“Having good people who know what they are doing is critical.”
In the spring of 1986, Haugen hired Polak part-time. A mechanic by trade, Polak was recovering from surgery for injuries sustained in a car accident. By that fall, Haugen offered him a full-time job and in 1988, Polak bought the business from him. Property Upkeep Services has continued to grow, primarily through word-of-mouth and referrals. Polak now employs 22 people, five of whom are full-time, year-round employees, and 17 are full-time during the season. The company provides landscape maintenance, design, and installation; landscape enhancement; irrigation installation and maintenance; and holiday lighting and décor. While commercial customers and townhome associations comprise most of the landscape maintenance and enhancement work, as well as snow and ice removal customers, the company’s landscape design and installation services are generally done for residential clients. Polak keeps a close eye on trends in the industry. In the last few years he has seen his customers become much more price-conscious and sensitive to increases. At the same time, his landscape design/
build clients have been eager to have work started right away, but often divide projects into more affordable pieces. “They do what they can afford now and do the rest later,” he says. Another approach he has seen is when one client decided to wait a year to get started until they thought they could afford to complete the entire project at once. Sure enough, at the beginning of this season they called him to get rolling on it. Even though clients are price-conscious, they seem to want to find ways to be environmentally conscious as well, plus look for ways to bring a more natural environment into their landscapes. For instance, Polak reports rising demand for natural stone for patios and similar projects, rather than the pavers he’s been installing for many years. As clients want to update their property, they frequently will ask to eliminate shrubs that have been in the ground for many years. Nevertheless, they are insistent on replacing them with plants that still offer a low-maintenance feature. To accomplish that, Polak loves to suggest the use of perennials. Using varieties that offer color
throughout the season, he chooses low-maintenance types and supplements the plant palate by using annuals just in smaller highlight areas. MNLA has been a big part of Polak’s success, he says. In addition to the landscape maintenance-oriented committees, he has served on several others over the years and plans to remain active in the organization. He believes that it is important to contribute to an association that has, among other things, given his industry “a seat at the table” in the state legislature when matters affecting his business are discussed. Polak personally takes advantage of MNLA programs and educational opportunities, plus he sends his employees to classes, workshops and seminars. It is important, he believes, to invest in your employees. “Having good people who know what they are doing is critical,” he says.
may 13
mnla .biz
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