Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165924
landscaper of the year finalist Brockelbank's parents to pay Metro Greenscape specializes in sophisticated design/build bills and save money. projects like this lavish patio, pool and waterslide. In Charlotte, North Carolina, where the company is based, the decline in the construction and landscape industry in 2008 was rapid, especially for Brockelbank, who worked on many high-end projects, with area builders and remodelers. "When they stopped paying their bills, we ran out of money with little lien rights," he says. The first step to turning the business around, Brockelbank says, was accepting the situation and the fact that it would take years to rebuild the business. "The day I stopped fighting it was the day my mind opened up to see other opportunities business card out to shoppers. "It was a hub for my in the market place that existed as a result of what customer base," he says. was going on," he says. "I invested in a lot of real When he was 17, Brockelbank met his future estate and made a lot of money as a result of this. If we were not in a recession, those opportunities wouldn't have been there." Perseverance was key to Brokelbank's success, but so was his ability to let go of the past, envision a new future and remodel his business. Become fanatic Create an atmo- 5 The early years At age 14 when he started his first business, Darin's Lawn Care, there was little competition in the Charlotte suburbs, Brockelbank says, providing a hardworking kid with many opportunities. His family had just moved to the area from Massachusetts, and Brockelbank, the oldest of five children and the son of a working-class family, understood if he wanted any extras, he would have to work for them. By the time Brockelbank was 18, Darin's Lawn Care serviced 150 accounts and employed six people. Brockelbank managed all of this and still logged 30 hours a week as a cashier and bagger at the local Winn Dixie, where he often passed his 3 6 To ta l L a n d s cap eCare.c om TLC0913_LOY2.indd 36 1 TIPS TO BROCKELBANK'S SUCCESS about systems, protocols and standard operating procedures. 2 Use personality assessment tests to build a team that naturally challenges each other but gets along. For every position out there to work to its fullest potential, it takes a special temperament and gifting for that position to reach its maximum potential. 3 Learn to surround yourself with people smarter than you. 4 sphere where every position in the organization is a sales position, and set goals for your employees that are small – but hold them accountable. 5 Your customers are extremely smart people. Get to know them and invite them into your business to help you grow it. I guarantee you have a customer that has a wealth of information that he would not mind sharing if asked. S E P T E M B E R 2 013 8/26/13 4:23 PM