Curtis Atkinson
CEO, Sunline Landscapes, Salt Lake City
1. How did you get into the industry?
Like a lot of us in the industry, it started with mowing lawns. In a roundabout way, that was my start. I knew at a young age that I would have a business of my own. I really loved being outdoors. I really loved the equipment and building stuff, and it morphed into what it is today: Sunline Landscapes. I love seeing our clients enjoying their outdoor living spaces and landscapes that our team helped create. It’s pretty amazing.
2. How has your 2024 been?
Things are going quite well. We’re actually ahead of budget and quite a bit over where we were at this point last year. The only thing I’ll say that isn’t as positive is it feels like calls have leveled off a little bit. Our pipeline is super strong, but our backlog is not quite as strong as it was last year. Through the second quarter, it’s been great, but the last half of the year is going to be interesting, but next year looks awesome!
3. Are there any tools you’ve been using that you’re excited about?
Industry-backed software has been a game changer for us. We’re on Aspire. A lot of the plug-ins they use help us track and measure projects, properties and equipment. This is all software I didn’t have five or six years ago — I was predominantly using QuickBooks and Excel spreadsheets. Having that software is a total game changer for us to know what our numbers are. It gives us benchmarks of where we need to be. We’re making sure that how we’re estimating is setting us up to be profitable, and we’re measuring our team and how we’re doing, how our production is doing and where we need to improve.
4. Do you have a day in your career that stands out as especially memorable?
For me, there are a couple of moments, but one that really stands out to me was when I started the company. I was single, so there was not much risk, more just having fun. When I got married and we started a family, I was like, “I have to care for and provide for my family.” This isn’t just a job, it’s a career and a lot more is at stake. Plus, I started realizing — you know … a lot of my team have families too. We’ve got to take this a little more seriously. We all have careers, we all have families. We’re all having fun, but let’s see what we can do together.
5. Tell me about your family. What do you all do for fun?
We basically chase our kids around to whatever sporting events or cheer events they’re doing. They’re my life. I love my children. I love my wife. We’ve been married 18 years now. I would say our getaway right now is spending time at the lake with the family — we love being on the water. Our kids are very active in soccer, cheer, mountain biking, golf and skiing. We’re just at a busy age right now. Sometimes, we’re just high-fiving in the hall because we’re just passing by each other on the way to different games or events. It’s kind of a ‘divide and conquer’ thing with my wife and me, but that’s my ‘why.’ My oldest is Ethan, he’s 15 and a soccer player. Rikki just turned 13, and she’s in competitive cheer. Ryder is our youngest — he’s 10 and into golf, mountain biking and skiing. We also have a daughter that we lost four years ago. She would be 17 this year. Her name is Ellie, and she’s our angel, watching over us.
