Women in Construction: Monica Reyes’ Bold Move in a Male-Dominated Field

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios, it’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Women in Motion, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC West. Without them, we wouldn’t be sharing these important stories. And this month, we are highlighting women in construction. So excited to be talking to Monica Reyes, who is the Founder, President and Chief Visionary Officer of CME Landscape Corp. Welcome.

Monica Reyes: Hi. Hello. How are you?

Lee Kantor: I am doing well. I am so excited to learn about your business. Tell us about CME. How are you serving folks?

Monica Reyes: Well, we are serving a commercial landscape, companies, properties all over Southern California. We’ve been around for… Our ten-year anniversary just occurred. And it’s a very, very exciting time for women in construction and definitely in a genre of landscape that has primarily been male-dominated.

Lee Kantor: Can you share a little bit about your journey? How did you get here?

Monica Reyes: Well, my love was never grass. I met a lovely man who had 30 years of landscape and ground management experience. His name is Clayton. And as partners in love, we became partners in business. And he decided he would do the heavy lifting, and I would do the operations. And here we are a decade later.

Lee Kantor: And so, can you talk about your business or do you specialize… You mentioned commercial. Did you start in residential and moved to commercial, or were you commercial the whole time?

Monica Reyes: We started in residential. You know, one lawnmower, one truck, one blower helping and doing work in the neighborhood. And as we began marketing, we found a need for commercial properties, which then took us into property management companies, retail spaces. I’ve done work with the federal government, State of California, and really, really exciting clients that we’ve got to work with these last ten years.

Lee Kantor: Was that a difficult transition to go from kind of a B2C model, where you’re dealing with individual people, to a more complex sale of dealing with, you know, like you mentioned, kind of larger groups and larger organizations?

Monica Reyes: You know, that’s a great question. In one way, it was challenging in the sense that when you’re dealing with a residential client, your primary contact is one individual, A to B, A to C, excuse me. But when you work with a global company, then, of course, you’re working with portals and vendor management and different contacts. So, it gets a little bit convoluted but, operationally, very sound. I think the other part is when you start working with a commercial or large organization, they’re very clear on their guidelines and what their expectations are, and that makes life easier for both parties.

Lee Kantor: But does it give you an opportunity to kind of uncover opportunities within the opportunity you have? So, if you’re working somewhere and they’re telling you, “I need you to do A, B, and C,” but you’re like, “You know what? If we did D, E, and F, this thing, you’d be happier and you’d get a better outcome.” Do you have those, kind of, opportunities to kind of go back and forth and share your expertise? Because they don’t know what you know. This is what you do every day.

Monica Reyes: Right and well said. You know, it’s interesting because in landscaping, there’s a mindset of you cut the grass, you cut the hedges, maybe you plant some flowers. Where our expertise is really beyond that. It’s really looking at how do you obviously maintain your property but look beyond what may be issues – water leakage, irrigation, water management because of California and some of the guidelines, we had sustainability, which is huge for our company, stepping into battery operated machinery, looking at how the climate is affecting your landscape. So, there’s a lot more consulting and relationship that we really like to bring to our clients. And at the end of the day, it’s not just a business-to-business relationship. We really bring it as a personal relationship. They know me, they know Clayton, they know our team, and they know what to expect.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think that that’s one of the things that people don’t realize, that you want to kind of elevate yourself from being a vendor to being that trusted advisor. That you’re there watching their back and that they can lean on you to get… you know, if they could just tell you what they want, let you kind of have some freedom to come up with some things that they don’t know about or hadn’t thought of.

Monica Reyes: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. You must have had a lot of experience with landscapers, Lee.

Lee Kantor: I have not, but I appreciate the art to it. I think there’s a lot more to it than, like you said, just mowing and grass or blowing leaves. I think that if you focus in on just the elements of what you’re doing, you’re missing out on a lot of the value you can provide, like you said, about kind of the water, the sustainability and just kind of a healthier use of the land.

Monica Reyes: Agreed.

Lee Kantor: So, now, do you mind sharing some of kind of the highs and lows of your journey? Has there been some mistakes you made that you learned from? Has there been some unexpected things that you stumbled upon that are now part of your business? Can you share a little bit about kind of the good, the bad, the ugly of your journey?

Monica Reyes: Oh, Lee, I think I’ve done everything wrong as an entrepreneur that’s possible, from being self-funded, and really jumping in with a vision, and yes, some corporate knowledge with regards to internal operations, but really how to work on your own as an entrepreneur, let alone work with your partner, which is a whole other aspect. I think that the experience of failing, of not being able to make payroll, of dealing with clients that you couldn’t provide a solution and losing contracts, by being underbid, also learning about, for me, to elevate my company from a residential to a commercial company. And then working with municipal and state contracts, I had to become certified.

So, I am a C-27 licensed landscape contractor through the state of California. And what that took, it wasn’t just write a check and jump into this type of business. The research, the training, it was much more than what I bargained for. But I will tell you, I have learned the best lessons, and I’m so grateful for all these bad and ugly mistakes because it’s really helped me to help other people with their journey, as well as really having me think as an entrepreneur and be very focused on driving sales, driving a quality business, as well as taking care of my employees.

Lee Kantor: So, how do you kind of maintain that focus on your vision? Do you have a team around you? Do you have people that you lean on to mentor you in terms of knowing what the true north should be? Like, how did all of that come about?

