Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the Grow show brought to you by Marty Grunder's Grow Group, where we specialize in helping landscaping companies clarify their platform, grow their people, build their processes and realize profits. Everything we teach is grounded in real experience. Our team is actively involved in the day to day operations of Southwest Ohio's Grunder Landscaping Company. New episodes are released weekly on Wednesdays and are made possible by the support of Aspire, Bob Yard, exmark, Proven Winners and nalp. Remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Now, here's your host, Marty Grunder.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever the case may be. This is Marty Grunder from Grunder Landscaping Co. And the Grow Group. Thanks for downloading the Grow show this week. I asked the same five questions of three prior GROW hosts, Gene Freeman from Dallas, Texas, Jason Cromley from Columbus, Ohio, and Annette McCarthy from Des Moines, Iowa. It's going to be a really fun episode and quite helpful, I believe.
But first, a reminder. You can get the latest edition of the Grow show delivered to your phone, tablet or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts or Watch us on YouTube for an enhanced learning experience.
The Grow show is the greatest thing since Brian Fullerton and Caleb Almonds together in the trades. Marriage Conference. Lisa and I were guest speakers at this annual event that was held outside of the Grand Canyon in July.
Surprisingly it was in the 70s. There has the elevation is 7,000ft and the scenery was amazing. The event venue really cool and the 60 couples in attendance, they were amazing too. It was so cool to see people working on their businesses and and their marriage. Lisa was the star of our session, not me and I mean that honestly. And we had a lot of fun and I left there and I will tell you, even my wife Lisa left there feeling grateful for being married to each other for 33 years and for having a family. Lisa reminded all of us, including me, that if you have a family that wants to be around you, you have an estate of incalculable value.
Enough said folks. God bless all the married couples. Speaking of married couples, Gene Freeman folks is in the house.
He is a very dear friend of mine. I met Gene 11 years ago and he's one of the best business people and human beings you will ever meet. And he and his lovely wife Whitney make a really cool couple that love each other. Hanging out down in Grapevine, Texas, you can see it clear as day and I'm excited to share Gene with you today.
Gene, how are you buddy?
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Marty, it's great, it's great to see you. Great to hear all the great things going on in your life. I know we speak often. We do just in passing and in line and some good texts and messages and keep in touch. And the relationship that you and Lisa have is truly amazing and I love that. You're exactly right. We're both very blessed people.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: We are. And I love your relationship with Whitney as well. So on the Grow show this week, you're the first of three guests. I got Jason Cromley and Annette McCarthy coming on after, you know, both of them. Well, we're going to ask everyone the same five questions. But before we do that, I'd like you to tell us a little bit about yourself, Gene. Many people know, but there's going to be a lot of people on there like who is big Gene, tell us a little bit about yourself and your business and then we'll get into the questions.
[00:03:35] Speaker C: You bet. You bet. Thanks, Marty. We Chris Strumpeck is a founder of Wheatland Sculpture and he and I have been together it's our 35th year.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Amazing.
[00:03:44] Speaker C: We are a started out as a big design build firm and then over the years we've actually seen the genius and having residual income and the maintenance and have, have prioritized that and have grown that. But we are, we are our headquarters in Dallas. We have beautiful facilities at several of the landscape companies across the country have been here and kind of opened up our underwear drawer and looked through everything and we're happy to, we're always happy to share and learn at the same time and it's great. But we are, we are on our way to 50 million. We're going to hit north of 30 this year and yep. And you know, it's, we've got just under 260 full time in the peak season. We're in Dallas. We've also been in our Oklahoma city office for 26 years now and Tulsa for about five.
So we've got three, three locations and just a great team and really are passionate about what we do every day.
[00:04:39] Speaker B: Yeah. So we've hosted Grow folks at their place twice now. The first time was in 2016 at that event there in Dallas. We had 250 success minded landscapers there. But then this past February 2026, Gene, we had over 1100 with us.
We've grown. You've grown. You and Chris did an incredible job. How much fun was grow? What's changed in the last 10 years?
[00:05:06] Speaker C: Yeah, so much has. You know, we weren't in a peer group or in much of the industry programming and additional, you know, education and stuff prior to that. And it really opened our eyes that, you know, there's a lot we can learn outside of ourselves.
And so that's been very rewarding to do that. We almost have, you know, we have, I would say, well over a hundred, a hundred companies that we can reach out to and have on our board to get answers from and do things very quickly. Things move at a fast pace these days with all the communication and technology, but having those entrusted relationships and partners that are going through it day to day, not a business consultant from other industries and things, but these are people actually in the green industry looking to help each other out and learn from each other and do that.
The size of our company, you know, we've. We've more than doubled, you know, in the last 10 years.
[00:06:01] Speaker B: Right.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: And we've, we've had some great partnerships as you know, with the McFarland Stanford guys and Jim and Jim and Jason and Chris and their team.
And we, we lean on those relationships, you know, so it really is a fun time business. You know, what we do is not easy, but it is rewarding. And I think you got to look, you know, you got to get above the forest and really take a look at an inventory of where you're at and where you're coming because.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Right.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: You know, and where you're going and where you've been. So I think we enjoy that.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: Well, we are glad to have you in our peer group. And before I ask you the questions that I want to ask you, I got to pay a huge compliment. Because when I think of Eugene, it's you and Chris, it's your humility that I think keeps you on the straight and narrow. I have noticed it grow.
You will take anyone to dinner, you don't care if they're doing a million or they're doing 100 million. You're just there to learn. And you realize that you can learn from everyone I know in the, in our peer group that you're a part of. I know when we go to Dove Mountain here in Tucson, Arizona, in a few months in November for ace Discovery, I might see you with a couple heavy hitters and I'll probably see you with a couple little guys, too. And you might, you might look from afar, folks, and you might say, oh, isn't that nice of Gene, that he's helping them? Gene's asking them questions, folks, because I've learned this from Gene and we've talked about this, Gene, how the smaller guys, they tend to be a little more in tune with the, where the tire hits the road in their business. And I think that's helpful, I really do.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it is. They're focusing on the things that we've all kind of flown by sometimes even innovation, new equipment, new software that's out there that's available to them.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:43] Speaker C: At a different size and a different scale. So many of those things are very applicable and you know we've, we've picked up several, several, we call them nuggets that you know, we want to dive into further and kind of implement and stuff. And I mean, let's face it, you know, some of these, some of these younger operators and stuff, they've grown up and a technology world that, you know, I'm sorry, my office will tell you I am light years ahead of where I was just even three or five years ago, but I am still on the bottom in the back of the bus.
