Dirt Cheap landscaping evolves and expands
NEWTON — Over the last six years, a landscaping business — based in Newton but serving all of Sussex County — called Dirt Cheap has evolved in more ways than owner, Keith Raff, ever fathomed imaginable.
What started as a leap of faith now has this entrepreneur and his business thriving thanks to hard work and a positive, go-getter attitude.
The beginning
Raff grew up in Stillwater, graduated from Kittatinny High School in 2005 and went to off to college at NJIT to major in civil engineering. But something happened along that college track. Raff realized that, for the most part, his friends with four-year college degrees either hated their career choices or couldn't find a job at all.
As he worked at his part-time landscaping job in between semesters for Auburn Sky Landscaping, a strange epiphany hit Raff.
"I realized I would never enjoy a career in civil engineering because I enjoy hands-on work so much," Raff said. "Working in an office just wasn't for me."
His self-realization led Raff to leave NJIT and work full time for Auburn Sky. It wasn't just a job to Raff, though, it was a classroom and he learned all of the ins, outs and nuances of the landscaping business with a dream to have his own business one day.
A few years later, he couldn't just dream and he used what money he had saved to buy an old commercial walk-behind mower, a backpack blower and a weed whacker. He added this equipment to his heavy duty truck, borrowed a 12-foot landscaping trailer from a friend and Dirt Cheap Landscaping was born, named after his father's business Dirt Cheap Excavating.
Family and friends helped him pick up lawn accounts that first summer, and his understanding boss let him continue to work for him while he forged ahead to go out on his own.
By the next season, Raff was on his way, though admitted it was a struggle to get going with insurance, equipment and basic needs for running a business coming with a high price tag. Undaunted, he kept pushing, got more and more accounts and soon was servicing customers all over Sussex County.
Six years later
Now, Dirt Cheap is a full service landscape company in Sussex County, offering an extensive amount of services including lawn and garden maintenance, fall leaf blowing and removal, snow removal, and landscape design and installation. The company's specialties include retaining walls, brick paver patios and walkways, plant installation, drainage, and light excavations.
The business now employs four regular employees as well as several other part-time and weekend employees. The once beat up old equipment with which Raff started has since been replaced.
During the regular season, Dirt Cheap services more than 70 residential and commercial properties providing lawn care and property maintenance.
"We also provide a ton of other services throughout the regular season as far as landscape installation," Raff said.
One of the biggest areas in which Raff has expanded the business has been to look at the winter months as an opportunity. He has several trucks equipped with snow plows and salters and Dirt Cheap now maintains parking lots and sidewalks to keep business' open and customers safe.
"Although we do service several residential locations, our snow removal services are geared more towards commercial properties and small businesses," he said. "We are hoping to greatly expand our commercial snow plowing presence in New Jersey."
To book a service or to set up lawn care for the 2015 season, call Dirt Cheap at 862-354-2569 or check them out on Facebook.