Exploring Life & Business with Lori Glidden of Taurus Irrigation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Glidden.

Hi Lori, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a little girl, I loved being outdoors, independent and free from anyone or any noise aside from the sounds of nature, cattle mooing, or an old tractor starting up in the distance. I was a creative child. School didn’t interest me much, and I essentially ‘checked the boxes’ to get the grades and rewards my dad set out for me to achieve. I was much more interested in sketching out homes and their landscapes, playing with Lincoln Logs, singing and making up songs, and coloring.

When it was time to go to college, my father offered to pay for my entire education at the University of Oklahoma. I was both proud of my acceptance and grateful for the opportunity, yet after a full semester, I realized that college wasn’t the path for me. I tried to continue, yet quite honestly, really hated it. I wanted to work and earn my own money, right then and there, instead of waiting another four years to begin my life. I finally told my father that I was wasting both his money and my time and intended to quit going to school. He told me words I didn’t expect to hear: “Lori, you have a good head on your shoulders. You will always land on your feet and be successful.”

Throughout those early years, I struggled to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I feel as if I’ve had every possible job out there, and regardless of what it was, I always hustled. And let me tell you, I was getting tired. I had several things going for me, however: determination, desire, heart, ingenuity, personality, and a lot of grit.

In 2006, a friend of mine and I were taking a walk one day, and I told her I was going to go back to college to get a degree, possibly in advertising. She looked at me and said “Why you’re going to spend all this time and money getting a degree and then be stuck in some cubicle all day long. You should look into getting a trade instead.” I thought about it and remembered my favorite jobs I have ever had were where I was able to set my own schedule and have the freedom of not being chained to a desk.

Shortly after our discussion, I was searching for more answers. I was sitting at a coffee shop here in Austin, combing through the classified ads and noticed on the front page and article on how to choose the right career path based on your personality. Hopeful, I dashed to Book People and found the book. Following a quick personality assessment, it proposed five jobs suited for me: architect, landscape architect, fashion designer, film director, and sales rep. Since I didn’t want to go back to college, I skipped architecture, and since success in fashion and film seemed to require more luck than skill and sales risky, I wound up asking advice from a tarot card reader perched at one of the tables at Book People. I don’t ever place my faith in these readings, yet I simply wanted to hear what someone else thought. He said “Look at what you wanted to be as a child,” and when I did, I remembered wanting to be an architect as a little girl and drawing layouts of homes, including all their windows, doors, and surrounding landscapes. I had a hunch; should I perhaps go work for a landscape company?

Within a week, I had my first landscaping job. I realized quickly that the labor was hard and not really up my alley. I had met a foreman there who said, “Let’s start an irrigation business!” I replied, “Okay, but what is that?!” Before I knew it, we started getting our first jobs. We started small, installing new systems or redesigning old ones on the weekends. It was a lot of very hard, back-breaking, heatstroke type of work. I had nothing else to fall back on and thought I better buckle up and get after it, especially knowing that the foreman couldn’t risk quitting his full-time job to really jump into this venture. It was now just me, solo. I signed up for an irrigation class at Austin Community College. I was now a Texas Licensed Irrigator after passing the exam.

I now had a trade that cost me $800 for a five day class.

Each year that went by seemed to get harder and harder because each year more work would come my way. I would find people in search of part-time work and take off to job sites. I called the irrigation distributors and asked for help like they were some kind of help hotline. I’d reach out to anyone that could help walk me through how to cut, cap, or glue pvc. I had no idea what I was doing! I knew I had to figure it out as I spent long days slinging a pick ax through the Texas limestone, with dust in my hair, mud on my jeans, and the hot sun on my face.

It was hard getting to where we are now today. We went from just myself working about six full months out of the year to a full staff with work year around. I’d like to thank all the landscapers, clients, and employees that helped along the way and believed in what we did.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t always been a smooth road, yet everything always works out. When you are getting into trouble or doing something you’ve never done before, you realize you can ask for help by relying on those around you in your field. People out there do like to offer their help or give advice to help others to get them through their obstacles. If there isn’t anyone to help, you just learn how to figure it out. You have to; you can’t walk away, your reputation and self-respect are on the line. Troubleshoot. Put the pieces of the puzzle together. Don’t give up! Fifteen years ago, we couldn’t just jump on our phones and find a “how-to video” on YouTube. We knew how to naturally problem-solve on our own.

When I first started, we didn’t have enough work to stay busy year around. I would routinely lose a great technician every year around October and would then have to rehire someone again in May. I had odd and end jobs to keep afloat during those times and had roommates to help pay the bills. I’ll say this; it’s important to be able to still run your business if you are the only one left. And don’t expect life to open right up and make money on day one. You have to put the work in. You might have to have roommates, sleep on someone’s couch, scrape by, carry several jobs just to make ends meet while you are still grinding away at starting your new business. You have to put in the work. You have to have grit. You have to be impeccable with your word have customer service skills on top of the skills required or your trade or vocation. Show up and give it your best!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We install, maintain, design, and redesign residential and small commercial landscape irrigation systems. We like to educate our clients on the importance of water conservation while watering their landscape. Building efficient systems is also key to this. There are now wifi-based controllers we install or upgrade to that use weather data from nearby weather stations.

I believe we are still in business because we honor our word, are personable, and truly want to help others with their watering needs. It’s one thing to have a skill or a trade, but another to truly care for our client relationships.

This March will be our 15th year in business. Thank you, citizens of Austin, for your business. We appreciate every one of you!

How do you think about happiness?
I find happiness in being able to smile at a total stranger while out and about, talking to someone at the grocery store, saying hello to all I cross paths with. It feels good and this is why. I believe that people do less of that these days and we need more connection in the world instead of having our heads buried in a phone. I also find joy in exercise, reading, hiking, clean eating, and a fine shot of espresso.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.taurusirrigation.com

Image Credits
Lindsey Paley