Ron Fritz never wanted to be in business for himself. After all, there’s too much uncertainty and too much risk. The smoother road ahead would be to continue to drive truck. Then why, one asks, does he own six diesel Walker Mowers, employ 11 people, and operate out of a spacious facility? His answer is pretty straightforward: "Sometimes it’s better to make your own way."
That’s just what he has done. Fritz the Gardener, as his company is called, offers full service to a wide variety of customers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Its focus is on retirement communities and HOAs, but also counts a few industrial facilities and residences among clients.
From Truck To Turf
Like many landscape contractors, Fritz started out in the residential market. In his case, however, it was landscaping that piqued his interest, not maintenance.
“I was hauling oil out of Lancaster when the company I worked for was bought out,” Fritz recalls. “In between jobs, I did some landscaping and trimming for a co-worker of my wife, Kathy, and later via word of mouth picked up other landscaping jobs. Being raised on a dairy farm, I was accustomed to working outside, and I always enjoyed working with my hands.
“For the next seven years, I continued to drive truck and do landscaping,” Fritz continues. “The day job was four days on and three off, allowing me to continue to work on the side. In 1992, I took a leap of faith and left my day job. From the very start, though, I was known as Fritz the Gardener because that co-worker had told Kathy she always wanted a gar- dener named Fritz.”
Eventually, Fritz changed his focus from landscaping to maintenance. With two young children, daughters Krissy and Renee, he wanted more of a family life, and one-off landscaping jobs forced him to spend most evenings selling.
As Fritz’s focus changed, so did his tools. His first mower was a Honda walk-behind. His first rider was a rear-engine John Deere. When Fritz won the job for a large condo 15 years ago, he needed a commercial- grade mower and settled on a Walker Mower “look-alike.”
“The machines didn’t perform that well and I traded them for three liquid-cooled Walker Mowers with 48-inch GHS decks,” says Fritz. “I put a lot of hours on them, probably around 500 a year.”
A burgeoning business soon forced him to move from his farmette outside of Lancaster to a plot in town where he constructed a new 4,500 sq-ft facility. Fritz changed from gas to diesel Walker Mowers at the same time, in part because he was able to use off-road diesel.>
Mr. Efficiency
The fuel switch was inspired by an ongoing drive to become more efficient. Fritz’s diesel Walker Mowers, still equipped with 48-inch GHS decks, now have mulching decks in the ready, allowing for efficient and easy disposal of clippings when weather and grass conditions permit.
When collecting clippings, an electric dump on his Walker Mowers keeps the machines in the field longer. “Operators pull up, dump, and then move away while lowering the dump box in place,” Fritz explains. “It still amazes me how much work our Walker Mowers do. They are very efficient.”
Fritz points to other efficiencies learned over time. Crews stay within a five-mile radius of the shop, keeping travel time to a minimum. Machines, other tools, and trucks and trailers are assigned to specific crews, making every- one accountable for their equipment.
“I’m always looking for new ways to get the job done,” Fritz relates. “In fact, I purchased an off-road Segway last year. So far, I’ve used it to inspect properties and it comes in handy to apply weed control. I simply strap on the sprayer and off I go. The electric motor is a plus, too, because it’s quiet.”
Back at the shop, there’s enough room to store all of his equipment inside except his trailers. The roof even collects run-off rain in a cistern, used primarily to supply water to mix up spray material, water plant material and wash trucks.
Never Say Never
“I never had a grand plan and never even wanted to own a business,” Fritz reiterates. “Be careful what you don’t want.”
Not having a background in landscaping, the reluctant entrepreneur became self-taught. He read books, took several six-week courses offered at Penn State, and worked closely with the extension service.
The education by itself didn’t carry the day for Fritz. Providing excellent service is his passion, something that can apply to any business in any industry. In addition to delivering a quality product for customers, he emphasizes that something as simple as showing up on time, returning phone calls, and having clean trucks and equipment gave his company access to a more high-end clientele.
“Weather permitting, we mow and do landscaping on a set schedule,” Fritz explains. “Crews work on landscape projects Monday and Friday and we mow Monday through Thursday. Fridays are kept short so we can clean trucks inside and out and maintain equipment.”
For challenges, Fritz calls out the weather as one, labor as another. “You can’t do much about the weather,” he says. “But when it comes to employees, it’s important to find people who can adapt to your culture. We’ve been fortunate over the years, having a couple of employees who have worked with us more than 10 years, and we have a retired equipment dealer, Ron Erb, who works for us part-time. You would never know he’s 70 years old. We also employ college students for the summer.
“Still, this work is labor-intensive and finding good employees always takes a priority,” Fritz adds. “Back at the office, Kathy handles all the book work, including accounts receivables and payables. Without her, I wouldn’t be in business.”
The business has evolved—and so has the owner. “I’m more of a businessman than a landscaper today,” says Fritz. “I made the switch six or seven years ago when I had to spend more time managing the work. Having 11 employees is about as big as I want to get right now. More employees would likely require another level of management. In fact, over the last couple of years, I’ve tried to reign in growth by selling most of my smaller accounts.”
Fritz doesn’t need to advertise and doesn’t even put his phone number on the side of his truck; only the company name is on his truck. “Some new customers complain that they’d had a hard time finding me,” Fritz admits, adding how that’s not all bad. “It virtually pre-qualifies them.” Not a bad position to be in for someone who never wanted to be in business.
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