We were lucky to catch up with Cherlyn Reeves recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cherlyn, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I started working for a mowing company right out of college where I brought my degree in Landscape Architecture to the company to offer outdoor living services to their current list of mow clients. We grew the company so much that it became very popular to the point that everyone was wanting our services in the Tulsa Metro area.

After almost 5 years we grew the company to 1 million in sales between the mow clients and the new outdoor living clients. At this point I felt I had contributed enough to the company to possibly become a partner in the company or have a share in the company based on the amount of sales I had brought in over the last few years. I was denied the partnership and was told I would be offered 1 % per project sold. I felt this was a slap in the face after everything I had done for the company but wanted to continue to try to become a partner in the company.

When this happened the office vibe seemed to change and things just did not seem the same anymore and the warm fuzzy feeling were now lost, but I was still trying to persevere as my husband and I had just build a new house and I knew I needed to keep this job. My husband had also recently left his job and was looking for new employment.

The Monday after Thanksgiving after almost 5 years with the company I was fired, based on my attendance, that was impeccable and performance, which was impeccable as well.

It was at this time in my life where I knew it was time to put this college degree to work. So, my husband and I took a HUGE leap of faith and started our own Outdoor Living company in Tulsa. We just looked at each other and said lets do this!

We told ourselves we would give it our best and if it did not work we would go back and get regular jobs.

7 years later our company is still going and is growing. We hired our first Landscape Architect Intern this summer and are looking to expand our office space.

I found a saying once that said – I once went job hunting, Hired myself, never looked back! I love this statement!

Cherlyn, 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?

I started working at my moms embroidery company after having my son and quickly realized this was not the job I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Fortunately the company above my moms shop was looking for a receptionist so I started working for this company which was a commercial playground design company.

I stayed with the company for a few more years and worked my up to sales and started to realize that the people that design playgrounds have a really cool job. I found out this is what a Landscape Architect does and I was really intrigued. As, time went by I realize I was not going to make any more money that I was at that point and to have a decent life style for my son and I, I would need to do something else.

It was at this much later time in my life ( my 30’s) when I decided to go back to college to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture. This was tough as it was a 5 year degree at that time but I pushed on and graduated in 2012 with a degree in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture. I must state that I am NOT a licensed Landscape Architect but I do have a degree in Landscape Architecture.

After graduation I started working for a mow company before my husband and I decided to jump off the cliff and start our own business. Since this was the reason I went to college.

Fast forward a few years and now we have our own Design Build company – Innovative Outdoor Living where we take your property and turn it into the oasis you have been dreaming of for years.

We offer complete outdoor living services from Pools, Outdoor Kitchens, Covered Structures, Pergolas, Fireplace and Fire pits and so much more. We also offer Master Plans for clients so they can do projects in phases.

We also address the none fun things on the property such as drainage and grading issues and retaining walls where they are needed. We advise our clients on what we feel needs to be addressed based on our professional opinion.

My degree in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture is what separates our company from other Outdoor Living companies. Most other companies in our area that provide outdoor living services normally do not have a landscape architect on staff or a horticulturist.

One other thing that sets us apart from our competition is our commitment to keeping the client informed. We have a high level of communication and feel the more we communicate with our clients about the project and the process of the project this seems to eliminate questions later in the build stage and helps make the client feel more comfortable as they know what the next step is supposed to be and are not left wondering what is going to happen next.

The one thing I can say I am most proud of is how this little company started from nothing, no loans, no helpers just myself and my husband and has become a company name that people are now recommending to their family and friends. This makes us feel like we hit a home run!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I feel the networking I did while I was in college and now afterwards has definitely helped build our reputation within the market and our industry. We have been members of the Tulsa Home Builders association for 11 years now also where I was the President recently of the Professional Women in Building Council in 2024 c. This has definitely helped grow our reputation in the market.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Golden Rule = Treat people how you want to be treated. I was taught this as a young child and I still use it to this day. We are all humans and are all created equally. If you just treat a person with respect and make them feel part of the team/family you will have good success.

We treat our employees and our subs like family. We have dinners together, where we will all gather together and cook together and eat together and enjoy each others company outside of work. This has been a game changer for us. Our employees and subs know we respect them and that they are part of our family which seems to make everything so much better.

They do not feel that we are superior to them they feel that we are all equal and part of the team. We know that without our team we are nothing and we express our gratitude for them all the time. Sometimes we will show up to the job site with lunch, or donuts, etc. This has taken our company morale to a whole new level. Each person whether it is a sub or employee feels deeply invested in the company and this means the world to us.

We have even taken it a step further by taking it upon ourselves to learn Spanish, so that we can communicate with every member on our team. This has been a game changer as well since they see that we are learning their language just so we can communicate with them.

We are here to not only make a living for ourselves, but we want our employees and subs to benefit from this as well. Team work really does makes the Dream work!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iolcTulsa.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InnovativeOLC

Image Credits

Nicole Barton
Owner & Photographer
www.nicolebartonphotography.com