When David Knauff decided to play on the varsity golf team in high school, his parents were very supportive – but couldn’t help foot the bill. Financing equipment, uniforms and other team expenditures quickly put David in the hole, and he realized an after-school job was imperative.
But while his peers were asking, “Do you want fries with that?” or sweeping up popcorn at the local movie theater, Knauff decided to further his fairway dreams with an uncharacteristic choice for a teenager: launching his own business.
| Yes, We Care Landscaping |
P.O. Box 266 |
“I started cutting lawns when I was nine, and started caddying at a local country club,” Knauff remembered. “I liked mowing lawns better than caddying, so when I turned 15, I decided to make a little business – by the time I was 16, I had 22 clients.”
What started as a means to finance another pastime eventually turned into a lifestyle, even as Knauff finished high school and went to college. “My hobby simply turned into something I enjoyed,” he stated. Twelve years later, at the ripe old age of 27, Knauff is a veteran who is only just beginning his run.
JUGGLING ACT. In 2001, Yes, We Care Landscaping, located in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, Ill., reported $1.2 million in revenue, hoping to grow another 20 percent by the end of 2002. This present-day picture is a far cry from Knauff’s first two-dozen mowing clients – obvious growth that has mirrored his metamorphosis from boy to business owner. “By the end of the first year, I had to have a foreman work all day for me while I was in school, and then I met up with him after school,” Knauff reminisced. “By the time I was out of school, I had two crews working for me.”
High school graduation came and went, and Knauff enrolled at Michigan State University, pursuing a degree in horticulture with a specialty in landscape design/build. However, in between the early-morning classes and the late-night study sessions, Knauff juggled his landscape company in Wilmette. “I essentially ran the business from a satellite – meaning, my dorm room,” he joked. “I would fax the schedule every day, my mom would pick it up off the fax machine, and then my foremen would come by and get it.”
Knauff’s dual commitment to his education and his business venture paid off, and when he graduated, he was finally able to perpetuate the image Yes, We Care Landscaping represented. Soon, Knauff’s company expanded. “One year, we grew 80 percent,” he said. “I didn’t have much of a management team in place yet, so I was really doing everything. I was more worried about putting work in the ground than the billing, so cash flow became a problem.”
Yes, We Care Landscaping couldn’t live up to its promises without a solid management team, Knauff soon realized. “One of the biggest obstacles we overcame was getting the right managers in place,” related Liz Upsall, horticulturalist and designer. Eventually, Knauff realized he needed to establish priorities for the managerial staff. “Each one of the managers was good at one thing,” he identified. “Once we realized what our core competencies were, we went from there. And with the management structure we put into place, it wasn’t hard to find where the gaps were and fill those gaps.”
With Upsall focusing on the design duties and Knauff gradually shifting his attention to the company’s business operations, the management structure is just beginning to even out, Knauff said. “We’re trying to develop a company where there’s not a lot of red tape – so you need some levels of management,” he stated. “By adding the right staff, and with the team I’ve built around myself, I’m able to produce what we’re selling on a higher level, with more responsiveness.”
Still, company growth and restructuring haven’t caused Knauff to stray from his original focus on residential maintenance. Eighty percent of Yes, We Care’s clients are residential, with 15 percent commercial/industrial properties and 5 percent government/municipal clients. Installation makes up 30 percent of the company’s service mix, while lawn care and trees and ornamentals contribute 5 percent each. Sixty percent of the company’s services revolve around maintenance.
| WHAT'S IN A NAME? |
At 15 years old, David Knauff stood in his kitchen with his mother, throwing around possible names for the company. When his mother suggested Yes, We Care Landscaping, the name struck a chord with Knauff. “The name says everything in one line,” he pointed out. “It automatically creates quality and customer service, because I can’t hide my name.”– Kristen Hampshire |
LESSONS IN LABOR. When Knauff’s fledgling company started to grow, he noticed the need for additional labor. As a younger owner, gaining respect from his workers proved to be another challenge, Knauff remembered. “There was a lot of hesitation with some of the older workforce,” he said. “They said, ‘Here we are working for a really young guy – what kind of job security is this?’ So from the very beginning, I took care of my guys and treated them like family. I invited them to family functions, compensated them well, took care of them and paid attention to them.”
Soon, Knauff’s reputation as a compassionate, respectable employer spread through the neighborhood by way of his friends and family. “Any time I put out the word for one guy, I get 10,” he said proudly. Even today, with an unstable economy and a tight labor market, Knauff’s original focus on the employee overcomes these obstacles, and prospective crew members still come through his door, he said.
Of course, Yes, We Care Landscaping employees know they have to live up to the company’s name by proving that each and every client will receive individualized attention. Thus, the company capitalizes on its name the same way it has from the very beginning: by cultivating customer referrals with quality one-on-one relationships. Even during the first few years of business, Knauff marketed his name and reputation through word of mouth, he remarked. “People liked the idea of a high school kid out there cutting lawns – they knew they could walk out and communicate with me,” he explained. “That’s how the referrals grew.” Today, 95 to 98 percent of Yes, We Care’s business stems from referrals, Knauff stated.
But Knauff is in the business for more than the quick sales and percentage growth. Although his former hobby has turned into a career, enjoying his job and extending that zeal throughout the company lets clients know Yes, We Care does in fact care about its properties. “It’s all about our mission statement,” he said. “’We’re passionate about the landscapes we create, and committed to the people that call them home.’”
The author is Assistant Editor – Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine.
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