EarthCraft Landscaping is the final company on the contractor highlight blog series. Read on to find out who they are, how they got their start, and what they’re looking forward to in the future.
Name: Shanna Scordo
My business partner Aaron and I both hold landscape contracting degrees from Penn State. We have worked for other companies both within and outside of the landscape industry over the years, and ultimately recognized there was a need in Indiana, PA for a skilled landscape contractor. Our combination of skill sets allowed us to be successful in envisioning, selling, and installing hardscapes. While it’s now just one part of the services we offer clients, hardscaping was the foundation upon which we built the larger business. It’s been a good niche for us.
I’ve had to learn that I can’t control whether or not my employees succeed. It’s my job to ensure they receive training, education, encouragement, and targeted feedback. It’s my responsibility to give them a voice, ensure they are set up for success, and to try to find a role in which they can truly thrive. But ultimately, their success depends on them, not me. If you’re watching someone fail over and over again, and they aren’t learning from their mistakes, you’re doing them a disservice, and you have to let them go. Keeping someone who is a poor fit will only sour your company culture and cause you to lose the people you want to keep.
We’d like sell more hardscape maintenance services. For example, if we can get our past clients scheduled for regular paver cleaning each spring in coordination with their re-mulching, their pavers will stay looking great, and it’s a nice recurring revenue stream.
Never bid a project without shooting some elevations. There are inexpensive, simple tools on the market like the Zip Level that allow you to have a much better grasp of what project will require. If you don’t have a firm grasp on how to develop your proposed elevations - get trained up on it ASAP.
It’s hard to choose! But I’d have to say my favorite retaining wall was a very large, multi-tiered design built with Weathered Mosaic block for a residential client.
6. Favorite Lampus product?
We use a lot of Standard Versa-Lok. It’s a great all-around product at a reasonable price point.
When we’re not working, Aaron and I are spending time on home renovation projects, or traveling with our two daughters Quinn and Cora.