Our Story
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
I started The Color Green in 2004. But like everything else in life, there’s a backstory.
Growing up in the 1980’s, my love for working outdoors began to take root at my Grandma’s house.
My Grandma came to America at the age of 17 from Finland, just five months before The Great Depression started with the stock market crash. She was a model of hard work and sacrifice as her and my Grandpa began their lives together, building a family in the middle of economic upheaval.
As my Grandma aged into her golden years, one of the big ways I got to connect with her, was working in her yard. Her lawn and garden was a big deal to her, but it was more than she could handle on her own.
So I loved going to my Grandma’s house and being with her, getting to use her Snapper self-propelled mower…the smell of fresh cut grass…pausing to eat fresh berries and plums and tomatoes and carrots out of her garden…seeing how relieved she was to have the lawn taken care of.
Fast forward to after high school, I got a job at a local landscape company. I couldn’t believe I could get paid to do something so enjoyable. But I was young and dumb, and got fired for doing a tire burnout in the work truck.
I then got a job working in the home medical equipment services field, as I got married and began building a family of my own. But 8 years later I couldn’t get away from my love of working outdoors, and combined with the need to make some extra money to support my growing family, I started doing landscape work on my own during evenings and weekends. Then, before I knew what I was doing, I had a full time business.
I was able to get mentored by my former boss (who had fired me for burning out in the work truck!) as well as some other landscape contractors. I rode the economic wave a few years later and got licensed for installation and irrigation, and added several employees. It was exciting times!
And then the economy crashed.
As we entered into The Great Recession, I had to scale back to a solo operation and primarily do residential landscape maintenance service. It was a tough crash, and I wasn’t ready for it.
But I quickly found that I had a great family whose support and encouragement would get us through.
A scaled back business afforded me the opportunity to have my older kids work along side of me in the summers, getting to make extra connection with them, instilling a work ethic and a love for the outdoors; showing them the joy and relief people experience when their yard is taken care of.
My oldest son, Caleb—now grown up and married—continues to grow in his role as our company grows. And as we add more people to our team, we seek to duplicate and multiply the bond we share in our work: a love for working outdoors, cultivating people and plants.
Toward a beautiful yard…and enjoyable life!
Erik Wright, owner