We were lucky to catch up with Benjamin Deceuster recently and have shared our conversation below.
Benjamin, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?
About 12 years ago, I went to an association meeting in the evening to listen to Bobby Epstein talk about the process that went into bringing F1 Circuit of the Americas race track to Austin, TX. At the time I was working for a national landscape company and was pursuing this project to close the deal on a multimillion dollar installation contract for the new track. Bobby shared some stories about how the deal materialized, but what stuck out to me and what I have never forgotten to this day were his comments about how one supports a cause. To paraphrase, he said words do not matter, if you really support something you invest your time and money into it. He gave the example that if you supported the local high school team you would not just say it, rather you would buy tickets to the games even if you could not attend. Words mean nothing, if something is truly important to you, you invest your time and money whether it be relationships, business opportunities, charities, etc.. I have applied this to myself in business by recognizing the need to actually put time and investment in the opportunities I think have merit rather than just talk about someday developing XYZ business idea. If I am not willing to put money and time into an idea, then time to stop talking about it and move on to the next opportunity. This lesson has also helped me understand others in seeing what is truly important to them by observing where they put their time and money. Understanding people becomes much simpler when you only take people’s words at face value and focus on how they spend their time and money. Lastly, this is a good barometer for potential business partners to check if they sincerely believe in making an idea a reality. I closed that contract and have applied that principle as the litmus test in maintaining clarity with my own priorities.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
While at my first job after college, a customer reached out to recruit me to work for their commercial landscape company. I accepted which started a career working for multiple national and regional landscape companies with positions in sales as well as operations in different states. During my career, I acquired multiple certifications, learned design programs, and focused my expertise on understanding irrigation systems and water management. I recognized the need to go the extra mile to invest in myself to acquire more knowledge in the field of landscape management and business to work my way up in the industry and towards my goals of business ownership.
I had my first experiences in entrepreneurship as side hustles doing things like property management and maintenance for 700 lots and homes for a bank that foreclosed on a portfolio of properties from a homebuilder during the 2008 housing crash. I also formed a grading and site utility company with my brother in the Southern California market. My interests focused on passive investments and so I picked up some ownership in multiple restaurants in Southern California. Side hustles were an effective avenue for building up the cash to buy real estate and eventually be in a financial position to be a full time business owner rather than employee. It is a difficult decision to break away from the perceived security and consistency of being an employee to pursue the unknown.
Eventually, the opportunity came up to buy a commercial landscape company and coincidentally had a friend connect me to someone who could help finance the deal a month before the opportunity arose. Everything clicked to make the deal happen. The transition of ownership was a little rocky as some key employees broke off to start their own company and I was shifting the company towards offering design, build, and maintenance services, not just maintenance services to HOA’s. After rebuilding the team and retooling the company, we have seen a lot of success.
Today, my main focus is still on my landscape company; however, it has not prevented me from developing other ventures. Two partners and I just opened a new restaurant in the St. George, UT area call Street Eats which features high quality street foods like tacos, burgers, etc., and working with a local farmer to locally source several ingredients. I am working with another partner on wrapping up the design and development phase for creating a company offering high quality women’s medical scrub tops. Lastly, I have invested in private ecommerce retail companies and am looking to expand more into that industry as well.
While I have been involved in multiple companies, the same principles apply across the board. Always be committed to quality in services and products you provide so you sincerely believe in what you are selling to your customers. Always self reflect as you commit to different ventures to make sure you are not overextending yourself to the detriment of your other businesses. You do not have to be in the driver seat for every venture, you can get involved with companies as a more passive investor, but just make sure you trust your partners and that they have skin in the game. Side hustles are a great way to test a concept and to confirm you are capable of running your own business before actually making the commitment. Where you put your time and money is where your true priorities are so take the time to make sure they are where you want them to be. Lastly, you have to have outlets that help free your mind from the stresses of work and responsibilities. For me, I like to hit the gym, play basketball or volleyball with friends, and take short weekend trips to places like Vegas or Southern California.
Have you ever had to pivot?
A couple of years ago, I took all the journals I kept from when I was a kid till the present and typed them up into a single document. I also added some modern commentary based on my current perspectives and also listed some summary life’s lessons. While I took on this project with the intent of doing so for the benefit of my two sons, I had some epiphanies about my own life. After typing up almost 600 pages, I had a moment of clarity to recognize how I had set my priorities in life and the direction I was going into the future. It was not a situation of spending too much time at work while ignoring everything else in life. Each year, I had written down goals and each year I had written a review on how I had done or not done those goals. What I saw was that while, I felt my life had decent balance between work, family, and play, I was not fitting in the life’s experiences that I wanted to in each of those areas. I was seeing the same goals go unfulfilled year after year. For example, while I spent time with my family, I was not teaching my boys the basics like fixing flat tires, developing interests, or working out. In business, I spent years wanting to get additional businesses going, but with no investments made or businesses started. For myself, I was just spending my downtime with basic weekends at home with a few trips here and there. It was a pivotal moment to realize that while I had balance in spending time in different areas of my life, I was not fitting in the experiences nor accomplishing the goals I wanted in those different areas of my life.