[00:08:14] Speaker B: I'm with you.
[00:08:16] Speaker C: These guys, they do it and they do it and work and it's amazing.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: I know numerous, we have numerous aces that are in the million million to 2 million range and they have skeleton staffs that they're managing using technology and it's crazy what some of them are doing. Okay, so what are you seeing out there in terms of business? Up, down about the same. Share that with us.
[00:08:39] Speaker C: Yeah, so we're going to be up, we're going to have about a 10 to 12 growth year over year.
[00:08:45] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:08:45] Speaker C: Kind of had it, we kind of had a flat to 2025 and 2024. We kind of, you know, plateaued, kind of stayed there. We'd win some big contracts, something would not be ready and so it would push down the line to the next year.
You know, we tend to do, we've got some world class projects that we're doing and those projects, you showed me some of them. We did, we looked at some of those when you were here.
And so you know, it's not always what, what our schedule is, it's what the site schedule is, construction, you know, so we can look at it and say, wow, we're going to have a three and a half million dollar month, three months in a row and we might end up at 2527 and 2 9.
[00:09:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:27] Speaker C: Because the work just wasn't ready for us to go ahead and do at that point. So you know, are bullish on it. Our maintenance is growing, our relationships and our maintenance is growing, which is great because it gives us the residual. We don't start over at zero every year to get north of 30 million. This year we're starting at half that number.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: Right.
[00:09:46] Speaker C: Plus whatever backlog we've got in construction. So we see 2027's been. It's been a good year. And we, we. We are very bullish on the second half of this year. You know, some of it was a little harder to sell some things, but doing it the right way. And then some of the jobs coming in were bigger jobs, you know, which is not always our favorite perfect jobs. A $25,000 job. You get in, you take care of it, you look like heroes.
[00:10:13] Speaker B: Make great margin. Right.
[00:10:14] Speaker C: Really good margin. And the customer is happy. And we transition that over to maintenance account, which is, you know, another 15,000 a year with everything. And, you know, you look up and you've got a $40,000 deal, and it's taken, you know, about a week to kind of take everything in play.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
So 26 is good. How bullish are you for 27 and why?
[00:10:34] Speaker C: Yeah, I think our 27 is just going to piggyback off that. We've got projects that are coming in right now.
We are seeing a good uptick in both residential and, and commercial. You know, we're. We're fortunate enough to be in a. In a great growth area in Dallas, Texas.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:10:53] Speaker C: You know, it's a. It's a big market. It's continuing the. I don't even know where their metroplex starts and stops anymore. There's no division between us and Fort Worth and, you know, 20 miles north in any direction. It's just all kind of grown together, and it's not stopping anytime soon, for sure. So we see that happening. We do see our teams are growing. We've promoted from within, and that's. That's one of our key initiatives. And so those managers that came up through the ranks that are really good at what they do are sharing that wealth and knowledge and those relationships that they've got are just growing. So, yeah, we're very bullish on it. I think 27 is going to be a solid year.
[00:11:32] Speaker B: So let's, let's morph into that. So what's the best thing you do to protect that brand and culture? You're talking about promoting within. That means people have to be staying there.
How are you protecting your brand and your culture, and how are you making sure your clients are happy and your team's happy?
[00:11:48] Speaker C: Yeah, great question. So I think for us, it's all about holding the consistent monthly company huddles so that everyone stays aligned to what the company goals, priorities, and expectations are Reinforcing our company mottos, following the 510 rule. Prioritizing really clear communication throughout the process, internally and externally. My staff will tell you it's on my, it's on my tombstone. They've already got it engraved. Plan your work, work your plan, you know, and it all starts from there. You don't show up on Monday going, okay, what are we going to do this week? That happened on Wednesday, last week to get it all in place and lined up on Thursday and Friday and it makes it go so much better. And then, you know, I think too, it's all towards building the long term relationship. You know, we, you don't have to start over every year selling new projects, new jobs.
[00:12:38] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:39] Speaker C: You have clients, you have relationships, they will do that. And then, you know, leading by example I think is a, is a huge part for us. Chris and I, we are in the business, we are here.
[00:12:49] Speaker B: You're in there every day. You're not out goofing off.
[00:12:53] Speaker C: No, I wish that there was more opportunity for that. But it's time to make hay and we've got opportunities in front of us and we are doing that. And so we do work hard, we do play hard, but our staff sees us, you know, on a daily basis right there in the trenches with them. And so, so we're also, we're also, I'm sorry, we're also investing in employees through the training and recognition programs and giving them the tools to be successful, to complete these things that were, that are important to us.
[00:13:18] Speaker B: You mentioned the 510 rule. I know. In addition to that, one of the things you say is relationships matter at all levels.
Vince and I constantly recite that and give you credit.
Talk about the 510 rule real quick. Just so everybody knows what that is, because we learned that from you.
[00:13:35] Speaker C: Sure. It's just real straightforward. You know, if you get a communication, a call, an email, a text before 5pm Monday through Friday, that that communication is responded to same day.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:13:47] Speaker C: You know, so it might be at 6:00 clock because you're at a meeting at 5 or you're having dinner at 5, but if it came in at 4:59, our responsibility, our expectation as an organization and we share this with our clients, our subs, our vendors, you know that that's our expectation and hold us accountable to it. If we're not doing it, but we respond back. And if we, if it comes in after 5 o', clock, you can certainly respond and let them know. But you don't have to, you can let them know. That they, they will get responded to and taken care of before 10am the next day.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: And, and we use that too. It's wonderful.
Best form of marketing Gene?
[00:14:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, you know, the number one, the number one form of marketing really is every project we do is, is a marketing opportunity. And so you know, we referral is the number one by far most successful type of, of of lead, if you will. And a happy client's our best salespersons. We intentionally ask our satisfied customers for Google reviews to strengthen and build our trust and brand. And then that, that, that, that brand that we have, it's consistent with our trucks, our wraps, our job site signs, uniforms, social media website. All of our printed stuff is there. And then we also invest in, you know, the professional photography and drone shots and stuff like that to go ahead and, and do that in a way that, you know, we can't always capture. We do capture a bunch ourselves in terms of reels and different things. But there are certain times when you need a professional to come in. We've got relationships there that we do. And then I would say too because we believe every interaction and as part of our marketing we, we want to stay in front of our past customers with our newsletters and educational content, social media to kind of remain top of mind.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: And I would encourage everyone to follow them on social media. I believe your daughter does that. Right?
