When it comes to successful family-owned businesses, Outdoor Pride Landscape & Snow Management has an archetypal story of how teamwork and care for its people has paid off. In the last eight years, the company, which has 140 full-time employees and another 100 or more during the winter months, quadrupled its revenue and increased its employee retention rate by nearly 90%. In 2023, it grew revenue by 5% to $23.4 million.
It has come a long way from its infancy in 1988 when Michael Aquilino started the company in his garage. Notably, that was literally also the infancy of current President Mark Aquilino, Mike’s son, who was born that year.
Mark assumed leadership of Outdoor Pride in 2016 after growing up in the company and working for his father. “Mom and dad built a great place for me to thrive in,” Mark says. “They were always people centric.” Mark, who describes himself as having a “GSD” or Get [Stuff] Done attitude, says he deeply values growing up around the business and is dedicated to continuing his parents’ legacy of focusing on people by promoting employees, implementing open book management practices, and offering retirement plans—which are not industry norms.
Mark also founded the Aquilino Foundation in 2019, which has donated more than $300,000 to charities across the state, including Manchester Boys & Girls Club, Swim with a Mission, and Best Buddies NH. In 2023, Outdoor Pride donated $110,000 to NH nonprofits and employees gave 400 hours of volunteer time.
Recently, Outdoor Pride hosted about 60 students at Essex Technical School in Massachusetts to educate them about job opportunities in the trades. “We’re always trying to personify how great the trades are and that you can make a great living going down that route,” Mark says.
In 2022, Outdoor Pride was recognized among the top 100 “Most Successful” companies by the Accredited Snow Contractors Association and earned “Awards of Excellence” from the National Association of Landscape Professionals in 2022 and 2023.
“Not only is the company dedicated to enhancing the beauty of our community through its exceptional landscaping work and ensuring the safety of New Hampshire residents through efficient snow management services, Outdoor Pride is also dedicated to giving back to those in need across the state and strengthening New Hampshire’s business environment,” says Michael Skelton, president and CEO of the Business and Industry Association of NH.
Current Issue - June 2024