Author: Ignas E.

Jarrott Brown is a deputy sheriff with a side gig – he runs Diplomatic Lawn Care, a landscaping and lawnmowing company.

Jarrott has been pushing a mower since he was eight years old. To him, mowing grass wasn’t just a chore – it was an opportunity to earn pocket money. This influenced Jarrott years later when he was deciding on a part-time activity. He started a business to help the community keep their lawns spick and span.

The problem – the local market is saturated with people and companies offering landscaping services. To stand out, Diplomatic Lawn Care positions itself online with a professional website that Jarrott created himself with Hostinger AI Website Builder.

Lawn Enforcement

If you’re a homeowner in an American suburb, one of your chief responsibilities is maintaining a perfect lawn. Take care not to let it overgrow or brown, or your property might be deemed an eyesore.

Diplomatic Lawn Care is there to prevent that from happening.

The company’s current iteration traces its roots to 2011. Back then, Jarrott and his cousin joined forces and started offering landscaping services to the community. The pair quickly attained a small but loyal customer base.

“I still have a customer, an elderly gentleman, whose yard I’ve been taking care of since 2011. We have an excellent working relationship,” Jarrott says.

The business had to cease operations in 2014 due to other engagements. Since then, Jarrott kept thinking about the best way to relaunch the company. In February 2023, he reintroduced Diplomatic Lawn Care with a business website.

“I decided to create a website because it gives people the opportunity to see the different services that I offer.”

Since then, Diplomatic Lawn Care has become a successful side hustle with a clearly defined ideological core.

“We currently provide personalized services to about 28 customers. We shoot for long-term customers who are almost like our family,” Jarrott shares.

Easier Done Than Said

Built with Hostinger Website Builder, Diplomaticlawncare.com is the company’s digital business card and main channel of client acquisition.

“The majority of our customers learn about us through the website – I would say about 75 to 80%,” Jarrott reveals. “Previously, we tried word-of-mouth marketing, passing out flyers, direct door mailers, things of that nature. It just wasn’t effective.”

Jarrott reveals that Diplomatic Lawn Care is the first website he’s ever built.

“I found out about Hostinger AI Website Builder on YouTube. It took me no time at all to actually have the website up and running, and it was really easy. Now, my site gives me a professional presence in the industry and lets me compete with the big players in my area,” Jarrott smirks.

Once the website was up, Jarrott needed to put the word out. He did just that by implementing SEO strategies and utilizing Hostinger AI Builder’s integrated SEO tools.

The result – a professional website with AI-generated SEO-friendly content pieces. Now, anyone in Jarrott’s area googling relevant keywords knows that he’s there to help.

Saving Time and Effort

A business like Jarrott’s is built around the notion of saving time. If the tools and platforms Diplomatic Lawn Care relies on do not contribute towards this goal, they must make way for better alternatives.

“We give people the opportunity to spend time with their family and cherish those moments that they would spend doing lawn care. That’s what happened to me when I chose Hostinger. It streamlined the process of creating my website and, ultimately, gave me back my time,” Jarrott reflects.

In fact, Jarrott has already put the time he’s saved to good use.

Knowing how simple the process is, he has since created a second website, Henrico Junk Removal. Lawn care and junk removal often go hand in hand, so it made sense to create an additional site for such services. This time, Jarrott used the builder’s AI Tools to craft it. It was so easy that Jarrott plans to keep building websites.

“Hostinger AI Website Builder takes seconds for the AI to process the information you’ve given it and then generate a website. The result was spot-on to what I wanted – it came up with the layout and content for the site. The only thing I had to do from there on was tweak it to my liking. It definitely cut down on a lot of the guesswork that it takes to build a website from the ground up,” shares Jarrott.

Aspirations for the Future

While it is currently a part-time commitment for Jarrott, he has big plans for the future of the business.

“At the moment, Diplomatic Lawn Care is just me and a couple of other part-time employees. When I retire, I’ll probably go full-time with it and scale the business all the way. That means a broader range of services, multiple employees, multiple locations,” Jarrott says.

He’s already taken the first steps – Diplomatic Lawn Care is steadily growing with two websites people can easily find on Google.

“I’m going to keep on developing more websites and enhancing them. I wish Hostinger continues to grow and helps me scale my business as it does,” Jarrott winks.

Get your business site off the ground with Hostinger in minutes, just like Jarrott did! Try Hostinger AI Website Builder.

The post Diplomatic Lawn Care: Lawn and Order appeared first on Hostinger Blog.

