June 2013
| Business World Magazine | 267
tor drew a line on the map that separated
Florida from the rest of the nation. He told
the class that while most of what he would
teach involved national trends; Florida was
essentially in a world of its own. Seasonal
weather meteorology, climate, and pests
combine to pose challenges unlike anywhere
else in the world. For customers that genu-
inely care about their green space, there can
be no guarantees unless they’re being served
by someone who truly understands the plant
species, growing cycles and pest prevention
techniques unique to Florida. Early on, Peter
says it wasn’t enough to simply rely on hired
expertise; his awareness had to be as great, or
exceed that, of anyone he hired. “Just hiring
experts left our business at a disadvantage...
being able to actually hold licensure, having
the ability to inspect what you expect, that
approach has made a big difference for our
company,” says Peter.
Teamwork has proven to be another es-
sential ingredient. Peter says he has seen too
many companies fail due to customers going
un-served by operations un-led by absen-
tee owners. “You have to be involved in the
technical delivery of your services, and you
have to be able to teach what you require,”
