A decade before Todd Harrington helped New England Organic Farming Association (NOFA) establish guidelines for organic horticulture, he had already figured out how to grow an organic lawn.
And he’s put that knowledge to use with his own business, Harrington’s Organic Land Care, which he has operated in Bloomfield since 1987. The company generates revenues of nearly $1 million annually by selling organic and sustainable plant care to more than 1,000 residential and commercial clients.
Harrington’s customers include an apple grower in Turkey and Miss Porter’s School in Farmington.
Harrington’s business growth is based on his commitment to the health benefits of organic lawn care. “The deeper you dig, the darker it gets,” he said. “In 1960, something like one out of every 300 people got cancer. Now it’s what — one out of two? Pesticides are destroying us. Our soils are depleted. There’s no minerals left in them.”
Although he enrolled in a Small Business Administration (SBA) program before launching his company, much of his entrepreneurial education took place outside the classroom.
During the past two years, Harrington learned a valuable lesson: what can happen when investors enter the picture and cause a small company to grow too fast for its own good.
Harrington sold his company to the investors of Safelawns in 2007. “Safelawns wanted to franchise my company and make it national. They raised millions, got private investors and made me an employee,” Harrington said.
“They were all about the sizzle and not the steak. I’m all about the steak. I lost my identity with them, my personalized approach to my business. You could offer me $1 million to go to a big company today and I wouldn’t,” he said of the experience.
With legal help, Harrington retrieved ownership of his business in 2009.
Although the customer count dropped from 2,500 to 1,000, Harrington said he is better able to personally service his clients now.
Although the economy “sucked out” about 30 percent of his business, Harrington made a number of changes to reduce the company’s operating costs, including:
• Refurbishing older equipment;
• Reducing staff from 15 to 4 full-time employees;
• Servicing more commercial clients;
• Selling retail services directly to homeowners.
Despite the recession’s effect, Harrington is optimistic about the future of his enterprise because more people and companies are choosing pesticide-free products.
It is helpful to Harrington that Connecticut has launched a green, lawn care initiative. In 2007, Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said that Connecticut made history by becoming one of the first states in the United States to ban municipalities from applying pesticides on the grounds of elementary public schools.
“There’s been more public awareness and concern about chemicals in the environment, which is causing people to look at alternatives. That has been part of what’s led us to be more involved in this issue,” Schain said.
Still, it’s not always easy for Harrington to convince customers to make the more costly switch to organic land care.
“I’ve been trying to get a big farm owner to switch from pesticide to organic. His chemicals are running off into the Farmington River. He knows it’s a problem, but doesn’t want to spend the money right now. I hope that changes sooner rather than later,” he said.
Joanna Smiley, a freelance writer from Collinsville, will periodically serve as a guest columnist for the Hartford Business Journal.
