Tim Buiten
President, Tim’s Complete Landscape Management, Seattle, Wash.
1. What would you like Landscape Management’s readers to know about your company?
I started my landscape company in 2011. I’ve got a landscape company that will do maintenance and one-time projects. I also have a separate irrigation company that supports the landscape company, Mist’er Rain, which has its own customers and supports the landscape company’s irrigation needs. We do high-end residential and commercial work. We work primarily in South King County, Seattle and the Tacoma area.
2. How did you get started in the industry?
I’ve been doing landscaping since middle school and high school. I went to college to get a business degree so I could eventually start a business. I knew landscaping, so I started a landscaping business. I’ve never worked for anyone in my life before. I didn’t know where it could go. But after a couple of years, I hired my first employee and then my second. And then I got hooked up to your magazine and discovered GIE+Expo (now two separate events known as Elevate and Equip Exposition) and learned that this is an industry where it can be a couple of employees, but it can (earn) up to tens of millions of dollars a year. It was pretty amazing to learn that from trade magazines, the National Association of Landscape Professionals and the state organizations.
3. Do you have a most memorable day at work?
I posted for a general manager position. David (Peterson) came in for the interview, and we ended up talking for about three hours. We found out we were born three days apart. We were both born in Michigan, but we never knew each other. That stands out as a day that started to change things because after I hired him, we became a really great duo, to what we are today and continuing on together. Finding that right-hand guy is a huge thing. I was lucky and blessed to find him early on when we were smaller. That’s a day I’ll always remember.
4. What do you and your family do for fun?
My wife Kristin and I have three young kids. We’ve got a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 2-1/2-year-old. We’re in that stage of doing fun activities, but nothing extreme. We’re probably a couple of years away from being able to take the family to do bigger things, so it’s just sports activities and small half-day trips.
5. You’re well known for having a big appetite. Buiten (pronounced bite-en) is the perfect name for you. What’s your record for most food eaten in a single setting?
I once ate 175 shrimp at Red Lobster. That meal cost about $17. So, I got each shrimp for about 10 cents apiece. I definitely got my money’s worth that day.
