Snow Business, June 2016

www sima org snowbusiness JUNE 2016 SNOW BUSINESS 21 flowers Once I had my drivers license I delivered Christmas trees In 2004 I received my bachelors degree in business administration and management from Canisius College and came to work for Elbers full time People often ask me if its difficult working with my parents its not or what makes our family business successful a lot of things My parents and I have agreed on how we wanted to run and grow the business while preserving the Elbers brand My fathers reason for purchasing the business was simple provide for his family his employees and their families Now married with a family of my own I carry on that mission The Elbers name has been around for nearly 100 years and we know its an asset Our customers associate the name Elbers with the name Hornung so its very important to us to reinforce that brand Complementary differences One of the reasons we work well together is that my father and I approach the business from different perspectives he comes from the horticultural side and I come from the business side Over the last few years hes become more risk adverse whereas Im in the stage of my life and career where Im looking for ways to expand the business keep up with technology and in short take risks to grow the business While my dad and I share the same vision and typically agree on where we want to go sometimes we dont always agree on the best way to get there Thats when our wives step in and arbitrate And while my dad is much more easygoing I definitely can be more aggressive and more adamant We complement each other in this and many other ways which brings good balance to the business I inherited my parents strong work ethic their integrity honesty and the importance of treating employees customers and vendors respectfully Weve been very lucky in that we have many long term employees who share that family mentality and have enthusiastically supported Elbers through the years Weve grown Elbers into a 12 month business requiring more employees with a variety of skills In 2003 we created Great Lakes Athletic Fields and today Elbers Landscape Service employs close to 60 We still service several clients we inherited when my parents bought the business That says a lot We never take that loyalty for granted Growth in innovative directions Over the years Ive taken on more responsibility and expanded on what my parents created Ive brought new ideas to the table and have been instrumental in expanding our landscape design business and securing large scale projects Ive gotten our company involved with many organizations in addition to SIMA that brought exposure contacts and recognition for Elbers Today I lead all phases of the business sales the office the grounds staff and the retail side I am the primary decision maker my dad decides what he wants to be involved in or not Its simply been a natural shift as I am progressing in my career and he is winding down I have a business degree but a lot of what I have learned has come from watching my dad and learning on the job just as he did at this stage of his career I am always eager to talk to other business owners and ask them about their procedures challenges etc Have there been challenges Absolutely There are challenges with every business Our biggest challenge is having all of our eggs in the Elbers basket knowing this business provides for a lot of people There are significant risks and rewards as you grow any business But fortunately for us weve always been able to overcome any obstacles Running a family business does not have to be a contentious situation thats not healthy for anyone least of all the business itself Family comes first and I think the respect we have for each other plays a huge role in Elbers success Behind the scenes support My wife Karen supports me 100 just as my mom supports my dad and that has always been a major factor in our being able to successfully maintain focus on the business We know family businesses are not always truly a happy family affair and we know how lucky we are Weve purposely cultivated a family culture versus a corporate or business culture I know there will come a time when my parents will no longer be involved in the company Weve looked to the future We have it outlined and we know where we want to go A formal succession plan is a long involved process that can be quite expensive and hampered by many legal issues that just dont apply to our business Id say were about 60 there with a formalized plan We have communicated with our bank and insurance company putting many practices such as key man insurance in place The staff knows Im the day to day go to guy My parents will stay involved in the business as long as they want and will be provided for when they decide to retire with the same objectives for Karen and me When my sister and I were kids we were equal in the business As Ive become more involved and taken over more of the management the equation has naturally shifted Autumn has never had a desire to be involved with the business and my parents and I have never pushed her Shes a gifted schoolteacher and a wonderful wife and mother and we respect her choices But she and her family are very much a part of our succession plan Will there be a third generation to take over the business Autumn and I each have three young daughters so its possible the Elbers brand will be around for quite a long time But as my parents never put pressure on me I wont put any pressure on my daughters In the meantime all of us at Elbers will work together as a family to provide the best service we can for our customers Jim Hornung Jr is president of Elbers Landscape Service a former SIMA board chair and member of the Snow Business Editorial Advisory Committee Contact him at jhornungjr@ elberslandscape com