For the past few years, I have written down my goals, yet this time, I have gone into much more detailed lists of actions under each goal. For example, I have lists of places in Utah, Vegas, and California along with hikes, and activity ideas listed so each month I start planning trips and scheduling to make them happen. The positive experiences of this process have provided the motivation to continue to do more with my goals. Including friends and family into these goals has also made them more enjoyable experiences.
In the past few years, I have hiked Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, while also hiking to see the turquoise waters of the Little Colorado River near the Grand Canyon, and have been able to experience several other magnificent vistas nature has to offer. My sons go to the gym with me and have learned how to fix common house repairs. I have taken friends and family all over to try new restaurants, experience the California coast, visit museums, and have made new friends in places we visit. I just opened a new restaurant with my partners in St. George, UT called Street Eats and have other ventures getting close to incorporation as well. Overall, I have been able to develop the mindset to fit more into my life and to experience more of what life has to offer.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Teams in sports and business run on similar principles for success. Outside of work, I have been participated in multiple basketball and volleyball leagues and pickup games. Just as you can have times when everything clicks and is going well, momentum can shift with difficulties and frustrations dragging down individuals and the team as a whole. It can be difficult to be positive when the team is in a difficult situation, but that is when they need optimism more than ever. Throughout games you can keep team members going by complimenting their positive plays and moves. Most people know when they have made a mistake and do not need to be reminded of it, just encouraged and asked how they can be setup for better success on the next one. In some cases, individuals get in their own head, and just need to sit out a couple minutes to snap out of it.
In business, we find these situations arise all the time with individuals and teams as a whole. I find that looking for small positives to compliment along the way helps people to stay motivated. They want to be recognized for the good and not pestered with gotcha moments of only having their mistakes be noted. The more specific you can be as a manager in your compliment the better so it appears genuine and not some generic compliment. Compliments do not have to be broadcast to everyone, simple and sincere one-on-one conversations can be impactful. When it comes to mistakes, most people know what they did wrong, so you just want to offer support and see if they need any additional resources to be more successful in the future. Mistakes from your team can be frustrating as a manager, yet you have to keep frustrations in check to prevent an overreaction which can lead to employees leaving the company and leaving those that remain overburdened with additional work responsibilities.
Commissions, bonuses, and other rewards are nice; however, if you get to know your employees, you know what they are are going through in life and what rewards interest them. I suggest being willing to open your network to employees by way of referrals. For example, if someone has a legal or financial issue, refer them to a good lawyer or financial advisor friend, definitely avoid trying to give any advice yourself. If you do not have a referral, go out of your way to find one. Employees have lives outside of work that affect their performance so do what you can when you know there is a need. I work with a lot of blue collar employees who do not have access to people nor have an understanding of what they need to do to resolve certain issues that arise like legal issues, so I get them connected to people who can assist them which in turn helps them stay focused on their job and stick with the company. Many of my crews just want an occasional free lunch together to sit down and just talk. At Christmas parties, they love going to a buffet with their families and playing kid games for money rewards. I have taken employees out fishing and to Vegas with our families to just go and have a fun time, while building a closer relationship. Fair pay is just a basic standard, looking to customize ways to reward and help employees on and off the job is going the extra mile to keep up their morale and loyalty to your company.
Lastly, time can be a huge gift to employees just do not make it turn into an expectation. Occasional early days off, especially on a Friday can go a long way. I often see a situation where an employee is in his own head with frustrations or with something that needs to be resolved outside of work. Similar to a player that just missed four shots in a row including some easy ones, they just get into a mental state of not being able to do anything right. Just as it helps to have the player sit on the bench a few minutes to refocus, it can benefit an employee to have them take some time off work to refocus or to take care of the issue outside of work. My experience has shown the time it takes to complete a task can vary dramatically depending on the focus of the employee. If I let someone take a couple of hours or a day to take care of something, I know they can still meet their deadlines by finishing their tasks more quickly with a clear head.
The biggest factor in successfully managing a team and its morale is to know your team. You have to interact with them to know what they are dealing with both in and out of the workplace. You need to read their visual cues to recognize when something is wrong. Understand everyone’s strengths and weaknesses so you know what their potential is and what motivates them. You cannot successfully coach a team from a back office and sending paychecks every two weeks, you have to be their with your employees interacting with them while not becoming a distraction yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/rainmakerlandscaping
- Instagram: shorttripsbigeats
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ben.deceuster
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bdeceuster