russo to replace decks and install patios. "In one sense, my biggest problem today is that we have too many good customers," says Russo, who quickly amends the statement. "No, there is no such thing as a customer who is too good. If you ask me to pinpoint what has made our company a success today, I would say our customers and the fact we have been able to provide full service with some very dedicated employees."

To be able to better accommodate customers, Russo's company brought fertilizing in-house three years ago. Yet, having a good relationship with subcontractors who plow snow, build decks, and install parking lots, gives this contractor a competitive advantage and the ability to say "yes" when some competitors can only nod their head the other way.

Labor of Love
 
"If you want to grow, then your business has to jump two important hurdles," Russo reemphasizes. "As the owner, you have to extract yourself from the day-to-day operation, and, as the owner, you have to hire people who are smarter than you are." He admits to being further along with the hiring/training process than in the extraction process. On the training side, his company joined the JP Horizons' Training Challenge in 2000 and won first place that year. It tied for first the following year. Russo has fashioned his own training program, too, one that actually pays employees, among other incentives, for attending sessions.

Training is part of a company culture that has a clear focus on employees. Russo's company also offers a variety of benefit programs, including health insurance, an IRA program, Team-Member-of-the-Month and of the year, a wellness program, banquets, a holiday party, and the list goes on. There is even a "Yellow Card" program designed to reward exceptional performance. "These cards are great," says Russo. "Whenever a team member shows exceptional teamwork, workmanship, customer service, etc., we reward him/her with a yellow card, which is worth one free hour. The team loves them, and most crews save them up and cash them in when we have a rainy week or work is minimal."

This owner may not admit it, but a big part of his success is the fact he truly loves the business and is addicted to it. Nevertheless, the idea of giving up hands-on control of something he enjoys doing day in and day out and concentrating on planning for the bigger, and possibly more rewarding, opportunities to come is one of the greatest challenges of being a business owner. That is the thing about success, Russo points out. "Only you know if you're successful. Yes, at one level, I am very pleased with where we are today, especially when I look around and see the families this business impacts. I am very proud of what we have accomplished together. At another level, I know there is still work to be done." But, then again, he adds, no matter how successful you become, there will always be challenges.

6/03

By Rod Dickens, ALCA Contributing Writer