TO WATCH (Sarasota-Bradenton): Joe Gonzalez

ENTREPRENEURS TO WATCH: SARASOTA/BRADENTON

Artisttree landscape

maintenance & Design

Joe Gonzalez

But long before that triumph, Gonzalez was a true New York City success story.

The son of a Cuban immigrant and the grandson of an East Village bar owner, Gonzalez had grown up relatively poor in the Big Three of New York's notoriously tough neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan, Washington Heights in the South Bronx and Jamaica, Queens. He paid his way through night business classes at the City College of New York and later at St. John's University. And he worked his way up to executive roles with an international fashion conglomerate, where he managed big departments, made big decisions and took big trips to places like Paris and Milan.

"It was a very exciting time in my life," Gonzalez says of his days at American Can, a onetime Fortune 500 company. "It was flamboyant."

But it wasn't until 1990, when Gonzalez, then 42, moved to Venice with his wife and two kids that he discovered his entrepreneurial zeal. It was then, seeking a change of pace in his life, that Gonzalez bought an air conditioning repair company for $1 million.

It was his first big decision on his own without a multimillion-dollar budget to back him up.

It was also Gonzalez' first big mistake. The company he bought had just a small number of commercial customers and the biggest account was on the fritz because the client and some of his family had recently died in a plane crash. Says Gonzalez, with nearly 20 years of hindsight: "I didn't do the right due diligence."

Gonzalez considered moving back to New York and working for a big company again. But a throwaway decision in Venice turned out to be his lifeline. Turns out that when Gonzalez bought the air conditioning company, the business broker he worked with also sold him on a four-employee lawn mowing service that was booking no more than $20,000 a month in sales.

Gonzalez bought the company, Save On Enterprises, as a gift for his father-in-law, who was relocating to Florida with the family, too. "This would give him something to putz around with," says Gonzalez. "All it was was a mowing company, and not at all sophisticated."

After the air conditioning defeat, Gonzalez decided to stay in Venice with the goal of turning the tiny company into a customer service-first all-encompassing landscaping company. The company was unprofitable for the first five years, during which Gonzalez used some of his savings to keep things going.

Now, just short of 20 years since he bought the business, Gonzalez has succeeded past his wildest expectations: The company, still based in Venice but now called ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance & Design, surpassed $4 million in revenues in 2000, when it also opened its landscape design division. That move has fostered even more growth, as the company hit the $15 million revenue mark last year. It has 300-plus employees.

Clients are mostly made up of homeowners' associations and golf and country clubs, such as the Venice Golf and Country Club and University Park in northern Sarasota County. Gonzalez has mostly stayed away from new construction projects, so as not to get caught in the boom and bust vortex.

One key for Gonzalez as he looks ahead is that the company continues to excel in turnaround time. That's crucial, Gonzalez, says, as the company utilizes a four-day a week, 10-hours a day schedule, leaving Fridays and Saturdays open in case it rains.

Entrepreneurial TIP:

Q. What mistake have you learned the most from?

A. "Giving too many second chances to a bad seed," says Joe Gonzalez. "I have a tendency to like total confirmation before pulling the trigger on someone that isn't cutting it. I prefer to try my best to reeducate someone as opposed to removing them quickly."

BY THE NUMBERS

ATRTISTRTEE LANDSCAPE

MAINTENANCE & DESIGN

Year Revenue % change

2005: $10.61

2006: $12.99 million 22%

2007: $15.50 million 19%

3-year ave. annual growth: 20.5%

Employees

2005: 185

2006: 210

2007: 30