Greensleeves CEO, David Truby, has been involved with the business since its early days. Here, he looks back on a remarkable journey for our company as we celebrate our 25th birthday…
I started in the lawn industry as a sales representative for a company that sold fertiliser and pesticides for sports turf clients in the mid 1990s, including golf courses and pitches for local football clubs. Around that time, a market for lawn care was really starting to emerge and as a result of that the opportunity to work with a variety of lawn care companies presented itself to me.
One of the companies that really attracted my attention was Greensleeves Lawn Care, which had been founded by a man named John Warham. I developed a close working relationship with John in my capacity as a supplier to Greensleeves and as I continued to work with lawn care companies, I found myself becoming increasingly excited about the industry.
The next natural step for me was to take my interest further. This led to me having a conversation with John Warham about developing the Greensleeves business and I ultimately decided to come onboard and buy a franchise with them, which I ran alongside assisting John with his vision for expanding the company.
My wife Laura took on the administrative side of the business and I took on the practical and sales side, sharing my time between running my own franchise and helping John with the technical side of the business as well as growing the Greensleeves network and selling franchises. All this was happening in the early 2000s, by which time we had really started to give the business direction and were on the cusp of a period of rapid growth. Eventually, John Warham wanted to retire and reduce his involvement. I then took an even more active role, bought up a higher percentage of the company and began a new chapter as the CEO of Greensleeves.
It’s a story more than 20 years in the making from a personal perspective, with the company itself celebrating 25 years of operations in 2023. I am proud to say that Greensleeves is still in business and has been successful for many years. Launching and growing a business is never easy, but with the right team and a passion for the industry, it is definitely possible and it can be incredibly rewarding. If you are thinking about starting your own lawn care business, my advice would be to do your research, surround yourself with a great team, and never stop learning.
Looking back on my journey in the lawn care industry, I am grateful for the initial opportunities I had working with as many companies as I did back at the beginning. They served as inspiration and taught me valuable lessons that I have been able to apply to my own business. I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to form a partnership with John Warham and develop Greensleeves into the successful company it is today.
It is important to stay up to date with the latest techniques and products. The industry is constantly evolving and it is important to be adaptable and able to change with it. At Greensleeves, we strive to provide our customers with the best possible service and to stay ahead of the game in terms of technology and trends.
And last but certainly not least, there are two groups of people to thank – without them we couldn’t have achieved the success that we’ve had. We’ve had thousands of loyal customers through the years and every single one of them has been so important to us. And to all the staff we have employed and to all the franchisees, past and present – thank you for helping to make the first 25 years of Greensleeves so exciting and so successful!
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