Posted: November 12, 2010

Kevin Tucker

By Danielle Walker

danielle.walker@insidebiz.com

Making a major change within a company is not a move that should be taken lightly. Especially if the decision changes what clients are most familiar with - your name.

Kevin Tucker, 38, the owner and president of Solitude Lake Management, mulled over the idea for quite a while before he decided to rename Virginia Lake Management, which had expanded to quite a number of clients outside of the state.

"Its something that had been on my mind for two to three years," Tucker said. "You don't want to lose your name recognition, so changing our name was something we did very methodically.

"You don't want to lose the people that have already been good customers, because they don't recognize you or can't find you, because the name is different. We didn't want to lose what got us here in the first place."

Still, the name change, which happened Nov. 1, was a risk - although a well-planned one - that the company was ready and willing to take.

SLM, which primarily manages water quality for fresh-water lakes and storm-water ponds, does water quality monitoring and testing, takes care of algae and invasive aquatic vegetation, and also works with fisheries.

Tucker's Virginia Beach-based company, which started in 1998, was born out of an idea to start a business that serviced a niche market. He wanted to have control over the quality of service by making sure he could hire quality workers.

"I wanted a business that wasn't very labor-dependent, where I can pay quality people well," Tucker said. "And where I can expect quality results. I didn't want to be a baby sitter."

SLM has 16 full-time employees ranging from workers in the field, like aquatic biologists, ecologists and environmental scientists, to staff that handle marketing, accounting, administration and customer service.

When the company started out, it had a more limited offering of services but evolved into a "full-service firm that handles a plethora of services for water quality management," according to Tucker. With its growth on the service end, also came an expansion of its service territory.

"The other growth has been territorial," Tucker said. "That was a huge emphasis for our name change. Next thing you know we are working in eight states."

Those states are North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

While SLM is headquartered in Virginia Beach, it also has locations in Newport News, Fredericksburg and Georgetown, Del.

The Breeden Co., a real estate development firm in Virginia Beach, has worked with Tucker's company for about 10 years. SLM maintains Breeden's stormwater systems and fountains. The Renaissance Place, a Breeden Co. property with a shopping center in Virginia Beach, received a beautification award in October, presented by the Council of Garden Clubs of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Beautification Commission.

"They are our primary company [for water management services]," said Alanna Deal, vice president of corporate marketing for The Breeden Co. "It there was something wrong with their service, we would have to do a lot of research to find somebody that does what they do. There is not a lot of competition."

Cecil V. Cutchins, the president of Olympia Development, based in Virginia Beach, has also been a client for the past 10 years. When Olympia built the Convergence Center in Virginia Beach, Tucker installed the fountain in a lake on the property, which can be seen from Interstate 264, and has maintained it ever since.

"We wanted our lake to be an asset to the community, so he's been an instrument in keeping it as a prime focal point," Cutchins said. "He works with us on two other lakes, and keeps them running.

"He's a full turn-key operation - you tell him what to do and he does it," said Cutchins, who explained that he had struggled with trying to manage similar water projects like that himself, before linking up with the company. "[They're] just a unique operation."

SLM services a range of clients, including those at residential communities, golf courses and commercial developments, as well as those who run city, state and federally owned bodies of water.

The company also works with wildlife and habitat management services.

Tucker said one factor that had contributed to the company's growth was the development boom that "spurred a lot more need for our services."

"Despite all the things we do, word of mouth has been our largest source for customer growth.

"I think that's what sealed the growth - we keep the clients we have," he said. "We're not just scientists out in the field; we spend a lot of time in developing the relationship with our clients."

As for challenges in running the business, Tucker said the economy has affected some of his client base, but he hasn't let that change his services.

"One of our biggest challenges really has been over the past year to 18 months," he said. "Our business has continued to grow despite the economic downturn, but we have some clients that have to cut their expenses at all costs."

Tucker said he's held firm.

"There's a certain [price] floor I won't go below, because I have to stand up and put our name behind it, and be proud of what we do," he said.

The new name, Solitude Lake Management, which Tucker pointed out is pronounced "SOLitude" with a long "o," was chosen to reflect the interests of the company's staff and define its personal and professional approach to working in the business.

"We wanted our name to embody who we were as people, with a tie back to water and what we do professionally," Tucker said. "In our name we want to relay who we are, but not pigeonhole our business.

"We certainly don't want to have to do this again," he said about the name change. "We want a name that can expand as we expand."

To visit Solitude Lake Management's website, please go to http://www.solitudelakemanagement.com/