[00:15:41] Speaker C: Yeah, Hope leads that up and we've got a, we've got some team or some, some people on our team outside of the organization that are working with us and helping us on that as well.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: It looks great. I would encourage everyone listening to follow Complete land sculpture Dallas, Texas in it's terrific posts. You can get some inspiration yourself and your photography, the tonality, the way you're writing it. Hope's doing a great job.
A lot of companies are. You know, we always want to be watching the accounting side of it. What's the best suggestion you have for cutting costs? How can a landscape pro improve profitability?
[00:16:18] Speaker C: Yeah, I think it really depends on what you know, the segment of the market or the segment of the, the company you're in. You know, maintenance. I think there are certain challenges that you can do and leverage different than maybe landscape and construction, you know, all under one umbrella or one roof. But for our, I thought about this, our maintenance teams, it really is about the training and the efficiency. Not having return visits, not having, I
[00:16:44] Speaker B: want to say that again, no return visits, folks. That's a basic thing.
But those return visits kill you. They kill profits, they erode Trust. They're so damaging, Gene.
[00:16:56] Speaker C: Yeah, they are. And so you know, that we really, we incentivize our team for safety. We incentivize them for not breaking windows with the weed eater unnecessarily. You know, those kind of things that happen because that just comes off the bottom line.
[00:17:09] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:10] Speaker C: You know, safety on the, on the equipment, safety, security out there, not leaving a truck with a, you know, a, a tailgate open that someone comes by and steals things. So any of those kind of little loss leaders. But then I would say too, just really optimizing your, your fleet. And you know, we, we kind of run the same, the same equipment on all of our vehicles, all of our trucks. So we've got, you know, at any time, five or six, five or six different tires that fit the same machines and the pistons and the, the belts and, and you know, all those kind of things. So it's consistency within that same thing with our vehicles and our trucks and trailers and things. We try and really have a consistent fleet versus four or five different models that you've got to keep inventory to. Or now you're always chasing things, doing that and then routing, you know, really kind of making sure that we're getting the most out of those 40 hours a week. From a maintenance standpoint, from landscape, I would say budgeted overtime is good overtime. There's only so many, so many hours in a day you can get stuff done. But for us, I think in the design build world it was standardizing our palette of plant material that we're trying, trying to spec.
So now we know these are really solid performers in our market. They can handle all the heat. We've got 111 index here, heat index today. You know, it's July 22nd when we're filming this and so 111. And we've also had some, some freeze and stuff. And so, you know, what works there, what's going to give good value, what's going to happen there. And so while we do have the occasional client that wants, you know, a very specific hybrid plant material or a specific plant, we'll try and accommodate that after we've educated them and try and explain to them that is really not for our market, our zone.
[00:19:02] Speaker B: Right.
[00:19:02] Speaker C: But if you still want it, we'll get it and we just void the warranty on it and let them know this is why we're not going to want to see it, but we're happy to do it.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: This is, this is SM. This is what a company that's been in business 35 years should be doing, learning from their mistakes and putting systems in there. You know, Henry ford said in 1919, Gene, you can have any color you want as long as it's black.
When you go in Chipotle, you don't ask for a cheeseburger. They don't make cheeseburgers.
[00:19:27] Speaker C: Right.
[00:19:28] Speaker B: But what you and I have learned is that we're going to work with you. We're going to, we're going to give you good service, but it's got to be within the parameters that we know will work. We're the professionals.
[00:19:39] Speaker C: Correct. And I think sometimes the junior sales team members and stuff coming up, they, they don't, they don't respond to that, they quickly fold and they don't educate. You know, and so having the reason and knowing the why that we're trying to do this, we're trying to give them a value.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: Not saying, great point.
[00:19:57] Speaker C: We're not saying no, we're trying to give them value and we know what works.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: And then I think, I think, Gene, that's a case of role playing, like teaching them how to do that so that when the question comes up, they'll say, look, I want you to be happy. You're not going to be happy with that plant. It doesn't work. It's on our band plant list and here's why. Yeah, right.
[00:20:18] Speaker C: Two years, two years ago, they, you know, we lost all the purple fringe flower in a, in a five day ice storm that came down here. And so we'll put five on your property for an accent after we explain it to you. Yeah, it's not warranty. You know, it might work great for two years or three years, but if we get a cold spell, it's going to go away. So let's not put 55 on your proper. Right, sure.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: Right.
All right. One last question. Since you talked about the cold, we can kind of think about Christmas. It's 111 in Dallas, Texas today.
Gene, drumroll. It's 71 degrees today in Dayton.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: Awesome.
[00:20:56] Speaker B: Yeah, Good golfing weather.
What do you, you're a guy that likes to have fun. What are you going to do for fun between now and Christmas?
[00:21:03] Speaker C: Yeah, we've got a few good things on the books. Going to Colorado to see, see Michael Huff.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: Michael Huff. Love Michael.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: Tell Michael hello, Ian Lewis. We're going to go up there, we're going to go to Red Rocks and the concert and then we're going to go the next night to Colorado Springs and see Black Crows and Whiskey Myers in a concert.
[00:21:23] Speaker B: What concert are you seeing at Red Rocks?
[00:21:25] Speaker C: Tedeschi Trucks is going to be there.
[00:21:27] Speaker B: Okay. So if you want to see Tedeschi Trucks and you want to see Big Gene with his lovely wife Whitney on his arm and get out to Red Rocks.
[00:21:35] Speaker C: Yep. We're going to love it. We're going to love it. And we're going to. We got a big trip to Greece in October and, and we've got a couple of peer group things we're doing and going to see some friends with peer groups and stuff in our peer group and doing some, some, some fun stuff from the relationships that have really entrenched from what you do. And we appreciate that.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: Well, we appreciate what you do. You've. You've legitimized me in a big way. You're a great guy. I, I love spending time with you.
Thank you for everything. You're a prince. Keep in touch, okay? And we'll see you in Savannah at Grow in February.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: All right, sounds great. Love you, Marty. Love you, too.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: All right, Gene Freeman from Complete Land Sculpture. Next up is Jason Cromley from Hidden Creek.
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jason, welcome to the Grow Show. How are you, brother?
