Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Pittas.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I accidentally stumbled into the landscape industry. When I turned 14, I wanted to get an after school job to save money for a car. The grocery store around the corner never replied to my multiple application submissions. I guess, my neighbor heard about this and felt sorry for me. He offered me a job cutting his lawn. That was my first client. Then, another neighbor needed help with their lawn, and so on. Eventually I thought, “Hey, cutting grass is a pretty good deal!” and I leaned into the job.
Fast forward a decade and some change, and I actually grew to love working outside. Not only was the work a good way to earn money, it was also very rewarding to visually see the fruits of my labor. After being in business for 12 years, my focus has sharpened on sustainable landscape and ecological practices. My business has also been a catalyst for new projects, like our shop/urban farm where we are trying to establish a sustainable landscape and urban farm ecosystem that works with nature to solve issues that face growing and landscaping.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For better or worse, life is not linear. General each year has been more successful than the one prior, at least by conventional metrics. However, the beginning was very difficult. I was essentially a kid working long hours of physically demanding labor in addition to learning how to operate a business. I’ve dealt with several obstacles, like finding, training and managing labor, working with demanding clients, balancing work and life activities, seeking loans, etc. Just like everything in life, there are conflicting objectives, and eventually you settle into an equilibrium that sufficiently satisfies those objectives.
Lately, I have been very blessed to have a good support system, passionate employees, and good clients.
As you know, we’re big fans of Green Thumb Yard Care. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Green Thumb Yard Care strives to deliver professional, high quality, outdoor services that support a healthier ecosystem.
The majority of our revenue comes from landscape maintenance. However, I am passionate about projects that bolster Maryland’s unique ecosystem, such as rain garden installations, native plantings, and more recently, transforming our shop into a hub for sustainable landscaping and regenerative urban agriculture.
I think we fulfill a unique niche in the landscape industry. There are many companies that approach this work with a laissez faire attitude, missing estimate meetings, ghosting clients, etc. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, there are very high quality (and high price) enterprises that have a very good service, but charge exorbitant rates, at least in my opinion. We try to offer a balanced third alternative, with professional services and reasonable prices.
Like I said earlier, I strive to satisfy conflicting objectives and sleep soundly at night. In my opinion, there are 4 main pillars, high quality work, respect for clients, respect for employees, and respect for the environment. What sets us apart from the competition is the way that we balance those pillars. We always do our best work, that is easy. But charging clients fairly and paying employees a living wage is not always easy. It cuts into the bottom line and for some customers, it simply costs too much to pay for services that don’t exploit the workers providing them. All the while, we try to educate our customer base and implement ecologically sound principles into our services where ever we can.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We provide free estimates for our services. You can find online at GreenThumbYardCare.com or google Green Thumb. We are passionate about jobs and services that work with nature, but we also offer conventional landscape services as well. Furthermore, we are working to formalize our urban farm and hopefully create a sustainable landscaping and urban agriculture ecosystem. I am sure there will be plenty of opportunity for education and collaboration as that project matures.
Pricing:
- Use our services or don’t use our services. We try to price every job fairly and our main goal is to help homeowners and property managers care for a landscape that is beautiful and beneficial to the flora and fauna of our area.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Greenthumbyardcare.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenthumbyardcare
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenThumbYardCare/
- Other: https://share.google/Eg6sGwMBanWzyyENP
