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Richard Helppie
Hello. Welcome to The Common Bridge. I am your host, Rich Helppie. This is our series on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. It didn’t seem that long ago when the path to a good, stable life was to get marketable skills, find a good job with a good company that would pay benefits, perhaps even retirement, and live a good life working for a big company. Those jobs are harder to come by these days, but it’s still a great economy for entrepreneurs. With us today is Kevin Green from Conserva Irrigation. Kevin, welcome to The Common Bridge. Thank you so much for joining us.
Kevin Green
Thank you so much, Rich, for just giving me the opportunity to be on this show. I hear you’re building something great on this side, and it’s a pleasure for me to be a part of it.
Richard Helppie
Kevin, our audience likes to know a little bit about our guests, so if you don’t mind, maybe what your early days like, and what has your professional and personal arc been?
Kevin Green
Sure. Of course, as you mentioned, my name is Kevin Green. I am the owner of Conserva Irrigation of Ann Arbor. We specialize in irrigation systems, repairs and maintenance, that sort of thing. It’s been my goal in life to own a business and to grow one and build it into an investment that I can retire at someday and sit back and relax for a bit. But in my earlier days, before I got into this business, I worked in corporate America. I worked for a few restaurant chains in my early age, and I blossomed into a high ranking position in a company with Tim Hortons Corporate, where I was responsible for the majority of the US locations. That responsibility taught me a great deal about taking ownership of my own things that I’m accountable for, as well as being accountable for a lot of people under my organization. And from there, I took a leap of faith to decide to leave corporate America altogether and bet on myself.
Richard Helppie
That’s fantastic. My recollection is that you have some impressive educational credentials as well.
Kevin Green
I went to college in San Diego, graduated with my bachelor’s degree. I went back to school to work on my MBA, and I have a master’s degree in finance.
Richard Helppie
Kevin, tell us what you’re doing today. Was Conserva Irrigation something you started from scratch or is it a franchise? What did you do with the business? When did you get it? What was your insight into picking that business out of all the businesses you could have picked?
Kevin Green
I would say it definitely was not my first choice of, I guess, an area of business to go into. Before Conserva Irrigation I was not the guy that was designed to work outdoors. I was pretty much someone that was set up mentally to always work in the restaurant industry. I’ve been in it since I was 15 years old, and so mentally and physically, it’s been my nature. It wasn’t until I had an opportunity to run a landscape company where I experienced a difference, not only a customer base, but also a different way to operate. I realized that being outdoors is actually something that I enjoy more than working within four walls. Once I established that that was the industry I was looking to go into, I started to think about what the barrier to entry is. I needed to find out how much it would cost to actually get me into the industry. Then I quickly realized that there is a relatively low entry barrier to get into the landscaping industry, irrigation. Whatever someone is looking to get into, in regards to landscaping it’s relatively low. From there, I looked into things from a process perspective, because I’ve been very big on processes. It’s what I’ve been doing for a very long time, and I came to the conclusion early on that I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. There are people who are way smarter than me that have already discovered the way to operate within this industry and to do it effectively. So I started looking into franchise-based concepts to get an idea of what was out there - what could I do that could quickly get me into the industry that’s already branded. There are already systems and processes that have been proven to work, and I could hit the ground running right away. So Conserva wasn’t the first brand that I looked into. There were quite a few brands that I took the steps to learn about. But Conserva hit home with me because of the approach that it has to the world. It’s all about water conservation and making sure that we absolutely protect one of the most precious resources that we have in the world. It may seem like there is an abundance of it, but clean, healthy water, there’s not a huge abundance of that, so we can’t just willingly waste it as much as we may think that it’s okay to do so. That hit home with me so I decided to look further into this brand. Then I’m also a people person, so once I met the folks on the corporate side, it was just match made in heaven. Everything aligned and I took the first steps into ownership back in 2023 - it’s when we opened. Each year, we have aggressively grown to the point that we are looking at acquisitions at this point.
Richard Helppie
So it’s a franchise, but you own the franchise, and you’ve got the authority to make acquisitions under your own corporate umbrella. (Kevin Green: That’s correct.) I love that story. When you think about entrepreneurship, is that something that you’ve thought about - how you could describe it or define it?
Kevin Green
I think that, for me, the best way to think about entrepreneurship is it’s basically the willingness to bet on yourself. When I worked in corporate America, and even as I was growing up, there were so many opportunities that I was interested in from the different various companies that I’ve worked for. But I was always told that either I wasn’t ready or the opportunity wasn’t there. There was this wait game - you had to wait until someone was unseated for you to step up into a role. I got to the point where I wasn’t willing to settle for waiting, nor willing to, I guess, except being told that I wasn’t ready to do anything in the world. I think entrepreneurship, for me, defining it, it’s just betting on yourself and being willing to take that risk, leap of faith, to take on additional accountability. There’s always going to be some area of uncertainty, but to be able to live in that space mentally is a huge accomplishment for anyone that’s looking to take that leap.
