~Michelle & Scott Foster ~

 ~Loving Parents, Hard Working Business Owners and Proud to say they live in The Heights!!~

       By Katie Shepherd

 

            Michelle and Scott Foster know the importance of family ties, after all, every aspect of their life involves one family member or another. The Foster’s bought their Barbara St home some 8 years ago, shortly after Scott’s brother purchased a home on Dania St. “That’s what actually drew us to this neighborhood.” Michelle stated. “We heard and saw firsthand how great a neighborhood it was. The family aspect is what really drew us!  Scott’s brother and wife had a son and we were planning on kids in the future…it seemed like a great little neighborhood tucked away from the busy streets!” While Michelle agrees a lot has changed over the past 8 years she still enjoys the benefits that living in such a wonderful neighborhood brings. “We are in the middle of every store and amenity you could think of, yet still maintain our community feel.  Every day that I walk Madison to the bus stop I am reminded how great this neighborhood is.”

 

            Like last month’s profile Michelle enjoys the benefits of conversing with her neighbors on a regular basis. “There are about 20 kids that all play together on Mr. & Mrs. Ojea’s front lawn, until the bus comes; parents with dogs and coffee cups are able to catch up and have some sort of social interaction!!  Pretty neat- huh!!” Still she does have some concerns when it comes to traffic “my greatest concern is for the safety of our children.  Since making Barbara St a “through street” I have seen a tremendous increase in traffic; too many people are using this street to get to other streets and avoid stops signs or making turns, etc.  I am not saying that they are not allowed to do that…simply saying that as a result of the increase in traffic there is also as increase in speed!  Many of our children walk home from the bus stops (ride scooter and bikes as well) and sometimes it can be scary to watch these cars going down the street at such a high rate of speed.  The speed bumps do create some sort of awareness; but not enough. Quite frankly, they are not high enough to make some people slow down…I still see many cars zoom over them!!” she added.

 

            While Michelle would have us believe that her life is quite boring she does admit that the highlight of it is spent around their daughter Madison. “I spend my time working, going to the gym, and running my daughter everywhere! Scott spends his time working, playing baseball and helping me run our daughter everywhere! I have a beautiful, brilliant daughter who, even though sometimes makes me crazy, makes my life worth while with her smile.” Michelle proudly stated. So what is it about Madison that has these Barbara St parents running crazy? “Madison – attends Lighthouse Elementary and is kindergarten.  She also participates in a lot of sports.  She takes Tai Kwan Do, dance, gymnastic and cheerleading for JTAA during football season.  She loves to swim, do homework (let’s hope that continues for the next 20 years or so!!) and play with her friends.” Michelle explained.

 

.           Still for the Foster family it’s not all work and no play. “Scott knows a bunch of music trivia and I am a warehouse of useless information!  (Do you know how many dimples are in golf ball??)  We know a lot of jokes and are the life of the party, so long as the party ends before midnight!!  Heehee!!” she jokingly told us. Thankfully for Michelle she does have help. “My Mom moved down her in April from Illinois, at Madison’s persistence!  She is great and Madison keeps her pretty busy as well!!” Michelle committed. “My life is wonderful; amidst all of the chaos I have a fantastic family and faith.  I have a wonderful husband who devotes his life to his family. I have a mother who gave up her life in another state to move thousands of mile away to set up house with us, and gives all of her support and help and make our life that much easier and full of love!  SHE IS THE BEST!!” she boosted!

 

            It’s not ALL about Madison however as they still have to make a living to help support all these activities. (then again maybe it is truly about Madison!) “My mom’s name is Carol Mumper and she works at Publix in Abacoa. You can stop by the customer service counter and say hello!  Scott works part time at The Blue Note in Jupiter and I work part time at Duffy’s Sports Grill Jupiter West” she shared.

 

            So if this is what they do part time, what do they do with the rest of their time? “We own a landscaping/lawn maintenance business.  Executive Lawn Care.  We bought the business almost 4 years ago.  Scott takes care of all of the “outside workings” of the business and I take care of all of the “inside workings” of the business.  It keeps us VERY busy” she replied. Lawn maintenance, now that is something that never goes away! “We have worked our hardest to build the business from 35 customers to over 120.   It was a bit of a rough go in the beginning…a lot of stress and learning!  It is still not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but you do what you have to do!” she said. So how did they manage to quadruple a business in 4 year time? “You learn from your mistakes try to be better all of the time…  “It is what it is!” Scott does a fantastic job!  He is great at what he does. I have a stack of letters and get calls all of the time complimenting him on what a wonderful job he does.” She shared with great pride. “We try to be a bit different from other companies…we try to do our absolute best not only on your lawn, but in the customer service department as well!  Scott knows all of the customers by first name and even does some “honey do” tasks if needed!  We try to answer EVERY call and follow through with every area of concern.  I would say we are pretty affordable; we do try to keep our prices as low as we can.” She quickly added.

 

            So what does this mean for Heights residents and how can they benefit from that? “We offer the Height’s residents a somewhat lower quote than we would give other clients.  We also offer a referral service – if you refer someone and they sign up for lawn care we will take $15 off of your next bill.  We occasionally run different specials where we will send out via flyer with the invoices. We know that there are so many lawn companies out there and the customer is doing us a favor by employing us…we are not doing them a favor by maintaining their lawn!  We try to personalize service whenever we can” she stated.  Still isn’t there the risk that you will overgrow this attention? “We recently cut back our servicing area (and actually had to drop a few clients…but we referred them to another company) in order to maintain quality.  We are focusing on a smaller area so we can continue our great service! she told us.

 

            Certainly with a life as full as Michelle and Scott have, there’s bound to be a few roadblocks. “EVERY DAY!!  But isn’t life full of roadblocks?  That is what makes you stronger.  I believe that if life were easy it is not meant to be lived! God gives us challenges to make us stronger people.  Easy = stagnant…no one wants us to be stagnant; especially God he wants us to make the best out of our lives and become the best that we can be.” She quietly shared. So what advise would they offer to others that are looking to start their own business? “Be prepared…I can guarantee you it won’t be easy. But it also will not be boring!!  Be strong and have a great support system and believe it what you are doing and what you want to accomplish…God will definitely provide.” She replied.

 

            While Michelle admits their life does get a little crazy, she wouldn’t change it for the world. “I love being able to have the freedom to spend the time with my daughter and not have some stranger taking my place.  Even though we are ALWAYS running somewhere and I have to field a lot of calls and do business-- I know that when I see my daughter’s smile it is all worth while!  I am not missing those smiles!” she exclaimed

 

            Michelle admits that they hope to get more involved in Neighborhood activities and has even made it to a couple of meetings “We definitely want, and will try, to become more involved. We are here in this neighborhood for long time and want to try to make it the best it can be!  This is my daughter’s neighborhood and she is everything to us! My neighbors are great!  Everyone is friendly, that is what makes living in this great neighborhood even greater!  Your home should be comfortable and neighbors help make it so!” she explained.

 

            So what magic formula makes this hardworking team work? “We are both extremely busy. If we did not have the love and patience and God’s strength, we would not survive!” Michelle stated.

                       

Editors Note: Michelle and Scott enjoy having their business close to home and have made this kind offer. For every Height’s resident that signs a new lawn maintenance contract they will receive their 6th month of service free!  They are also offering 15% off of any landscape installation of $200.00 or more, to all Heights residents (offers require accounts to be in good standing and that bills are paid by the due date.)

 

If you would like to suggest someone for a future Heights profile just email NPBHeights@bellsouth.net. Be sure to include your name and contact information, the name of individual you are nominating and the reason you feel they would make a good profile. We welcome your suggestions.