We were lucky to catch up with Breanna Zaldivar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Breanna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

The craziest thing that has happened to us would probably be the time we were scammed. Not only do consumers have to worry about scams, but small businesses are at risk of scams as well. We had a “customer” who was very convincing that he held a government job and couldn’t be home for an in person estimate. We had dialogue with this person like we do with any other customer. Phone numbers, emails, everything exchanged as normal. He even went as far to negotiate cost with us and signing our contract. We were trying to collect payment the morning of the installation and he started trying to discuss a “side deal” where he overpays us and we give him money back out of it, this immediately screamed Scammer to me. We called our foreman, and I told him to STOP doing anything further. We discovered the house had been on the market and just closed 2 days prior, and when we looked inside the windows, it was empty. Long story short, we had to find the new homeowner and tell them we were scammed, and we removed their entire driveway the weekend of their move in!!! We also reassured them that we would replace it at $0 entirely. So, we did. This was a very expensive scam and something you don’t anticipate when wanting to believe people are good.

Breanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are a women-owned business. My sister, Katlin, and I run the entire operation. I hold the Contractor’s license as well. We offer hardscape solutions. We specialize in artificial turf and pavers. We also do beautiful walls, cement work and rock etc. Our business tends to cater to all types of clientele that want upscale service at a fair price. We pride ourselves on our customer service and project management. We also have an eye for details when it comes to your project. We proactively address all concerns or design choices up front instead of winging it. We calculate heavily on the front end, down to the last nail for your project so you are not over charged or worse, undercharged and hit with heavy change orders. We take pride in every customer as if you were our family.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Appreciation does wonders. And true appreciation. My kids don’t eat unless my crews do their best installations, so I am forever grateful for every person with TopTurf. We regularly show this by popping in at job sites with lunch for the crew, appreciation BBQs for the families, giveaways, and cash bonuses on a random day. Some of my favorites are $100 cash bonuses on a random Friday. I show up and personally thank each crew member with $100 for their dedication, hard work and willingness to just show up to work. These days, just showing up is half the issue. We also give every crew member a Turkey in person on job sites for Thanksgiving. My parents did this tradition for our family business when we were kids and it always brought so much joy to the families.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We actually were founded the end of 2020 during the pandemic. While everyone was closing, we jumped in and started. Our first customers were virtual measures using Google Earth and Zoom calls to get the project quoted. Our crews had to work in masks in the heat and did so knowing we all had to keep moving. We pulled together as a company and everyone worked hard from home without distractions and here, we are, one of the biggest and well-known hardscape companies in San Diego.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.topturfandpavers.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/topturfandpavers
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/topturfandpavers
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/topturf-and-pavers-san-diego