Ian Maclean has always been an advocate for small businesses. As Highland Landscaping’s president for more than 18 years and as an executive board member for the Southlake Chamber of Commerce, Ian consistently has his pulse on the business community and its greatest needs. Now as chairman of the U.S. Small Business Council, Ian appears before lawmakers and advocates for legislation that benefits small businesses, including both of the stimulus packages that went before Congress.
HIGHLAND LANDSCAPING GOT ITS START… in an old truck. My brother, sister and I were operating out of a one-room office in my house, and the barn behind my house was our shop. Once we got into operating three crews, we started branching out to doing landscape installations, focusing on maintenance and irrigation work.
OUR FIRST BIG ACCOUNT… was Chick-fil-A. They wanted a big overhaul to take it from a bland, generic commercial landscape to something that created interest and discussion. We turned that Chick-fil-A into something of a botanical garden with many interesting elements going around the building.
THE GREATEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF MARKETING IN OUR COMPANY’S HISTORY… was a little sign in the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. I didn’t know it at the time, but that little $25 sign would wind up generating millions of dollars in revenue. Our phone immediately started ringing off of the hook. People would call us from the drive-thru, wanting us to come and do something for their home or business. We picked up several high-visibility accounts from there, like the Hilton in Southlake Town Square, the Southlake Chamber and the city itself.
AFTER SERVING AS THE SOUTHLAKE CHAMBER CHAIRMAN FOR TWO TERMS… a member of the U.S. Chamber came to my office. I sent him away twice over the course of three weeks. On the third time, I told my receptionist to bring him in, so I could send him packing once and for all. Once he starts talking, I realized he’s talking about all the things I’m passionate about — issues that affect not just my business, but most small businesses across the U.S. He started telling me about the Small Business Council, and I asked him, ‘How do I get involved?’ I got a call from Washington asking me to join, I started attending meetings and getting involved in various committees until I became chairman.
WHEN THE PANDEMIC BEGAN LAST YEAR… there was a temptation to cower in fear, run, hide and close the doors. We started putting things in place like stanchions and barricades that created 10-foot physical distance. We had a mask policy, disinfectant diffusers, sanitized common touch surfaces throughout the day and put hand sanitizers all over the place. We did everything we could to protect the people in operation and go full steam ahead as carefully as we could.
THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC ISSUES THE COUNTRY IS FACING REGARDING THE PANDEMIC… are businesses that are forced to remain closed in certain sectors. That’s obviously very devastating for small businesses. I think in the coming months, we’re going to hear some heartbreaking statistics of how many businesses weren’t able to survive.
WE HAVE MUCH MORE TARGETED PPP… that’s rolling out right now. The administration just announced they’re going to focus on businesses with less than 20 employees for a week, and they’re going to be expanding the amount of PPP for food and hospitality businesses. Those are all good moves in the right direction because those businesses were hit a lot harder than other industries were. That will hopefully bring a targeted and speedy infusion of much-needed lifeblood to those businesses that need it.
THE U.S. SMALL BUSINESS COUNCIL… is the tip of the spear for small business advocacy in the United States. I feel very blessed to be involved and lead this group and hopefully make a difference and improve the small business environment anywhere in the country. It’s such an uphill battle to stay in business the first year, the first five years, the first 10 years. We just need to make the environment more conducive for small businesses to continue to grow and flourish in this country.