A profitable partnership

Maintenance has helped build relationships for Mike Corsie over the years, especially a partnership with Snug Harbor Farm. At first, the nursery owner had clients who were unhappy with their mowing services, so he approached Corsie, president of Terrapin Landscaping. “He asked me if I could help him out, and the relationship blossomed from there,” Corsie says.

Then, later on, the nursery owner was also struggling with staffing a landscaping crew. Corsie wanted more of this type of work to build up the installation side of his operation. “I said, ‘Why don’t you have us do your landscape?’ and we went from there,” Corsie says.

Snug Harbor Farm clients are seeking professionals who can complete high-end work. The nursery owner is an established designer, the best in the area, Corsie says. So now, he completes the design work for Corsie’s clients, and Terrapin executes the project.

“It’s a small town here,” Corsie says of Kennebunkport, Ma. “So the word spread very quickly that I was working with Snug Harbor Farm.”

Now that Snug Harbor Farm completes designs for Terrapin clients, Corsie can dedicate more time to administrative work that had been getting pushed to the back burner. “He does the design and drawings, and when it’s our client I do the presentation and implement the design,” Corsie says. And, he buys all the plant material from his Snug Harbor.”

This partnership has fast-forwarded Terrapin Landscaping’s installation business in numerous ways. For one, Corsie now has access to a reputable designer, and he can free up time he was spending on this activity to sell or manage other business issues. And, since Terrapin has the equipment and crews to complete major design projects, Corsie fulfilled a need for Snug Harbor Farm. “It’s mutually beneficial,” he says.