Have you ever thought about what you'll do with all that money after your landscaping company is thriving and making wicked profits? Have you ever thought about starting a non-profit that gives back to the community? Today I am excited to share an interview with Kelly Slater, the Vice President of Pleasant Landscapes in Mount Pleasant, SC, about:
- The number of businesses she and her business partner are a part of
- How they started a non-profit organization that helps people transition from prison back into society
- The way that they use this as a recruiting tool to get employees for their various businesses
Kelly Slater
VP/Senior Partner | Pleasant Landscapes | Mount Pleasant, SC
Jack Jostes:
All right, everyone. I am here with Kelly Slater. She is one of the partners at Pleasant Landscapes down in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. We're working together on her marketing, and today in getting to know Kelly a little bit better, I learned that, Kelly, you're a partner in nine different business. You're preparing the taxes for them, and I believe your background is actually in finance prior to working in the landscape industry, right? So you have a lot of knowledge of that.
Jack Jostes:
And what I was excited to learn today was that you and your business partner also have a nonprofit, and so I wanted to interview you about that today. So tell us, who are you and what do you do at Pleasant Landscapes, and then what is The Pate House?
Kelly Slater:
Sure. So I'm Kelly Slater, Vice President of Pleasant Landscapes based out of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. I manage and am a business partner in nine businesses altogether here that my business partner and I have, one of which is The Pate House, which is a nonprofit organization that helps rehabilitated long-term convicted criminals get acclimated back into society again.
Kelly Slater:
Once they've completed their non-violent crimes that their terms in jail or in prison, they come and we've got a group house that they'll stay at. One of our businesses, not generally our landscaping business, but one of our other businesses will help them out with getting a job and reintroduce them into society again.
How Kelly Got Started In Her Non-Profit The Pate House
Jack Jostes:
And what was it that led you and your business partner to start The Pate House, and why is it called The Pate House?
Kelly Slater:
The Pate House was named after the warden, Warden Pate, which is out of one of the prisons in the Beaufort area of South Carolina, and my business partner's father, actually, does a lot of work within the prison, teaching and educating the prison members there and working with the criminals and trying to help them prior to them being released. There are other organizations within the country that do similar things to what we're doing with The Pate House, but there wasn't anybody in our area. So with my business partner's father being so heavy into that prison system there, that's where The Pate House came from, and it was named after their warden.
Kelly Slater:
We've had quite a few great success stories with people that have come out of that business and worked in one of our other companies for six months to a year, I think maybe as long as two before they've gone off and gotten a place to live on their own and started a new career on their own.
Jack Jostes:
That's really incredible that you're able to help people with that. What are some of the challenges that people face? One of the things that you mentioned and that I want to just reiterate is a lot of these are non-violent, or they're not sex-offense type crimes. They're other crimes, though. What are some of the challenges that people who have gone through, they've finished their sentence in prison, what are some of the challenges that they face as they enter back into society, and how does The Pate House help them with those skills?
How The Pate House Helps Rehabilitated Felons Transition Back Into Society
Kelly Slater:
Well, I'm sure there's a tremendous amount of challenges, but right off the bat, the issues are having a place to live. You need a job to make money, to pay for a place to live, and for somebody who's aged because we're not talking about 23, 24-year-old kids. These are guys, most of them that have gone through our system are men. They're men that have done quite a bit of time, and it's a demeaning feeling to them to not be able to get a job or not be able to have a place to live, and then for also acclimating to a completely different lifestyle.
Kelly Slater:
So for 10 or 15 years, they've been told exactly what to do at what time, what to wear, what to eat, things like that. So now that they have this freedom, it's challenging for them to have this freedom. So part of the program that we offer is not only are we giving them a place to live, we're also giving them a job, and they're also getting a lot of moral support within the program, within the management staff, within the directors of our program. So that's just helping them acclimate to society again.
Jack Jostes:
That's excellent. You were telling me before we interviewed, how many people can ... The Pate House is actually a house. Where is it, how many rooms are there, how many people can stay there at a time, and are they there typically for up to two years, or what's the program like?
Kelly Slater:
We keep it open to them. I'd say that the average is between six months and a year before they're ready to go out on their own. It is a group housing style. It's in the country area in a little town called McClellanville. It is a six-bedroom house on three acres of land. It's pretty secluded, but being a group housing type, there's going to be two guys to a bedroom with one big living room and kitchen. So they're living in a group housing situation, and I think after six months to a year, they're ready to go off and get on their own.
