Landscape Disruptors

Landscape Mastermind: Persistence Pays the Bills Aug 29, 2024

Understand the importance of persistence in landscape sales with practical tips from our CEO, Mark Bradley. Maintain consistent follow-up efforts to stay top-of-mind with prospects and close more deals over time for long-term maintenance contracts and large-scale landscape projects.

Landscape Mastermind: Contractor Overwhelm – 3 Systems for Taming the Chaos in Your Company Aug 22, 2024

Benji Carlson (from Contractor Evolution) & Coach Matt Balfe (fromBreakthrough Academy) join Mark Bradley for a walkthrough of the most impactful Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for landscaping and snow removal.
They’ll talk how to make your own SOPs, how to hand over more responsibility to staff, and how to grow fatter net profits.

Landscape Mastermind: Closing Deals Like a Boss Aug 15, 2024

Learn powerful closing techniques from our CEO, Mark Bradley, that help you seal the deal with confidence and finesse. Maximize your success rate and grow your landscape business by converting proposals into contracts for services like turf management, planting, and irrigation systems.

Landscape Mastermind: Objection Handling and Prevention Aug 09, 2024

Equip yourself with effective techniques to handle and preempt common objections in the landscaping industry, guided by our CEO, Mark Bradley. Turn potential roadblocks into opportunities to reinforce your value proposition and close more deals for services like hardscaping, tree care, and landscape lighting.

Landscape Mastermind: Building Rapport and Buyer Confidence with Prospects Aug 01, 2024

Building rapport with a prospect is a great way to improve the likelihood of a close. Join LMN CEO Mark Bradley to learn ways to build sales relationships.

Landscape Mastermind: Cold Calling – The Best Kept Secret in Landscape Sales Jul 25, 2024

Unlock the secrets to successful cold calling in the landscape industry with tips from our CEO, Mark Bradley. Learn techniques to overcome fear, generate leads, and convert calls into sales opportunities for services like landscape design, seasonal clean-ups, and snow removal.

Landscape Mastermind: The 30 Second Personal Commercial Jul 18, 2024

Craft a compelling 30-second personal commercial with the help of our CEO, Mark Bradley. Learn to succinctly communicate who you are, what you do in the landscaping industry, and why prospects should care, making a strong first impression whether you’re at a networking event or meeting a potential client for the first time.

Landscape Mastermind: Be the Trusted Advisor Using Power Statements Jul 11, 2024

Develop the skills to position yourself as a trusted advisor in the landscape industry with guidance from our CEO, Mark Bradley. Learn to use powerful statements that build credibility, trust, and authority in the eyes of your customers, whether they’re looking for sustainable landscaping solutions or regular maintenance services.

Landscape Mastermind: Uncovering Pain Points Using Power Questions Jul 04, 2024

Master the art of asking the right questions with insights from our CEO, Mark Bradley. Learn how to uncover your prospects’ pain points, needs, and desires in the landscaping industry, allowing you to offer tailored solutions like lawn care, garden design, or irrigation systems that resonate with them.

Landscape Mastermind: Understanding the Buyer Persona Jun 27, 2024

Dive into the concept of buyer personas with our CEO, Mark Bradley, and discover how to create detailed profiles that represent your target landscaping customers. This will enable more effective marketing and sales strategies for residential, commercial, and public sector clients.

Landscape Disruptors: S9 E5 – Charlie Kerrigan & Steve Wheatcroft Jun 25, 2024

Hear from landscaping prodigy Charlie Kerrigan of V.I.L Landscaping and industry veteran Steve Wheatcroft. In this power-packed discussion, they share invaluable advice for young landscapers, strategies for growing your business with substantial contracts, and the importance of mentorship.
Delve into the intricacies of building a strong company culture, excelling in snow services, and mastering sales tactics. From innovative recruitment methods to navigating the challenges of work-life balance and scaling operations, this episode offers a condensed wealth of wisdom for both seasoned professionals and budding entrepreneurs.
Get ready to be inspired and motivated in your own landscape business journey with this conversation with Charlie, Steve, and Mark!

Landscape Mastermind: Creating Your Ideal Customer Profile Jun 20, 2024

Join our CEO, Mark Bradley, as he guides you through the process of identifying and defining your ideal landscaping customer. Learn how to focus on characteristics that will help you target and attract the most valuable clients for your landscape business, whether they’re homeowners, commercial property managers, or municipal planners.

Landscape Mastermind: Sales – Mastering the Art of Overcoming Price Objections Jun 13, 2024

How many times have you built an estimate, only to have your customer start arguing about price? Join Mark Bradley to learn how to handle these objections.

