Business Opportunities Weblog

April 13, 2008 by Nicholas | 1 Comment

MyDesert:

Bob Smith is one of the owners of Teserra, the area’s largest designer and builder of outdoor environments. He’s come a long way. He started in 1979 by digging trenches for $2.65 an hour at a San Fernando Valley pool company and then set out to learn plumbing and masonry. Today, he and four partners own Teserra, which calls itself “Builders of Exceptional Outdoor Living.”

According to Bob, “We started out as a swimming pool company. It was a successful office of California Pools and Spas. We re-branded two years ago because we wanted to have a brand that could encompass the whole outdoor environment, and we wanted to grow beyond our Coachella Valley territory.

We opened an office in Orange County about a year ago, and it is becoming successful. We are working in south Orange County mostly. A number of our customers in this area also had homes in south Orange County. One of our favorite customers, the Harrises, invited us to do their outdoor environment in Crystal Cove.”

When asked about his biggest mistakes Bob replied, “Not realizing that this downturn was going to be as big as it is. We estimated the downturn would be about 20 percent or so, and it ended up being far greater than that of our business. We’ve had to reduce expenses, including staff. We now realize it is a deeper and longer problem than we anticipated in 2006. We don’t anticipate it ending for a year and a half.”

Image via teseraoutdoors

In Niche | 1 Comment