2020 SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS AWARDS — NJSBDC | 23 2020 Small Business Awardee NJSBDC AT RARITAN VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Organic Plant Care, LLC. Bill Grundmann P.O. Box 201 Frenchtown, NJ 08825 908-309-6611 https://organicplantcarellc.com Bill Grundmann has worked in the tree care industry for nearly 35 years. He obtained his Bachelors of Science degree in Forest Resource Management from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry at the State University of New York in Syracuse. After graduating, he worked as a consulting forester throughout the southeastern United States managing timberland for private and industrial clients. In 1984 he moved to Hunterdon County, NJ, and began his career in arboriculture, working for a private tree expert company for 25 years in management and as a sales representative. Grundmann is a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert and NJ Approved Forester. During his successful career, Bill Grundmann implemented plant health care programs that focused on soil testing and utilizing organic products to manage plant nutrition and insect and disease outbreaks. He found the whole-system organic approach to plant management to be superior to conventional programs that used synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. For years he tried to steer the company in this new direction, but the ship wouldnt turn. So, he decided to start his own company, Organic Plant Care, LLC, founded in the Spr ing of 2009. In its first year of operation, Organic Plant Cares annual sales totaled $88,000 and staff consisted of Grundmann and one other employee. Annual sales now exceed $1.1 million, with nine employees. Bill contends that his business is successful because, We do excellent work. That is the secret to our success. His greatest business challenge has been finding great employees. Not only has he been able to achieve this goal, but many of his current employees have been with the company for the long term. He believes the great strengths of his business are the quality of Organic Plant Cares employees and the high level of customer service they bring to their jobs. The SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds he received in May allowed him, as an essential business in the midst of the pandemic, to weather the storm of uncertainty and we were able to hold on to all our employees. Since 2008 to the present, Grundmann has received guidance from the NJSBDC at Raritan Valley Community Colleges Vicki Lynne Morgan for star t-up and marketing; Bill Harnden for QuickBooks, business plan and financing; James Carty for legal; Michele Walten for QuickBooks and Rita Auld for human resources. Bill Grundmann knew he had the confidence and scientific knowledge to run his business, but he preferred to be out in the field doing the work, rather than in the office. The assistance you (the SBDC) have given us is unbelievable, said Bill GrundmannI bet youve helped a lot of people. The NJSBDC at RVCC looks forward to continuing to assist Bill Grundmann and our Center business advisors and staff wish him and Organic Plant Care a very successful future. 2012029 v2 NJSBDC 2020 Awards Book_TEXT.indd 21 12/10/20 3:24 PM
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