Support The Pate House By Making Online Purchases Through Amazon Smile
Jack Jostes:
That's excellent. And one of the things that I was surprised to learn from you was about fundraising for this. You've mentioned that it's actually part of the Amazon Smile donation program. Did you set that up, or how did you get involved in such a massive donation opportunity with Amazon?
Kelly Slater:
Yeah, so that's something that I did set up. So one of the challenges that The Pate House has had is getting the donations. It's not a real glamorous type of organization, but it's, I think, one that's definitely fulfilling in helping people, which is important to us. So in trying to determine other ways of raising money and raising funds for the organization, one of which I had come across was the Amazon Smile program, and it really hasn't changed anybody's lifestyle in that you still shop like you normally do. You just elect The Pate House as your donation company, and Amazon donates based on your purchases, directly to us, which is fantastic.
Jack Jostes:
That's amazing. So for those of your watching or listening, next time you're buying whatever you're going to buy on Amazon, and if you use the Smile program, be sure to donate to The Pate House if you want to support this awesome organization. Tell us a little bit, what are some of the other businesses you have and how many employees has this helped you actually acquire for those other businesses?
Kelly Slater:
The Pate House itself doesn't have any direct employees. It's 100% nonprofit. None of the directors take any money at all, nothing. So it does not have any employees. It has only volunteers, and we've had probably four or five people come through The Pate House through one specific prison, and as that slowed down, we switched gears a few years back with Hurricane Maria that devastated Puerto Rico.
Kelly Slater:
So we were able to hook up with some local people in Puerto Rico that we had known just from the industry, and we probably had three dozen families from Puerto Rico come through, whether it was the fathers, the sons, they would work for a six to 12-month stent to help save some money and repair their houses back home in Puerto Rico, and they'd go back. So it's worked in that way much better. We've had much more quantity of people we've been able to help over the last three or four years since the hurricane. And in all of our companies, all nine business, we've got pest control, vacation rentals, pool installations. There's not a lot we don't do as far as service work is concerned. Waste, food, recycling, pallets, things like that. But it all started 30 years ago with landscaping.
Jack Jostes:
Wow. That's amazing that you've been able to branch out and help out people from Puerto Rico that were recovering from those hurricanes. For people listening who maybe have reached a certain level of success in their business and they want to give back, I have other clients who have started nonprofits or things, what advice would you give to them as far as starting a nonprofit? And in this case, it's sometimes helped you get employees for your other businesses, which is amazing.
What Is It Like To Start and Manage a Non-Profit?
Jack Jostes:
Talk to us just a little bit about what's it like to start and then also manage a nonprofit?
Kelly Slater:
Sure. So I would say to definitely go with your heart and what's going to be fulfilling, and whatever avenue of a nonprofit you would want to go, make sure it's fulfilling because it sure isn't going to rake in the money. That's not the purpose of it.
Jack Jostes:
It's a nonprofit, right. But the point is to give back and help other people, so-
Kelly Slater:
Yes.
Jack Jostes:
What else?
Kelly Slater:
As far as starting a nonprofit?
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, as far as starting or leading one?
Kelly Slater:
Reach out to somebody who's done it. Get some information, get some help. We were lucky in that when we started The Pate House, there were other organizations in the country that have done similar things that we're doing now, just not close to the Mount Pleasant, Charleston area. So we were able to reach out to them, get in with the accountants and the lawyers on how to properly start it so that it's properly documented. Depending on what your nonprofit is, making sure that you can get some donations, whether it's the Amazon Smile program, mailers, direct mail, door-to-door or other businesses, too. Other businesses are great for offering donations for nonprofits as well.
Jack Jostes:
Great. Well, is there anything else that we should know about you or The Pate House or any other tips or wisdom to share?
Kelly Slater:
Not that I can think of, but if anybody ever had any questions, I'd be more than happy to help out the best I can.
Jack Jostes:
And how can people contact you if they are listening and they had questions?
Kelly Slater:
The easiest way to get me is via email because that is always on, and my email is kelly@pls6.com.
Jack Jostes:
Right. And I'll put that in the show notes for everyone, and thanks for making yourself available for questions, and Kelly, thank you so much for sharing your story today. For the rest of you, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. See more interviews with interesting landscape professionals. If you know somebody who should be on the show, send them my way. jack@landscapersguide.com. I'm always looking for interesting people in the industry to interview, and check us out on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcast, and see the full transcript of this interview at landscapersguide.com/podcast. Thank you.
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