When he was just 10 years old, Wes Shelley unknowingly launched his horticulture career by helping his dad, Eric Shelley, who worked at one of the world乌鸦传媒檚 most famous gardens. But despite those early years at The Butchart Gardens, Wes never planned to follow in his father乌鸦传媒檚 footsteps.
乌鸦传媒淚 never really thought much about horticulture and gardening when I was helping my dad,乌鸦传媒� explains Wes, co-owner of . 乌鸦传媒淚t was something I just did to help him out.乌鸦传媒�
But after studying music composition in college and doing a stint at a recording studio, Wes changed his mind.
乌鸦传媒淚 was hoping to have a career in music but I decided that would be a pretty tough life,乌鸦传媒� the 35-year-old says. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檇 always wanted to be my own boss, so I asked my dad what he thought of me starting a landscaping company. He initially said he thought it was a really bad idea!乌鸦传媒�
But Wes was determined to make it work, so Eric gave him his first truck, a mower and the basics to get him going. He was only 20 years old at the time, and he admits he had a lot to learn.
乌鸦传媒淚 was pretty young and inexperienced in life and sort of relying on my own gumption to figure the whole thing out,乌鸦传媒� Wes recalls. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檇 picked up a lot working with my dad but I realized there was still a huge amount I had to learn.乌鸦传媒�
And that乌鸦传媒檚 when his passion for horticulture really started to grow.
乌鸦传媒淎s I started doing it, I realized there was quite a strong connection to what I learned in music in that there乌鸦传媒檚 an endless depth of knowledge,乌鸦传媒� Wes says. 乌鸦传媒淭he amount there was to learn was so great and that actually made it more stimulating than I expected it to be when I started out on my own. And that propelled me onto a mission.乌鸦传媒�
As the business started to flourish, Wes realized he could help others find their passion by exposing staff to a field with limitless learning and the potential for career growth乌鸦传媒攊ncluding paying for their Red Seal training at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 a common misconception that it乌鸦传媒檚 just a labour job or outdoor janitorial work, but the amount that our supervisors and staff need to know and understand is huge, and it乌鸦传媒檚 constantly changing because we乌鸦传媒檙e working in a living environment,乌鸦传媒� says Wes. 乌鸦传媒淲e have lots of staff who have come from other industries and found their passion.乌鸦传媒�
Believe it or not, Fallingwater Landscapes doesn乌鸦传媒檛 actually hire anybody with landscaping experience. Instead, it recruits people from other industries who are looking for a positive change. And while it might sound counterintuitive, Wes says it works.
乌鸦传媒淰ictoria has one of the highest concentrations of landscaping companies in Canada,乌鸦传媒� he explains. 乌鸦传媒淭here are over 400, and most are really small. Because it乌鸦传媒檚 such a low barrier to entry business, you get a lot of people that just don乌鸦传媒檛 have the sort of depth required.乌鸦传媒�
In the past, when they乌鸦传媒檝e hired professional gardeners who have the knowledge, Wes says, they found they often didn乌鸦传媒檛 understand the pace required for a residential and strata environment. As a result, they乌鸦传媒檝e developed a strong training program, and they can get people to the pace and knowledge needed relatively quickly.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 worth it for us to take that time to train people right and get them excited,乌鸦传媒� Wes says. 乌鸦传媒淭hat initial investment pays off because we end up keeping people for a long time and we don乌鸦传媒檛 have to worry about re-training bad habits.乌鸦传媒�
Much like learning about plants, growing a business has been a big learning curve, and everything was put to the test four years ago when his father decided to retire from the landscaping company he started after he left Butchart.
乌鸦传媒淲e were operating as competition for 10 years and he kept saying he was going to retire in a couple years, but never did. And then he called me one day and said, 乌鸦传媒業乌鸦传媒檓 retiring in six months乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綌so we scrambled to deal with that.乌鸦传媒�
Both companies had about seven employees at the time they merged, and Wes was in talks to buy a small irrigation company.
乌鸦传媒淲e tripled in size and it was a messy year,乌鸦传媒� he admits. 乌鸦传媒淚 learned that I didn乌鸦传媒檛 want to do that again! We were just overwhelmed in how much shifting we needed to do in the way the business was run and there were a lot of dropped balls and a lot of unhappy clients and it was a really difficult period of time.乌鸦传媒�
Tough as it was, it taught Wes and partner Drew Coleman an important lesson. It changed their perspective on how they wanted to cultivate the business.
乌鸦传媒淚t made me look at where the next phase would be, and where the next breaking point would be in growth. It乌鸦传媒檚 at about double where we are now,乌鸦传媒� says Wes. 乌鸦传媒淪o we乌鸦传媒檝e kind of set that as the cap. We乌鸦传媒檙e not interested in infinite growth.乌鸦传媒�
Instead, they乌鸦传媒檙e focusing on mentoring their 21 staff and building client relationships with their high-end residential and strata customers, including dream client Dockside Green. They乌鸦传媒檝e also restructured so supervisors have more autonomy.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e really been able to step away from that dictatorial, 乌鸦传媒榗ommand and control乌鸦传媒� business structure, which is how so many businesses are run,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e learned how strong a company can become when everyone buys in.乌鸦传媒�
For Wes, it乌鸦传媒檚 all about getting people passionate about something. And he乌鸦传媒檚 the first to admit, most of the staff are now more capable than he is when it comes to horticulture.
乌鸦传媒淚 think as humans we just thrive when we乌鸦传媒檙e given opportunities to learn and grow.乌鸦传媒�
