The Danbury Review Interviews Luke Huizinga, Owner of Mechanical Detail in Southbury, Connecticut.I sat down with Luke Huizinga of Mechanical Detail Plumbing in Southbury, CT for our interview. Luke is a straight forward, warm, friendly individual who is loved by many. He's a competent business owner, and Luke Huizinga won the Commit To Be Fit Challenge over at Prime Time Fitness which is actually how we got into contact.
Luke is a local plumber, father and often takes time to work in the community. His small plumbing company has just grown to 3 employees as he does the right work for the right people. He can be found fixing ac units, repairing heaters, troubleshooting boilers or simply turning on the water for someone who thought their washing machine was broken. Although Luke will shy away from Appliance Repair he certainly will help anyone that needs anything repaired in their home. He's a member of PCNG, a local networking group and the other members swear by his handyman skills. He's a millennial, but a hard working smart one at that. Hopefully we'll see a new breed of hard working millennial in the upcoming years.. Hopefully.
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An Interview with Growing Solutions Landscaping & Design in Ridgefield, Connecticut
Many people are searching for Landscape Designers in Connecticut especially in the lower Fairfield County towns such as Ridgefield, Westport, New Canaan, Wilton and Fairfield. It seems like every landscaper out there is now calling themselves a landscape design specialist.
I sat down with Chris & Paul of Growing Solutions Landscaping & Design to get their expert opinion on finding the right landscape or garden designer to work with. Their Full Service Landscaping Company services all of Fairfield County and is located in Ridgefield, CT. 
How do you find the right Landscape Designer in CT?
Honestly, it can be a troublesome task finding the right landscape designer near you. We're often speaking with a prospective homeowners who've already talked with half a dozen "designers" who have remarked that they've never even sat down with the designer on staff. We've got a full-time landscape designer, Brid, who works with us and collaborates with all our clients.
First and foremost you'll want to make sure that if you're talking with a landscaping company that they have a full-time designer on staff. The second thing I'd watch for is their certifications. It's expensive to maintain these certifications and most lawn care professionals don't keep theirs up for that very reason. Paul and I are both NOFA accredited organic land care professionals. I'm also a Connecticut State Licensed Arborist and Paul is a Accredited Turf Manager. Paul also carries a Connecticut State Custom Grounds License. Our Landscape Designer, Brid Craddock is a Connecticut Master Gardener and is serving as the president of the Connecticut Chapter of the Association for Professional Landscape Designers. Often times you'll see landscape companies without the slightest bit of certification. It's unfortunate to see homeowners get taken advantage of by smooth talking lawn maintenance guys. It's not rocket science to lay down a set of new patio pavers, but when a heavy rain storm comes you'll find out who is an irrigation expert. 
Where can a Ridgefield Homeowner Find New Landscaping Design Ideas?
I'm not at all surprised by that question! We actually field many questions about landscaping ideas or garden design ideas on a weekly basis. Often times people aren't 100% sure what they want. We always suggest to hop on pinterest to find some inspiration or sit down with our Landscape Designer. Many homeowners throughout Connecticut wonder the same thing, but often don't get a chance to find those answers.