S9 E2 – Ivan Katz: Lessons in Leadership & Learning Jun 11, 2024

This week we sit down with Ivan Katz from Great Lakes Landscape Design to delve into the intricacies of maintaining relationships with property managers and finding fulfillment in the work. Explore the dynamic landscape of competition within the industry, the symbiotic relationship between trades and landscapers, and the art of generating ideas while assembling the right teams for execution.
Gain valuable insights into nurturing growth within individuals, fostering leadership, and embracing imperfections and mistakes as essential components of the journey toward perfection.
Discover the power of EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System) in empowering teams, treating people with equality, and investing in their development. Uncover the challenges of turnover in companies and the importance of cultivating a culture of continuous improvement.
Whether you're a seasoned professional or an aspiring entrepreneur, this episode offers a treasure trove of wisdom to navigate the complexities of business and personal growth.

Landscape Mastermind TAKEOVER: Customers For Life (w/ McFarlin Stanford's Tommy Cole & EMI Landscape's Bob Marks Jun 06, 2024

Creating an amazing customer experience is not just good for business, it's the right thing to do. Working hard for your customers grows your business by creating raving fans that will share your name with friends and keep coming back year after year.
We will be discuss Carl Sewell's 10 Commandments of Customer Service from his book titled Customers For Life to give you a road map you can use to create the best customer experience in your market.

Landscape Mastermind: Boost Your Revenue – Selling Add-On Services to Landscape Clients May 30, 2024

You will unlock new revenue streams and elevate client satisfaction by mastering the art of selling add-on services. This webinar is designed for landscape business owners eager to enhance their service offerings and increase profitability. Discover effective sales techniques, identify high-value add-ons, and learn how to seamlessly integrate these services into your existing client contracts.
Mark will share insights on how to communicate the benefits, demonstrate value, and create irresistible packages that your clients will love.

S9 E3 – Austyn Roth & Tommy Cole: 21 Year Old Making $4 Million a Year May 28, 2024

In this episode Austyn Roth of Lucky Landscaping shares his extraordinary journey, from hiring a driver at a young age to propelling his business to a remarkable $6 million by 21.
Delve into discussions about confidence, navigating challenges, and the pivotal role of ACE peer groups with Tommy Cole of McFarlin Stanford. Learn from their experiences in events and facility visits, and grasp the importance of organizational charts, peer group accountability, and utilizing tools like LMN for identifying opportunities and maximizing profits.
Gain invaluable insights into customer understanding, service refinement, hiring practices, and maintaining company culture while scaling.
Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or a budding landscape enthusiast, this episode is your gateway to unlocking unparalleled success in the industry. Be inspired with this dialogue exploring the journey of growth, resilience, and unwavering determination.

Landscape Mastermind TAKEOVER: How to Win - Deliver More Value (w/ Techo-Bloc's Alex Cadieux) May 23, 2024

Capitalizing on the Current Outdoor Living Trends to Deliver More Value and Win More Bids
The market for outdoor living spaces has changed in the last 12-18 months resulting in a handful of new challenges that, if not addressed, will stifle your company’s growth. One such challenge is the scope and type of projects that homeowners are looking to invest in has changed.
Your business needs to provide exceptional value and to do that, you need to understand how to capitalize on a few ongoing trends:
Search volume for pools has increased nearly 50% in the last 5 years.
Outdoor kitchens have nearly doubled in that same statistic since 2018.
Searches for landscape designers or architects have increased 20%.
We’re going to use these recent trends combined with some time-saving construction approaches to define how design-build companies can deliver more value, win more bids, and grow their bottom line sustainably.

Landscape Mastermind: Business Lending Solutions Made Simple (w/ John Fry of Lendflow) May 16, 2024

This webinar goes over:
The different types of financial products for landscapers
Strategies to improve cash flow management
How to invest in growth and efficiency
Navigating the application process for financial products

S9 E2 – Matt & Rachel Hoss: Treat Everyone Like Royalty May 14, 2024

We sit down with Matt and Rachel Hoss of Springhetti Luxury Outdoor Spaces and learn about their humble beginnings to becoming owners of their family business. Hear about their triumphs over adversity, including financial struggles, regulatory challenges, and overcoming betrayal. Discover their recipe for success as they discuss motivating teams, customer appreciation strategies like gifting and photoshoots, and the importance of constant learning and empathy.
They share insights into efficiency, leveraging LMN to maximize revenue while minimizing resources, and the transformative power of SOD in project execution.
Plus, gain valuable perspective on integrating faith into business and openly sharing their beliefs.
Whether you're a seasoned pro or a budding entrepreneur, this episode offers a wealth of inspiration and practical wisdom to elevate your landscape management endeavours to new heights.
Tune in now and embark on a journey of growth and resilience with Matt and Rachel!

