Professional Approach Pays Off For With Perfection, Inc.
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Few businesses recorded their best year ever in 2009, stable revenues in 2010 and significant growth in first quarter of 2011. With Perfection Landscape Management, a landscape maintenance contractor for primarily commercial properties, recorded these positive results during a severe recession and weak economic recovery.
“When I started the business in 1996, I wanted to build a white-collar organization in a blue-collar industry. Our slogan is “Professional People, Professional Results” and I attribute a lot of our success to that approach,” said David Blackwell, owner of With Perfection Landscape Management.
According to Blackwell, the professional approach extends to how the fleet of trucks and equipment look when they arrive at a client’s property to uniforms from hat to boot and the courtesy employees exhibit in interactions with clients. Given the company’s 15 years in business, the approach appears to resonate with customers.
“As a small business, we’re very thankful for our longevity,” Blackwell said.
Based in Albany, the company employs 15 full-time employees and several part-time employees during the peak summer months. Clients include apartment complexes, banks, restaurants and other high-end commercial properties as well as a few high-end private homes.
Building strong customer relationships
Blackwell has cultivated relationships with local property managers that have contributed to his company’s growth. For example, when property managers change jobs or acquire new properties, they often enlist With Perfection, Inc. for landscape maintenance.
“I’ve built long-term relationships with people that have led to more business. We maintain a large medical campus in Albany because I worked with the property manager for years when she was account manager with a national property management firm,” Blackwell said.
The company also maintains properties for a national drug store chain in central and southern Georgia. That business has grown from one store to 49 stores today. Blackwell said, “every time they open a store it’s an opportunity for us. They opened four stores in our service area so far this year.”
“We made a decision five years ago to position ourselves as a commercial maintenance contractor. With the size of our organization – the cost of the equipment we use and our crew size – it’s difficult to compete in the residential market,” he explained.
While With Perfection Landscaping does some residential work, it is primarily high-end private homes or clients who have been with Blackwell for many years.
Fueling challenges
Looking ahead, Blackwell sees fuel prices as one of the biggest challenges he faces. In fact, he will begin assessing a 5 percent fuel charge this month to cover his increased expense.
“We had to include a fuel surcharge in 2005 when gas prices ran up after Katrina. Most clients understand,” Blackwell said.
The company has to absorb material cost increases for chemicals and fertilizers, which are impacted by higher oil prices. In addition, some of their suppliers such as a waste pick-up service provider are including fuel surcharges in their fees.
“Like everything else, we handle the fuel surcharges professionally. When you have a company name like ours, you kind of set yourself up. We try to be as close to perfect as we can be,” Blackwell said.
More information on With Perfection Landscape Management is available at www.withperfection.com or call (229) 439-8164 or toll-free (866) 439-8164.
