Trade Names: Virginia Lawn Pro growing steadily

Howard Rose was meeting with business brokers about potential opportunities when he learned that Virginia Lawn Pro was for sale.

"I was looking for something where I could apply the strengths that I had learned over the years at S&K," said Rose, who had been vice president of real estate at discount menswear retailer S&K Famous Brands when the Henrico County-based chain closed all of its stores in May 2009.

"I had to reinvent myself after S&K," said Rose, who had been with the company for 17 years. "I had been in clothing my whole life, and I thought maybe my calling wasn't clothing. It was something else. I had to look outside the box."

Rose bought the assets of Virginia Lawn Pro in August 2011 from a business broker at what now is Transact AOCP Inc. in Chesterfield County.

Virginia Lawn Pro provides year-round landscaping, lawn care and related services for commercial and estate properties. The company handles everything from tree care and custom landscape design and installation to grounds management services and the installation and service of irrigation systems.

"We are committed to being a silent partner in our clients' efforts to manage their grounds," Rose said. "One thing I have learned in seven months is that there are three things that make this business run: great people, good equipment and strong support. I can only provide two of those myself."

He sees similarities in the clothing and landscaping industries.

"You are providing a service and expertise that buyers don't necessarily have but know they need," he said. "They want excellent service at a fair price."

When Rose bought Virginia Lawn Pro, it had about 14 commercial clients and one residential estate client.

"We now have 18 commercial clients, and we've added two more estates," he said. "We don't do any residential other than estates."

Chaffin Bluff Farm in Henrico, home of singer Jimmy Dean, who died in 2010, and his wife, Donna Meade Dean, is one of the company's estate clients.

"They are top-notch," said Stefan Gunn, the farm's property manager. "They take care of everything. It's a very organized company."

He likes that Rose is available whenever Gunn has a question.

"Their customer service is amazing," he said. "Their all-around performance is outstanding. Howard took it from being a lawn-care company and turned it into a landscape company. He has turned it into a turnkey operation. It's a one-stop shop."

Virginia Lawn Pro focuses on customers in Richmond and surrounding counties. Clients include Famous Dave's BBQ, Robious Hall Shopping Center, General Services Corp. and Discovery United Methodist Church.

Rose is targeting premier commercial properties with good visibility, such as office buildings, apartment complexes and high-traffic retail locations.

He wants the company to have controlled growth.

"We want our current clients to remain happy and our new clients to be pleasantly surprised at the work we do," he said. "If we take on too much too fast, we could end up losing."

Jermaine Riddick, lead supervisor at Cofer Storage Co. in Richmond, finds it a pleasure to work with Virginia Lawn Pro.

"They provide an excellent service," he said. "Anything that we have needed, they have taken care of."

Chris Cumber, landscaping director for General Services Corp., which owns 13 apartment complexes in the Richmond area, finds Rose easy to work with.

"The landscaping at some of our complexes is a little older, and they have come in and put a fresh touch on them," he said. "They have given them a fresh look."

He is impressed that Rose is onsite with the crews.

"He puts extra time into getting it done the right way," Cumber said.