NaturZone’s Longfellow Honored as a ‘Top Entrepreneur’ by the Business Observer

SARASOTA, Fla. — Doug Longfellow, president of NaturZone, Sarasota, Fla., was recognized by the Business Observer, a weekly newspaper serving Florida’s Gulf Coast, as a ‘Top Entrepreneur.’

The newspaper praised Longfellow for acquiring a modest $500,000 firm in 2005 and transforming it into a pest control business that now generates nearly $5 million a year in revenue. “Longfellow’s direction has helped lead the company to become one of the largest privately-owned pest control companies in the region. When he bought the business, it had five employees. Now, the payroll is 42 employees,” the article noted.

One of Longfellow’s key strategic decisions, according to the article, was to build a business focused less on earnings and more on client retention.

NaturZone provides green pest management for businesses and homeowners in a large swath of the west coast of Florida, including Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties.

Longfellow, 64, retired from the day-to-day management of the business in 2019, but he is still involved in strategic planning and is a sounding board to son Andrew, who has taken over as managing partner.

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