EP #254: Angelica Negrete with Royal Gardens Landscaping: Thriving in a Male-Dominated Industry
Jul 07, 2024
Jeremy Wolf
Discover the secrets behind building a successful female-managed landscaping business with Angelica Negrete of Royal Gardens Landscaping and Design. Starting with just a dream and a wealth of expertise in 2018, Angelica and her husband have navigated the challenges of the industry and emerged stronger than ever, even thriving through the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how their innovative use of design software and unwavering commitment to quality have set them apart, providing both residential and commercial clients with stunning outdoor spaces. You'll gain insights into their process, from initial client collaboration to ensuring compliance with city codes, and the importance of choosing licensed professionals to avoid costly pitfalls.
But the journey doesn't stop at landscaping. Angelica opens up about the unique challenges and rewarding experiences of being a woman in a male-dominated field. Hear her powerful perspective on the impact of women in industries like roofing, plumbing, and landscaping, and why it’s crucial to give them a chance. Angelica's story is a testament to the power of detail, trust, and perseverance, promising to inspire listeners to think differently about their own business practices and client relations. Don't miss out on her invaluable tips and the invitation to connect with Royal Gardens Landscaping and Design for your next project.
Discover the secrets behind building a successful female-managed landscaping business with Angelica Negrete of Royal Gardens Landscaping and Design. Starting with just a dream and a wealth of expertise in 2018, Angelica and her husband have navigated the challenges of the industry and emerged stronger than ever, even thriving through the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how their innovative use of design software and unwavering commitment to quality have set them apart, providing both residential and commercial clients with stunning outdoor spaces. You'll gain insights into their process, from initial client collaboration to ensuring compliance with city codes, and the importance of choosing licensed professionals to avoid costly pitfalls.
But the journey doesn't stop at landscaping. Angelica opens up about the unique challenges and rewarding experiences of being a woman in a male-dominated field. Hear her powerful perspective on the impact of women in industries like roofing, plumbing, and landscaping, and why it’s crucial to give them a chance. Angelica's story is a testament to the power of detail, trust, and perseverance, promising to inspire listeners to think differently about their own business practices and client relations. Don't miss out on her invaluable tips and the invitation to connect with Royal Gardens Landscaping and Design for your next project.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Jeremy Wolf.
Speaker 2:
Hello, hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. I am your host, jeremy Wolf, and today I'd like to welcome to the show another good neighbor, angelica Negrete. I hope I got that right. Yeah you got it right. Angelica joins us from Royal Gardens Landscaping and Design. Angelica, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:
Thank you so much, Jeremy. I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2:
Happy to have you and excited to get into this, and thanks, as always, to our listeners for tuning in to learn more about our great community and the businesses that serve us. So, angelica, why don't you start off by telling our listeners a little bit about your business? Royal Gardens, landscaping and Design.
Speaker 3:
Angelica Gavigan. First of all, thank you, Jeremy, for having me here. Thank you for having this space to show neighbors how important it is to actually get to know who they are working with, who they do business with, and you know. Thank you for giving me this time to share what my business is about. So Royal Gardens landscaping. It's a female managed landscape business, something really hard to find I was gonna say that to say that seems like it's not common in the industry.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, it's not common and you know we're a family-owned business. My husband also plays an important role in the business, but I would say I'm the girl boss because I'm the one who managed the big decisions in the business. I manage the business, you know, overall. So landscape Royal Garden started in 2018. 2018 was the time when I was expecting my first baby. It was a challenging time when we were thinking, okay, so what are we going to do now? You know we're both working in corporate America, we don't have family around, we are both from Colombia and you know, the opportunity and the idea came up. We're both working in corporate America, we don't have family around, we are both from Columbia, and the opportunity and the idea came up. Hey, if you have those technical skills in landscaping and I have my business background and customer service and sales experience why don't we join Versys and maybe try to open a business? Right, but one of the things that-.
Speaker 2:
What could go wrong?
Speaker 3:
right join, join versus and maybe try to open a business. What could go wrong? Right, yeah, I could go wrong.
Speaker 2:
Exactly Especially when you're having a baby and COVID right, Not to mention 2018. So what a year in you know Kobe, he asked her.
Speaker 3:
You know that was crazy too, but you know, somehow Kobe did help the business a little bit.
Speaker 2:
I guess it. I guess it would because you're working outside, People are home and they're stuck in their property so they start to notice. Hey, maybe I need some help with my landscaping and I can see how that would be good for business.
