In our latest blog, we wanted to highlight one of our clients, David Ruiz, who owns and operates Elite Lawn and Landscape. We sat down with him recently to ask him some questions about his business, marketing strategies, and how Grace Outdoor has been able to help him.
When and how did you decide to start your company? Why did you choose it?
So, I started Elite Lawn and Landscape when I was in high school. I really got started by cutting grass for people in my neighborhood. They were just my neighbors. During that time, I went on a family vacation and realized that my clients were counting on me, but I would be gone. I called a buddy of mine and asked if he would cover the lawn cutting for me while I was out of town. I got paid and was able to pay him, as well. That’s when it kinda clicked that I could hire people to cut the grass and get more done. I remember when I was in high school my mom would keep telling me “You don’t want to cut grass for the rest of your life” but I did! I decided to work on this business and not pursue college. Now I rarely cut grass as I am more often working on growing the business and client relationships.
How has your company grown over the years?
At first, I was just hiring my friends who were around and happy to help in 2018.0 Then, once I officially started the business in 2020, I had 4 employees and we made up one crew. Now, in 2024, I have 15 employees and 4 crews.
Was it difficult to break into the landscaping industry? What sort of roadblocks did you run into?
When I first started, my biggest difficulty was getting my name out there. Here in Lexington there are a lot of companies who cut grass and do landscaping projects. With Elite we do more than just weekly or bi weekly services. We do hardscapes, fire pits, stone work, flower beds, mulch and much more so letting people know we were a more full-service company was our goal. The first thing I did to stand out from the rest was to get my work trucks wrapped and branded uniforms for me and my crew. When I pulled up on a job site that made a big impression. The next thing I did was to get a billboard on Old Cherokee Rd. I also would do door hangers in neighborhoods that I wanted to target. By marketing myself I was catering to a little higher quality of client. Getting those bigger jobs was super helpful in growing my business. Now I spend a lot more on billboard marketing and keeping all my trucks wrapped.
What is your favorite thing about going to work?
Currently my favorite part about going to work is the sales aspect of it. I like getting to meet with clients, learning about their vision for their yards and quoting their jobs. I like getting to work with them to bring their plans to life. I love sales. I was working with a company called Sunrun who sells solar and learned a lot from doing door to door sales with them. I have since left Sunrun, but learned a lot about how to sell and talk to people and how to listen to clients’ needs and meet those needs.
Have your billboard ads been effective? If so, how have you seen them help your business?
I would say definitely billboards have been effective. I made it a point to ask new clients how they heard about me and I think about 50% say they have seen my billboards around town. I think that with billboards it’s not about someone seeing your billboard and calling you right away, but it’s having your name out there consistently so that when someone does need your services you are top of mind. I think that having a consistent billboard presence has helped to keep our sales pipeline full as we have grown these last 5 years.
How did you go about creating your logo?
When I started working on my logo I wanted to incorporate my faith so that’s why I have a cross. A lot of people tried to talk me out of using a cross because they said it might steer people away from my company. My faith is really important to me, and it has played a big role in my life as I have made life decisions and business decisions. It was a no-brainer for me to keep that in my logo.
We have loved working with David and getting to see his business grow over the past couple of years! If you need help with marketing strategies or have any questions about billboard advertising and how it could benefit you, give us a call, and we would love to talk it through!