Not your average Joe

Joe Swartz was a great landscaper and a wonderful mentor, teaching me by example how to be a better businessman, father, son and leader. One evening in January, Joe slipped on the ice and died from complications at the far too young age of 54. I want to share with you some of the many lessons I learned from him.

I met Joe when I was just a 17-year-old kid who knew and had nothing but ambition. Always generous with his time and knowledge, Joe showed me how to seed a yard with a Brillion seeder and how to operate a Bobcat. He even let me run the enormous pay-loader on his farm. When the storage space at my parents’ house was no longer large enough for all of the equipment I had acquired, Joe made room on his farm for me and said I could pay what I could afford. He knew it wasn’t much, and that was fine with him.

Joe was also a savvy marketer of his business. He preferred old trucks, knowing they attract more attention than new ones. He advertised in small weekly newsletters because, he said, they were affordable and he knew his customers read them. I asked him how he knew that and he confidently said, “Because our phone is ringing more.”

He bonded with his customers through his generosity and wit. If you ordered three yards of mulch, he gave you three and a half. He made up little wooden signs for his company and climbed up telephone poles to hang them on busy streets where he knew people would follow them to his farm. When you arrived at his place, it was clean and neat and he made you feel at home. He had an infectious personality that always made you want to come back and see him again.

When my father passed away unexpectedly a few years ago, Joe called to say he was sorry and offered to help me any way he could. He mowed my father’s pastures for me while I tried to get the place ready to sell and he refused to accept payment. He heard I had written a book and after reading it, he called me at home to tell me how much he enjoyed it. He told all of the landscapers who came into Swartz Mulch to read it. You see, Joe was a master at instilling confidence in others.

He knew better than anyone that if you take an interest in others, they will take an interest in you. He had a remarkable way of helping you see in yourself what you didn’t even know you had. This is a talent only the best salespeople have, and Joe Swartz was one of the best. I’ll do my best to honor his memory by running my business the way he ran his – with professionalism, savvy and kindness. He was no average Joe.