The Secret To Long-Term Success

The Secret To Long-Term Success

Brooke Inzerella On How He Built His Company To Last

When I started Horticare over 13 years ago, I was not focused on a longterm vision for my company. It was hard work just getting through the day. But, a few years ago, I slowed down enough to realize that I had built a successful company, and although we still face many day-to-day challenges, my focus has shifted to strategies that will help sustain the company for many years to come. These times of reflection made me focus on what made us strong. Each time I reflected, it always came back to the most important ingredient to our longterm success: people. Simply put, the relationships I have maintained over the years with clients, vendors and employees have been the key ingredient to my long-term success. They are the main reason I am still here today and why we are still relevant.

I remember Horticare’s first job, starting the day I opened for business. It was a very big landscape installation that, to be perfectly honest, should never have been mine based on experience alone. The project’s scope was massive, but I went into it with a strong referral. After meeting with the client, it became apparent that the client trusted me and believed in me. That, in turn, gave me a great deal of confidence and in the end, we performed extremely well on the install. Since that initial meeting, not only has he been a valuable client, he has also given me solid business advice over the years and is a valuable friend and mentor. He just so happens to be a large commercial contractor, so his experiences are relatable and common to a degree. In fact, my relationship with him led me to explore pools and outdoor kitchens, as this was a space in which he had some experience years ago. Since then, this has become a major service line for our company and I have him to thank for getting me ahead of the curve when I started pursuing these services. My conversations with him and his encouragement gave me the groundwork I needed to go for it.

I value these strong client relationships not only for the work and referrals they send my way, but also because my employees see firsthand my commitment to people in general. They see me in action, honoring my word and trying my best always to show integrity and honesty—and that’s good for my relationships with them as well. We do have a certain amount of staff turnover, but it is not as high as some of my competitors. I have a trusted group of long-term employees that know I am as committed to them and their success as I am to my valuable clients. My vendor relationships are strong, too. I treat these relationships the same way as the others. I’ve worked out payment processes and timing that are not always easy or beneficial to me, but my vendors know that they can depend on me for timely payments and that I will always honor my word. And in this chaotic industry with ever-shifting deadlines and unpredictable weather events, having strong vendor relationships has been a huge asset and, frankly, on occasion, has gotten us out of situations that are just a natural occasional product of what we do.

At the end of the day, like most small business owners, I am trying to do my best to keep the business healthy and running smoothly. It is rarely easy. Long-term planning sometimes falls off of the to-do list. But I am very lucky and grateful for the long list of valuable relationships I have formed over the years. They have been, and will always be, the most valuable asset I own and how I built my company to last.

About Brooke Inzerella

Brooke Inzerella is a licensed landscape horticulturist and owner of Horticare Landscape Company in Lafayette, Louisiana.

www.horticarelandscape.com