Landscape Mastermind: Staff Accountability Tips for Landscapers w/ Benji Carlson of Breakthrough Academy May 09, 2024

Join Mark Bradley, CEO and Founder of LMN, Benji Carlson, Host of Breakthrough Academy, along with Jen and Matt Wells, owners of Wells Hollow Landscaping, for a special Roundtable discussion.
Topics of note:
✓ How top landscapers are using new technology to quickly track the progress, time, and expenses of staff projects. (No more ugly surprises)
✓ A $50MM contractor’s weekly management ritual that helps him beat targets WHILE strengthening relationships with customers, trade partners, and staff.
✓ How highly effective leaders get their staff to understand what’s expected of them (and get it DONE on time).

Landscape Mastermind: Tailgate Talks – The Top 10 for Landscape Companies May 02, 2024

We'll Delve into the vital role of tailgate talks in enhancing safety in the landscaping industry. Explore what tailgate talks are, their significance, and practical examples tailored to landscaping professionals. Ideal for team leaders, safety coordinators, and all landscape industry workers committed to creating a safer workplace.

S9 E1 – Ryan Markewich: Next Level Management Insights Apr 29, 2024

Landscape Disruptors PODCAST is back! In this kick-off episode, dive into the world of Open-Book Management (OBM) with Ryan Markewich and Mark Bradley.
Learn how transparency and collective ownership drive business success. From integrating personal goals to sharing equity, learn about innovative strategies that are reshaping the landscaping industry.

Landscape Mastermind: Landscape Equipment Dilemma: Rent, Lease, or Buy? Apr 25, 2024

We'll dive into the advantages and disadvantages of renting, leasing, or purchasing equipment. Topics include initial costs, access to advanced technology, long-term financial effects, and how each option affects your company's reputation.

Landscape Mastermind: Streamlining Skills Development with Automation in Your Landscape Business Apr 18, 2024

A lesson on how special tools like Greenius can simplify onboarding, training, and tracking. Hear real-life scenarios where this approach has succeeded, gain valuable tips, and learn how to maximize your employees' potential in your landscape business.

Landscape Mastermind: Accelerating Payment – Strategies to Get Landscape Customers to Pay Faster Apr 11, 2024

Jason Drews, VP of Customer Operations, dives into expedite payment processing for quicker transactions, providing financial stability by smoothing out fluctuations, and addressing various financial needs and concerns. You’ll be equipped with invaluable insights to optimize your financial processes and enhance your business.

Landscape Mastermind: Giving Value + Being Valuable in the Landscape Industry Mar 28, 2024

You'll discover the art of creating meaningful connections, providing exceptional value, and positioning yourself as a valuable asset in the competitive landscape business. Dive into practical strategies, real-life examples, and insights on building lasting relationships with clients, partners, and industry peers. Learn how giving value and being valuable can propel your success in the dynamic landscape industry.

Landscape Mastermind: Landscape Connections – It's Not Work - It's NETwork Mar 21, 2024

Explore the power of networking in the landscaping industry. Discover how building meaningful connections can elevate your landscaping business, foster collaborations, and open doors to new opportunities. Dive into practical networking strategies, success stories, and the art of relationship building that can help you thrive in the landscape.

Landscape Mastermind: How to Implement Field Crew Performance Bonuses Mar 14, 2024

We'll cover the ins and outs of implementing effective performance-based bonuses for your landscaping field crews. Discover strategies to motivate your teams, boost productivity, and enhance job satisfaction. We’ll also dive into practical steps, real-life examples, and best practices tailored to the landscape industry, ensuring you can implement performance bonuses with confidence.

Landscape Mastermind: Achieving Exponential Growth – Effective Cold Calling Tactics Mar 07, 2024

We'll explore specialized cold calling tactics designed exclusively for landscape contractors. Learn how to target property managers, and homeowners and HOA’s with precision. Discover effective methods for building a high-quality contact list, crafting compelling cold call scripts, and showcasing your landscaping expertise. Dive into objection-handling techniques specific to landscaping and discover how to measure success. Elevate your client acquisition strategies and fuel the growth of your landscape contracting business with this must-attend webinar.

Landscape Mastermind: Company Culture is the Way it is; Are You Happy With Yours? Feb 29, 2024

Assess, envision, and shape a positive culture in the landscape industry. Discover practical strategies, real-life examples, and tips to enhance employee morale, productivity, and customer relationships. Elevate your landscape business by cultivating a culture that empowers and inspires success.