Contact Growing Solutions Landscaping & Design
You can find Growing Solutions Landscaping and Design online at www.growso.com or call them directly at (203) 423-3626. You may also visit them at the link below:
Looking for a Landscaper in Brookfield, CT?Today I met with Corby from Pro Landscaping of Brookfield. Their Lawn Care Company offers many services including mowing, trimming, pruning, mulching, bed maintenance and much more. He was right on time to the interview unlike most of the other landscapers I've had the pleasure of sitting down with in the past. He helps many residents in Brookfield, Southbury, Newtown and other Fairfield County towns with their property maintenance.  When did you start Pro Landscaping of Brookfield?I started Pro Landscaping of Brookfield two years ago and we're rapidly growing due to the hard work our team has been putting in. One of the best choices I've ever made was handpicking my staff. I'm lucky to have such a great team to work with on a daily basis. Landscaping Companies make or break depending on how good their staff members are. Many of them reside locally in nearby towns such as Danbury, Newtown and Oxford. What's the toughest thing you went through when opening up Pro Landscaping of Brookfield?Opening up any business is difficult. There's always hoops to jump through and often unexpected obstacles. We've been more fortunate than most Lawn Care Companies in Connecticut because of my personal business experience. Having business experience in the past definitely gave Pro Landscaping of Brookfield a distinct advantage over the competition.  Wrapping things up with Pro Landscaping of Brookfield, ConnecticutCorby was a great guy to get to know. He and I traded laughs as he explained the humble beginnings of Pro Landscaping of Brookfield. Not all Landscapers are full service. He explained that Full Service meant that he not only offers mowing and trimming like the other landscapers in Brookfield, but he always offers mulching, pruning, weeding, mosquito control, property maintenance, tick spraying and much more. See all the service offered at www.prolandscapingbrookfield.com! If you're a resident of the Town of Brookfield you should definitely give Pro Landscaping of Brookfield a call. They've got the one stop solution for all your lawn care needs.
Pro Landscaping of Brookfield 24 Farview Rd Brookfield, CT 06804 (203) 769-9835 Appliance Repair Pros of Danbury are here to help! Appliance Repair Pros of Danbury is a local appliance repair company. They handle all almost everything including refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, washing machines, dryers and other kitchen appliances. Many people throughout the Greater Danbury area rely on them for all their repairs. What is unique about the Appliance Repair Pros?The one thing that separates the Appliance Repair Pros from the rest of the repairmen across Connecticut is that we don't come out unless we can fix it. Most appliance repair companies just try to collect as many service call fees as possible. We focus less on collecting service fees, but rather focus on repairing just the appliances we can. Let's say your refrigerator goes dead. Most repair guys will take advantage of the urgency that goes along with all your food going bad and slap you with a high service fee. If you give the Appliance Repair Pros of Danbury a call instead we'll go through a thorough phone conversation to make sure you're not just better off buying a new fridge. What parts of Connecticut do you service?We get many service calls from not only Danbury, but surrounding towns. Our team regularly repairs subzero and wolf refrigerators in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The New Fairfield area also reaches out to our appliance repairmen for service. We get a couple calls from Brookfield, CT, but they are primarily looking for someone to come out next day. We do next day service if we have room. Given our growing popularity in the Greater Danbury region we don't always have room. What's hardest about being in the Home Appliance Repair Industry? Definitely the hardest thing about repairing appliances for a living is letting people know that you can't fix their appliance. We try avoid this awkward conversation in the first place by having a thorough talk over the phone. 9 out of 10 times we can repair the given appliance, but once in a while there is just nothing we can do. In that case we need to let the homeowner know that they'll have get a new refrigerator or dishwasher for example. What's the hardest Appliance to Repair?GE Appliances are by far the hardest to repair. Often they come with touch screen monitors that we can't usually fix. Those monitors tend to break rather quickly and only can be fixed by a specialized GE technician. If you're going to invest in a General Electric Appliance make sure to get the highest warranty. Contact the Appliance Repair Pros of DanburyAppliance Repair Pros of Danbury
42 Lake Avenue Extension Suite 159 Danbury, CT 06811 www.danburyappliancerepairpros.com Quality Dental of Danbury is much more than a Cosmetic Dentist!I was searching for a Danbury Dentist the other day to interview. I was floored with how many choices came up when I typed in "Dentist Danbury CT", but I scanned through to see who had it all. I decided to setup an Interview with Dr. Tagliarini of Quality Dental of Danbury. His dental office was tucked away on North Street in Danbury offers bonding, crows, dental implants, fillings, headache treatment, oral cancer screenings, orthodontic treatment, tooth extractions, periodontal disease therapy, and so much more. Dental Implants, Headache Treatment, TMJ Treatment, Fillings, Bonding, Crowns... What more could you ask for?Needless to say, I was really impressed with how many dental services Dr. Tagliarini was able to offer. He had so much passion when he talked about fillings, headache treatment, and dental implants. Clearly, Dr. Tagliarini has dedicated much of his life becoming one of the top notch Dentists in Connecticut as a whole. If you're looking for a Dentist in Danbury CT then just look up Quality Dental of Danbury! People travel from throughout Connecticut to his office for his expertise in TMJ Headache Treatment, and Cosmetic Dentistry. I never really knew about TMJ, or what it was, but apparently people suffer from these terrible headaches for years. Through his dental expertise he is able to cure TMJ / TMD permanently. Dental Associates Danbury CTDental Associates Danbury CT is another nearby Dental office. I tried calling them as well, but couldn't get in touch with a dentist there to schedule an interview.
