We were lucky to catch up with Laura and Luke MacLean recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Laura and Luke, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
We took a huge risk by going “all in” when my husband left his job as an activities director to join me. Luke left a great job in a great district but a large piece of that is we have 3 young kids who are involved in a lot of sports and activities outside of school and he wanted to have more time with our kids while they are young. We believe in our business and believe God gave us an opportunity to provide a great product that makes the lives/jobs of those that use it easier.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are a husband and wife team. We have been in business since 2008 but we bought the company in 2019. We got into the business because we saw the need for the product. UnderFence eliminates the need to weed whip, reduces maintenance time and costs and provides a “clean” appearance under fence lines. UnderFence also protects your fence from damage caused by mowers and weed whipping. What sets us apart from others is the quality, durability and reputation of our product being the go to fence line maintenance solution. Luke and I handle all the day to day operations with customers and are committed to providing the best possible product and customer service. We care about the people we get to know and love that we get to help make their lives a little easier with our product.
We are really proud of the fact that every piece of material, whether its the HDPE recycled plastic that the product is made of, or the boxes we ship the product in, come from and are manufactured in the US. We also provide jobs for many people through the manufacturing of our product. We are also very proud of our product and what it does for the end user. These days there is a shortage of workers in every industry in the US. Many times we talk with grounds crews at municipalities and school districts and they have one person to take care of multiple outdoor facilities. Once UnderFence is installed, it can save a grounds crew hundreds of hours over the course of its decades long life span. We are really proud of the fact that the product meets and exceeds those expectations for the end user.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My husband Luke and I own UnderFence. We met in college at the University of Minnesota where we were both student – athletes. Luke played on the baseball team and I played on the soccer team. We were both also involved in FCA. (fellowship of Christian Athletes) We also had a class together so we got to know each other well through walking to class together. Luke and I dated for 5 years before marrying in June of 2008. We had our wedding in Scotland on the Isle of Mull, at the Duart Castle. The Duart Castle is in Lukes lineage. Luke and I were both teachers, Luke teaching on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota for 2 years and then Hill City SD for 3 years. I taught just over the border in Newcastle WY. Luke then accepted a job where we are currently living in Annandale Minnesota as the Activities director where he was for 9 years. I started as a sales rep for UnderFence (formerly FenceGuard) in 2017 and helped grow the business. Luke and I then bought the business in 2019 while I was the only employee. The business has grown every year and last spring Luke decided to join me and help run the business. We are now expanding into residential sales instead of just commercial. We have installations at dog parks, baseball/softball fields and residential fences all across the country.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
For the commercial side, municipalities and school districts, the most effective strategy for growing our clientele has really been word of mouth. We have been in business since 2008 and Minnesota is where the first installations were. The previous owner of the product attended local sports turf managers shows and started spreading the word that way. I started marketing to schools and cities and from there the business has grown by word out mouth. The practicality and longevity of the product has made it very popular. We also provide excellent customer service (we answer the phone) and have developed some great relationships with some awesome people all across the country. Now that we are diving further into the residential side, we are working with a local e commerce digital marketing company, Boom. Lukes friend who he went to high school with is the owner of the company. They handle our social media and digital marketing aimed at expanding our residential side of the business. They work with much larger businesses but we have already seen our sales increase from their marketing efforts. We also work with another one of our very talented friends, Ben Johnson who is a graphic designer out of Minneapolis and he has designed all of the graphics, logos and website for UnderFence. He has helped make our website and promotional material stand out. Lastly, Chris Barrett with Barefoot studios has done all of our videos for UnderFence. He has helped bring our product and story to life. 
https://www.barefootstudios.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: www.underfencemowstrip.com
- Instagram: @UnderFence
- Facebook: UnderFence
Image Credits
Andrea Dobbs Photography, Chris Barret – Barefoot Studios