Landscape Mastermind: Enclosed Landscape Trailers – A Profitable Investment Explained Feb 28, 2024

We'll cover the multifaceted benefits of investing in enclosed trailers, from protecting valuable equipment from the elements and reducing theft of high-value items to transforming your fleet into mobile advertisements. Learn about custom features that streamline loading times, enhance job site functionality, and ensure the security of both large and small equipment. Join us as we delve into how enclosed trailers can be a game-changer for your landscape design-build projects and maintenance operations.

Landscape Mastermind: Enhancing Crew Efficiency – Sharing Estimate vs. Actual Hours Feb 28, 2024

You'll gain critical insights into how tracking and sharing the comparison of estimated versus actual job hours can significantly boost productivity, ensure accurate job costing, and enhance profitability. Learn the art of creating a transparent work environment that encourages accountability, identifies training opportunities, and drives operational efficiency.

Landscape Mastermind: Strategies for Crew Upskilling – Creating Learning Pathways Feb 08, 2024

Dive into methods that foster a high-caliber workforce, capable of delivering high quality services, setting your company apart in the market. Discover how upskilling your team can streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and minimize errors for maximized productivity. Learn about the latest practices and innovative technologies that can propel your business forward. Understand how investing in your crew's growth can boost job satisfaction, retain top talent, and position your company to dynamically tackle new opportunities. Register now and invest in your crew's expertise for your business's success!

Landscape Mastermind: Winning in the Landscape Industry – Prepare... or Lose to Someone Who Is Feb 08, 2024

In this Q&A panel discussion, you'll learn to outperform competitors by mastering proactive follow-ups, ensuring customer engagement, and showcasing professionalism. Equip yourself with techniques for consistent execution to keep a robust pipeline of projects. Discover how to close deals on the spot with effective quoting tools, and choose profitable projects through precise break-even analysis. Emphasize the long-term value of your services and transform your sales approach.
Featuring Mark Bradley, Co-Founder and CEO of LMN, along with guest speakers Chris Psencik, Vice President of McFarlin Stanford, and Vince Torchia, Vice President of The Grow Group.

Landscape Mastermind: Critical Job Costs – Monitoring the Top 4 in Your Landscape Business Jan 17, 2024

You'll gain insights into the 4 critical costs of your landscape project. Optimizing labor efficiency, smart purchasing to save on materials, equipment utilization to cut costs, and how to keep subcontractor expenses within budget. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your cost management practices.

Landscape Mastermind: Budgeting for Success – Creating a Landscape Crew Budget Jan 17, 2024

You'll discover the power of creating individual crew revenue goals and expenses into your landscape budget. Explore how this strategic approach enhances your ability to manage and monitor crew-specific performance, revenue targets, and expenses. Learn how it fosters team transparency and facilitates resource optimization, ultimately paving the way for financial success and sustainable growth in your landscape business.

Landscape Mastermind: Nurturing Employee Growth – Building an Employee Development Program Jan 10, 2024

You'll learn why an employee development program is indispensable, leading to enhanced skills, heightened efficiency, safety compliance, adaptability, increased employee satisfaction, and a competitive edge. Discover how this investment ensures long-term success and sustainability in the landscape industry, cultivating a culture of excellence and attracting top talent.

Landscape Mastermind: Landscape Sales Essentials – Unlocking "Why the Buy" Dec 22, 2023

In this webinar, we explore the four essential drivers behind purchasing decisions and discover how to transform your low-cost offerings into high-ticket premium landscape services. Learn the art of emotional appeal, logical justification, problem-solving, and creating a sense of connection for consistent client sign-ups, regardless of your pricing.

Landscape Mastermind: Maximizing Efficiency – Using the LMN Crew App Dec 22, 2023

Discover the efficiency-boosting power of LMN CREW, a mobile app designed for landscape professionals. Learn how this app revolutionizes time management, enhancing productivity, accuracy, and accountability across your workforce.

Landscape Mastermind: Digital Portfolio – Highlight Your Best Landscape Work on Your Website and Social Media Dec 22, 2023

Discover how digital portfolios can enhance your landscape business. Learn how they build credibility, attract clients, showcase expertise, and set you apart in a visually compelling way. Explore the essential role of a digital portfolio in a winning landscape business using marketing and client engagement strategies. Featuring Peter Guinane, Co-Founder of Oriole Landscaping and Mark Bradley, CEO of LMN.

Landscape Mastermind: 360-Degree Feedback – A Powerful Tool for Employee Improvement Nov 22, 2023

A 360-degree feedback program is all about getting input from all directions, providing a comprehensive view of employee performance. So rather than managers only providing feedback to the people they manage, employees review their managers, coworkers, and even leadership.

