Madison Planting & Design Group started with rock-solid foundation

Madison Planting & Design Group in Canton began flourishing from the very beginning when Kirk Cameron and Randy Graves opened the landscape design/build/maintenance company in 2004 to serve the Central Mississippi area. Before true and lasting success was established, Cameron and Graves laid some strong foundation blocks first.

"Every team member is introduced to the company by learning the mission statement, vision statement and guiding principles," explained Cameron of the staff of 25. "These company values are not left on a shelf to be reviewed occasionally. These statements are in front of every team member every day to remind us how MPDG expects everyone to conduct their daily activities. It's their responsibility to set the example for how our team responds to situations by living these values. And decisions made by our team members that are guided by our mission statement, vision statement and guiding principles are supported whole-heartedly."

For the company's first two years, its employees were spread throughout the metro Jackson area. Cameron and Graves each did double-duty to keep pace with the 20% annual revenue increase.

"In 2006, we moved into a permanent location with all divisions of the company on the same site," said Cameron. "We identified key positions in the company and filled those areas with young, talented people that will lead MPDG into the future. We developed meaningful relationships with our, vendors that have allowed us to secure the quality materials our customers demand and we expect. We have also maintained relationships with subcontractors that consistently provide the quality product our customers demand and we expect. All of these are accomplishments we set out to accomplish in February 2004. We have built a great foundation for our future."

Cameron and Graves chose to locate their business in a Madison County industrial park to take advantage of lower property costs and taxes (and therefore pass along lower overhead costs to customers) and position themselves with excellent interstate access to capitalize on both the residential and commercial boom in the Jackson metro area. Plus, explained Cameron, "the character of our site was perfect for allowing the diverse micro-climate types needed for our material storage."

Even though MPDG serves all segments of the market, three of four customers are residential, a market typically underserved by registered landscape architects who are focused on quality, creativity and establishing long-term customer relations.

"MPDG's focus is evaluating existing conditions of a property and producing a design solution in the form of a landscape plan," said Cameron. "Clients receive a cost estimate illustrating the installation of the landscape plan, including necessary plants, landscape materials and labor to implement the plan as designed."

Repeat and referral business represents the majority of MPDG's work.

Also, "through our knowledge, expertise and business contacts, we're able to take advantage of opportunities in the commercial segment of the market," said Cameron. "This approach allows us to negotiate directly with the company or representative to provide a quality product with excellent service, which results in value for our customers."

Like most young businesses, MPDG has endured growing pains in its formative years. "We handle all of our situations using our mission statement, vision statement and guiding principles to direct our actions," said Cameron. "To sum it up, we treat our customers the way we would want to be treated. We treat our employees with dignity and respect. And we deal with our vendors honestly and expect them to deal with us just like we deal with our customers."

Established relationships are the driving force in MPDG's ability to achieve its mission, goals and objectives, said Cameron, "and have allowed us to quickly prove ourselves as a leader in quality landscape design and construction in our industry."

Copyright Mississippi Business Journal May 26, 2008
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