Overall Winner: Deborah Munoz-Chacon, president and owner, Sonoran Oasis Landscaping
Deborah Munoz-Chacon, owner and president of Sonoran Oasis Landscaping and this year’s overall winner of the Women In The Green Industry Award, has run her own landscaping company for nearly two decades.
Her biggest differentiator when she started Sonoran Oasis Landscaping proved to be that she was a solely female-owned company.
“It was different being the owner of a company in a male-dominated field because most of my competitors are owned by men, and my husband doesn't work in the business with me,” Munoz-Chacon says. “I make all of the major decisions. I wanted to do things differently because I'm not like the men in the industry.”
Her flourishing company began to take root years many years ago when she discovered the landscape industry by chance working for a management company that included a landscape division.
After some time, the owner asked Munoz-Chacon if she’d be interested in becoming a certified arborist. She said yes.
“I worked directly with the field supervisors in the landscape division for the company,” Munoz-Chacon says. “I also handled human resources for the entire company and headed the accounting department and worked directly with the owner.”
Munoz-Chacon’s 10 years of dedication to learning the industry at the company paid off when, after the owner decided to sell, Munoz-Chacon decided to start her own business.
“The owner told me I can stay on with the company, find another job or that I might want to consider starting my own business,” Munoz-Chacon says. “I knew I didn’t want to do management at that company, but I really enjoyed the landscaping part of it and working with plants and clients in the landscape business.”
From there, Sonoran Oasis Landscaping came to be in 2005.
Starting from scratch
From the beginning, Munoz-Chacon wanted her company to do things differently from a lot of the other companies operating in Tucson.
“I love the Sonoran Desert—it’s so unique with the cacti and saguaros, and you have to deal with the heat in the summertime,” Munoz-Chacon says. “I started the company with the intent of managing the plant material properly, using water-saving irrigation systems and native desert plant material. Also, instead of coming in as a technician, I came from the business end of it, so that gave me an advantage and helped us make it as long as we have.”
She notes that at the time she started the company, companies in her area were using Mediterranean plant material, which guzzled up a lot more water.
So, she got educated on that side of the business, taking classes at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College to learn how to do landscaping properly.
In addition to doing things differently from a plant perspective, she says being a solely woman-owned company made her unique as well.
“It was different being the owner of a company in a male-dominated field because most of my competitors are owned by men, and my husband doesn't work in the business with me,” Munoz-Chacon says. “I actually started the business on my own in 2005. I brought my son on board with me, so he works with me in the business, but I'm the owner of the company, and I make all of the major decisions for us as well. I wanted to do things differently because I'm not like the men in the industry.”
Contending with challenges
When she started the business, everyone told Munoz-Chacon that she would be lucky if she made it five years because the field was so competitive. With nearly two decades in business, she proved them wrong.
“We compete against very large companies as well as two guys in a truck,” Munoz-Chacon says, adding that Sonoran Oasis Landscaping typically runs two to three crews a day. “We’re definitely smaller, but we compete with our larger competitors.”
Nay-sayers weren’t the only challenge Munoz-Chacon has combatted throughout her tenure.
When she first started in the business, many prospective clients would ask where her husband was.
“That was a huge hurdle because a lot of the women who I knew in the industry ran the office, while their husband was running the field,” Munoz-Chacon says. “I’ve always done both.”
As the years wore on, she says many of those challenges have faded as clients and prospectives recognize her as the owner of the company.
Growing success
In addition to several awards for the landscapes the company has created, Munoz-Chacon says another major highlight in her career was completing her MBA.
“That was a huge accomplishment for myself, and it helps me with running the business because of everything I’ve learned from that,” Munoz-Chacon says.
Despite focusing heavily on the business side of things, Munoz-Chacon says one of her favorite parts is to go plant and see the finished project.
“Maybe someone has nothing on their property, and you go in and put plant material in and come back later and watch things grow and see how happy the clients are with the work that you’ve done,” Munoz-Chacon says.
She says she also loves to teach employees and help them make the landscapes their own.
“I really like to see when others grow and are able to do things that they didn’t know how to do when they came to work with us,” Munoz-Chacon says.
In addition to giving back her time to mentor employees, Munoz-Chacon also spends a lot of time giving back to the industry.
She’s served on a committee for the Southern Arizona Horticulture Conference, participated on the City of Tucson’s Landscape Advisory Committee and held a board member position on the National Association of Women Business Owners in the Tucson area.
“There are just so many ways to be involved in the industry,” Munoz-Chacon says. “If you're a woman who wants to get into the industry, there are different ways to do it. Find a way that works for you. There’s so much opportunity for us. Pursue what you love. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. If you do that, you can be very successful, and you can grow a business and have something that you're proud of.”
While Munoz-Chacon says she’s accomplished many of the goals that she’s set for herself, she’s always aiming to improve the company.
“I want to leave my business to my son and daughter-in-law as a legacy, so it’s important I help them ramp up what they’re doing and that we work together closely,” Munoz-Chacon says. “It’s always my goal to grow the company, but to have it small enough that we are still a part of the company and that I still know my clients and my employees.”