Landscape Mastermind: Budgeting Mastery – A Comprehensive Guide for Landscapers Nov 15, 2023

Mike dives into the ways budgeting strengthens financial control, manages expenses, projects revenue, sets goals, allocates resources, handles risks, controls cash flow, evaluates performance, builds investor/lender confidence, plans strategically, and calculates overhead—essential elements for success in the landscape construction industry.

Landscape Mastermind: Efficient Routing & Scheduling for the Snow Industry Nov 08, 2023

Discover how efficient routing and scheduling impact cost control, customer satisfaction, safety, and overall snow business performance. Learn why they are vital for well-managed snow removal operations.

Landscape Mastermind: Unlocking Success – Why Revenue per Hour is Vital in Landscape Business Metrics Nov 01, 2023

Discover why revenue per hour is a vital metric for landscape companies. Explore its impact on profitability, pricing strategies, resource allocation, and overall business performance. Join us to gain essential insights for smarter decision-making and financial success in your landscape business.

Emerging and Disruptive Business Trends and Web 3.0 Dec 17, 2021

Lisa Buyer is an industry disruptor in all things related to marketing, PR, web 3.0, and beyond. The latest episode featuring her and your favorite host Stanley Genadek the Dirt Monkey, was thought-provoking on all levels. She had Stanley's head spinning by the time they finished the recording, leaving us all wanting to learn more.

Throughout this episode, Lisa and Stanley get into everything related to business. From finding a better balance as an entrepreneur to achieve health and wellness, what future business trends are emerging in 2022, what the new web 3.0 could potentially look like, and how business functions from sales and marketing will change.

She also most recently wrote an article on the future of the Meta Verse and a more decentralized web 3.0 and spoke about all things related to NFTs on Search Engine Journal.

If you want to learn more about Lisa Buyer and the future of everything related to marketing, PR, NFTs, and web 3.0, catch her social pr secrets podcast.

The Art and Math of Buying and Selling Landscape Equipment Dec 10, 2021

Most landscapers look at equipment as tools—a way to get the work done more efficiently and effectively without adding additional labor costs to projects. But the way George Urvari from Oriole Landscaping looks at equipment is a whole new level.

George has his numbers so dialed. He can tell you exactly his equipment to sales ratio, how it impacts his bottom line, how it improves productivity, and the list goes on.

He is a leader in the art, math, and science; yes, we said the science of buying and selling equipment. But don't take our word for it. Take the time to listen to George Urvari and Stanley Genadek the Dirt Monkey on the latest episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast. This episode will change the way you acquire landscape equipment completely.

Talking Landscape Dirt with Kris Borgman Dec 03, 2021

How well do you know and understand your dirt? No, we're not talking about the job site gossip or the dirt on your boots. We're actually talking about soil. The stuff plants are grown in and how they absorb nutrients from the ground.

It's exactly what President and co-founder Kris Borgman has built his business on at Soul Solutions Monitoring. Their key message goes something like this: "It's not the total amount of nutrient in your soil, but can your soil release those nutrients in forms and rates to match plant uptake demands at critical growth stages."

And throughout this episode of the podcast with none other than Stanley Genadek the Dirt Monkey, they get into soil sampling and how taking a predictive and prescriptive approach can help make you more money and all the other applications that could apply your business. Everything from the upsell, garden enhancements, reducing plant warranty, customer trust, and so much more.

How To Motivate The Next Generation of Landscapers Nov 26, 2021

Skilled labor shortage aside, another reoccurring issue plaguing our industry is mostly employee engagement, specifically around the up-and-coming generation of skilled laborers.

Generational theory, gen x, gen y, whatever you want to call it, we're not sure it matters. Anyone can work for a paycheque, but the reality is, most people want to work to build a career for themselves and find day-to-day purpose within their professional life. The average person works roughly 90,000 in their lifetime, so for an employee to seek that opportunity to grow professionally and thrive is not an unreasonable ask.

And the latest episode of Landscape Disruptors discusses just that. Stanley Genadek, the Dirt Monkey, and green industry business consultant Jackie Hart go into great detail on better engaging the next generation of skilled labor and what most people, not just the next-gen, are seeking within their professional lives.

How to Build High Performers in Landscaping Nov 19, 2021

Solutions to problems, in most cases, don't always stem from the root of the issue. More often than not, they are complex and require a much broader and holistic look at solving the challenge.

Step into Brent Giles's world. Former landscape business owner, he worked at and led one of North America's largest snow removal providers. Entrepreneurial at heart, team builder, and now a high-performing leader in the green industry world, he's learned firsthand how to take a holistic approach to solve recruiting and retention problems in the skilled trades.

