13 Dec Lessons From Opening a Time Capsule – “This was only a dream”
“We buried a time capsule in the employee garden the first week I started working here 10 years ago. I am so excited to dig it up and show everyone how far we’ve come” – crew leader Remus Cavillo overheard at a company BBQ summer 2024.
The year was 2014. We had just completed merging our two businesses and were ready to build something special. In 2012, my mowing & snow removal business ‘Omaha Friendly Services’ combined with my partner, Hugh’s, landscape installation and supply business ‘Sun Valley Natural Stone’.
Sun Valley was started in 1995 in the South Omaha neighborhood of ‘Sun Valley’ and mine while I was a freshman at Creighton University in 2002. We envisioned a company that could provide our clients “Landscapes For Life” – from design, materials, installation and maintenance of beautiful landscapes, we could be there through your journey.
But there was far more to our vision than that: we wanted to create career opportunities for hard working folks, we wanted to make a positive impact in our community, we wanted to be a role model for our city and our industry. We wanted to be considered one of the best. At the core, we wanted to share our love of the outdoors with all the stakeholders of our business. We wanted to make a small difference in the world.
We opened the time capsule last week. I got emotional telling the story of how far we have come with our team. This photo above was literally just a dream 10 years ago. We have indeed built something special.
HUMANS – Putting People First
I remember the day I graduated from Creighton well. I took off my cap and gown to go mow lawns the rest of the afternoon. While my classmates were preparing to take jobs at Fortune 500 companies, I was working on a farmers tan operating garage sale lawn mowers.
Needless to say, my peers thought I was crazy. But I knew there was something special about creating beautiful landscapes but more so, there were amazing people working with pride and passion to support their families and make our clients happy with their work. It was where I was meant to be.
The most powerful item in our time capsule was a letter we wrote about what we wanted our business to look like in 10 years – Read Dreams.
There is one line in the letter about our people that always gets me emotional when I read it.
“The crews that just got off are smiling, hanging out in the employee center, trading pictures of the great work they did today. They make plans to meet at a nice restaurant with their families over the weekend.” – exert from DREAMS
It’s that last line that fuels my heart. People deserve a good life working with their hands – they deserve to go to a nice restaurant once in a while. In 2014, we had 8 employees with year-round careers and only a few making more than $35,000 per year. Fast forward 10 years, we have DOUBLED our average wage rate from less than $11 per hour to now over $22 per hour. We have over 30 employees with year-round careers and benefits, nearly half of our team makes over $50,000 per year, every employee that works for us makes above the US DOL “living wage for an individual adult”.
Our first core value is “People Come First” because our business is nothing without our humans. I am so proud of the team we have built and the professional service they provide our clients.
We Have Come A Long Way
I started the business with “little yellow” – a 1994 F250 I bought for $2800 from Kiewit. She was a beauty…in my eyes only ☺ Our fleet has grown over the years to over 30 shiny, new black Sun Valley trucks. The trucks are just a tangible example of our businesses growth with your support.
Over the last 10 years, our business has grown 5x over. It was a wild goal we had that I never thought possible. But it’s not the size that matters to me…
SERVE – Providing a Superior Experience
We are in the customer service business. We just happen to be in the landscape industry. Our team takes so much pride in doing a good job for our clients. It’s ultimately all that matters. It’s why my favorite core value is “Serve” – we are here to serve you and those important to you. It’s a privilege to be welcomed to your homes and businesses. To the places you make memories with your families.
10 years ago our biggest clients were foreclosed homes and house flippers, we now work on some of the nicest commercial and residential properties in Omaha. This is not something we take for granted. We do a good job at the landscaping, but I think the way we show up and treat people is the real reason for the opportunities we have.
We love serving you. It’s a meaningful and satisfying life’s work. I want to thank you, our clients, for your support, trust, referrals, reviews, and business. Thank you for raising our standards and allowing us to do what we love.
OWN IT – Giving Back To The Community
“If you want to change the world, start with yourself” – Gandhi
One of the first jobs I did in “little yellow” was tilling the “Refugee Garden” on 33rd and California. Then a new simple landscape for the “Lydia House” in their old house downtown. It struck me at a young age the impact of giving folks a beautiful outdoor space had on their confidence and outlook on life. We are so lucky, giving back in small ways is the least we can do to support a community that has given so much.
We get way more out of it than we put in. Over the last ten years, we have provided over $350,000 of pro bono work and donations to community gardens, food pantries, veteran groups and families, homeless shelters, non-profits and city parks. “Own It” is a core value that typically involves being accountable to our clients and team, but I think it’s especially important when it comes to the community. If we want to live in a world that gives every person grace and respect, we need to start with ourselves.
LANDSCAPES FOR LIFE – Sharing Our Stories
My Dad loaned me the original $20,000 to buy “real” mowers, trucks and equipment to get the business going after college. We ran the business together for a few years and when I later read his “life story” he wrote before his passing, he said “working with my son Paul was the best time of my life”.
Over the last 10 years, we have been there with our clients and our team through all of life’s moments big and small: births of kids and grandkids, marriages, funerals, divorces, cancer diagnosis, moving parents in to live with us, seeing our kids go off to college, buying our first homes, moving into a retirement community, becoming a citizen, planting a tree, losing a 100 year old oak in a storm, sitting in our favorite quiet garden spots together for a coffee, all of it.
When trying to think of what impact our business has had over the last ten years, these stories are what come to me again and again. How lucky are we to share all of these moments together. To share a love of the outdoors and to intertwine our lives together in small and big ways. My favorite compliment I receive is “your crews look so happy”. I think we hear this often because we’ve created a place where all are welcome, where we are respected, and accepted as ourselves. A place where we can pursue excellence and strive to get just a little better everyday at serving our clients and to make a small impact on your story.
The patios we build where you host your friends and family, the tree we plant that one day your grandkids will climb on, the flowers that make you smile pulling into the office each morning. It’s an honor to share in your story and be a part of the places you make memories with your people.
30 Years Together
2025 marks the 30th year in business for Sun Valley Landscaping. We are proud and excited for what’s ahead. We have many exciting announcements coming as we celebrate and forge the path for the next 30 years. We are so grateful for the support of our clients, our team, our partners and the community. None of this would happen without each of you.
I commit to continue our life’s work of getting a little better everyday, of following our core values and in building something that is more than just a small business. We will try to make our world a little better by starting with ourselves. We hope that you will join us ☺
Thank you and Happy Holidays from all of us at Sun Valley Landscaping
- Paul Fraynd, President and CEO