Monica Reyes: Well, honestly, desperation was one of them. But otherwise, as it stands now, I rely so much on our Women’s Business Enterprise program. I have had so many wonderful cohorts and coaches and opportunities to really centralize and, like you said, focus my business, whether it’d be just webinars or seminars that are available, whether it’s meetups or also literature that they’ve provided. Most recently, something called the 12-Week Year has been a tremendous input for focusing on my business.

Lee Kantor: Can you talk a little bit about your foundation and how did that come about?

Monica Reyes: Oh, my foundation is called Mi Hija Foundation, which translates to My Daughter Foundation. And that really came from becoming a caregiver for my father. My father recently passed of prostate cancer. And what I found was (a), being an entrepreneur but also being a caregiver, there were so many opportunities and resources that were being missed for myself to help me during this time. And I found that not only did I gain benefit, my dad was a veteran, he worked for a union, he had a lot of options that we could engage in that would help our family and help me as a caregiver. But really, I found so many people that needed a helping hand and didn’t know how to do it, whether it’d be technology, whether if they knew where to go and how to do it. And that’s really where my heart is out of CME landscape, that out of our business, we really get to make a difference for our community in the idea of family and contribution.

Lee Kantor: And the community that you’re building, can you talk a little bit about that? Because it sounds like it’s now well beyond just the landscape community, that you’re expanding outside of that through your drain solutions and your foundation. I mean, your impact is getting bigger and bigger, it seems, by the day.

Monica Reyes: Well, our drain solution is a subset of CME landscape. We found that the water management, and we would come out and they’d say, “I need a plumber, I need some help with water systems,” and that was just an extension of our business. And hopefully as we grow, our CME Landscape Corp umbrella, that there’s other options that we can support with our community, whether it’d be local, whether it’d be, again, county-wise. And who knows, we might even open up into Northern California and into other states in the near future.

Lee Kantor: And then, landscape doesn’t necessarily mean outdoors, right? There’s indoor landscape opportunities for you as well.

Monica Reyes: Yes, there’s something called biophilia. And that is sustainable bio landscape that, really, say you go into a beautiful corporate office, and you see the green walls, and you see that environment, the beauty and the aesthetic, that’s something that we also are engaged with because there’s a feeling that you get when you’re around beauty and you’re around living things. And that’s something that we also provide as a landscape aspect, but also kind of in the humanity aspect as well.

Lee Kantor: And is that for people who already have an existing indoor landscape in their facility, or can you help them create one in their environment?

Monica Reyes: Oh, we can help them create. Without a doubt, we can do both.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned a little bit about how the certifications have helped you in the learnings that you’ve gotten through there. Is there anything specific from WBEC West that you can share? An anecdote maybe, a connection or a opportunity you were able to get from being part of the WBEC West community?

Monica Reyes: Oh, gosh. You know, a lot of my exposure through the WBENC community was because of being woman certified. I was able to obtain a very large federal contract. And that was the primary reason they felt that we were a differentiator in the sense of going through the certification project or process, and then really being proud of that, and sharing that as a landscape maintenance company. So, working with organizations like Home Depot, which acknowledged the WBENC certification and really even interacting with other communities like Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce, they really are interested and engaged in women that take that next step with their business.

Because it takes something to get certified. For anyone that thinks it’s an easy process, it’s not, but it’s so well worth it. The value that I’ve gotten with the contracts that I’ve worked with, as well as the connections and network that I have now, which is so important. You know, when you’re an entrepreneur, you feel a lot of times alone. Like, you’re in this journey by yourself. And to know that, at any time, I can go into the WBENC community, whether it’s online or through a telephone call, and connect with someone for support or advice just is invaluable, I must say.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any advice you can share with the women that are in a male-dominated industry? Is there anything you’ve learned that helped you get through that or kind of just leverage the opportunity that you had in that space? Is there anything you’d like to share to other women who are thinking about it but are maybe nervous about that opportunity?

Monica Reyes: You know, I stepped into this opportunity on the operations and sales side, and had very little experience, and would have meetings where people would question me about my experience and my knowledge. And most of the time, it was men. So, what I found was I had to be clear on my business, also clear on what I did and didn’t know, and really be candid with what I could bring to the table as someone who had been in corporate America for 20-plus years, Maybe my experience as a landscape person initially wasn’t as strong, but it gave me even more incentive to really learn my business, to become certified, to become someone that understood the practices of what we provide.

And I was glad I was in this male-dominated field because, again, I get to be different in a realm that’s not usually engaged with women. And it also gives a view of it’s possible. It’s possible, I’m capable, and let’s just go to the next opportunity. And that’s what I keep looking at. That’s what keeps me going is especially with WBENC, there’s so many women’s stories that when I feel down in the dumps because things aren’t happening, I can connect with someone and feel that spirit of entrepreneurialship again and really go for it.

Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of? How can we help you? Do you need more clients? Do you need more workers? What do you need more of? How can we help?

Monica Reyes: You know, I love new clients. I love creating new relationships and being a contribution professionally and personally to the people that we serve. As well as with regards to my foundation, I’m always looking for sponsors, with individuals that want to make a difference in their community and not let resources go by the wayside and rot. And I’m always open to be of service to other entrepreneurs that need a helping hand. But for CME to make the biggest difference, I’m looking at fortune 100 companies, fortune 500 companies that see the value of a woman-owned landscape company.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about CME, is there a website? What’s the best way to connect with you or somebody on the team?

Monica Reyes: Yes, you can go to CMELandscapeCorp.com or connect with me directly at MonicaR@CMELandscapeCorp.com.

Lee Kantor: Well, Monica, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Monica Reyes: Thank you. Thank you, Lee. It’s been a pleasure to be with you today.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women in Motion.