Throughout this episode, Stanley Genadek, the Dirt Monkey, and Brent Giles discuss the current challenges in retaining team members within your landscape company and how to ensure they develop into high performers within your company.

Landscape Community Gives Thanks - Veterans and Remembrance Day Nov 11, 2021

The work ethic parallels between the green industry and those that serve within the armed forces are frequently shared. Discipline, unwavering commitment, relying on a team of people to get the work done, time management and executing on a schedule and plan, and the list goes on.

Eric Jones aka the Turf Teacher, served in the USA military for 17 years before transitioning into the green industry and operating his own company, Elite Landscape services. He now educates countless aspiring landscape contractors in horticulture and is more commonly known as a Turf Up Radio show host and advocate for the green industry on social media.

In the latest episode of Landscape Disruptors, he and Stanley Genadek, the Dirt Monkey, give thanks to those who formerly and are currently serving in the armed forces and discuss what opportunities exist in the armed forces. This is an episode you want to want to miss.

What Do You Know About Snow? An Environmental Snow Harvard Expert Weighs In Nov 05, 2021

What do you know about the snow removal business? We're going to guess that you may not know as much as Phill Sexton does from WIT companies, advisors, and Co-Op. We were a little caught off-guard mid podcast when Phill mentioned he was a graduate from Harvard University earning a master's degree in environment and sustainability management. All of that aside, he and Stanley the Dirt Monkey Genadek get into the details of snow removal and what that looks like in the next ten years.

Everything from salt sustainability to liability and the other snow and ice melting applications is hitting the market. One would think that there are a plethora of options out there. Still, Phill quickly gives a high-level overview of how environmental sustainability isn't as easy as it may seem, plus he gets into the details of what's being legislated by the government and how salt usage could become strictly regulated.

All in all, it is a thought-provoking episode with two great minds in the snow and ice management industry.

GIE + Expo 2021 Event Recap Oct 29, 2021

After a two-year hiatus, GIE is finally back and better than ever. Throughout this podcast episode, Stanley Genadek the Dirt Monkey reviews the good and bad at GIE, some of the emerging technology that could be an industry game-changer, and the method to his madness when creating content.

Most notably, Stanley also shares his Landscape Disruptors dream guests, how he creates his content and what mark he wants to leave on the industry by producing more educational content.

Live from GIE + Expo 2021 - The Green Executive and LMN CEO Mark Bradley Oct 22, 2021

Trade shows are finally back and bigger and better than ever. GIE + Expo has over 40,000 people in attendance over three days during the 2021 trade show in Lousiville, Kentucky. Reportedly up by 8% compared to 2019, it's a sign of the times in the green industry and the continued growth in landscaping.

During this week's podcast, LMN CEO Mark Bradley jumps back in as host of the Landscape Disruptors podcast and catches up with The Green Executive husband and wife team from Columbia, Illinois. Industry consultants and passionate landscape business owners Mark Bradley, Adam, and Sahra, chat about business, profit, landscaping trends, and what they see in person and on the ground at GIE + Expo 2021.

Branching Out Your Landscape Business With Digital Marketing Oct 15, 2021

Landscapers often believe that the work should speak for itself. Work hard and future work will find you. Oftentimes, that rings true, but building the foundation for your business to self-sustain leads will do more for your business rather than focusing on just the soil beneath you.

In this episode of Landscape Disruptors, host, Stan "The Dirt Monkey" Genadek, walks through some essential digital marketing strategies and executions with guest, Jack Jostes. Digital marketing can help build your landscape business through identifying your brand, leveraging your business' unique selling propositions for more sales, and recruiting Google on your side for the "Best X" searches in your area. Let the internet passively do the work for you, so you can focus all of your attention on your customers.

Winter Blues - Changing Business Processes With the Seasons Oct 08, 2021

Depending on where you're located, the seasonal changes are inevitable as the leaves shift color, and the temperatures slowly drop. If your business isn't prepared for the weather or upcoming project timelines change, you might get left out in the cold. It happens to the best of business owners as Landscape Disruptors host, Stan "The Dirt Monkey" Genadek, and guest, Brittany Auman, talk about their current struggles heading into the winter blues.

In this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Stan and Brittany tackle planned contracts falling through, difficult customers, the labor shortage, keeping employees paid, and the steps they take in their businesses to keep sales flowing and stress levels down.

Uniting, Collaborating, and Giving Back With The Green Industry Oct 01, 2021

The joy of landscaping is taking the space around you and beautifying it for others to enjoy. While all the energy and focus is physically given to the space, sometimes that creates hurdles to personally impact the community around you.