[00:22:56] Speaker D: Fantastic. Thanks so much for inviting me today.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: I love it. As, as you know, we're talking to Big Gene Freeman, Jason Cromley, and Annette McCarthy, the last three grow hosts. We're checking in with them. We're asking them all the same five questions. Jason, we hosted Grow there at your place in Columbus in 2025. It was a smashing success, and you've been rolling since.
But first, tell us about the family. I know your son graduated from Boston College. Your daughter's at Loyola of Chicago. Talk a little bit about the family. How's Megan doing? Give us an update on the family.
[00:23:30] Speaker D: Yeah, thanks so much for always bringing up the family. Without that, obviously, there's no point in doing the business for me. So having the son graduate was a huge. I Guess just something you didn't really see coming. You know, four years ago I. I wept when I dropped him off. Marty.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: I remember when you dropped him off.
[00:23:46] Speaker D: Never wept before. I didn't know I had that emotion in me.
And of course, you know, I went to see him a month later and got to go see him his senior year just for a dad strip and hung out with him with his buddies. So fantastic fun time for him. Glad to have him home this summer. He's actually moved back to Columbus so he'll be living in our city, but he's moving out to his own apartment. I have to move him tonight.
[00:24:07] Speaker B: That's fun. What's he going to be doing?
[00:24:09] Speaker D: He's going to be working at a company called Plant Moran. He is going to be doing international tax, which is not like landscaping at all. So you would have thought the six summers I got him to work for me. No, he's out.
That was 96 degrees days. He worked for me still this last summer, but it hit 96 this summer. He's like, yeah, I'm ready for the next.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: I'm ready for. For accounting. So what about your daughter?
[00:24:32] Speaker D: She's been home this summer and we have had the best summer together ever. We've been cooking together, hanging out, watching Netflix series. So even my wife's like, it's disgusting how much friends you two really are. And she has also worked for me this summer. So she's been here three days a week really helping out with my sister who runs the office. So been great spending time with her.
And of course, the most important is Megan.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:57] Speaker D: Yes. We are celebrating our 25th anniversary. Congratulations.
And we'll be heading to Greece for two weeks. That's so very excited to celebrate that with her. I kind of joke that I'm still living on borrowed time because I thought she would have kicked me to the curb a long time ago.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: I don't know. You. You have some redeeming qualities that may not be readily apparen.
[00:25:17] Speaker C: So.
[00:25:17] Speaker D: Yeah, I just. She says I still talk too much, Marty, for some reason. So still working on my. My quiet skills. But you know, family's doing great. Obviously most important blessing is them. And I've got that.
[00:25:29] Speaker B: Yep, you do. You're absolutely right. Update on the business, please, before I ask you the five questions I already asked Gene. And I'm going to be asking in that right after you.
[00:25:37] Speaker D: Yeah, please. So I'm excited for that question today. You've asked me this question before and people ask you and sometimes you're like, I don't want to talk about it today. I want to talk about it. You know, a lot of really good things happening for us, most importantly is I feel we've. We've really got a great team in place. Culture is doing really, really well. We've had some major turnover from last year to this year, especially post grow. We.
[00:25:59] Speaker E: We had.
[00:26:00] Speaker D: Did a huge.
[00:26:00] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:26:01] Speaker D: Kind of a refresh of a lot of production and sales team. And the people here who've had a stressful year are handling it well because we're shooting for 30% growth this year and we should achieve it. And it's. It's all due to the people.
[00:26:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:14] Speaker D: It's not like the market was all of a sudden magical. It was the people who know how to do it and answer the calls when they're supposed to and make sure they follow through. So I'm excited for where we are today.
[00:26:24] Speaker B: Fantastic. So question number one, little bit like that. But what are you seeing out there in terms of business? Up, down. About the same. You kind of. You kind of answered that one. And I'd also like to know if you're bullish on the rest of the. This year in 2027 and why. I know Columbus well. As you know, my daughter lives north of you and Powell and wonderful area, clean community, lots of activity there. Every time I drive up to see her, there's. You got a great marketplace. What are you seeing? What. Give us our. Your economic outlook, please.
[00:26:55] Speaker D: Yeah, it's great. Because, you know, last year, I'll be honest, we went for a 10% growth last year. And not to drop numbers, but just to give it some perspective for some of the listeners. Right. We were going from 21 to 24 last year. So $3 million growth. We got it. And at the end of the year, we had nothing.
[00:27:12] Speaker B: Yeah, right.
[00:27:13] Speaker D: Just abysmal in terms of profit. We could not get enough jobs. Right. We were staffed to do 27, but only got to 24. We just couldn't close deals quick enough. The calls weren't really. Their closure rate was down. And so we've seen a big change in that from last year to this year. Closure rates are up. The quality of leads are much better. We've improved our discovery phone calls. So we haven't wasted time on the wrong leads. We've done quite a bit more marketing in different ways this year that I can also, you know, add a little bit there. That as well. And I think I told you guys I put a director of revenue in place.
[00:27:50] Speaker C: Right.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: And that's Worked well, which was my
[00:27:53] Speaker D: job for three years. So when you miss your sales goal for three years and you're the person in charge of it, it was pretty easy to fire him.
[00:27:58] Speaker B: Point.
[00:27:59] Speaker D: And even though it's another salary to bring in, that's new. I brought in someone out of industry, and he's taken a ton of pressure off of me, but he still gave me a sales goal, which I was very annoyed about. I thought I was done with all that, but I'm more of the fluff guy, so. Still been dealing with it. And to be honest, you and I are both the same. I still like meeting people I met.
[00:28:19] Speaker B: What's the biggest thing the Director of Revenue did? I mean, obviously bring in revenue, but what. What is. What did he do that you weren't doing?
[00:28:27] Speaker D: You know, when you're trying to do so many roles at the company, it was just a daily accountability. You know, I would talk to my salespeople two meetings a week, and they didn't see me. He's talking to them every day.
[00:28:36] Speaker B: I get it.
[00:28:37] Speaker D: Sits beside him. He goes on sales calls with them, does discovery calls with them. All the stuff I said I would do, I never did it.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: Yep, that makes sense.
[00:28:44] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:28:45] Speaker B: Next question. What is the best thing you do to protect your branding culture? And then secondarily to that, how do you make sure your clients and the team are happy and their needs are being met? So this is kind of like a culture to your customers, culture to your team.
[00:29:00] Speaker D: So we try to do a lot of things that redefine really what culture is and what brand is right to me. And, you know, this culture is your brand.
