Planning ahead and taking calculated risks have helped Mesa, Ariz.-based Genesis Landscape Solutions, which checked in at No. 124 on the 2024 LM150 list, grow year after year.
Ranked No. 41 for fastest-growing firms, the company experienced a 20-percent increase in revenue between 2022 and 2023 and again between 2023 and 2024. That’s typically how much it grows based purely on referrals from existing customers, says Joe Calland, CEO of Genesis.
“Over the years, we have seen that if we maintain our high standard of quality and hire passionate people to join our team, our satisfied clients are typically enthusiastic about referring us to new business,” Calland says. “This has been crucial to our sustained growth.”
Genesis, which was founded in 2012, also merged with two smaller local companies during that time and has been operating fully as one company since 2023.
With four locations, the company serves homeowner associations, commercial properties and municipalities across the Phoenix metro area. It provides maintenance, tree care, enhancements/construction, irrigation, pest and plant health services.
Making smart bets
Genesis’ philosophy is that it can’t be afraid to take risks and should always be prepared for the next stage of growth, Calland says. That’s something the company has done from the start when the founder of Genesis, Warren Wheat, bought a tree truck and underwent the arborist licensing process — all before the company had its first tree customer. Now, it runs an entire fleet of tree crews year-round and employs multiple arborists.
These days, those bets and risks mainly involve new hires and adopting new technology, Calland says. Genesis implemented Aspire Software, had multiple key new hires start in recent years, invested in building a leadership team, created common strategic goals as a company and added new incentive plans to reward the behaviors it wanted to encourage.
But like many others in the industry, Genesis faced challenges in 2023, such as inflation and record-breaking heat. The company also learned that rapid growth presented unique challenges, such as an overwhelming number of one-time projects and new processes to manage.
“We had to get extremely organized and set ambitious timelines to get those issues solved while at the same time not letting day-to-day issues fall through the cracks,” Calland says. “Our solution was to overcommunicate, relentlessly prioritize tasks and work in groups to make sure we got to the right answers as fast as possible.”
Eyeing growth
For others looking to grow, Calland encourages companies to set financial goals, create metrics the team can regularly track and invest in their business. He says many owners in the industry seem to overvalue cash and undervalue their time.
“Instead of dwelling on how much it will cost to hire that new person or get that new software, focus on how much time it will save,” Calland says. “Every business has an impossibly long list of challenges to solve, but if you can find yourself the freedom to attack the top issues on that list, you can make huge progress and differentiate yourself.”
If companies fail to do that, they risk getting stuck in the trap where there is too much to deal with every day that they can’t focus on their higher-level priorities, he says.
With Genesis’ team, culture and overall structure already in place, Calland says the company’s next focus will be on organizational excellence and the customer experience, which go hand in hand.
“Despite our growth, we want our customers to think of us as the same small company we were a few years ago, one that is eager to help and willing to go the extra mile,” Calland says. “We are going to put the work in to make that happen.”
