Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Srnec.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Landscaping started for me when I was young around my house & my Grandparents house. Telling my sister that one day I would start a landscaping company and she could run the books for me. Fast forward to the summer of sophomore year in high school, and I got my first landscaping job though a friend, I worked at the company with a few of my buddies just having fun everyday.
After high my buddies when off to college, and my best friend Max Kjos went off to serve in the Marines. I also went off to college at St Cloud State University to study Cyber Security. I continued working for the landscaping business in the summers and some weekends while attending college, this time as a foreman. After graduating with my bachelors degree, I was planning on Landscaping for one more summer.
One month before I was to start my new job, Max Kjos came back from the Marines and we landscaped together for what I thought would be the last time. fast forward a few weeks and right before I was supposed to start my new job I fell at work and brock my right arm needing surgery with a couple month recovery. I told the new job that I couldn’t start until my arm was better and they understood.
During my off time Max got the idea that we should start our own landscaping company. At first I thought it was a crazy Idea, but working with Max sounded like a great idea and I got the okay and support from my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife. That winter Max and I started SK Landscapes and when spring came we started doing our own projects while also subcontracting jobs for our old landscaping company.
There has been plenty of long days and long weeks. But season after season we have continued to grow and learn as a company and have been able to help over 160 of our own clients as well as over 100 subcontracted projects. We have grown from one truck and renting equipment to having two trucks, a mini skid loader, and server other small engines.
Max has decided to turn another direction and will be heading off to school this August while I take over full ownership of the company as we continue to grow.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth ride,
two weeks into our first season we got a flat tire on the truck we were renting and had to wait 2 hours for my then girl friend to come pick us up from Minneapolis where we were working.
One month into our first year Max cut two of the tendons in his arm and was out for almost the entire season. This led us to hiring our first two employees one of which is still with us today!
During our first year we got a notice in the mail and a fine for not filing taxes for last year. little did we know since we technically made the business in the fall the prior year we needed to file taxes. Since we did not do any jobs we did not think we needed to. $400 later we found out the hard way that we needed to.
We have gotten stuck in the mud with one of our trucks twice after a big rainstorm. little did we know that when our trucks are empty at the dump sites they do not have much traction.
Our second year we did not get a notice to pay our workers compensation insurance and they did not send us anything saying we were late until we got a call saying it had been cancelled. We ended up having to pay fines and get a new provider. We also got a new insurance broker that has better communication.
The weather has bought a lot of trouble as well, one week you will get a lot done and then the following it will rain 3 days. Figuring out how to properly budget for all of the rain days and days off has definitely been a learning curve.
Two years ago we had 3 employees all brothers and they got whooping cough at the start of the season and where out for a couple months with that. Learning how to try and keep on schedule was definitely challenging.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about SK Landscapes?
SK Landscapes was founded by two hardworking individuals looking to do honest work and treat clients how they would like to be treated. We are always looking for opportunities to learn more and better serve our clients. We enjoy demoing old landscapes and bringing new life to clients outdoor space. When doing all of our projects we always focus on drainage and keeping water away from peoples houses. Landscaping & Hardscaping isn’t just nice to use and look it, it is a functional piece of the puzzle in keeping water issues away from your house.
The thing I am most proud of is we always treat clients property’s as if it was out own. When we do a rock removal we get rid of all of the rocks not just some. then we always properly regrade beds to ensure water is going away from the foundation. And we always communicate with our clients on what we will be doing and any problems that arise. We also have 4.5 miles of adopted highway that we clean every spring and fall as a way to give back to the community and help keep our plant clean.
We are a client focused company with good ethics. We work hard to take care of our client even when things arise that we did not plan for.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memory is laying outside one night on the concrete Infront of my parent’s garage with my sister looking up at the stars until the sun started to come up. The hum of the bugs, glow of the moon & stars. And this feeling of wonder and possibility! (There were no mosquitos that night which was awesome! haha).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SKlandscapes.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075925174731
