Make Your Presence Felt

Contractor Jonny Nichols discusses how to build buzz in your community

'People know it is us when they see that green leaf,' Jonny Nichols says. 'It's something different that helps us stand out.'
"People know it is us when they see that green leaf," Jonny Nichols says. "It's something different that helps us stand out."

Jonny Nichols started his company, Jonny Nichols Landscape Maintenance in Dover, DE, as a freshman in high school in 1994. "I had a Murray riding mower I'd bought used for $100," he recalls. "I had to hire a senior to drive me around to my jobs."

Business took off in the 1999-2005 timeframe. That's when Jonny Nichols added lawn care to its service offering. That's also when the Jonny Nichols name began to resonate more loudly in the Dover area.

The year prior, Nichols helped install the irrigation system when his old high school renovated its football stadium. "We donated all of the labor and worked together with some of the agriculture students," Nichols tells. "I still get new clients today, 15 years later, who remember that I'd helped with that football stadium renovation."

Nichols is also heavily involved with the local fire company, Ducks Unlimited, and Three Stones Church. While all of these types of efforts are undertaken to simply be a good community steward, they do pay dividends from a networking and business development perspective.

To further build brand awareness, Nichols came up with an idea four years ago. He developed a new logo that features a green leaf to the left of the Jonny Nichols name. "We make sure that leaf is on everything," Nichols says. "We even had stickers made which we give to our customers. We see them on their rear windows in their cars. People know it is us when they see that green leaf. It's something different that helps us stand out."

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