Ron’s Articles

Dream Big

August 2008

Dream BigI've always been a believer in dreaming big. I would never tell someone not to follow their dreams. But, be careful what you wish for because dreams can turn into nightmares. When I dreamed of converting my lawn service to a full service organic lawn care company all I saw was the positives of adding life and living products to peoples' environments - not being exposed to harmful chemicals. But I was not prepared for losing a third of my customer base or prepared to deal with irate and irrational customers whose dead or dying soil I was working to transform into a living organism that would explode with all life forms. The problem was that the first life form to spring to life was the weed. WEEDS! WEEDS! WEEDS!

I tried to explain that weeds are a pioneer plant. They're well-suited to thrive on infertile compacted soil. Their long tap-like roots dig deep in the soil in search of moisture and nutrients. In the process they help to aerate the soil. When weeds die and decompose they deposit those nutrients near the surface of the soil where they're available to less hearty plants - all the non-weed plants we prize. I tried to explain that resorting to a chemical weed killer would destroy all the soil organisms that they'd just paid me to cultivate. They just seemed to fixate on the fact that before I changed they didn't have weeds and now they did. It was a very frustrating five years trying to appease and pacify all these overbearing over demanding customers.

Now I don't sweat it. I only do business with customers who are as passionate about improving our environment as me and my company. Now even in this down economy we have more satisfied customers than ever. They stay committed to us making sacrifices elsewhere because they believe in what we are doing for them and their property.

And, I dreamed of my own organic garden center to offer my tried, true and proven philosophies and products. I dreamed of a natural living garden center where the plants and products would just fly off the shelves into the customers' cars. That was a three year nightmare. While we had a great location, I had no idea of how to take care of plants in pots despite my great success with plants in the ground. Plant propagated in pots by commercial growers give you very little warning before they pass the point of no return. It did result in a new favorite saying that I had to use far too often on employees - actually mostly ex-employees, I'd find seeking shelter from the blazing sun on 105 degree days. I'd scold them with "Plants don't cry. They just die."

This taught me a very valuable lesson. We no longer spend a lot of time training new employees how to water and what to do. We give them a general once over, then stand back and observe. Within a week we can tell whether or not a person is suited to the job. It takes a special person to commune with nature - to connect to the plants and discern their needs, to stay out in the blistering heat, through the thunderous rain and freezing cold to shield, shelter and protect the plants.

Now that I've learned how to build that team of employees, my dreams have been fulfilled. We've gone from a half acre location to over 5 acres of plants and products with an additional 10 acres of land where we can recycle, salvage and stage everything that has to do with our landscape maintenance business. When we haul organic material off a homeowner's property it never goes to the dump. To my knowledge we are one of the largest organic garden centers in the nation.

What is the point of all of this? Am I just bragging? No. I want to make a point. Dreams are powerful. Not every dream speeds straight ahead toward the fairytale ending, "And they lived happily ever after." Most often achieving dreams involves a trek through scary times and sacrifices. Sometimes we make mistakes. And sometimes things are beyond our control, There's little most of us can do about the state of the economy or the cost of gas.

Because I dreamed big my wife, Mona, and I are doing what we love. We have employees and customers that believe in what we are doing. It's a great synergistic relationship that recharges all of us to face trying times ahead. Passion and dedication are essential to dreaming big and then facing the challenges and sacrifices to pursue those dreams. Please join me in dreaming up ways that we can improve our environment, reduce our consumption and explore new energy alternatives. Last, but not least, plant a garden that will nourish you so that your dream will come true.