Looking for Fence Installation in Connecticut?I met with Adam, the owner of Connecticut Fence and Landscaping LLC which is out of Brookfield, CT. CT Fence & Landscaping provides Fencing, Landscaping and Masonry for much of Connecticut. After coming out of the Marine Core Adam knew that he wanted to start his own business. At first he only handled landscaping, but one day one of his clients asked him to a build a fence. The local homeowner who tasked Adam with building him a fence fell in love with the results. Adam started building fences for homeowners throughout Brookfield, and that's how Connecticut Fence and Landscaping started. Connecticut Fence and Landscaping is setup to handle every job in house without having to depend on outside contractors. He has a 2 Masonry crews that stay busy year round working on pools, patios, outdoor kitchens and that kind of stuff. Adam also has landscaping crews that handle bigger planting jobs, landscaping and a bit of maintenance. Connecticut Fence is doing much more than just regular fencing. They are breaking into Glass Fencing, Gate Automation, and do all the welding on site. During the winter like any Landscaping business they handle snow plowing, and snow removal.  What's the toughest thing you went through when opening up Connecticut Fencing and Landscaping LLC?The toughest thing I went through when opening Connecticut Fence and Landscaping was definitely the time away from my family. We're still in growth mode here at Connecticut Fence, and I'm working nights, Saturdays and Sundays. We may have 18-20 full-time employees here at CT Fencing, but we're just getting started. Recently, we've gotten into gate automation and glass fencing. Whats the toughest part of having a Fencing & Landscaping Business in 2017?Competition is growing. When I first started with fencing there was just three of us. Now there are tons of landscapers that also do fencing. The added competition brings the overall costs of the work we do down while the price of trucks, gas and rent is always going up. Not matter our costs I always make sure to do the job 100%. The outstanding work we provide sets us apart from the rest of the competition in CT. I've got a lot of friends in the industry; they give me work because they know I do good work not because they are friends of mine.  If a Customer was to choose between your CT Fencing and 3 others just like - why should they choose yours?The best thing about Connecticut Fencing and Landscaping is that our loyalty is unparalleled. If a customer from 5 years ago calls me to complain about a fence post that is leaning then I'll make it my priority to get over there. I won't sleep well unless I know that my customers are taken care of. Growing up my father was in the car detailing business, and his business grew through his high quality work alone. Here at CT Fencing we believe in the same values: high quality work, fair pricing, and lifetime customer service.  Wrapping things up with Connecticut Fencing & LandscapingMeeting Adam of Connecticut Fence & Landscaping was a refreshing experience. He built a great fencing business from scratch, but hasn't let the growth of his business change what he does on a daily basis. Adam is on site to make sure the jobs are done by CT Fencing's high standards. He's working weekends, nights, and continually reinvesting into the business.
