Teresa Carleo - Spring is a time for renewal: Two key ingredients needed by any entrepreneur

Each spring, I silently renew my commitment to my business, Plant Fantasies Incorporated (PFI). As a landscape contractor, the sense of renewal flows naturally with the seasons. For nine months we're zooming, we are like a locomotive train and by the end of the year we have picked up so much steam: spring plantings followed by seasonal plantings, then fall installs, more bulb plantings, then our busiest time - installing holiday trees and lighting around the clock. In January the craziness stops; it's quiet. Then by late March or April trees are bursting again, grass needs fertilizer, bulbs are popping up all over the city. Spring is here! That interim period though can never be a downtime for me and my sales and design crew. It's a time to plan and strategize. If I ask, "Will the business that has done so well continue to grow in the near and distant future?" my answer is always a resounding, "Yes,"- it will do even better than before. How do I know this? I have learned that to achieve success as an entrepreneur you must maintain two key ingredients: courage and faith. Twenty-five years ago I left a secure position in the garment industry to take a minimum wage job watering plants at high-end buildings. Immediately I started pounding the pavement looking for more ambitious projects. I had the boldness of youth to approach real estate magnate Bernard Spitzer. He hired my then fledgling company and I proved equal to the challenge. For nearly 25 years, PFI has been developing, growing then growing some more. Each day requires courage and faith. The first time PFI was assigned to set up the holiday tree at Trump Tower I took on the work confident we could handle it. I and my highly skilled team of workers had over 20 years of experience behind us. Still ... the tree was enormous. It had to be placed exactly in the waterfall on the lower level. Quite a challenging assignment. The previous Trump vendor said it couldn't be done. Another landscape contractor had tried and Trump wasn't happy with the results. This was my first time working for Trump, and I knew I couldn't disappoint him. My very smart team measured the dimensions many times over in advance, and scoped out the logistics in great detail. The research confirmed what I believed all along: we could do it, and do it well. The tree had to be erected at night so as not to disturb the hundreds of thousands of tourists that visit Trump Tower every day, especially around the holidays. When the time came, the evening before Thanksgiving, we were totally prepared. We had an ample number of platforms, decorations, and tree components - there were so many pieces that they filled a 16-foot truck. Because it was our first time, it took us longer than we anticipated, but we did it! We were so proud. I was standing at the tree's base on the lower level when suddenly I heard Trump's voice. I looked up. He was with his team on the balcony asking, "Where's Teresa?" Though exhausted, I waved and said, "Hello Mr. Trump." We had never met before. He shouted down, "Teresa, you did a great job!" WOW. Moments like that make it all worthwhile - make you know that you must always have the courage and faith to say "yes." They also make you appreciate the value of a great team. During the year we accumulate many employees: installers, decorators, lighting experts, laborers, production people, gardeners, maintenance crews. My director of sales, Steve Martucci, recently said that together our crew could build the pyramids! I try to keep as many people as I can year-round, but I can't afford to keep many of the extra crew brought in during crunch times. In January I'm forced to let them go. This is probably one of the most difficult parts of my work; I know that good workers are hard to come by and that this is hard on them and their families. By the end of March the phone is ringing off the hook. It's time for my crew to come back! Fortunately, I'm able to rehire a large portion. After 25 years of building a company, I see the value of having an amazing and dedicated team and an infrastructure that helps them through. When I started I never thought I would see the day where my employees truly care and share my vision. Clearly they have not just the skills and knowledge, but the pride, the vision, and the caring that I build into every job we do. I am an extremely tough critic. When I can go to a property and feel proud, then I know what it's all about and that what I have worked so hard to achieve has come to life. It's an amazing feeling: Born of courage and faith. Teresa Carleo is the president and founder of Plant Fantasies Inc., New York, N.Y.