[00:29:07] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:08] Speaker D: You know, brand is truly the definition of how people feel about you. It's nothing that you did magical. It's not a logo on the side of the truck. It's what people say about you. And so to protect the brand, it really is ensuring that what they talk about you, they talk well about you.
And that honestly, the number one thing to get clients to talk well about you is do what you say you're going to do, do it on time and do it with quality.
[00:29:30] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:29:31] Speaker D: Clients are simple. Just let me know when you're doing it, when it's going to be done, and that it's right quality. And so we have spent a lot of time in our whole company meetings reinstating those facts.
We use continuous improvement programs at our last quarterly meeting to ensure things. We're giving out money, hundreds, thousands of dollars at company meetings when people can repeat the core values back to Us.
As you guys know, we have a great review program in place, too, that lets our team hear the things that our clients are saying about them and how positive it is, so that when they come to work, they're proud to put on the uniform, they're proud to say where they work. So they see that it's the benefits of what their hard work actually goes to do, which is giving people a. A space, a home, a relaxation from what landscaping should be, which is appreciation. Not. You missed a weed. You. You miss this. So trying to really calm the clients down to see our industry as beautification, not as. Let me see what I can find.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: And that's by the way. Yeah, well, no, I was just going to say that's. I. I think so many of us as we, you know, I just wrote myself a note relative to what you made me think of.
We've gotten some Google reviews, and we need to make sure we're recognizing the people that got them.
[00:30:45] Speaker D: We.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: I think we missed that. And you're just making me think about the power of a compliment and how, you know, our guys and gals, when they see us coming, they shouldn't want to say, oh, gosh, here comes Jason again. He's going to rip me a new one. It should be here comes Jason. I respect him. He's either going to tell me what I did well or he's going to tell me something I got to work on. But either way, he's fair. Like, he. He plays both. Both sides. And that's my interpretation from what you're saying there. Like, you have to have feedback, and we got to be worrying. We got to be working on getting better, but, man, you mean nobody did anything good this week? I mean, for goodness sakes, come on.
[00:31:22] Speaker D: And it's hard because, you know, you and I have this idea of what perfection looks like, and we would love to deliver it for our clients and we would love to give it to our employees, but, you know, every day there's. There's something that could be better. It's really trying to recognize, you know, 80% is close to perfection. A lot of times I agree with you. And the 20% will never go away. And there's always opportunities to keep improving, so we'll keep working on it.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: You mentioned earlier, I want to hit it right now. What's the best form of marketing you use? And give us some details, if you would.
[00:31:53] Speaker D: So, best form marketing, I call it, is our warranty budget. That goes to show the clients who have a huge fear factor of anyone in the world of construction.
[00:32:02] Speaker B: Right.
[00:32:03] Speaker D: They just are worried you're not going to show up, something's going to happen. What if this plant dies?
So I always kind of joke, you know, warranty is, is your marketing. Because if you don't do it, do it again. Again. Communicate you're going to do it when you're going to do it and ensure that, look, we did quality work, but sometimes things happen.
[00:32:19] Speaker B: Right.
[00:32:20] Speaker D: It's showing up to do that. So while that doesn't seem like it's branding or marketing it, it is all day long. Because that's the next referral.
[00:32:27] Speaker E: Right.
[00:32:28] Speaker D: That is putting dollars into getting the next client from someone who was worthy. You weren't going to show back up and you did.
[00:32:34] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:32:34] Speaker D: So that's, that's one cost that's hard to put a dollar value on because not all warranty is that, but that's the way I look at it. And then we just recently hired a different company in the world of Instagram doing. We just did a three day photo shoot here, Marty. So we had got two different photographers, videographers here for three days.
We saw, I think 17 different sites, did interviews at each and every single one day. Shots, morning shots, night shots. And then they were here then for our company picnic where we hosted 400 people to get, you know, what it looks like working at Hidden Creek. From food trucks to bounce houses to Jason in the dunk tank.
Really trying to show what it's like to be in the life of Hidden Creek.
[00:33:15] Speaker A: Right.
[00:33:15] Speaker D: Whether you're working here or the work that you do. We wanted to show her teams in the field, our clients, what people are saying about us. And so that's the thing that a lot of clients, as we know, look you up on online. The website doesn't tell you very much. Doesn't say who you are. Right. You can have an about us page all day long. But we want people to get our personality. We want people to see what someone's going to look like when they show up to a job site, that they're in uniform and that they got everything on and the truck looks nice. It's not just, hey, we're here to cut your grass. So trying to really establish our image, not so much our brand.
[00:33:49] Speaker B: Yep. And that makes a lot of sense. Great stuff. Question number four, what's the best suggestion you have for cutting costs? How can landscape pros improve profitability?
[00:34:01] Speaker D: You know, it's, it's not. Wow. I'm not going to wow you because it's the same as it Always should be. But the thing that drives me crazy when I go to any job site is inefficiencies. Yes, right. Those stupid nine types of waste.
[00:34:15] Speaker A: Right.
[00:34:15] Speaker D: You can find it on any job site. And this probably, Marty, is like you and me. We go to a job site and we just see, well, you should have put the pallet over here. Why'd you park the truck around the corner? You know, why are you returning four pallets of stone? Those types of things can make a huge difference. And so we instilled a new step in our sales process that could help. It's two different things. One, we call it the PKM or the Project kickoff meeting.
And so this is a meeting that happens once a job is sold.
And it's bringing in the designer, the salesperson, the operations manager, the accounting team, and the project manager for a project to review everything. Is the folder 100% correct? What was missed, what was caught? So that's one of the things we're doing. And it's a long meeting. I said, you know, guys, if it's a million dollar job, that should take you half a day.
[00:35:02] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:35:03] Speaker D: You know, call the subs. Make sure the subs are still good with their quote. Call the vendors. Hey, want to verify the quote you sent me? Is anything changing? Is anything backordered? And it's literally spending the time it takes because we all know those things happen the day the job starts.
[00:35:17] Speaker B: And once you start the job, some of that stuff is almost impossible to get back in the bag. Like, that's.
[00:35:22] Speaker D: It's gone. Yeah, that money, it just fell out the bottom of the bag. So we did that. And one thing we're getting ready to do now is actually bring clients back in for what I call CD sign off and CD sign off construction documents.
