Navigating a costly market

Justin Berg says that when Purple Care in Fort Worth, Texas, started in 1993, the company would do any service for any client.

“When we started off moons ago, somebody called for one yard of mulch and we went right over there,” Berg says.

But Purple Care has since grown up. Hovering around 45 employees, the company still offers a variety of services for residential and commercial clients alike, offering high-end landscape installation, maintenance, pest control and – of course – lawn care, which comprises roughly 35% of his services line.

Part of the company’s maturation process is acknowledging that landing bigger jobs requires the right equipment – and paying the right people. “I couldn’t send a $75,000 truck with three employees making $50,000 a year (each) to do a yard of mulch,” Berg says, adding that he became more selective with the jobs Purple Care takes on. It’s not about volume – it’s about the right fit.

But Berg says that since the pandemic, salaries for his employees have risen 30% across the board. Material cost has ballooned as well, too. “That’s a lot of money,” Berg says.

“For every dollar you go up in cost, you need to raise your price by three dollars,” Berg says. “If you just match wages and then you raise your prices to cover (that material price alone), you’re an idiot. I was once that idiot.”

Berg clarifies though that some of these increased costs are worth the money. Investing in his employees has proven to be a differentiator in finding and keeping his employees, but it’s also something that he believes is important. While wages in the industry grew, the costs his employees experience outside of the company have not grown at a commensurate rate. He says prices on anything from electricity to milk have risen dramatically. When Berg started back in the 90s, he could pay someone right out of college $40,000 and it’d be a good job. He doesn’t think it’s fair to expect to live on that today.

 “People just don’t have the disposable income they used to,” Berg says.  “The guys in our market – I need to pay these guys a livable wage just so they can have a decent life. It’s not lavish by any means, but at least they’re living.”