Salty Soil, based in Thessaloniki, Greece, is a tourism agency run by Apostolos (Akis) Kontoulis. Founded in 2021, the company organizes trips in the region, ranging from sea kayaking excursions to street food tours.

Guiding tours over crystal-clear waters and busy street markets are only a part of Akis’ skillset. He’s also a seasoned WordPress guru who built the agency’s website himself.

The Salty Soil site hosted by Hostinger is at the center of the business – it has allowed the agency to reach clients it wouldn’t have otherwise and keep growing.

Paddling Against the Current

Akis has been operating in the tourism sector since at least 2004. When he finished secondary school, he moved to the UK to study electrical engineering. His intention was to come back to Greece and find work that would suit his expertise and education. Unfortunately, this was not to be.

“When I returned, I couldn’t really find a decent job in my field in Greece. I’m from Thessaloniki, the second busiest, biggest town in the country. The best jobs were in Athens, and the ones that were available were not really in my field,” Akis reveals.

Instead, he decided to get involved in his parents’ travel agency back in Thessaloniki. For a few years, everything proceeded along swimmingly – the business was doing well, and Akis ended up running it himself.

That was until the global recession hit. Greece was among the most affected countries – it faced a sovereign debt crisis, and the agency had to close down in 2010.

“After my parents’ agency shut down, I moved to an area next to the sea and changed the services I offered. I started doing sea kayak and stand-up paddleboarding trips with tourists to show them the coastline,” recounts Akis.

A More Personal Touch

Akis restarted the agency once again in 2021 in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. He rebranded it as Salty Soil and added extra itineraries to the repertoire of offered services.

“With Thessaloniki as the base, we do custom-made paddling trips, especially in Pelion, Chalkidiki, and Thasos. We also offer day trips around the town. On top of these, we’ve got team-building activities focused on companies.”

While there are a number of travel agencies that offer similar experiences, Salty Soil caters to people who want more exclusivity.

“We primarily work with small groups. This contrasts with what the rest of the market offers, which is similar trips but with bigger vehicles like 50-seater buses. When you book with us, we guarantee that the trip will not exceed six persons.”

Focusing on smaller groups allows Salty Soil to provide a more personalized experience. For example, if the tourists have any questions, the guides are always available to answer them. What’s more, the itinerary itself can be customized based on the needs and wants of Salty Soil’s customers.

A Business Without a Website Is Lost

When talking about the agency’s website, Akis admits that having one is a no-brainer.

“Nowadays, without a site, you are lost. It’s like having a public store and displaying your products or your services. So, the better the website is, the better your sales could be,” Akis says.

As a matter of fact, website performance is something that Akis takes very seriously. During the winter months, when business is slow, he devotes a few hours each week to improving the site. The goal – keeping saltysoil.gr simple, nimble, and user-friendly.

When choosing a platform for the website, Akis went with WordPress. The open-source content management system made the most sense as it could accommodate Salty Soil’s needs. Another reason was Akis’ experience building WordPress websites – either for the agencies he was running before or third parties that had asked him for help.

As Akis had had experience with other web hosts before, he wanted to choose the best provider for the website.

“I was doing research on what the companies were offering and for how much. Based on the combination of price and services, I decided on Hostinger.”

Setting the website up on Hostinger was simple – installing WordPress was quick, and Akis could start working on the site itself right away.

“It’s pretty straightforward – you just click a few buttons, and it’s ready!” Akis recalls.

He adds that site management and updates – tasks that may take up a lot of time – have been just as easy to take care of.

Surfing Ahead Swimmingly

When it comes to the future of Salty Soil, Akis says that everything is proceeding according to plan.

“We will continue offering the current services. That said, we are looking to expand. For example, we want to offer same-day services and run more simultaneous trips,” Akis says.

To accomplish this, Salty Soil aims to hire more skilled guides who could do the trips without Akis’ supervision.

“Hiring more personnel is currently a bit difficult, but we are working on it. The perfect guide is proactive, happy, and willing to share their knowledge as long as the clients want to hear what they have to say. For this, you must add your personal touch,” Akis reveals.

He plans to achieve this within two to three years. Having more hands on deck will allow Akis to take up a more managerial role and supervise Salty Soil as the business expands.

But before the company is there, Akis is happy to be fully involved in the day-to-day.

“At the end of the day, the business and its operation are up to me. I don’t have to report to anybody higher up. I have my way of working, and I love being independent. And having a website makes it all possible.”

The post Salty Soil: Anchoring a Business Online appeared first on Hostinger Blog.