GROWTH BY ADDITION Probably the most expected growth narrative is that companies will grow by adding services and people. That was the case for Casey Hurd, LIC, owner of Worton, Maryland-based Greenscapes Land Care, LLC, who says that over the years, they’ve added services in order to become more of a full-service landscaping company that wouldn’t cause their clients to have to ever look elsewhere. Hurd says that he has grown the company by adding services, employees, and equipment. “The biggest step that we took to grow the company was to add employees that would help manage the challenges that we face daily,” Hurd says. “As I had the people to support the services, I also added services so that we had to stop subbing out work. We have also invested in new and high-quality equipment to support the work. We have found that avoiding breakdowns and getting higher quality results is worth the higher equip- ment cost.”
Joshua Malik, owner of Joshua Tree
in Stockertown, Pennsylvania, is also a good example of growing a business by adding services. Every addition has been slow and deliberate. Malik says that he knew jumping into a service without thoughtful planning could be problematic. The company got its start in 2005 as an arborist firm but began adding lawn care services in 2013 in response to demand. At the time, Malik says he was only cross selling those offerings to current clients and not marketing them at all. He had a loyal customer base who wanted Joshua Tree to handle more on their properties. In 2017, the company only had 250 lawn care contracts but de- cided they wanted to ramp up marketing and set Joshua Tree up as a serious lawn care provider in the area. That year, Josh- ua Tree partnered with marketing agency
Landscape Leadership to develop a strategy and has grown the business to 2,500 customers today. At the start of 2020, that story repeat- ed itself when — after a lot of demand and a lot of contemplation — Malik decided to expand into pest control. Of the 400-plus pest control clients the company has already accrued, 78 per- cent already used Joshua Tree for other services.
A number of lawn and landscape busi- nesses have expanded into pest control and Malik says he knew he was not only competing against them but against exterminators in the area. That was why he decided to make his division model a bit difference. “A lot of lawn care companies are of-
fering perimeter pest control and focus- ing on outdoor treatments,” Malik says. “But we wanted to differentiate ourselves so that our clients didn’t feel as though they needed to still hire an exterminator for indoor pest problems. But in order to do that successfully, we needed to bring on the right person.”
Malik hired a pest control special-
“You need people, first. Get someone who knows what they’re doing and then start building from there. It’s an investment in your business.”
- Joshua Malik, owner of Joshua Tree in Stockertown, Pennsylvania
ist who had been working in the pest control industry for more than 15 years to oversee the division. The quarterly pest control services include three exteri- or visits and one interior visit — a key differentiator. It’s a good example of how creating a division thoughtfully, and putting the right people in place, can support its growth. “Brian was here before the first piece of marketing ever went live,” Malik says.
National Association of Landscape Professionals 29
Joshua Tree began to offer interior and exterior pest control services in response to customer
demand. Photos: Joshua Tree
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