Throughout this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Jaime Waldron from Industry COLLECTIVE talks with Stanley "Dirt Monkey" Genadek about how she's engaging local landscaping companies and green industry leaders with impacting their communities through mobile social initiatives. Grassroots initiatives like Industry COLLECTIVE show that even a little time devoted to giving back goes a long way to uplifting those around you.

Marketing 101 for Local Service Companies Sep 17, 2021

Ever wonder why some companies not only capture more work but the work and customer that they want? In today's digital world, it's no secret that marketing can make or break company revenue goals. Whether you're a global entity doing business in multiple continents or a smaller local service company getting the work done in your local community, marketing can play a significant role in all of the work you capture.

Throughout this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Dave Racine from Punch PR talks with Stanley Geandek the Dirt Monkey about basic marketing tactics and strategies for local service companies. Everything from using social media to growing your digital footprint and where your marketing dollars are best spent if you have a small budget and just starting. Win more work using some of these recommended landscape marketing strategies from the Punch PR Team.

A Solution to A Problem - What Entrepreneur Dreams are Made Of Sep 10, 2021

Dave Barlow is an entrepreneur at heart, and like most, he went through some highs and lows before landing on a passion and a business that worked out. And like most entrepreneurs that succeeded, his product is a solution to a problem that he and his team designed.

Ultra Base Systems is a panel technology for everything and anything and, in most cases, much more efficient than the traditional fill and pack method. He's outfitted everyone from the hardscape industry, football fields, schools, and the list goes on.

Throughout this episode, Dave and Stanley Genadek, The Dirt Monkey, get into the journey of what it's like to have a dream and pursue that dream until you finally achieve it. The grit, the grind, and what it takes to claw your way to build a company and a product.

Inspiring Innovation in Landscaping Sep 03, 2021

It's no secret that the world of education and training is evolving. Online training and self-directed skillshare courses are becoming ever popular amongst the up and coming generation, so it would only be fitting that this same online training become available to skilled trades workers and the landscape industry.

In the latest episode of Landscape Disruptors, Stanley Genadek the Dirt Moneky connects with VP of Sales at Greenius Online Training, Arden Urbano. This episode is a clash of the titans where Stanley and Arden challenge each other with some thought-provoking conversation focused on the skilled labor shortage, online training, and training staff in general.

They also discuss LMN Business Management Software recently acquiring Greenius Online Training and what it might mean for the future of the green industry's first end-to-end system for landscape business owners.

Answer The Internet with Stanley "Dirt Monkey" Genadek Aug 27, 2021

In this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Stanley "Dirt Monkey," Genadek answers the internet. Questions submitted by the listeners, Stanley, answeres everything from landscaping business questions on property maintenance vs. hardscape and where to recruit new staff and talent.

It's also not uncommon for Stanley to get detailed on the more technical-related questions focused on design and build or construction. Everything from building on sand, constructing retaining walls, and when and how to invest in snow equipment despite climbing insurance races. You won't want to miss this first Answer The Internet Episode with Stanley "Dirt Monkey" Genadek. Please submit your questions to hello@landscapedisruptors.com

Funding Financial Growth in Landscaping Aug 13, 2021

The latest episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast is a thought-provoking collision of entrepreneurs featuring Jon Fry, the CEO of LendFlow, and Mark Bradley, the CEO of LMN. During this episode of the podcast, the two of them cover how to grow your landscape business wisely utilizing different methods of capital investment. Everything from strategies of attaining that working capital and how to best use it to grow your landscape business. The truth is, most revenue-generating companies have access to capital; they often don't know how to utilize it or where to look for it. Strategically, there are a few ways to grow your landscape company when you have an injection of cash, and Mark and Jon go into the details on how to make that happen.

Putting the Pro in Professional Landscaping Aug 06, 2021

Vidosh North is a full-service landscape service provider founded in 2007. The company specializes in landscape design, specimen plantings, hardscape features, lighting, shoreline restoration, and irrigation services.

They've built the business on three generations of family landscape, site work, and horticultural knowledge and experience. In the last few years, they've become one of the leading service providers in Michigan, creating beautifully designed softscape and hardscape projects for various customers in the greater Michigan area.

Throughout this episode of the podcast, Donn and Stanley Genadek go into where it all started for the company and where they want to go. Donn talks about bottlenecks and a few people problems, but rather than complaining. He quickly notes a few solutions to overcome and be better. They've also grown their business throughout the covid pandemic, and like most in the skilled trades, have big aspirations to take their business to the next level in 2022.

