Meet a Design/Build Revolutionary: Michael Sidlowski

Meet a Design/Build Revolutionary: Michael Sidlowski

Prospects and clients come to Live Oak’s design studio for ideas and design inspiration.

Profile: Michael Sidlowski, Founder & President, Live Oak Landscape Contractor, Piscataway, NJ

Employees: 80 Employees, Peak Season

Mix: 48% Maintenance, 28% Design/Build, 14% Irrigation, 10% Snow

Years in Landscape Business: 20

Business Focus: “We focus on high-end residential landscape design/build work, maintenance, irrigation, and snow services. I started this business in 1989 while I was in college, and by the time I graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in landscape architecture, the economy was doing poorly — so I stayed in the business. In 1993, I was joined by a partner and we incorporated the business. It grew from only $24,000 in 1989 to more than $6 million in 2005.”

What’s Unique in this Business: “We’re doing better than we did in 2008. Our clients mostly are residential but we also do design/build work commercially. We go beyond ‘shrub-smithing’ or patioscaping — most of our clients want multiple elements, like a pool, patio, deck, plantings, gardens, etc.

Economic Viewpoint: “What many people don’t realize is that housing (and housing-related industries) are first to decline in a downturn, and should be the first to come back. We’ve known this economy has been coming for a couple of years. We’re weathering it by not replacing staff who have left. But we’re now seeing it go the other way and are getting legitimate phone calls for high-end projects people are considering. So maybe we’ll be among the first to recover.”

Competition has been tough, Sidlowski notes. “I call this economy the ‘new normal,’ because it’s not going to go back to being the way it was. Anyone who will be competitive will need to have good systems and methods in their businesses, more than ever. We don’t want to chase cheap projects. When work comes back, we want to be the quality provider that gives outstanding value.”

Changes in Business Since Attending the Kinman Institute: “The Kinmans’ Process hit me like a ton of bricks,” says Sidlowski. “I was busy with so many things when I first attended their seminar, and it was a great revolution to understand their standards and methods, to start designing for the clients’ appropriate needs and desires.”

“This Process set me free to give the clients what they want. I realized the value I provide sets me apart in the market.”

“We started changing our business from seeing three to five clients on weekends to establishing our own design studio where clients come to us. We implemented a design fee, which weeded out a lot of jobs I was running to. These things put me in the driver’s seat. I was exhausted, looking for a new way to run my business. In the old way, I was minimized and not viewed as a professional, an expert, a consultant. It was degrading, and I was miserable.”

“Now, it is liberating.”

Advice on the Kinman Institute: “If you haven’t experienced Gary & Cynthia Kinman’s seminar, you need to do it for the betterment of your company, especially in this new economy. It will give you ammunition to succeed in it.”

Loves to Do: “We love to travel and recently returned from California. Locally, we do backpacking, mountain biking, all kinds of exercises. I like to stay fit and get plenty of exercise.”