BRIAN AND CATHY PINE, PINE LANDSCAPE CENTER

| 2014 Q2 | BRIAN AND KATHY PINE |

What is your company’s most important commodity or service?
Bulk Landscape Supplies

Other than monetary, what is your company’s most important priority?
Customer Service

What has been some of the most important aspects of your success? 
Customers Staff and building relationships with others

How many people does your business employ?
Three full-time and three to four part-time

How do you and your business make a positive impact on the Lawrence community?
We are here to provide products that can beautify our community through the efforts of do-it-yourselfers & landscapers in the area.

What do you see as your personal responsibility and your company’s responsibility to the community?
To be involved, support our community, and give back when and where we can.

What would you change about doing business in Lawrence?
Continue support of small/local businesses in our community by providing economic incentives to on-going small businesses.

With new technologies and changing expectations, how have you managed to remain relevant and profi table? Or, how has your business changed over the years to remain relevant?
Try to carry quality, affordable products at competitive prices and strive to give superior customer service.

How do you manage your day-to-day stress of business?
Let Go & Let God! We are not in charge – everything we do is His and he can get us through the daily stresses!

How do you reward excellent work performance? How do you manage poor performance?
We try to have quality, trained staff that possess good personal skills so that they represent our company in a positive manner.

What is the biggest challenge you feel your company faces?
Trying to stay competitive in today’s marketplace and trying to keep up with the ever changing and increasing amount of licensing and regulations.

Over the course of your career, what has been the single largest change in the Lawrence business environment?
It has become a more urban population, which has caused our business to evolve to allow us to remain part of the small business sector in Lawrence

What do you foresee as being the biggest challenge for your business currently and in the future?
Are there going to be enough rooftops to continue to support our business. On a local level?

Keeping small business competitive in today’s marketplace. ■