We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Darrigo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Andrew, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
The idea started back in high school needing to make a few bucks. My best friend and I didn’t want to do what most of our friends were doing, working retail or fast food. We also were not old enough to drive so we had to do something local that we could walk to. We decided to print out some flyers for grass cutting and mulching in the neighborhood. About a month later we got a call from an older woman in need of someone who could take care of her lawn for the summer. For the rest of that year, we cut her lawn and pulled weeds in her mulch beds for $40 a week. We would walk down the street with my dad’s old push mower, weed whacker and leaf blower. By the end of that first year we managed to save up a few hundred dollars to buy a small riding lawn mower. When spring came around the next year two more of the neighbors on the street had heard of our services and asked if we could take care of their lawns as well. By the end of the second year we cut five lawns on the street and did several small mulch jobs. Once we were able to drive we saved up and purchased a pick up truck, small trailer and our first zero turn mower. Fast forward to today we have over 100 properties we maintain on a weekly basis, municipal contracts, an excavation/ hardscape crew and much more. Although the company grew and is prospering today it was not a smooth path to the top. Every year with new grown had its new problems to adapt to. Even with a collage degree in business there are problems that no one could ever prepare us for. At the end of it all it comes down to hard work and dedication. I realized very quickly there are no short cuts or easy ways out. To grow and manage a business takes long days and nights, It pushes your stress tolerance every day to new levels. Looking back I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. They say on a trip, its not the destination but the journey to get there. I have come to realize that goes for building a business, the road blocks and problems I faced and overcame are a must. They have made me who I am today and made the business what it is today.
Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
For those who don’t know me my name is Andrew D’arrigo and I’m the owner of D’arrigo Landscaping. At D’arrigo Landscaping we provide a range of services from grass cutting and mulching to excavation, concrete, retaining walls swimming pool installs and more. We are located in the south hills of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. We offer a high-end service, our goal is to keep our customers properties looking well maintained and manicured all season long. For our hardscape work we build everything over spec requirements to ensure stability and integrity in every project we do. We are not the guys you see running around in beat up trucks with no shirts on doing mediocre work. Our motto is “Professional quality from start to finish” and we stand by that on every job. No matter how big or small a job any team member of Darrigo Landscaping will be professional and informative every step of the way.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
In terms of initial funding we used a few hundred dollars worth of lawn equipment from friends and family. From that point on if we needed more equipment for the business we would either rent for the job or buy once we saved up enough capital. I feel it is important for anyone going into a similar business to understand that you don’t need to buy and finance a bunch of equipment to get started. Starting a business in a bunch of debt is not necessary and in my opinion not smart. I would rent any big equipment needed until the workload was so overwhelming that buying the equipment saved me more than the rental would be in a season.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
For the first few years of business I invested every dollar I made back into the company. It was extremely difficult to not pay myself, then unexpected expenses would come up ,then weather would delay production and delay payment, just to end the season needing more equipment to keep up with the demand for the next season. There were numerous times I wanted to quit and go work for someone else, doing all this work for no pay seemed like insanity at times, but I would keep telling myself that it was going to be worth it one day. Sure enough I was right and things turned around. I realized looking back that I was in a large growth phase and with growth comes pain. The most important part I took away from everything was understanding fundamentally the business was doing well and demand was strong, it came down to taking a step back from trying to grow, grow, grow and really focus on efficiency, and profitability.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://darrigolandscaping.com
- Instagram: darrigolandscaping
- Facebook: darrigolandscaping
- Linkedin: Andrew D’Arrigo
