Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/371302
landscaper of the year finalist discovered a small land- scape company for sale with about 20 employees and approximately $680,000 in sales. According to Kershner, as dissimilar as office sup- plies and furniture are from landscaping, there are quite a few similarities. "Business is business," Kershner says. "It's the same thing with payroll, insur- ance, benefits, employees, customer service, business development and advertis- ing. A lot of those things are similar." The two are alike enough that Kershner uses a mission statement around the of- fice that focuses heavily on business practices, including being the leader in customer service, quality and profit, as well as focusing on building a more "service- able" installation for property owners and offering above-industry standard wages, help with com- pany benefits in healthcare and 401K saving with matching benefits. Since the initial purchase, Reef Tropical has tripled in sales and has also purchased a pool com- pany and its competitor. Reef Tropical handles commercial, residential and high-end residential properties. Additionally, the company offers maintenance to its home county but will complete installs as far north as Fort Lauderdale and as far south as Key West. The lawn division of the company has 28 em- ployees divided into different crews, including a main landscaping crew, four maintenance crews, a Key Largo crew and two high-end residential crews on the reef. The crews perform services such as mainte- nance, design/build, chemicals, irrigation, landscape design, installation, pest control, tree work and pruning. Safety always comes first For more than 10 years, Kershner has held quar- terly meetings to go over two basic items: What are 3 4 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 014 Because there is little soil in the Key Largo area, Reef Tropical uses natural resources like cap rock and local vegetation in its landscape designs.