Eric French works for Eisler Nurseries in Butler, Pennsylvania.
He has a COOL JOB as a landscape architect.

A Day in the Life Of:
During the busy season, French racks up between 1800 and 2500 minutes on his cell phone per month. He gets 20 to 30 phone calls a day from customers in Pittsburgh and the surrounding suburbs.

French gets to his office around six thirty each morning and dispatches his crews. He then reviews estimates and does some paperwork. He spends a chunk of his day coordinating projects with landscape architects and engineers. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, French is on the road. He makes sales calls, visits sites and helps his crew with some trouble shooting when needed.

How He Got That Gig:
For fourteen years French has developed Eisler Nurseries into what it is today. The Nursery itself is 70 years old and was family owned and operated until French stepped in. “It was almost bankrupt when we came here,” said French, “It takes personality and hard work to develop a business.”

Taste of the Goods:
Eisler Nurseries build playgrounds for local parks and schools. Some of their projects include: building a “natural environment” project at the Pittsburgh Children’s Zoo. They also worked in conjunction with a soil scientist to engineer a solution to the problem of a swampy football field at Grove City College in PA.

Career path: French has a Horticulture degree from Penn State University. He started his own business when he was a teenager mowing lawns and landscaping. “It was just me and a truck,” said French. Through his business he put himself through college and has continued to flourish as an entrepreneur.

High Five: “Seeing projects get finished. When we’re done you can tell we’ve been there.”

Down Low: “Collecting the money.”

Words from the Wise: “The most important thing is to stand behind your work. It’s important to be there to do replacements and fix work that the customers need. So many other companies take the money and run. They don’t provide the backup work. That’s why they go out of business.”