We recently connected with Shelby Smith and have shared our conversation below.

Shelby, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset, drive and hustle. I didn’t always apply it in to the right areas of my life in the past. I carried ideas with me for businesses and still do to this day for years as an adolescent and young adult, meanwhile I dabbled in trades, school, adventures and generally speaking a party everyday lifestyle. Always telling myself that I was successful if I could work hard and party hard. As I got older and time passed, I felt like the party wasn’t fulfilling me and neither was the grind of working 2 jobs and reporting to work for someone else. I also wasn’t being challenged, growing or gaining anything in that status quo. My fear that held me back for so long was that there would be aspects of starting a business that I wouldn’t understand or be able to do and that I didn’t have enough money or a good credit score and I thought I wouldn’t be able to be successful. If I could go back in time I would definitely have started my business sooner. I held myself back for fear and finances, not realizing that all someone needs to do is have motivation and determination.

I’ve heard throughout my life and strongly believe that experience truly is the best teacher. The only way I could conquer my fear of failure, falling short or not always knowing the path would be to step outside of my comfort zone and literally experience the path of business ownership. If I had started sooner, I would have gained this knowledge earlier and would have more time to contribute to the process. At the end of the day, I’m happy with the timing because everything happened when it did to bring me to this. I know that time is the most precious resource we have on this planet and because I learned that I should’ve started sooner now I have the opportunity to share my story with someone who might feel the same way and encourage them to take the risk and the jump and be uncomfortable so that they can gain the same experience and not waste time dreaming.

Everything happens when it is supposed to, and we are all on unique paths. I have no way to say if the path would’ve have benefited me differently if I had started down it sooner, but I do feel like any time is a good time to take action and Im glad that I did.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Shelby Smith. I’m 32 years young and grew up in Northwest Arkansas. Most important to me is family and I have 3 wonderful children, the most incredible life partner and 2 doggies. Growing up in the beautiful Natural State I spent a lot of time outdoors especially time spent in the boy scouts where I eventually became an Eagle Scout. As a child my idol was Steve Irwin, I wanted to be like him my whole childhood. While other kids watched nickelodeon or cartoon network, I was watching the discovery channel and animal planet. After high school I initially went to college majoring in Zoo Science, however quickly realized this wasn’t going to put me in the role of the Crocodile Hunter and not caring much for the life of being a zookeeper I left school. I passed through multiple trades and bounced around finding passion and skill for bartending at night and working at a garden center during the day. I did this for almost 6 years and found that I not only had a green thumb and a passion for horticulture, but I knew I wanted to develop a path for myself in the industry. In 2021 I launched my landscaping company, Treescape Reality.

Through my company our team provides design, installation and maintenance of landscapes and lawns. Many services including but not limited to tree planting, sod installation, mulching, lawncare, trimming, groundskeeping to name a few. We solve many problems for clients. Sometimes a client has a home that wont sell on the market and I get to beautify the outside and make the home more attractive and higher valued. Sometimes a client has property with poor drainage, and I can design functional landscaping that solves the issue and provides appeal. Sometimes a client simply can’t do the work they need do to age or injury and I get to provide the services they need at a high standard and affordable rate.

I’m proud of a lot of things about my company, but most of all is that I’ve been able to build my operation around my morals. I’ve always been passionate about sustainability and minimizing my impact on the planet we call home. I now have a much larger obligation to manage my landscaping company in a way that reflects the principles and standards that support my morals and making as much of a positive impact as I can. Every day I work more towards finding ways to be better and do better by our Earth.
I’m proud to say that with Treescape Reality Landscaping we avoid the use of harmful chemicals in our maintenance, design into almost all of our landscaping natives and pollinator friendly plants, recycle all of our empty landscaping containers, compost all of our plant waste and debris, take steps to improve and maintain soil health in our landscapes, consistently use drought tolerant plants to minimize water/irrigation waste, encourage and educate our staff and clients to make earth- conscious decisions with changes to their lawns and landscapes, use electric equipment over gas when possible, run efficient routes to minimize our waste of gas, use solar lighting instead of electrical, use organic composts and fertilizers, push tree planting always and upcycle used materials for hardscaping projects.
When it comes down to it, I feel like every day we should be implementing practices and celebrating efforts to live in a way that benefits this beautiful biosphere were all sharing

I’m also proud to be an employer that pays my team a livable wage, well above the market average for the positions and offers every holiday off, bonuses and fosters a safe and enjoyable work environment.

I want everyone to know that I’m on a mission to make the world a better place and I’m happy to be able to take that mission to someone’s home and create an outcome that makes everyone happy at the same time. I value my work, my time and have a high standard for excellence and execution and I try my hardest to not only treat everyone equally but to be a better landscaper, business owner and person everyday through the work I’m doing and providing.

Any advice for managing a team?

The best leader takes responsibility for developing a team that can be successful. This means that they not only take on the wins but also take ownership of the losses and mistakes. The leader takes everyone’s specific skills, aptitudes and individual traits and puts their team in a position to learn, grow and be successful comfortably. A good leader sets boundaries and holds everyone to the same standards and most importantly shows gratitude and willingness to provide someone a relationship beyond just being a manager. The best advice I can provide through my early experiences is to not overlook the team members that don’t meet the standard. It is important to believe in someone and not want to give up on someone but the best team I’ve had became better when I let go of the team members that weren’t on the same page.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I’m sure many people can relate to this, but I’ve drawn a lot of entrepreneurial knowledge, interest and growth through watching the TV show Shark Tank. I’ve seen every episode and feel like this is a great starting point for anyone wanting to see the process of turning passion into success or failure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.treescapereality.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreescapeRealityLandscaping

Image Credits

Credit to Svana Stokes for images