Speaker 3:
It was crazy. You know, when COVID hit, everyone was in their house, Everyone was looking at the backyard. I would say that people would go to their front yard and just sit there Backyard, sit there, nothing to do. What am I going to do now? Oh, what's wrong with my patio? Oh, now I don't have a place to be outdoor. You know, people were experiencing a lot of anxiety and they wanted to be outdoor somehow, but so now they had that chance to enjoy their backyards, enjoy their front yards, you know. Take care of those things that they couldn't really like take care of when they were busy at the office. So it did help me a lot to grow the business. Honestly, Of course, it was not a good situation for the whole world but, it did help some of the business to grow.
Speaker 2:
I want to back up for a second, because we didn't really get into exactly what you do at Royal. Obviously, the name implies you guys do landscape design, but let's dig a little bit deeper into that. Do you handle primarily residential? Do you also do commercial? Do you do routine maintenance services or do you specifically specialize on actual design projects? Let's get into that a little bit more.
Speaker 3:
So when we started the business, we started as a residential maintenance company and landscape design company.
Speaker 3:
Of course, we were not like some companies that they start like, oh, let's just open a business with no knowledge, no skills. We did have the knowledge. We did have the skills already because my husband he was already working for a company that was doing landscaping projects, so he had already, you know, he had had the chance to get those license, knowledge, that experience. And then, when I jumped into the business, I was also able to learn and I was also able to get licensed, like to, to, to learn new things, to, to actually bring more technical knowledge to the business. So, um, you know when that, when we started to enhance those knowledge, we, okay, now you know we are ready to start servicing um into another level, commercial properties. So at this point, uh, we're just servicing commercial properties for um maintenance service.
Speaker 3:
But when it comes to landscape design and installation, uh, if you have a renovation for your patio, if you want to redo your whole front yard you know anything that is landscape renovation for your patio if you want to redo your whole front yard, anything that is landscape related for your residential property, we can help you with that. We use a design software that helps our customers visualize what they are going to get. So they are not going to be signing a blank estimate without really understanding what they are going to be getting into like they will be able to visualize it like it's like a 3d video where they see how the project is going to look like. Same thing for commercial properties. We are a full service company, you know. Like you know, we try to do business with property managers, developers, uh, construction companies, um, anyone that that may need some landscape installation and that may also need a good landscape partner to help them manage their landscaping areas and outdoor areas for their properties.
Speaker 2:
Very cool. Now do you guys do like the, the, the backyard oasises by the? You don't do. You obviously don't do pools, but do you do like all the rocks and things around pools or strictly just like actual trees and plants and things like that?
Speaker 3:
so anything that you know anything that comes to mind with landscaping, we can do it like, uh, we we partnered up also with, uh, pool companies. Uh, like you know, sometimes, uh, we are not like we don't do pools specifically, but we have the partners. Like, if someone comes to me and they say, hey, I completely want to renovate my backyard and you know, one of the things, one of the scopes, it's putting a pool, uh, we can also, like you know, work together with the pool company into creating that, not just that little hole for the pool company, into creating that, not just that little hole for the pool, but the whole idea for the backyard, because there is a lot that comes to mind when you're doing a backyard, it's not just having that little place where you're going to swim, you also want to have your outdoor grill, you want to have maybe a pergola, you want to have landscape lighting to enjoy the backyard at night, you want to have beautiful plants around it, like even a water feature, like.
Speaker 3:
There are so many things that you can like, do with landscape, and it's just a matter of being creative and, of course, working with customers. Idea on budget, because you know, like I, I try to create based on your budget, like based on what they are, you know, know, expecting to do with their backyard and that you know the landscape idea.
Speaker 3:
The landscape software helps me a lot because you know, like they can see, okay, what's the budget you're looking to spend and they can see how that budget it's represented visually you know, it's transformed visually, Like they can see. Oh wow, that's great. Oh, I'm actually looking to do a little more or a little less, so it truly helps them.
Speaker 2:
Now, are you doing any? I know you mentioned that you do more service on the commercial side, design on the residential side. Are you doing any routine service on the residential side or is it strictly full design projects for residential?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, for residential, it's just full design.
Speaker 3:
When it comes to commercial, I'm also a landscape inspector, a certified landscape inspector. So you know I understand the city guidelines, the city codes. You know, I know what the inspectors are looking for and I know how to respect those codes. So you know I'll say that when you are looking to hire a landscaper, just don't think, oh, it's just a landscaper that knows how to use a shovel and make a hole. No, it's not like that. There is a lot that comes to hand into the landscaping that every landscaper should know, but that is not required. You know, like we are not regulated. You don't need an education or license or a certificate to be a landscaper, but you should have it.
Speaker 3:
Not all companies understand this and not all customers ask for this. The fact that you are licensed and insured doesn't mean that you have the knowledge and you have the skills and certificates to do this type of work. That you should know how to correctly start plans, how to correctly start a new three, how to select a quality material. They all come in different grades. That's what also makes a difference when, uh, comparing estimates, customers don't know. You know, oh, yeah, I'm getting um an old tree. Yeah, he's also getting me an oak tree. Yeah, they are both 12 feet high. Yeah, but this one is quality grade b and this one is a florida fancy. It's a total big difference.
