Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Ryan Selvera.
Hi Jonathan Ryan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started The Selvera Company in late 2020 at just 19 years old as a way to make extra money on the side and to get my feet wet in the entrepreneurial world. I’d had plans to start my own business since middle school, and lawn care and gardening seemed like an appropriate fit for my skillset and budget. I was working nights as an operations manager at FedEx Ground and spent my mornings cutting grass and picking weeds.
I chose not to go to college after high school and starting my own business felt like a huge step and a great way to learn. Starting off small, I learned more and more about business, about leadership, and about communication. Since then, I’ve taken the company full-time and brought a couple of my friends on in various roles. It’s been a slow but steady ride upwards for us. We have large goals for the company and the brand, and we’re always laying the foundation for our next big step.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Any business will have its complications. It’s been a bumpy road at various times and a surprisingly smooth road at others. One of the main struggles has been marketing on a small budget and finding ways to compete with the “big guys.” As a small business owner, I’m often looking for new avenues to reach potential clients and trying to offer deals that are pragmatic and unique. Larger companies can often benefit from hiring marketing firms or offering lower prices, so it’s a constant task to keep up with them and give clients a reason to choose us. The good thing is a lot of folks in Austin go out of their way to support local and family-owned businesses, which has been extremely helpful for us.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Selvera Company is a small, family-owned lawn & garden service based in Pflugerville. Owned by Austin natives and a UT graduate, we pride ourselves in being enthusiastically dedicated to our work, building personal relationships in our community, and making the world more beautiful. We do a lot of work all over Greater Austin, and we’re always excited to meet new people. Despite our small size, we have big goals and plans to become an integral part of Austin’s culture. We started off offering just a few services, but today we offer mowing, mulching, planting, pruning, removal, trimming, pressure washing, and much more. We are the go-to service for many people when they’re looking to beautify their space or clean up before a get-together.
Our ultimate goal is to become Austin’s premier lawn & garden company, expanding into more areas of the industry and potentially into others as well.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Our city is one of the friendliest cities in the country, and we often take that for granted. My favorite thing about the city it is how friendly and helpful other Austinites can be. We’re often more than happy to make new friends or chat each other up in the grocery line, and that’s not the same everywhere. Keep Austin Friendly. My least favorite thing about the city is the sprawl. We need more mixed-used buildings and more public transportation. The city can grow out or it can grow up, and I vote for up.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@theselveracompany.com
- Website: www.theselveracompany.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/selveracompany
Image Credits:
Carolina Yáñez
