Login

USERNAME
PASSWORD

Become a Registered Guest Login Help Lost Password?

Success was no accident for California contractor John Gachina, CCLP, CLT. By the time he started Gachina Landscape Management in 1988, he had more than 20 years experience in the industry, working for a golf course, running his own company, and working for another contractor. To say the least, he had a vision of where he wanted to take his new company. Paired with his vision, Gachina’s business plan was instrumental in helping the new company grow from literally three employees and no accounts to 240 employees and $15 million in revenue in 16 years.
    
Located in Menlo Park, California, right in the middle of Silicon Valley, Gachina’s company has experienced the economic highs and lows of the computer sector and has done battle with some of the biggest landscape contractors in the country. Throughout, the company’s target market (high-end commercial accounts) and service mix (60 percent maintenance and 40 percent installation) have remained true.

“I believe that having a solid business plan is one of the main reasons why we have been able to grow despite the economic adversity and strong competition,” says Gachina, who worked as a greenskeeper while in high school. He also had a mentor who gave him advice about how to implement the plan. Gachina explains, “He told me to list my strengths and weaknesses on a piece of paper and then to hire to fill in my weaknesses. Let me tell you, the weakness side was a lot longer than the strength side. Two things, in particular, stood out in my ‘weak’ list. I did not want to be a financial manager or an office administrator, and I needed a strong operations person. An office administrator and an operations manager became my first employees, the latter of whom is still with the company.”
    
So there the new owner sat — two employees, a plan, a little bit of money ($35,000 to be precise), and no accounts. “I had about a three-month window to get the company going,” Gachina remembers. “Within the first three months, we picked up a few small accounts and then landed a large maintenance account. By the year’s end, we had hired four more people, and by the following year, 20 employees were on our payroll.”
    
The owner’s goal was to grow his company into a $5 million operation within five years. Good things take time, though, and it took him nine years to reach that level. Since then, growth has been strong and steady, thanks in large part to following the plan, sticking like glue to the company’s vision statement, and not being afraid to delegate.

When I launched the company, I wanted it to be a leader in the industry,” Gachina emphasizes. “To accomplish that, we had to set high standards. Doing quality work was part of that vision. We never take a shortcut on a job to avoid competing on price, choosing instead to sharpen our pencils and become more aggressive in the marketplace.” He continues, “We have some of the best competitors in the country, and I have always believed that your competition makes you better. If they outbid you and deliver a quality job, then you have to ask yourself what you are doing wrong. To be competitive, I believe you have to continually fine-tune your operation. Over the past couple of years, for example, we have increased our productivity by simply modifying the way our on-site crews operate. Instead of having them provide every service to the client, we route small mowing and trimming crews to help them out. The adjustment makes better use of hardware and allows the on-site crews to maintain their focus.”
   
Gachina also notes that a requisite for assuming a leadership role in the industry is active participation in both regional and national associations. His company is a member of both the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) and ALCA and takes part religiously in both of their awards programs. “Winning awards is one measure of a company’s success,” he adds. “It also helps to reinforce your quality message to customers and build pride among your employees.”
    
Delegating responsibility is a tough issue for most owners. It is not for Gachina, though, who gladly admits to empowering people who are better than him. The company also creates career paths at every level and looks for managers who are willing to take risks and “get the job done.”
    
Three years ago, he took the word “delegating” a step further when the company hired its first human resources employee. Until then, Gachina and members of his management team handled hiring, benefits administration, employee reviews, and a myriad of other people-related tasks. The boss still interviews candidates applying for mid-management positions and higher, but he leaves most of the employee work and headaches to his HR department. 

Delegating can be “tricky” for owners. They have to walk the line between being too distant, on the one hand, and then micromanaging, on the other. Gachina finds a balance by letting his people make key decisions and staying in touch with them to be able to offer advice or help if they need it.
    
“It all comes back to having a plan,” he emphasizes. “I did not get into this business solely to make money. I wanted to build an organization. It has not been easy, and during the first 10 to 12 years, there were many six- and even seven-day work weeks. I did, however, have a knowledge of the industry and more than 10 years of experience running a company.  The knowledge and experience gave me the vision, and the plan gave me the wherewithal to make it come true.” 
     
7/04

By Rod Dickens, ALCA Contributing Writer