Computer exec-turned-lawn care expert still on the cutting edge

DALLAS – It was a cushy job at the company formerly known as Electronic Data Systems, but John Battle wanted to put down roots in a new career. So he traded the care and feeding of computer networks for that of large lawns and greenspaces. His journey brought him from a one-man mowing operation to a thriving small business with eyes on a bigger share of the prize.

Battle started his company, JBa Land Management, in 1992 by bidding on one lawn care job at the urging of an uncle who was also in the landscaping business. "I told him, 'I don't even own a lawnmower,'" Battle says. "So it's kind of interesting, I went ahead and bid on the job and didn't think the company would call me, and they actually called me and said 'you're our new contractor.'"

From that first job, Battle was able to grow a thriving lawn care company that now has 46 employees, a fleet of 10 trucks and contracts with the cities of Dallas, Allen and Carrollton, Texas, in addition to work for private contractors that involves grounds maintenance for stretches of major highway expansion in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But it's been hard work, and all entrepreneurs will sympathize with Battle as he recounts struggles to find capital and trusted vendors.

"Any business that you start initially is difficult, especially when it comes to money - even though this was a low threshold as far as getting into the business," Battle says. "Still, you need some good equipment and that costs dollars, and finding a vendor who really believes in you, to give you that shot - that's one of the most difficult things to do. So we found a vendor who has believed in us, and it's been a great relationship."

Although JBa Land Management doesn't strictly compete against mom-and-pop landscapers looking for residential jobs, the market is still extremely competitive for bidding on government and commercial contracts. Yet Battle's determination has won him a Small Business Administration "Growth and Expansion" Award, and he takes pride in being a pioneer of sorts for the African-American business community.

"There's not a lot of African-American-led companies in this particular industry. We're one of the few companies in our size doing over a million dollars worth of business," he said. "Very few companies are at that level and we're looking to get bigger and compete. We see ourselves in five years to be a $5-to-10 million dollar company."

Watch a feature video of Battle at Spark360.tv.