Richard Helppie
Indeed. And instead of a performance review once a year, your customers are giving you a performance review every day, every hour. (Kevin Green: Exactly.) Then if you’re growing, you’re getting great marks there. None of us that have started and run businesses has ever batted a thousand but one thing that I’ve learned it’s how you take care of issues too. Speaking of lessons learned on this journey, what have you learned that you’d like to share with the listeners, the readers and the viewers of The Common Bridge?
Kevin Green
I think the biggest thing I would say I learned was definitely related to discipline. Being a business owner is a lot different than working for a company where you’re receiving a paycheck every two weeks. Being able to understand how the company dynamics in relation to the financial aspects of cash flow relates to your personal well-being is a difference. You don’t have that constant job security where you can just go out and fruitlessly spend money. You’ve got to think it through. The way that you handle customers, the way you treat them, the way you treat your craft, your professionalism, and everything that goes into being a business owner, all of that is so important to your own personal well-being. It was a shift for me to become more disciplined in those regards, because consistency is key as a business owner, and discipline is what drives that consistency. That was probably the number one item that I feel I immediately had to change; my mentality. It was a lesson learned for me very early on, because of how things went within the first two months, it wasn’t easy. I don’t want to say I had a quick slap in the face or anything like that, because I think that I was equipped mentally for going into business. I knew what to expect, because I worked with franchisees under the corporate side. I helped franchisees grow restaurant concepts. So I was fully aware of all the risk and all the troubles that you’re going to run into once it’s your own situation. There becomes that different dynamic. You are the person that’s responsible at this point, you can’t rely on other people. So that was my biggest thing. And then I think the second thing that I had to learn is it’s okay to have weaknesses. It’s good to acknowledge what you’re strong at, what you’re not strong at, and the things that you’re not good at. You have to be willing to acknowledge it, accept it, and either get better at it, or bring on someone that can handle that side of the business for you. And that was something that I focused on early on. If there was something that I didn’t feel that I was the guy that should be able to handle it, I immediately made sure that someone else could. I don’t think that I’m the smartest person in the room. I learned that early on when I was in my early 20s, that you don’t want to be the smartest guy in the room. There should always be someone else around you that’s smarter, that can expand the business, as well as help you grow as a person professionally and personally. I would say that those were the early lessons that I learned in business, and I would say, I’m still learning today. I just hired an operations manager and he’s 25 years old, and it was one of those things that I had to adapt to mentally. I think I started to gravitate towards the same mentality as people who had looked at me when I was 25 years old - like I wasn’t ready for something because I was a younger professional. I don’t want to become that same person that the world perceived me as. So he’s 25, he’s a great guy, and I’m looking forward to see what he’s going to do this year.
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Richard Helppie
I love hearing that story about team building and putting a great team around you. I use a lot of sports analogies, like hockey teams - for example, you have to have a great goalie, that’s a different skill set than the center man or the defenseman or the wingers - which can’t be competitive unless you have all those parts and all those parts working in harmony. Also the age thing, how folks look at someone, I’ll give you a quick story. We had an entrepreneurial business, and it was really clear we were going to have to change this chief executive. One of our investing partners said, I want to run the company, I’ve been involved with it. He was 28 years old. And so the board huddled, and we were all, I think, in our 50s, and we said, yeah, he’s got all the tools, but he’s 28. One of the other board members said, Well, how old were you when - I founded a company called Superior Consultants - I said, I was 28. That board member was a very successful tire and automotive repair retailer. So I said, Well, how old were you when you took that business? He said, 29. Another guy was a chief operating officer that took a company from 110 million to 1.5 billion. And he said, Yeah, I got my first big promotion at 29. I’m like, there’s a pattern here. So we made the promotion, and the venture was very successful. We grew the business and had a great exit with it. I just love hearing these stories and the fact that you can get outside yourself to look at someone else. That is a discipline that very few people bring. Kevin, when you’re looking at workforce, what are you finding out when you’re out there trying to find people? Obviously it’s a service business, you need good people. How hard is it to hire good people?
Kevin Green
For the last two years, I think I’ve been blessed. I will say I’ve been lucky. I hardly had to terminate an employee. My retention rate is relatively high. Acquiring these employees was relatively simple for me. It was simply posting Indeed ads and the employees apply. The interview processes, I just got lucky with selecting the right candidates. I think this year is going to be a little bit more challenging for me, because I am projecting to grow at a rate that’s nearly double what I did this year, which means that from a staffing perspective, I need nearly three times the amount of employees that I currently have. I am currently in a process of bringing on that talent. But the problem in this industry is talent isn’t just sitting out there looking to be grabbed up by someone. To get the skilled talent you have to have the items that these employees want from a compensation perspective, from an employee morale perspective, benefits perspective. They want to work for a company that they feel is going to invest in them from a training perspective and professional development. They also want to see some upside in the company. They want to see if there are going to be opportunities for them along the way. I try to position my company in a way that we’re going to hit on all of those categories. From a growth perspective, we’re growing every single year through either organic growth or through the process of acquisitions, like we’re looking to do this year. We’re also always having the benefits that are most attractive to employees to bring those guys on. But overall, I think what really hits home is that the employees that I currently have, they speak so highly of the business and being employed by the company, and that’s generally what attracts more people to us. Usually I try to keep them as a part of whatever process it is that we have as an interview process - you’ve got to meet the team. These guys will tell you more than what I can tell you. They’re not going to lie to you, they’re not going to try to sweeten the deal. They have as much investment in you as I do, so if you’re not someone that meets the standard of what we’re looking for, they’ll probably tell you that too. I think it’s about culture, driving that culture to be exactly what it needs to be, and making sure that everyone is aligned to it is what really helps me attract the people that I need.
