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less frequently and as fellow business owners. “We talk about how things have changed, where the industry’s gone, even the spec of work, so it’s interesting,” says Milburn. One of the things that Wetmore advised him to do when he started his own company was to focus on maximizing billable hours. Milburn had received the same advice from another mentor, his horticulture professor. “Both of them instilled looking at what’s going to be efficient and what’s going to maximize the time spent working, not wasting time or losing time due to inefficiencies or poor planning,” Milburn recalls. Asked about his most successful strategy to grow his business, Milburn is very clear: Holding out for the right employees. “The thing that I can honestly credit anything to is being patient in finding the right people,” he says. “Although it was easier at times to think I just need people out there getting the work done, our reputation is simply what our staff bring to the table in their knowledge, in their demeanour, in their professionalism.” Now that he has carved out a niche for himself in the market, Milburn is intent on paying it forward. “I feel there’s a responsibility to pass that on because let’s face it, this isn’t every kid’s dream right now, to be a landscape contractor,” he notes. In the winter months, he is an instructor for an apprenticeship program, a task he is passionate about. His advice to anyone aspiring to start their business is to first work in the industry before becoming an owner. “You have to be in the trenches and I still am on most days … you have to learn what it takes to get the job done in order to be able to instruct others or to estimate,” Milburn says. He built Focal Point on his own terms, and will use the same approach for its future growth. “I’m still not in a hurry to grow too fast unless we’re ready. It’s important to me to build when it’s right and to expand when it’s right,” Milburn says. The only thing that’s more important? “You can’t forget to be humble at the end of the day or take anything for granted.” LT
Indira Kannan is a Toronto-based freelance writer.