Connecticut Fence and Landscaping, LLC 27 Station Rd Brookfield, CT 06804 (203) 885-0251 www.ctfenceandlandscape.com Looking for Landscaping in Danbury CT?I met with Corby Hocker, The owner of The Grounds Guys of Danbury. The Grounds Guys offer lawn maintenance, and full service landscaping to the local Danbury area including Southbury, Brookfield, Bethel, Newton, Sandy hook and more. Corby had a very interesting story as he was traveling the world as an investment banker not too long ago. He had been doing landscaping as a hobby his entire life, but only recently did he take his passion for the outdoors and turn it into a reality. Being an investment banker meant much time away from his family, and even less time outdoors. Nowadays, he's a The Grounds Guys franchisee, and spends his time building a business he loves. Corby can be found planting shrubs, gardens, perennials, annuals, trees, and cleaning up after storms. When he's not caring for his clients throughout the Greater Danbury area you'll be able to find him on the soccer field, basketball court or skating around the hockey rink with his energetic four kids!  When did you start the Grounds Guys of Danbury?I started The Grounds Guys in March of last year, and we're growing rapidly with the help of our team. Becoming a part of The Grounds Guys was one of the best choices I've ever made. The Grounds Guy's core values were right in line with mine, and the franchise provides a ton of support including the back office, marketing and brand recognition. Cara McArdle joined The Grounds Guys team as a Design & Marketing expert, both graphical and garden design. She's equally skilled in creating our marketing materials and designing/installing flower and vegetable gardens for our clients. We've recruited some great people over the past year, but are always looking for hard workers who have a passion for providing high quality service. What's the toughest thing you went through then opening the Grounds Guys of Danbury?Hiring the right people isn't the easiest thing to do. The weather isn't always sunny and warm, and the days aren't always short. We have high requirements for our employees including drug testing. The hardest thing for us was finding good help. Today's new culture is different, and hard workers are definitely hard to come by. But I feel great about the team I have, know they have the same values for quality service that I do, and we are ready for spring.  Corby and his Family If a customer was looking for landscaping in Danbury and had to choose between the Grounds Guys and 3 other businesses just like it - why choose yours?The customer service that The Grounds Guys is able to give to each and every customer. There are a lot of landscaping services around, but not many that have a standard of service required by a parent company. Those standards combined with my own personal commitment to building a trusted, reliable, high quality landscaping business are what set us apart. You know when a uniformed, scheduled Grounds Guy landscaper comes to your home you can expect a very high standard of service. The reviews on our Facebook page confirm that. Every customer matters. If there is a rain or other delay the customer is notified of that. I do exactly what I say I'm going to do. Superior customer service combined with quality service is the name of my game. Some services sell on price, and you know, you get what you pay for. I focus on the value you get from my services. I want you to feel like the investment was worth it, and it will show in your landscape. That’s what makes me excited to get out there every day. There is plenty of business around the Danbury area, and I know my clients have a choice. When they give the Grounds Guys a chance to meet their home care needs, our clients are happy with the results and continue as our clients. We can’t wait to meet more of our neighbors in the Greater Danbury area and show what the Grounds Guys can do. In 6 months from now, where would you like the Grounds Guys Business to be?Double in size! I'd like us to be at 2 trucks, and 2 full-time crews. There is plenty of business around the Danbury area, and many people are settling for sub-par lawn service. Our team can't wait until the Greater Danbury area realizes what they're missing out on!  Maggie, Co-Pilot Wrapping things up with the Grounds Guys of DanburyCorby was a real stand up guy. Learning that he was traveling the world as an investment banker, but changed his whole career around to be able to spend time with his family and work outside was impressive. Making a big career change while needing to support a family is admirable.