Speaker 3:
Guess what? The city doesn't need to use anything less than a Florida number one quality tree they want that and a bulb which is a bulb Florida fancy. So you need to understand all of these the planting heights, what needs to be around, the watering that comes after it so that it can survive and look beautiful. There are so many things that customers need to understand to select a quality landscaper. Sometimes we have to educate them and let them know, you know, things that they have to look for when comparing estimates and you know, hopefully, some of them. They do understand the difference. We try to be fair with the cost, but sometimes it's really challenging competing with, you know, competing in this industry. It's very challenging because of how informal the industry is.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. You can just go pick somebody up, basically off the street that's going to do some landscaping, and they don't have all the knowledge that you have and, like you said, there's code enforcement issues to deal with. There's it's a nuanced process, so it does make sense to have somebody that does have the proper training and licensing to do this.
Speaker 3:
You know a full design project? Yeah, exactly like if you're doing artificial turf, for example. You know there's so many ways to do a project to look similar, have the same type of product, but the quality into doing this could vary a lot yeah like I would just get some turf and roll it down in my backyard and it would get ruined inside a week, I'm sure, if I did it myself Exactly.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, there are so many different methods and ways to do artificial turf. One is cheap and one is high quality. Sometimes, of course, customers, they don't understand that part, so it's good to learn, okay, what type of understand that person. It's good to like, you know. Learn, okay, what type of like. Why is he charging me so low? Like, what's the method he's going to be using? Where is he going to be cutting ends, corners?
Speaker 2:
Where? Yeah, I think.
Speaker 2:
a lot of times, though, people and I'm guilty of this, like anyone, when you have a project to do, you're always trying to save money and cut corners, and you're getting quotes and you're trying to get the best price but then when it, when it all comes, when push comes to shove, at the end of the day, every time in the past not every time, but most of the times I try to nickel and dime and save money here and there. I end up paying for it later because the work is not done properly. It's a volunteer editor, if you can, to kind of operate knowing that you're going to have issues later if you don't do it right the first time. Commercial property managers.
Speaker 3:
I feel sorry sometimes because you know they have to handle, you know like they have to handle electrical contractors. You know, like plumbing, like so many issues, that it's nearly impossible for them to know all the technical things and details that they have to look for every single contractor they hire right. I've had the chance to see all the company's contracts, the scope of work, what they are offering, and I go like wow, like, wow, like this contract.
Speaker 3:
it's amazing, like they are offering everything for this price, like can't believe it, and then you go see the property and you go like that contract is not reflecting on that property, like they are not doing what they say they were gonna do for that price you know, but property manager didn't know, because they don't know what you know what pest control program is like.
Speaker 3:
They don't know what fertilizing fertilization is like. They don't know what the wet check is supposed to be like. There's so many things that they don't know about the contract sometimes that contractors may take advantage of that, so it's important that they hand they work with a company with great reputation. Uh, we have. We are five starstar rated since we started the business. We have kept those five-star rated on Google. It is really challenging and hard to keep those five stars during so long. We were also voted as the best neighbor landscaper for a different neighbor at the neighbor's app next door app next door sure yeah and then, um, you know like we also special specialize in diversity and inclusion.
Speaker 3:
As I mentioned, I'm a female in landscaping and, um, I feel that women's we bring so much into this industry. You know how customers sometimes are afraid into like giving you a deposit to buy materials because they don't know if you're going to run away with their deposit.
Speaker 3:
It happens a lot. They don't know if you're going to leave the project in the middle and just disappear. A lot of companies do that. Or they say they are going to start in a week and it's been a month and they haven't started a project yet. So, as a woman, I feel that we value that commitment. You know, like we, we truly like I saw the faults in the industry and I came here to like, oh, I don't like that, like that's so wrong, like this industry should, should be different, like there's so many things we can do different here. Attention to detail. As a woman, we take serious Woman's perspective.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, sorry, exactly as a woman. We really take serious the details. Sometimes we go like, oh, that shouldn't be there, oh, that's not a big deal. Well, it is a big deal for us there?
Speaker 2:
Oh, that's not a big deal Well it is a big deal. It's too funny there's actually. You got to remind me there's. There's two people I want to introduce you to. I've had on the podcast. First Tamara Chase. You know Tamara Chase. She's from Chase roofing.
Speaker 3:
Oh nice.
Speaker 2:
No, I don't know her, but I love her Same idea Woman-owned operating roofing company. Also Priscilla's Plumbing. She's a lady plumber. What they're both women in industries that you wouldn't really typically have a woman in that industry, I guess, running the business.
