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Topic: Hardscaping



Date Posted: Thursday, October 02, 2014
Posted by: Tanya Zanfa (Master Admin)
Source: http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/business-builder-092514-blunkosky...


Expanding expertise


Expanding expertise

Smart expansion requires strategic partnerships if you ask Jeff Blunkosky, president of Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes in Pennsylvania’s Steel City.

“Customers don’t want to be the general contractor,” he says of why the design/build firm founded in 1982 by his father, Robert, provides high-end clientele with the full outdoor living package — from paver patios to pools to outdoor kitchens, and all of the infrastructural work required to manage these jobs (excavation and plumbing, for example).

 

Rather than bidding business goodbye, Blunkosky realized early on that securing more luxury projects was possible by networking with like-minded subcontractors that have overlapping skills and fill in the gaps on his service menu.

For instance, PGHSW will install about 30,000 square feet of patio pavers by the end of this year. Blunkosky’s in-house crews will prep the foundation and then enlist in an “associate” company as a subcontractor to lay the pavers. “You can get subs involved in the work that is either going to be low-liability on your side, or that will not affect your service bracket,” he says. “We surround ourselves with others in the industry that handle products and services that complement ours.”

That has been the calling card for growth at PHGSW, which has never had a down year and will finish off 2014 with 30 percent growth. 

“Involving other (landscape) companies becomes a great revolving door,” Blunkosky says of the back-and-forth referrals that result. Meanwhile, Blunkosky has formalized these connections by creating a networking group of associates, including subcontractors, suppliers and complementary companies like maintenance firms, so he can be that turnkey solution for his clients.

Networking, strong systems and a dig-deeper mentality when working with customers have been the keys to success at PGHSW, but it hasn’t all been easy.                          

“It took 10 years to find solid subcontractors that I align myself with,” Blunkosky says. “Our customers are willing to spend large sums of money on a quality product, so we have to make sure that we surround ourselves with subs that follow our mentality and work ethic, or it is more or less ‘guilty by association.’”

 

Selecting subs.

Blunkosky first recognized that building a stable of trusted subcontractors would be critical to expansion back in 1994 when cheaper labor began infiltrating the Pittsburgh market competitors and began price gouging.

“That made us nervous, thinking we had to grow our service bracket to make sure we offered a broad range of services that would always be in demand,” Blunkosky says. “That is when we started getting involved in more hardscaping and paver and retaining wall work.”

Blunkosky also began aligning himself with other professionals, such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians, irrigation specialists and pool contractors that could take basic design/build projects to the next level.

He networked through industry association meetings and by reaching out to suppliers and other quality companies in the area. “We scouted, searched and met with other organizations and professionals that complement our services and got them involved in our projects,” Blunkosky says.

By identifying the company’s core skills and hiring in the rest (while involving subs in the process from plan to completion), PGHSW’s clients can make a single call to the company to get the complete outdoor living room they desire.

And, Blunkosky says, there is a market for this high-end work in his area. “People are doing upgrades to their homes to make them more entertaining, and that has given us the opportunity to look at different resources and expand our services,” he says.

But there’s close consideration involved when deciding which services to manage in-house and which parts of a project should be subbed out. If a task will tax his labor force, Blunkosky calls in the subs (laying pavers). If the job requires a piece of equipment that could impact the project’s profitability if managed in-house, PGHSW looks beyond its fleet. For example, the firm brings in subs to excavate properties. “The sub brings in a bigger piece of equipment than I would typically use and handles the removal and hauling away of soils,” Blunkosky says.

Plumbing and utility work are managed by professional tradespeople that work as subs. The same goes for irrigation system installation — and landscape maintenance. “There are companies that I’ll trade work with, where I’ll do a project for a customer and say, ‘Call this guy and he’ll take care of all your maintenance,’” Blunkosky says — back to the revolving door of referrals that has been a boon for his, and associates’, business.

 

All subs in check.

Blunkosky has learned the hard way that subs need to be involved during the planning process. As his company has grown, projects also have scaled up in size. “We have seen some issues with subs and utilities that have cost us time and money and labor hours that could have been avoided if address in the early planning stages,” he says.

In particular, Blunkosky is speaking of nailing down utilities like gas lines for grills as the landscape plan is developed. If the pavers are down, and then running a gas line to the desired grilling area is not possible — well, that’s a problem.

“If you have a customer who has a $20,000 budget and you dismiss what it will cost to handle utilities, you’ll have a rough road ahead,” Blunkosky says. “You have to educate customers upfront and say, ‘I know what you want, I need to get my electrician and plumber in here to see what we can do to accommodate these components. I understand you want this beautiful grilling area over there, but if we can’t get electricity or gas over to it, the space is unusable.’”

Communication with customers, and subcontractors, is essential. And Blunkosky has systems in place to ensure that subs are on the same page and delivering on promises made to clients.

“If you don’t plan early enough in the process, you can leave money on the table,” Blunkosky says. “If you are a landscaper and you are only concerned about going in there and doing your patio and kitchen, and not worrying about what the [subs] are doing, the project can get derailed.”

Blunkosky is speaking of a gas line not being properly set up before installation, but there is a host of scenarios that could sabotage a job. So Blunkosky sits down with subs during planning. He asks them to review and sign off on plans. Then, foremen are given the plans, “so they can see what needs to happen when,” he says.

“Documentation creates accountability, and you have to have everything documented,” he says. “Word of mouth just doesn’t cut it because if you discuss something one day on a job site, there can be a lot of he-said-she-said later.”



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