So, you know, we. We do some beautiful, amazing designs that are all honesty, mostly conceptual. That's what they see. And then we do a set of CDs that they have no idea what that means. Right. I don't care how you build it. I just want the pool. You told me. Well, let's just review what it is we're doing.
This is the tile you picked. This is the spacing on the grout joints. This is the color of the grout. All the teeny, tiny details that we think that we'll get when the job starts that we forget to get.
[00:36:04] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:36:05] Speaker D: And then production's like, you got a grout color? No. Oh, the homeowner's on vacation for two weeks. Well, I guess we'll pull off oh, my gosh.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:13] Speaker D: So I'm calling this new meeting, and we want to bring clients in and teach them what we're building.
And it was funny four years ago, one of my guys was like, you didn't want to do this four years ago? Well, it was because two clients annoyed me four years ago that I'm like, this is crazy. But the other 90 clients will appreciate this. So there's always going to be a couple that ruin it. I can't let.
[00:36:32] Speaker B: It's expectations, Jason.
[00:36:34] Speaker D: 100.
[00:36:35] Speaker B: And when you're doing that up front, you know you got a leg to stand on. When you don't do it, even from a legal perspective, with going over, having them sign that you're. You're covering your tail. And that's what a professional does all day.
[00:36:47] Speaker D: Again, no builder is going to build a house until the architect says, well, you sure you want this wall 16ft, 6.35 inches? Like, yeah, that's what it is. Not between 16 and 17.
[00:36:58] Speaker B: Right.
And I think that goes on. Okay, so you might be listening to Jason saying, look, I just. I have a maintenance company. None of this doesn't apply to me. It doesn't.
On a smaller scale. It doesn't mean getting your maps for snow removal. Correct. Like, what you are, what part of the lot you are going to do, what you're not going to do, where you're going to pile the snow. You mean it doesn't matter that you take on a commercial property that has 20 acres and you said leaf cleanup, but you didn't spec it, so now they think that you're blowing off 20 acres of leaves when you never had. I mean, I just know from experience, Jason, there's so many things that can get sideways.
Oh, you know, it's the expectations and for the crew to. You're setting them up for failure, man. You're.
[00:37:41] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: You're going over there where they don't really know what the client's expecting, and that's just never a good idea. I love what you're saying.
Yeah.
[00:37:47] Speaker D: And we all know no matter what estimating program we have, they all tell you the profit you're going to have at the end of it.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: Right. It's easy.
[00:37:54] Speaker D: But then you let that profit slip out because you don't have all the details.
[00:37:57] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:37:57] Speaker D: And you let the profit slip out because you started the job. Right. And then you're. After the job's over, you're letting it start again, going back to do warranty because you know you had to Swap out plants and do things. So we're giving profit back to clients who, by the way, don't want it back. Didn't know they were asking for it back. Just knew that they agreed to this price and they expected everything to be on time with quality and you to tell them what's going on.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: Yeah. So that meeting is helping you improve your chances for profitability, and it's a great one. All right, one last question, and I think Kyron already answered this, but what are you going to do for fun between now and Christmas?
[00:38:32] Speaker D: So, yes, we did just finish our big company picnic. You know, 400 people, three food trucks, ice cream truck. You know, me and the dump tank. Two different times I got into it this year.
That is our big mid season. Like, all right, guys, we got past the 4th of July. Take a deep breath and enjoy the day.
And we did that the same week after we did our big company photo and our quarterly meeting.
So we'll have our next quarterly meeting in October. As we close out Q3, we'll do a day of celebration again to make sure everyone understands, like, this is what we're doing. We gave out T shirts, prizes, gifts. Like, we. We absolutely love our team. We couldn't do it without them. So we're really working on even next year. And not to say it's out of the bag, but I'm really working to make sure that I can have a different incentive program for the field next year. Because I'll be honest, I'm really tired of. Can I just get a dollar an hour? Can I get a dollar an hour?
[00:39:23] Speaker B: I get it.
[00:39:23] Speaker D: It's exhausting. You know, I'd rather say, well, tell you what. You beat hours, you get five reviews, you help us get the renewal, and you keep salespeople out of reselling a job that they already sold. Now we're talking money.
[00:39:35] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:36] Speaker D: So that's how a company can grow is without growing the overhead. We all know trying to control your overhead. Growth is something we all strive for, but we think people fix a problem, and it's not always the case.
[00:39:46] Speaker B: Right, Exactly. And you and Megan are going to Greece for your anniversary. Is there anything else fun you're going to do with the family between now and Christmas?
[00:39:54] Speaker D: You know, I got to go to my. I was invited to go see my daughter solely just for parents, weekends. My wife's staying home, and dad got the invite.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: Love it. Chicago is a cool place to go.
[00:40:04] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:40:04] Speaker D: We'll be shopping.
[00:40:05] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:40:06] Speaker D: Which will be great.
And then I believe Megan and I are Pretty excited to do the ACE connect in Arizona.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: In Tucson, Arizona, at Dove Mountain. We're going to have a blast. Lisa and I will see you there. Well, looking forward to it. Thank you. I appreciate you and all you do. You're a great buckeye. I love you very much. Keep in touch. Okay. We're going to see you in Savannah at Grow and I'll see you in Tucson, Arizona in November. Okay.
[00:40:30] Speaker D: Looking forward to it. Have a. Have a great season, everybody.
[00:40:33] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. You listen to the Grow Show. So you already know that my team and I have information that can help take your business to the next level. The next step. Join us at GROW 2027 in Savannah, Georgia in February.
Tickets are on sale now, but the price goes up by $200 per person on November 1st. So save your seat and save yourself some money by visiting growgroupinc.com I'll see you there.
[00:41:00] Speaker B: So now we are on to Annette McCarthy. We had big Gene Freeman. We had little Jason Cromley. Now we're on to one of my favorite green industry leaders, Annette McCarthy. She's smart, she's tough, she's pragmatic. She's a great interview. Annette, welcome to the Grow Show. How are you today?
[00:41:16] Speaker E: I'm good. Thanks for inviting me on, Marty. Of course, if you're gonna always give me that many compliments before you talk to me, so I'll take that any day of the week.
[00:41:24] Speaker B: I've known you a long time and I admire what you've done. You hosted Grow in 2024. It was a smashing success.
Two weeks prior, I think we were all a little nervous. It was minus 13. And the day we did the tour of your place in Des Moines, Iowa, I think it was February 9th. I think it was 54 degrees.
I think it was like a record day. And we had just an incredible experience there with the tour. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family and of course, your dogs? And then I'm going to ask you about the business.