Speaker 3:
Wow, that's amazing. I love that. I'll have to introduce you to those two.
Speaker 2:
They're all about women in business and women entrepreneurs. It's fantastic.
Speaker 3:
I, I, I like like I can't even explain how much I love seeing women in. Like male dominated industry, Like landscaping, only has an 8% female representation.
Speaker 2:
You're going to love Priscilla and Tamara.
Speaker 3:
No, I love them. Like I met the other day someone who is in the car uh, car detailing industry. It's a woman also and she's like you have no idea the challenges I go through and I'm like I get it, you know, like I look younger than I am first of all. Second, I'm a business owner and third, I'm a female. Like I go to a customer who is looking to do a large project and they go like oh, you're the owner, oh, you're young.
Speaker 2:
You're the owner. Are you out of high school yet? What's going on here?
Speaker 3:
I have two kids. I'm 35.
Speaker 2:
You're still a baby. I do look younger.
Speaker 3:
Sometimes I get hesitant and I feel that I have to work harder. I have to work harder to prove myself and show them hey, I'm a woman and I do look younger, but I know what I'm doing.
Speaker 2:
You know, yeah. So, angelica, what would be, I guess, if you had to pick one thing that you'd like to leave our listeners with before we wrap up here, one thing you'd like them to know about your business?
Speaker 3:
One thing. Let me think about it. There's so many things, so I'll say that look deeply into what business you're doing business with, which contractor you're doing business with. Look deeply into what are they bringing to the table besides of a good price? What's their reputation number one? What's their reputation Number one? Are they going to be able to manage a great relationship with me and are they going to really care about, like me, being a hundred percent satisfied with what I'm getting? And third, do they know what they are doing Right? Yep, like I need to know that I'm. Fourth, can I trust them? Can I trust that person? Can I trust that business? Because sometimes you do need to. Like.
Speaker 3:
The peace of mind is so important Since the moment you start planning on a project, trusting that company, it's so important. I even tell my customers hey, I take my job so serious and I'm so passionate about what I do that I can also select my customers. If someone's not a good fit for me, I'm not going to take it, because not every customer is going to be for me. You know, I like to enjoy that relationship with the customer. I like to, you know, make them happy. I want them to trust me. I want to trust them. You know I want that to be a very exciting process.
Speaker 3:
So when you're looking for that, think about it and then also, if you see a woman in landscaping, give it a try. You're not going to regret it. You will see a woman in plumbing, in construction, in any male dominated industry. You will see the big, big change. Like you will see that all those parties, all those myths that have been around for a certain industry, for an specific industry, are going to be gone just because it's a female in the industry. We do bring a different point of view. We bring a different skill set. Like it's a big impact, you guys will see it. So someone that can give me the opportunity to work in your landscape project or to manage their commercial landscape part of the property, we'll see the difference. They will experience what's having a good company they can trust in.
Speaker 2:
Angelica, how can our listeners learn more? How could they reach you? Maybe share your website or contact information. Let us know how we could look you guys up, yeah.
Speaker 3:
So the first thing they can do, they can go to my Google page where they can entertain themselves reading my reviews, seeing what the customers have to say about me and my business, my husband, my assistant. She's also been, you know, like being trained for the field. You guys will see it. She goes to the field. She's learning a lot about plans, about how to manage projects. I need to multiply myself.
Speaker 2:
You know, and then when you figure out how to clone yourself let me know.
Speaker 3:
And then, um, you know, my cell phone number for the business is 954-669-6344. You can send me a quick message, you can call me. Sometimes I'll answer the phone. Sometimes Leo, who is my right hand side, will answer the phone. You know, we'll explain the process. You can see, you know the type of work we do, the quality we try to bring into every project, and that's going to help you a lot. But, yeah, the first thing you can do to reach me out is either send me an email, or send me a quick message, or give me a call.
Speaker 2:
All right, we're going to drop a link in the description to all of your contact information. Angelica, your passion truly shines through. One of the reasons why we do this show is to again get a look under the hood of local businesses and see who's behind the business, and it's always nice to see somebody as passionate as yourself bringing what you do to our great community. So thanks so much for everything you're doing and thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3:
No, thank you so much again and I appreciate it. Have a great, great weekend, you and all of you listening to the podcast.
Speaker 2:
Have a wonderful 4th of July.
Speaker 3:
Oh, you too, Thank you.
Speaker 2:
All right, take care, and thanks to our listeners for tuning in and we will catch you all next time, everyone, and we will catch you all next time. Everyone, take care, have a wonderful day.
Speaker 1:
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Cooper City. To nominate your favorite local business to be featured on the show, go to GNPCooperCitycom. That's GNPCooperCitycom, or call 954-231-3170.
