Succeeding in the business world can be very tough.
Frank Shang knew that well after he completed a business degree in his native China and came to Canada in 2001 with his family, looking to put down roots.
“School had been pretty hard, so I thought I should learn some other type of skilled work,” said Shang, 36, who owns MRD Landscaping Inc., the winner of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. “I pick things up pretty quickly, so I decided to try some other things and see what happened.”
That led him to jobs in restaurants where he dealt with the public, and later a position as a night shift supervisor at recycling plant where it allowed him to get familiar, and certified, with operating heavy equipment — both areas that would serve him well later in the landscaping trade.
But it was a chance meeting with an acquaintance that led to a job with a landscaping crew which brought things into sharp focus for Shang.
“I recognized right away that it was good for me,” he said. “I was able to work outdoors, so I wanted to know more about landscaping and enrolled at the Vancouver Training Institute where they have a practical horticulture program.”
And in 2006 he began building up his company as a professional landscaping business, which provides hard and soft landscaping services to the private and commercial sectors.
Over the years, his reputation in the industry grew so much that he and MRD became an influential landscaping resource in B.C.’s Chinese community. Today, he uses his knowledge and contacts to write a weekly gardening column in a Chinese language newspaper and act as one of seven judges in this year’s B.C. Landscaping Awards.
Shang said what he enjoys most about his work is being able to create a garden setting that reflects the style and personality of its owner by working closely with his clients to learn and interpret their dreams and bring that to reality in a landscape design which culminates in living art.
