“We do just about everything but mow lawns,” says Thurston, who founded his business in Dalton, Georgia, in 1995. “My objective is to do great landscaping and for my customers to be happy with it when I’m done.”

 Even better, as his customers have learned, top-quality products and services don’t have to come at top-of-the-line prices. “I’m in business to make a living, not a killing,” Thurston adds.

 As such, he takes pride in offering free estimates (within a 50-mile radius) with no hidden charges. “Customers will ask me if I have surprise charges, but I don’t work that way,” he says. “My estimate is always the same as my bill, and that’s what sets me apart from a lot of other landscape companies. If I estimate a job wrong, then that cost is on me. My customers appreciate that.”

 Thurston helps keep his rates down by selling his products at cost, and he keeps his business liquid and debt-free, which means that he doesn’t require up-front deposits in order to begin a job.

 As you learn more about Thurston’s business practices, you start to realize that this same customer-focused attitude permeates every aspect of his operation.

 “We don’t show up to a job with mud and rust all over our trucks,” he notes. “My employees are always professionally dressed, and they don’t smoke on the job site.”

 

Thurston personally supervises and gets hands-on in each project his company takes on. His level of involvement even includes accompanying homeowners to nurseries to make recommendations and help them pick out their own plantings at wholesale cost.

 Thurston, who has a degree in landscape design, in addition to countless hours of further training in specialized areas, also makes it a point to follow through on each project. That starts with free follow-up visits two weeks and three months after completion and extends to an 18-month warranty on his products.

 “I’m the only landscaper in this area who offers a full warranty on his structures,” Thurston says, noting that the practice is especially beneficial for customers who hire him to install water features.

 In fact, water features such as falls and ponds are his area of specialty. He spent two years educating himself on the construction of such features as well as the different materials, manufacturers and products on the market.

 “I enjoy the construction aspect of it,” he says. “I also like the peaceful, relaxing sound of a waterfall when it’s finished.” (To learn more about water features as part of a home-landscaping plan, see the related article.)