Richard Helppie
It’s a great part of your story there, that you’re basically setting the stage for the next Kevin Green to come up to get an opportunity, a toe hold. I really applaud that peer interview. In companies that I’ve built, there were always peer interviews. The ground rules were real simple, ask any legal question that you think is important to you for that person that’s going to be supporting your team and for the candidate. Ask any question that you want and it clears up a lot of that uncertainty. Kevin, you’ve had a good run, you’re right at the threshold. Would you encourage other people to go on to an entrepreneur path? Or do you think not everybody’s cut out for it?
Kevin Green
As I mentioned, one of the things that I thought was a priority for me to focus on was my discipline. And I think we live in a world where discipline is starting to be at an all time low. I would suggest that people do bet on themselves. Even though we have that issue with discipline in society right now, I think that that will help curb things to get people to be much more disciplined and accountable to their own self desires in life. I always preach to my staff that I want more for them than what they’re currently doing. My goal is not just to have them as an employee for the next ten years. It’s for you to be here for several years. You learn the business, and we could potentially have you go to some other little area in the state or wherever, and we start another location where you are part owner and you’re running the show. I don’t want just an employee. I want more of a partner. And so for me, I’m always preaching to them that this is going to be an investment for your future. I’m hoping that they can live through the eyes of being an entrepreneur at some point. But I preach it all the time, that everyone should do it, even if it’s something that you’re just doing on the side. Take the time and the initiative to get started, and you won’t look back once you start.
Richard Helppie
That’s a great perspective. What’s next for Conserva Irrigation and Kevin Green?
Kevin Green
I think the next thing that Conserva Irrigation is going to be looking to do is - well, not only Conserva Irrigation, I also own a company called Lux Haven Lighting. So between both companies, it’s expansion this year. I don’t want to say that I’m aggressive, but I am aggressive this year. I’m looking for the opportunities that I know that I can quickly take on, especially from an acquisition perspective. I know that there are a lot of owners out there that are getting to that age where retirement is the future for them. These are usually the guys that are in their 60s. They don’t want to do it forever. They realize that the writing is on the wall, that they have to do something over the next few years. My goal is to get in front of those folks. I want to learn about their company. I want to see if there’s an opportunity where they trust in me that I’ll take care of their customers in the future, and potentially we can strike a deal where I can take over those companies and continue to grow forward. I think I have another five very strong, aggressive growth years in me before I start to level things off and maintain the business. But I’m still young enough to where I can invest that energy into it, and I want to make sure that I create opportunities for my staff and also try to ultimately make the world a better place.
Richard Helppie
I just think that’s a great articulation of entrepreneurship, fulfilling yourself, serving others, uplifting employees and making the world a better place. Kevin, as we come to the end of our conversation today, any final thoughts that you’d like to leave with the listeners, the readers and the viewers of The Common Bridge?
Kevin Green
I think my final thought that I would like to leave is... and this is primarily for the younger audiences that are out there, because I think that it’s not too often that they get any kind of motivation that instructs them to go outside of the ordinary standards. They were told that they should go to college, get a four year degree, go back, get a master’s degree. We’re told to follow those traditional pathways in life, to go into corporate America and your dream job is to work for someone and collect a paycheck. There’s nothing against any of that if that’s the pathway that you take, that’s the comfortable, easy path, easier pathway than entrepreneurship. But I want to just let younger people know that this pathway, although it may be a little bit more challenging - it’s definitely much more risky, it’s slower pace to grow - once you actually get to a position to where financially cash flow is intact, you have the right staff that’s under you that’s supporting your business, you start seeing the world a little bit differently. It’s not so much of collecting a paycheck week to week, month to month. You start to look at things from a standpoint of what can I do in society that’s going to benefit the masses? I didn’t think three years ago that my goal right now for giving back was going to be as much as it is, but I look for organizations throughout the year that I feel are connected to the way I live my life, and I’m either investing time or I’m investing in them financially to help them support their organizations. I think that generally, entrepreneurship leads us down this pathway where we start to see the world in these regards; how can we give back? How can we mentor others, to help other people get to this point? And how do we live a happier life, ultimately. I don’t want people to pass up these opportunities because of following the traditional pathways. There are other ways to do it. I’m always a resource. If anybody wants to connect with me on anything, I am always here and I love talking business, so I’m all ears.
Richard Helppie
We’ve been talking today with Kevin Green of Conserva Irrigation, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a terrific entrepreneur story on our entrepreneur series. With our guest, Kevin Green, this is your host, Rich Helppie, signing off on The Common Bridge.
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