Snow Business, December 2015

ADVERTORIAL THE LANDSCAPE OF A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS BY JUSTIN OCONNOR With over a decade of experience Justin OConnor knows the landscaping business inside and out After graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelors degree in Landscape Contracting with options in both Landscape Design Build and Landscape Management he gained the foundation needed to become President of Growing Seasons a family owned and operated company located 15 miles South of Pittsburg Here he shares his insight discusses the steps taken along the way to achieve his companys current success and tells us how real time technology has helped his landscaping company thrive Q Can you tell us about your family history and the generational transition involving the management of your business A Growing Seasons Landscaping is family owned and operated and were located 15 miles south of Pittsburgh We took ownership in 2007 after the previous owner decided to sell the company Before we took over the company was geared more towards turf and landscape maintenance at the time We decided that we also wanted to pursue landscape construction and focus more on business tobusiness projects as well as snow and ice management With the growth of the gas and oil industry in our area we also expanded our services to include erosion control which has also helped our company grow over the past several years In addition to our unparalleled Landscape Division Growing Seasons also offers a 24 7 comprehensive Snow Ice Management service and a USDA certifi ed Firewood Division for residential and restaurant use Q Family owned businesses can be as unique and distinctive as the families that own them How does being family owned and operated work to your advantage and how does it help set you apart from your competition A Jim OConnor Being faced with the task of managing the business along with two of my sons we decided to hire a business coach What this has done for us is to keep each of us in our lanes What I mean by lanes is Justin is in charge of sales and estimating Josh is in charge of operations and equipment and I am in charge of fi nance We discuss our areas and do help each other when needed but hiring a coach keeps us focused and accountable r o s i v d a e c n a r u s n i r u o s i e h t u b s s e n i s u b e h t n i k r o w t n s e o d n a y R n o s e l d d i m y M My wife Sue does not work in the business but she is a huge asset in keeping us all grounded There is nothing more rewarding than seeing your sons grow no more guessing The most attended workshop in the landscape industry Detroit MI Nov 3 4 2015 Houston TX Nov 12 13 2015 Columbus OH Nov 19 20 2015 New York NY Nov 23 24 2015 Toronto ON Nov 26 27 2015 Washington DC Dec 1 2 2015 Chicago IL Dec 8 9 2015 Calgary AB Dec 10 11 2015 Boston MA Dec 10 11 2015 Cleveland OH Jan 19 20 2016 Phoenix AZ Jan 21 22 2016 Philadelphia PA Jan 28 29 2016 Minneapolis MN Feb 4 5 2016 Toronto ON Feb 8 9 2016 Boston MA Feb 10 11 2016 Miami FL Feb 16 17 2016 Atlanta GA Feb 18 19 2016 San Francisco CA Feb 23 24 2016 San Diego CA Feb 25 26 2016 Denver CO Feb 29 Mar 1 2016 Detroit MI Feb 29 Mar 1 2016 Phoenix AZ Mar 7 8 2016 Raleigh NC Mar 7 8 2016 Las Vegas NV Mar 9 10 2016 Mar 15 16 2016 Toronto ON Mar 17 18 2016 interview learn more at golmn com workshop workshops powered by