[00:41:55] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:41:56] Speaker E: I'm married to my husband and we own the business together. It's just the two of us plus a couple dogs at home. Very much hands on, operator style people.
So we just like to get stuff done, which is a little bit of an explanation of why it works, to be, you know, personally connected but also connected in the business. But, yeah, we just both love to be outdoors. So we live in the country and take walks with the dogs and have kind of a native area and, yeah, just enjoy being outside.
[00:42:26] Speaker B: You have a lovely area. I Am very fond of Des Moines, Iowa. It's a clean, awesome town with a cool botanical garden. My niece and her husband both went to Drake University, which is right there in Des Moines. It's a. It's a cool place. Tell us a little bit about RJ and your business focus, please.
[00:42:43] Speaker E: Sure. So we have been in business since 1998, so quite a while. Was started by Ryan really as a resume builder when he was going to college to Drake actually, which is also where I graduated from.
[00:42:55] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:42:56] Speaker E: And it kind of took off from there. Right. So we've been doing this a long time. We do a number of services, obviously anything and everything exterior. Our core focus is as far as the business mix. We're about 80% commercial and 20% residential. And then also that same kind of blend for maintenance versus install. So we focus on growing our maintenance side of the business that recurring revenue as operators where we're not natural salespeople. So that, you know, like strives to us that that would be the way to go is, is to have that recurring book of business. But we also do install. So any sort of landscaping similar maybe to a.
Not quite as a perfect detail as as Grunder landscaping, but you know, paver patios, water features, retaining walls, a business, you know, or a division built around that. And then when the weather turns, we combo all the forces to do snow
[00:43:56] Speaker B: removal and you do a lot of it. So I've, I've watched you grow that and I'm impressed. We asked Gene and Jason the same five questions we're going to ask you. Number one is what are you seeing out there in terms of business? Is it up, down about the same.
And are you bullish on the rest of the year and 2027? And why do you think 2027 is going to be good? What are your thoughts? Give us your economic outlook.
[00:44:23] Speaker E: Sure. I would say that so far we're, you know, about even or slightly ahead, you know, than last year. For us, that's less about the economy and more about what our winter looked like. So I'd say if you're just talking about summer services, we're. We're tracking ahead. That does make us, you know, bullish about what the rest of the year brings. We're not really seeing calls slow down. Our sales team is doing a great job getting out there and Yep. You know, hitting enhancements, you know, lining work up to, you know, tell the snowflies. So we just keep hitting it hard. I think 2027 is going to look similar. I think the, you know, the June CPI report that just came out will maybe settle down some of those people that were like, not sure if I want to do that project just yet. We don't tend to see as much impact on that on our residential side of what we're doing or the installs. I feel like people are still wanting to have beautiful spaces in their backyard, so it doesn't seem to impact that much. But definitely on the commercial maintenance side, you know, the last couple years, we've seen people tightening their belts, you know, with. I'm not going to get political, but for whatever reasons, you know, that they think things are fluctuating. Certainly fuel has not been a great, you know, indicator for those of us that still have some fuel equipment. But yeah, I think that it's still a great industry to be in and 2027 is going to be more of the same. And I think for the companies that are doing it right, there are still a ton of growing businesses out there that you can grow with by hitting it hard and growing with them.
[00:45:56] Speaker B: Right. I agree.
What's the best thing you do to protect the RJ branding culture? And then secondarily to that, how do you make sure your clients and your team are happy and their needs are being met?
[00:46:09] Speaker E: Sure. I think the best way to protect that brand and really our identity in that culture is to make sure we're giving our teams the right focus.
So it's really easy to come up with whether you call it a core focus, a mission and vision, and you've really focused around what's the best thing. And what did AI tell me, Some long phrase has all the details in it. But if it's not the things that your clients actually hire you for, then you're kind of taking your eye off the ball. So we, for example, ours actually is that we create beautiful spaces and experiences for clients and for our team. For us, that really hits home a what we're doing. Right. They are beautiful spaces, whether it's a paver patio or a lush green lawn that doesn't have weeds and has, you know, straight as a narrow mowing lines like, that's beautiful to us. That's what clients hire us for. But also what's that experience for them? And then on the flip side, that's just as important what our team's experience is here, because if you have happy people who enjoy doing what they're doing and they, you know, find purpose in that, they're going to have smiles on their faces, they're going to be interested in doing the work right Then, you know, impacting that client, because that's really who touches them the most.
So when we kind of tweaked that core focus away from, we had something kind of broad about setting the gold standard of quality. I think when you. When actually it's Ryan that came, you know, that really, like, bolted us into this idea of this is what we really should be focusing on. And then we came up with this nice phrase. The idea was just to keep it really simple. Right. So every day as I'm training new people here in the office, you know, the question that I ask them to ask themselves is, you know, is what you're doing, whatever portion you're setting up the next person for success, are you improving what their experience will be here?
Are you making something ready so that the client has a better experience?
And when everybody gets that mindset, you really just get that affinity that starts.
You know, it makes it your culture and it reinforces it. And you can point to something and say, hey, this doesn't.
[00:48:25] Speaker B: Right.
[00:48:26] Speaker E: This doesn't go towards that core focus.
[00:48:28] Speaker B: Right?
[00:48:28] Speaker E: Now that might not be the same for everybody, obviously, like what their core focus is, but if you have some mission and vision on the wall, but then you go to a job site and you're telling people something totally different.
[00:48:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:48:41] Speaker E: You got to figure out which one's right, which one's wrong.
[00:48:43] Speaker B: Yeah, there has to be.
[00:48:44] Speaker E: When you start saying the same thing all the time, that'll start happening.
[00:48:47] Speaker B: There has to be some consistency. It has to connect.
And then I think the other thing that's important, and I know you folks do this, is the reinforcement of the behavior that you want to have present in the organization. I mean, you're looking for people that are, you know, demonstrating the behaviors that you want and need in the organization to win. I love how you connect them all. Let's go on to the next question. Third question. What is the best form of marketing you use and be. I'm happy to hear the details.
[00:49:16] Speaker E: This is probably actually the worst question for me out of the five, especially when I know the other two that I'm up against.
[00:49:22] Speaker B: That's okay.
[00:49:23] Speaker E: Not because I'm afraid of them, but because I know they do it really well.
[00:49:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:27] Speaker E: Traditionally, we have just not. We've not put a major focus into our marketing, so I can't point to any one thing.
