We were lucky to catch up with Ben Gillilan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ben, thanks for joining us today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?
When I retired from the Army in 2003, I decided that I didn’t want to work for anybody. But really, I work for the customer. After working by myself for a few years mowing lawns and cleaning landscapes I realized I needed help to get things done without hurting myself. That’s when my first son started working with me and I was thrilled. It didn’t take long for us to realize we argued more than we wanted to. We decided that to save our relationship it was best for him to find his own line of work. All these years later we still have a great relationship because of that one decision. Next was my son-in-law and that lasted about 2-3years before he realized that this wasn’t going to be what he wanted to do with his life. But in the meantime, my youngest brother had moved to Texas and he began working with me. He was my right-hand man for about six years before he and his wife decided that Ohio was calling, and they moved back north.
During this time my youngest son had been working with us since he was 15. Now 17 years later he is set to take over the family business when I decide to finally retire, or he pushes me out the door. His wife started working with us about 10 years ago on the garden center side of the business. Now for the past nine years she has been our manager at the nursery and together those two will take over once I finally decide to step aside.
Honestly, I try to treat all of our employees like family. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s the way I treated my soldiers and we always had a strong team.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After retiring from the military in August 2003 I started Grizzly Lawn & Home. As the business grew, I was offered the opportunity to purchase Hidden Falls Nursery in 2015. So, in January 2016 I purchased the nursery and combined both businesses. We area a family run business with my son Josh as my right-hand man and daughter-in-law Meakela as our nursery manager. Over the years we have had many employees, and several have become like part of the family.
In 2018 we decided to move the nursery to Nolanville and broke ground on our new location the beginning of 2019. By February 2020 we were open at our new home and continue to improve the location all the time.
We have tried to make our new place a relaxing environment that folks can visit and learn. There is a short hiking trail, pond, and lots of cool features to help inspire creativity. Our greenhouse is a great addition and is full of our succulents and tropical plants.
Our focus on plants is mainly Texas native but we carry all kinds of adapted plants that will thrive in our region. Xeriscaping is something that our landscape side specializes in and is really the way to go in Texas Hill Country. From bagged mulches and river rock to bagged soils and compost we carry everything that you could need to create the outdoor space you’ve always wanted.
Besides all the normal products you find at a garden center we carry a line of pottery that is created by a local artisan named Ed Eldridge. And to help get you outside we have an amazing selection of rustic furniture that’s made by a family in Brownwood. Our Mexican metal art is brought to us from a few family run businesses, and we always have plenty to choose from.
I really enjoy meeting people and helping them solve their landscape or outdoor living problem. After 20 years of doing this, I still get a thrill of making dreams come to life. Folks are amazed that I don’t charge to come to their home to evaluate a problem and help them come up with a solution that they can do on their own. It’s not all about the money, it’s about building trust and teaching our neighbors a different or better way of doing things.
We design and install the smallest landscape to the most extravagant in size and everyone has their own story and personality that we try to bring out. From decks to water features and lighting it’s exciting to make a pencil sketch come to life and get families outside.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Starting a business and being your own boss sounds like the greatest thing. And it can be, but it will also be the hardest and craziest thing you have ever done in your adult life. I started this business with the support of my wife as I was getting out of the Army after 20 years. I knew nothing except that I had to make this work or we were going to be pretty hungry. For three years I worked by myself and we always had money in savings and never struggled. I thought if I can do this with just myself then can double it my work force with one more and double my success. Yeah, that’s not how things work and I found out pretty quick that my math didn’t add up. So after struggling and continuing to add employees we finally found the right way to make ourselves stable, not rich, but stable. Business was going extremely well for several years and we kept learning and growing. Then in 2016 I decided to purchase a garden center…I thought this would be perfect since we had been in the landscape industry for 11 years and the nursery was just the next piece of puzzle to building our family business. Wow, was I in for a big surprise! The nursery was a struggle from the beginning and I knew what the finances looked like when I bought it. But I just knew that with my love of landscaping I could turn it around and make it thrive. For four years we struggles on the property that it had sat on since it was built. I took out huge loans every year just to keep our heads above water all while putting on the strong front of not failing. Never give up I kept telling myself. Finally the opportunity was given to me to move the business. In 2020 we opened up a new location and things have just been incredible. The nursery is thriving and the landscape side is busy all the time. We have an amazing team of employees that make owning a business what I always wanted it to be.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
As a business owner your reputation is everything. Will you get it right every time? No, sometimes you make a mistake and other times you can’t please a customer no matter what you do, even if they approved everything that you did for them. Then there area the way you treat your employees. They’re a valuable part of your business and they are the face of your business. Treat them fair, teach them how to be successful and hopefully they will stick around and be part of the future. I’ve had a lot of people work for the business over the years. Some are here for a minute to get back on their feet and others for an hour and are bound to bigger things with their lives. The ones that want bigger thing are fun to watch grow. I’ve help several start their own business and a few have done well. I always tell them that whatever they do when they leave to make sure it’s to improve their lives. I even have landscapers come to our nursery or call for advice or direction. I’ve been doing this a long time and have learned a lot of the ins and outs to make things work and I am more than ready to offer advice or wisdom. I think that’s why I and my business have a good reputation in our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: hiddenfallnurserykilleen.com
- Instagram: Nurseyman
- Facebook: hiddenfallsnurserykilleen
- Other: TikTok @grizzlyhiddenfalls