THE WORK of young Daniel Mulroue came to our attention when a senior citizen in Pevensey Bay mentioned a tree replanting service that he had provided. In a word ‘expert’ she said. Silver birches for silver surfers. We decided to find out more about the new kid on the block. Does the email address the1greenkeeper.gmail mark a potential pole position in the Bay? So often a virtual salespitch is more hype than hypertext. Maybe a winning formula with the publicity, but does his work stand up to detailed scrutiny? We began by finding out the meaning of amenity horticulture—Bay Life, 12 December 2015
Bay Life: You are young to be running your own business, how did you get started?
Daniel Mulroue: After leaving school I went on to work at Eastbourne Downs Golf Club . I stayed there for 6 years and gained a qualification for Amenity Horticulture ( sports turf ) .
BL: It looks like you have built up quite a body of experience. What did you do when you left?
DM: After leaving the Downs I started working for the landscape group for 4 years working in partnership with Eastbourne Borough Council. I gained a lot of experience and more knowledge on plant species . We looked after a lot of the parks and gardens throughout Eastbourne as well as the Carpet Gardens .
BL: The business profile, with the services that you offer, has both range and depth, are there other elements to your experience that have informed your decision making about the proposed client base and services that you have set up?
DM: We also took care of a lot of residential and sheltered housing areas were I also gained a lot of experience.
BL: But big decision to go out on your own, what triggered the move to set up your own service?
DM: I decided to go on my own and start working for myself after doing a lot of private work and getting excellent feedback, I decided it was time to give it a go . Having gained knowledge and experience I knew that I could provide an excellent service.
BL: Where are you based?
DM: My business is based in Langney in Eastbourne and covers surrounding areas
BL: You mentioned that you are two years into the business. What benchmarks do you see in terms of evaluating the business?
DM: Since starting the Greenkeeper, I have not looked back and work has been steadily rising since. Getting excellent feedback helps greatly being a newly established business.
BL: What services do you offer?
DM: We offer a wide range of services from grass cutting to planting , turfing, hedges shrubs maintained, pruning , patio jetting, garden clearance, weekly/fortnightly maintenance, lawn care to complete maintenance programmes.
BL: That is an impressive roll call of specific services but it must have been quite a leap in the dark starting off, even with the knowledge and experience. Was there a specific ambition that motivated you?
DM: If you don’t try you’ll never know. With my knowledge and experience I knew I could provide an excellent friendly service. It has always been an ambition of mine to start my own business.
BL: What is the most challenging job you have been asked to do?
DM: I have had to do a complete garden design from planting hedge row, turfing, decorative borders and making if look pristine.
BL: What was the customer response?
DM: I had excellent feed back and the customer was very happy.
BL: The lady who commissioned you to to replant two fully grown trees said “absolutely lovely, delightful young man”. Asked to sum up the service, she said “expert in one word”. “He is so modest, not showing off or anything, just gets on with the work”. We asked her to identify some details that marked out the work and she said, “the strap and the pole that now supports the silver birch in the new position”, explaining, “I can just see how professionally it has been done”….. You are getting some pretty positive feedback in the Bay. How does that feel?
DM: It feels brilliant to know that I’m making a difference and people are happy with my work , it’s always nice to hear good feedback. My aim is to do the best job possible for the customer and hearing feedback like that makes it worthwhile.
BL: You have clearly got natural confidence and a level of experience that is a credit. Combined with natural ambition, it looks like you have got a winning formula to go with the email address. So where are you headed next with the development with the business?
DM: I am looking to grow the business within the next few years. My aim is to provide the best service around.
To contact Daniel Mulroue email:
telephone 07519324358
WEEKEND FEATURE INTERVIEW: “Daniel Mulroue: New greenkeeper aims for pole position in the Bay”: 11 December 2015
Simon Montgomery, editor, Bay Life