[00:49:35] Speaker B: Right.
[00:49:35] Speaker E: Most of ours has been word of mouth and building relationships with people. That's really how we sell. Is Bob, you know, selling that we're going to show up and be dependable that that's why our clients hire us.
[00:49:48] Speaker B: I think you're selling yourself a little short. Gene and Chris are in Dallas, Huge marketplace. Jason's in Columbus. Huge marketplace. You're in Des Moines, Iowa, which is more like Dayton, Ohio. And you guys are a big fish in a small pond. Your, your position, your location is right along the highway. There's a lot of visibility there.
You've got 50, 60 trucks on the road every day. I mean, you're not a little company. So I think the word of mouth is important. And I think the relationships that you talk about in a midwestern city like Des Moines, like, that's the kind of people that are there. Like, that's what they value you. You could probably do a little more marketing and stuff, and maybe you'd find a benefit. But you guys are successful, it's working. And I think it's great that you're focused on the relationships because you also know Cromley and Freeman are doing that, too.
[00:50:37] Speaker E: Yeah, absolutely. And the good news is we actually, our first day was this Monday. We have a new team member that is going to focus on the marketing for us. Well, that is just graduated from the
[00:50:48] Speaker B: University of Iowa, so I'll watch and see what you're doing. That's cool.
[00:50:52] Speaker E: Yeah, we're super excited to get it back on track and, you know, do it regularly, not just when we're not doing lawn and landscape, so.
[00:50:58] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. All right, what's the best suggestion you have for cutting costs and how can landscape pros improve profitability?
[00:51:07] Speaker E: Definitely actually paying attention to all of the expenses that you have coming in. I mean, you cannot repeat that enough.
You know, just a little leak of something that's just constant and you look past it all the time.
You know, I don't think that means, like, counting squares of toilet paper to hand out to your crews in the morning for, you know, how much they can use in the restroom? Definitely not that. But there are some. Some good ways you can.
You know, I always say take a reset. A big one for me, and I do this in my personal life as well, is I figure out a way to cancel my credit card.
Now, I'm not going to stop having a credit card, but I think when you stop having the same number, whether I tell them, hey, I destroyed it and I need a new number, or I'm switching to another credit card company that makes you go in and re enter your credit card for everything you have on subscription.
So whether it's at home and you're like, oh, there's nothing good on hbo. Why am I paying for that still? Right. Over time, we overlook that stuff at our business. And, you know, that's where you find like, oh, yeah, I love doing that as a reset, because that's when you find you've signed up for a bunch of stuff you don't even know or somebody doesn't know. And it's so regular that, you know, the accounting team is just like, oh, it's there every month. What big deal.
[00:52:30] Speaker B: Exactly. And there's all kinds of people trying to separate you from your money. Like, I okayed a software for the sales department, but because of some miscommunication, I thought it was 1400 for one. No, it was 1400 for all of them. And they went and got it for all of them. They didn't need it for all of them. Okay. So I found that out and like, no, stop that. We're not spending $8,000 on that.
[00:52:53] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:52:54] Speaker B: And it's just. You're right. It's things like that. It's. There's. There's scope creep you. You sign up for. Indeed. And you're using it a lot, and then you're not using it and you forget to cancel it. You know, that's why they go to your credit card. So you out of sight, out of mind, and they can hit it. So that is great advice, but it's
[00:53:10] Speaker E: a great thing even to, like, use AI to do this.
[00:53:14] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:53:14] Speaker E: You know, like, take your. Take your credit card statement and give it to, like, I use Claude a lot. Give it to Claude and say, hey, you know, here's my credit card for the last three months. Tell me what things are probably on subscription, which ones are fluctuating price from, you know, from one month to the other. Because then you can follow it up with.
You know, they put so many settings in there, Right. Every time an app updates, there's something that gets turned back on or they add something. Right. So is there something in there that allows for, like, automatic purchases for extras? You know, for example, you've got your Software, you've got $1,400. There's probably extra things people can order, or you go over usage or whatever.
[00:53:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:53:55] Speaker E: Like, make sure that stuff is turned off, because the more it goes so
[00:53:58] Speaker B: fast, all that, all that adds up.
Last question. I admire the marriage that you and Ryan have.
I have been around you I don't know how many times I've always seen you getting along.
When we've had ace meetings out of town, you folks usually either came early or stayed Late and enjoyed something about the area we were going to. Not sure what you did when you came to Dayton, but nonetheless, what are you going to do for fun between now and Christmas?
[00:54:30] Speaker E: The very first thing we're doing this summer is making sure we're actually enjoying our own space. Right. I think it's really easy. As a business owner, you probably have a wonderful backyard.
[00:54:40] Speaker B: Right.
[00:54:40] Speaker E: You've got the covered deck and a paver patio and a fire pit.
[00:54:44] Speaker B: So true.
[00:54:45] Speaker E: How often do you use it? Right.
So we try to make sure that we make the most out of the good weather that we have. Right. Because we know winter's coming. So that's what we usually do for the summer is just the simple stuff. And then we actually have plans this year to check something off our bucket list.
So in November, we're going to take a trip that goes from Barcelona to Portugal, Spain. So Spain to Portugal.
So yeah, we're going to. This will be our first experience with a cruise.
We've been convinced by Ryan's sister and her wife to take the plunge with them and do this trip. So we're pretty excited.
[00:55:23] Speaker B: That sounds fun. We'll have fun. And I thank you for coming on. I appreciate you and all that you do. You always provide a great learning experience when I talk to you. Keep in touch. Okay. And we'll see in Savannah in February. If not at ace, great place to visit. Yeah. If not at ace, connect down in Tucson, Arizona. Okay.
[00:55:43] Speaker E: Sounds awesome.
[00:55:44] Speaker B: All right, folks. Well, so thank you everyone. So three different owners, three different hosts of Grow from all over the country. Grow is next February. Sign up now and save money. And that's going to do it for this week's edition of the Grow Show. If you haven't done so already, subscribe to the Grow show and if you can give it a rating or share a comment that helps more success minded landscape professionals find us. And if you really want to help us, take out your phone right now and send this episode to a team member or any landscape pro you know. Thanks for joining us this week on the Grow Show. We'll talk to you next week.
[00:56:18] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Grow show and a special thanks to Aspire Bobyard, Exmark proven winners and NALP for making this episode possible. We'll talk to you next week.