Grounds Guys of Danbury (203) 712-0072 www.groundsguys.com/danbury Looking for a job? We're always looking for qualified landscapers to join our growing team. Apply at www.applyatgroundsguys.com Serving from Woodbury to Danbury including Southbury, Newtown, Brookfield, Bethel, and New Fairfield. Looking for Landscaping in New Fairfield? I met with John of JHC Landscaping which is a newer landscaping business in New Fairfield, CT. John started JHC Landscaping out of New Fairfield with 10 years of experience with other local landscaping companies in the location Western Connecticut area. JHC Landscaping handles lawn mowing, spring & fall clean up, mulching, hedge trimming, and snowplowing. JHC Landscaping is looking forward to being able to grow in the local New Fairfield & Danbury community. John explained that "JHC Landscaping services their customers lawns like they service their own." What made you want to get into the Landscaping Business?I’ve lived in New Fairfield my whole life, and have a ton of experience in the landscaping industry. I wanted to take the next step, and open my own Landscaping business.  What was the toughest part of having a business in 2016?Keeping all the deadlines. When we get a rain storm that continues for the week it can difficult to find time to do all the accounts. Balancing time with the family while trying to build a business can also be difficult. If a Customer was to choose between JHC Landscaping and 3 other just like it - why choose yours?We’re competitively priced. I’m the one that you deal with and I’m the one that does the work. I’ll go the extra mile to make sure you’re taken care of.  Wrapping things up with JHC Landscaping of New FairfieldMeeting John was very refreshing. He’s a good, honest man with a family and a dream to own his own business. John had a clear vision for his landscaping. Like any local business owner John wants to grow his business, but he wants to make sure to provide the same quality service that his landscaping customers appreciate.
Location: JHC Landscaping New Fairfield, CT 06812 Phone: (203) 460-4960 Website: jhclandscaping.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/JHCLandscapingCT Looking for Personal Training in New Fairfield CT?I met with Will from Will Power Fitness in New Fairfield. Will Power Fitness handles all the personal training at Prime Time Fitness located in New Fairfield, CT. Will got his start while training friends & family during his college years for what he refers to as "lunch money". After graduating College he went on to work as a Sports & Fitness Director for a local non-profit. After spending a couple years as a Sports, Fitness & Recreation Director he got married, and wanted to start a family. Will knew that he couldn't start a family in Fairfield County with a non-profit salary. He decided to renew his National Academy of Sports Medicine Personal Training Certification to start training full-time. Will Power Fitness wasn't born just yet. Will started at a local "group personal training" studio called Earthfit. After working there for 10 months he explained that it was time to move on because there wasn't as much growth potential as he was led on to believe there was. He then joined Revive Fitness's branch at World's Gym in Brewster, NY. Within 3 days of working personal training in Brewster a Training Manager spot opened up in New Fairfield. Will made the hard choice to come back to New Fairfield and train within a mile of his previous employer, Earthfit. "It wasn't my ideal situation, but I had to take the promotion for my family's sake," explained Will. Will soon realized that the situation he was in at Revive Fitness wasn't much different than at Earthfit. He was met with constant backlash as he tried to grow the business in different directions. Will stuck with Revive to learn as much as he could about running a personal training business and sales. Instead of repeating the same process Will decided to offer to buy out Revive Fitness. A short few months later... Will Power Fitness was born. What made you want to get into the Personal Training Business?I value helping people. I loved my time working with youth, and always felt better at the end of the day. After having two back to back terrible employers, and decided to run with it myself. I wish I did this earlier. Will Power Fitness is so much different than any other personal training business in New Fairfield, Danbury or even in Connecticut. I had been a die-hard Crossfit Junkie for years, and loved the community that they had created. Taking what I've learned at in Crossfit classes, personal training conferences, and knowing exactly how NOT to setup a personal training business gave me a real plan to follow. I knew after working at Revive Fitness that I didn't want to have crazy contracts. I wanted to seal my personal training clients with a handshake instead of a lawyer-ed up piece of paper. I wanted to give all my nutritional information up for free instead of charge for it. Most of all I wanted to do things my way, and give people the results that they pay for. What's the toughest thing that you went through when opening Will Power Fitness?One thing is for sure, my previous employer Earthfit. She wasn't too keen on me opening up a Personal Training business of my own right next door to hers. In fact, her sister wrote bad