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At age 14, Nathaniel Halter borrowed yard equipment from his dad, Brian Halter, with a vision in mind.
“My brother and I decided that we liked doing outside yardwork,” Halter said. “And my mom told me that I needed to start saving for a car, because she wasn’t buying me one.”
With the help of his aunt, Jen Dibona, Halter posted flyers around his neighborhood in Birdsboro, sowing the seeds of what would eventually become Halter Landscaping Inc.
“That first year, we didn’t do a whole lot,” Halter said with a laugh. “We got some odd jobs here and there. It definitely grew from there.”
Halter said he and his brother Colin Halter started out mostly cutting grass, weeding, and mulching, servicing around six or seven homes throughout his first year in business.
Overcoming hurdles
Jumping into the industry without insider experience was a challenge — one of many that Halter overcame.
“We kind of learned on the fly,” Halter said. “As we kept going, we kept getting better and better.”
After years of accumulating experience and positive reviews, Halter was able to hire his first full-time employee in 2015, at age 19.
Halter said bringing on industry veterans helped the business expand even more.
“There were actually employees I ended up hiring that had a lot more experience,” Halter said. “That’s how we got into Christmas lights and hardscaping. Some of the stuff I didn’t know about, I relied on their expertise.”
He was also aided on the administrative end by Chad Zerbe, a family friend, who Halter eventually brought on full -time as business manager after the pandemic.
Now, after nearly 15 years of work, Halter, 28, is no longer running his father’s lawnmower around a handful of yards.
Halter Landscaping employs 45 during the peak season, who perform a suite of services at homes and commercial properties around Berks every year.
Halter’s services include mowing, weeding, trimming, walkway and garden design, patio installation, hardscaping, power washing, seasonal cleanup, and turf and field painting.
Last summer, Halter opened the newly constructed Halter Materials and Landscape Supply on 10 acres at 948 Benjamin Franklin Highway in Amity Township, Berks County.
“We’ve got 12,000 square feet of shop space, and 6,000 square feet of office space,” Halter said. “(Before) we operated out of a 1,200-square-foot shop at my house in Mount Penn.”
Colin Halter now serves as operations manager of the materials yard.
As for winter services, Halter says the snow brings in large amounts of business, and he also keeps employees around to service the 90 or so apartments he’s purchased.
“I bought my first property about eight years ago when I was 20,” Halter said. “Read a lot of books, did a lot of research on real estate investing.”
He said his properties are another way to keep workers on in the winter, who he may otherwise have to lay off during the slow season.
“It’s another thing to keep guys busy in the winter,” Halter said. “I do my best to try and not lay people off.”
Reaching the level of success that Halter has didn’t come without overcoming hurdles.
Halter noted that his age during the early years tended to make some customers apprehensive.
“Even still to this day, people look at you a little bit differently when you’re young in the industry and a business owner,” Halter said. “I don’t get it much anymore; I’ve got a good rapport with the community. But that was a big challenge; trying to gain enough respect that people would trust that we would do the job correctly.”
Finding good workers has also posed a challenge, but Halter noted that the team he’s managed to put together has played a massive role in his success.
“It’s about finding those people that have your back and essentially become family,” Halter said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am without the group of people around me.”
Halter’s actual family takes part in the business as well — brother Landon Halter, affectionately known as “Juice” by his siblings, is a mowing crew foreman.
Halter’s youngest brother, Brayden Halter, helps in the summer when not attending college.
Halter noted that locating workers during the pandemic was particularly difficult.
“For every 10 interviews we’d set up, we’d have one show up,” Halter said. “Up before COVID, we were still getting guys for reasonable rates…COVID hit, and it just shut off…we’re paying everybody a lot more money nowadays.”
He said that getting to a point where he could afford to maintain a large business took an extreme amount of dedication.
“I’ve probably worked on average, 70-to-80-hour work weeks for 15 years,” Halter said. “You need to be prepared for employees that are a challenge, customers that are a challenge. As long as you stick through it…You can do it.”
The future for Halter
As for what’s next, Halter said he plans to concentrate on upgrading his vehicle fleet and expanding his company’s range into the King of Prussia area.
“We’re starting to push down toward the higher income areas,” Halter said.
Halter said his fleet currently consists of around 35 vehicles.
Amid the constant growth, Halter said he also plans to concentrate on cultivating his company culture and brand.
“We’re going to try to refine some tactics, really refine our work and get to the top of the industry,” Halter said. “Just promoting a brand that could help our employees and their families have better lives and providing a good service for our customers.”
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