CENTRAL FEATURES
Living the Dream

by Patrick White

Owner of the Mowman Group fulfills childhood aspiration

Attention to detail and doing the “extras” (like mowing at a higher height and striping) allow The Mowman Group to bring world-class lawn care to customers in the small community of Warsaw, Ind.

Brian Elliott operates The Mowman Group, a lawn service company in Warsaw, Ind., and he’s committed to being the best in the business. “I probably care more about the lawn care industry than anybody on the planet,” he says. “My wife can’t stand it because I’m almost obsessive about it.”

Brian Elliott says he’s living out his dream in the lawn care business and remains committed to being the best lawn care professional possible. His simple but eye-catching logo has caught on with customers. So many asked about the design that he now sells a line of Mowman clothing.

Elliott’s main passion is to leave every lawn he works on perfect. “Anyone can cut a lawn, but it takes real experience, skill and desire to do a world-class job week in and week out,” he explains. It’s the little things that make a big difference, says Elliott. “Every day, I challenge the guys to be great at whatever they do that day. Everything we do is directed at the customer. We’ve worked hard at developing very distinct processes that deliver a very high-quality finished product. We’re in a small town, but we have a relatively affluent client base that really wants quality. Whether it’s the lawn or the edging, there are a lot of fine details that go into the job.”

Even customers who are not as well-off appreciate the quality so much that they also sign up for the service, he adds. By creating processes and systems, Elliott points out, his crews can do high-quality work efficiently and cost-effectively.

One example is the “The Mowman Edge,” a process of edging that leaves a 2 to 3-inch dirt edge around all hardscapes and landscape beds. “It’s a dark border with a deep edge, and it leaves a very finished look,” explains Elliott.

The same distinct differences can be seen on the lawns that The Mowman Group maintains. “We always mow the turf high,” says Elliott. “The process we use involves rolling the yards with stripes. It takes quite a bit of time and skill, but when the lawn is finished it certainly is world class.”

Another example of processes leading to quality can be seen in the fact that The Mowman Group schedules only three and a half days of work each week, meaning it can cover all of its sites even in the event of bad weather, equipment problems or some other unexpected development. “This industry is about service, lawn service,” says Elliott. “If you can’t provide service every week then you’re not going to be in business long. So many companies overbook, and then they’re always playing catch-up. Life gets miserable pretty quick that way. I’ve been there, I know.”

Elliott recognizes that some people look at lawn care providers as “the bottom of the barrel,” but he’s working to boost the public’s perception of the industry that has been formed by lawn care companies providing poor work and service. “We try to take a different approach and make a commitment to quality. We may be doing the same mundane task, but we can create a company that our employees have pride in,” he says. “Each year, we probably make about 10,000 site visits, and in a given year we might have three calls from customers with a complaint or pointing out something we missed.”

As a smaller company (20 employees in the peak summer months), Elliott is reluctant to grow so large that he wouldn’t be able to stay on top of the work the crews do to ensure the details are taken care of. Right now, 75 percent of the company’s work is commercial, most of it for banks and financial institutions. “Those kinds of businesses are looking for clean and consistent work every week,” he explains.

Once employees buy into the concept of taking pride in their work, Elliott says that training them on The Mowman Group’s processes isn’t difficult. “You just set the expectations. If they can’t buy into the quality theme, it’s not going to work out here. If they don’t understand that they have to pick up every stick, not most of the sticks, or if they don’t understand that you have to get every weed, not just the big ones, they’ll end up not lasting long,” he says.

One example of the details that The Mowman Group uses to set itself apart can be seen in the edging that employees do. “It was developed with the ‘edges of old’ that Country Clubs used to have in the ‘50 and ‘60s,” explains Brian Elliott, company owner. “Their edges were manually produced and took a lot of time to maintain. We have a process that allows us to deliver this edge to all hard surfaces and natural beds. It gives a very distinct border and a fine finish. We utilize this process at a minimum of every other week during the growing season.

At the same time, Elliott has found that most employees really do take that approach to heart and strive for quality. “It’s interesting, but we really have developed our own culture and people really want to come work here, it’s enjoyable. We can only pay so much monetarily, but there are other ways to help out employees. For example, we can be flexible with their hours. The younger generation really appreciates that I’m flexible. If they’re going to have a late night or have something to do, and maybe they can’t come in until noon on a certain day, as long as we know in advance, we can work with that, and that has created real loyalty among the guys.”

In the pursuit of always improving the quality of his work, Elliott isn’t shy about bringing his ideas for equipment changes to manufacturers in hopes of developing the tools that meet his exacting specifications. “I’ve seen the entire evolution of this industry, from the days when there weren’t real blowers and trimmers to today. When I started, everyone used push mowers. Then larger walk-behinds came and then the larger zero-turns,” says Elliott. Currently, he is trying to return to using push mowers on projects that allow it. “Especially on smaller residential yards, heavier mowers can take a toll on the turf after five or six years of repeated use,” he points out.

In fact, Elliott is starting a small division of his company devoted to the use of push mowers and will promote the advantages of smaller mowers in his marketing materials. “The challenge is to find a really good, commercial-quality push mower,” he says.

The company mission for The Mowman Group is “to improve the lives of all involved.” While Elliott says he strives to do that on a daily basis in his interactions with customers and employees, he’s taken it one step further by creating an off-shoot of his company called Lawns of Love, which provides free lawn care service to senior citizens. “I’ve always wanted to do something that had an impact on people beyond myself and my family, and this has made a real difference,” says Elliott. “We just contacted a local senior citizen center and they gave us a few names, and we started from there. Some of the people will come out every time we’re there to say thank you. Some of them will be crying and tell us how much it means, and that this service is helping them stay in their house a little bit longer.”

In addition to The Mowman Group’s commitment to quality, Elliott attributes that success to the fact that the company is committed to processes, rather than being reliant on particular pieces of equipment or the skill of one or two employees. “We’ve tried to make each of the tasks as simple as possible, so that employees can be trained and carry them out,” says Elliott. “The result of these processes is quality, and that’s what defines our work. There’s not one day that I don’t look forward to waking up and getting to work. It’s always a challenge. I’m living out my dream.”

Patrick White is a freelance writer and editor who has covered every aspect of the green industry in the past 13 years. He is based in Middlesex, Vt., and is always on the lookout for unusual stories.