reviews on my social media pages. She slammed me on her facebook right after I left which was expected, because that's how it is in the personal training world. I can't even tell you the half the grief I got from my previous employer, Earthfit. I got phone calls about my website that I couldn't say this, or I couldn't say that. I'd get letters from her lawyer threatening me not to violate my non-disclosure agreement. Heck, I'll probably get some crap for this participating in this review! That's no problem though, because I know if you've got haters than you're doing something right! If a customer was to choose between Will Power Personal Training, and 3 other businesses just like it - why choose yours?You get me! That is the number one reason. Will Power Fitness combines many different aspects of training into one comprehensive 1 on 1 training program. You've got a dynamic warm up that specifically targets the weak & inhibited muscles with activation while stretching the over-active muscles. Following the warm up you've got a 45 minute personal training session with me. I'm a total form nazi! We'll have your exercise technique down pat within the first month of personal training. Whether you'd like to lose weight, gain muscle, trim, tone or all the above with Will Power Personal Training we'll achieve all of that and more. Little do you know, but during the training session I'll be employing behavior modification techniques to change your habits, mindset, and empower you to be the best version of yourself. After our training session we'll do mobility to further stretch those over-active muscle groups, and allow you to recover from our workout session. I've been to Crossfit, worked at "Group Personal Training" studios, and I can tell you with confidence that there is not another program like Will Power Personal Training. We give it all to you, the corrective exercise, powerful workouts, behavior coaching, and mobility infused cool downs. One thing was missing from Will Power Fitness however... The community. The reason bootcamps, crossfits, and other group personal training gyms are so effective is that they instill a cult-like atmosphere. I'm not saying Cult in a bad way. I totally drank the cool-aid while I was throwing 275 pounds over my head at Crossfit. However, after reading extensively about behavior modification, habit creation, and psychology I realized that being part of a group was one of the biggest factors to secure positive behavior change. So now I offer a kettlebell class which is free for all my personal training clients. The Kettlebell class meets on friday's at 6:15am, and 7:15am and so far I've received great feedback about it. Wrapping things up with Will Power Fitness of New FairfieldWill's lengthy story about the origins of Will Power Fitness was certainly interesting. He gives a lot to his clients, and enjoys what he does immensely.
Will Power Personal Training CT 3 Dunham Drive New Fairfield, CT 06812 Phone: (203) 260-0639 Looking for a Handyman in Ridgefield, Wilton or Weston CT? I met with Al of Handyman Pro of Fairfield County who handles handyman work throughout Ridgefield, Wilton, Weston and the rest of Fairfield County. He was in the trades industry for the 30 years, building new homes, fixing older homes, and restoring almost everything. People looking for Carpentry Services call Al for many different needs from Windows, Cabinetry, and Hardwood Flooring to Lock Replacement, Doors, and Skylight Installation. He’s your local jack of all trades Handyman who will handle any home improvement job.  What made you want to go into the Handyman Business? People always need something fixed at home. Having 30 years of experience in the industry I knew that I could do right on every handyman job I received. Helping people in the community is a great feeling, and people really appreciate the fair price I give them.
What was the toughest thing about opening your Handyman Business in the Ridgefield, Wilton and Weston Areas? Although I’ve lived in Ridgefield, Connecticut all my life the hardest thing about opening my Handyman business was getting my name out there. I could tell you a hundred things that weren't hard! Now that Pro Handyman Pro of Fairfield County is off the ground the only thing that can be difficult is scheduling. I try to be as flexible as possible when it comes to timing my jobs, but sometimes jobs can take longer than expected.  If a customer was to choose between your Handyman Business, and 3 others just like it – why choose Handyman Pro of Fairfield County? I’ve been in the trades for what seems like a million years, and I’ve seen it all. I’ve got the utmost confidence that I’ll be able to handle a job faster, and better than any other Handyman in the business. There are a ton of people in the Handyman niche nowadays. A lot of them have gotten their start because of fixing things around their own house so they figure they could do it for others while making a couple bucks. Handyman Pro of Fairfield County is different. I’ve been in the trades for the last 30 years, and moved into the handyman industry to help the local community. It’s hard finding a fair price these days. I get a ton of repeat customers, and referrals because of my honest pricing. Wrapping things up with Handyman Pro of Fairfield
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