Trials and Tribulations in The Landscape Business Jul 30, 2021

Next time you're feeling the pressure, take a step back, breathe, laugh, smile, and remember who you are and what you are working towards in your landscape company. The stress of running a business in the startup phase can be enormous for an owner-operator to manage. Everything from hiring people, managing people, cash flow problems, material and supply order screw-ups, equipment breakdowns, and the list goes on.

Spencer Lawn Care has been in business for ten years, and despite the ups and downs, he finds the sense of accomplishment from doing the work and being hands-on in the skilled trades far outweighs the low moments.

In this episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast with Stanley Genadek the Dirt Monkey, Shawn gets down into the details describing the trials and tribulations of operating a landscape company, including the landscape failures. Everything from retaining people, hiring people, equipment and cash flow problems, and the different phases of business. He also talks about how he plans to grow the company in 2022 and become more profitable.

Standing Out Amongst The Crowd Jul 23, 2021

In today's world of trends, there is only so much room for being traditional or doing what's traditionally done. Richard Wynia has built his dream business with his partner Christine Wynia. The two of them have combined their skills and build a company that not only stands out amongst the crowd but fills a significant gap in the space of landscaping.

They are the true one-stop shop in landscaping and create and build projects that fulfill their customer's wildest dreams. Of course, this all comes at a cost, but they've found their niche and regular focus on design and build work that starts at 100K and goes as high as 850K. The only they don't specialize in is landscape property maintenance. Still, their connectivity amongst their industry within the Niagara Region can see them general contract nearly any project and at any scale for a motivated residential customer.

Out latest landscape disruptors podcast with Stanley Genadek goes into the details on how Rich and Christine built the business of their dreams and the strategies and systems they implemented along the way to make it happen.

Building a Landscape Business is Part Art and Strategy Jul 16, 2021

Building a business can be challenging. It takes patience and a type of personality that can handle and manage the stresses that come with starting up. Taking your company from an owner/operator status, capturing enough revenue to hire some staff, and maybe eventually growing revenue and profits to scale.

In this episode of the podcast, Ryan Markewich from Creative Roots and Steve Baker from The Great Game of Business discuss the reasons for financial transparency in the workplace and how to create a company culture where staff think like owners and make better decisions to benefit the business. The Great Game of Business is a system to train people within a company to create a transparent and cohesive environment where teamwork thrives. Everyone becomes accountable—ultimately creating more success for the company. No matter how you turn the dials in your landscape company, there will always be trial and error. Still, the race to streamline and eliminate waste will always be ongoing. Open-book management seems to have a pretty high success rate when creating a strong company culture in which a successful company is built.

Critical Benchmarks To Maximize Profit in Landscaping Jul 02, 2021

Billable hours, efficiency goals, job costing, revenue per person hour, throughput, and so much more. How do you measure your landscape company's success?
Measuring your success is essential because it vividly shows you areas for improvement, things you are doing well, and perhaps what strategies or business development functions you need to invest in to continue growing your landscape company.
Jeffrey Scott specializes in helping business owners in the lawn, landscaping, and irrigation to build profitable and valuable companies. His clients learn how to generate improved profit and cash flow (that would make any competitor jealous), manage and delegate the most important responsibilities, and effectively build and lead their teams to have more time and freedom in their personal lives. My clients end up with a precious company that will pay dividends for years to come.
Throughout this episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast, LMN CEO Mark Bradley hosts alongside Jeffrey Scott. They go into great detail on identifying critical benchmarks to maximize profit in landscaping and how to utilize those to drive revenue, accelerate growth and measure your success.

Boyscouts to Landscape Business Jun 25, 2021

Our latest podcast is an inspiring story of two lifelong friends who went down a path in life and decided to change directions after discovering they choose the wrong career and profession.

They discovered the landscaping industry and began applying their sales and marketing experience to the trade despite not having any green industry experience in the skilled trades.

Entrepenuairal minded means you can pretty much learn anything you focus on, and that's exactly what Joshua Adkins and Max Gedz did. They began digging into landscape how-to videos and learning as much as they could online to take on hardscape and property maintenance projects. Many successes accompanied a few costly mistakes along the way. Over time, they went from 200k to 400k and now aim for 2million in revenue with two divisions.

They've expanded into design and build landscaping projects while continuing to grow their property maintenance division. Now Odd Jobs LLC has become a very established company in the greater Michigan area.

Paving the Path for Couples in the Skilled Trades Jun 18, 2021

Brittany and Caleb Auman are familiar, working side by side with each other, 24/7. This power couple works together, lives together, created a business together, and raises their family.

What's not so commonly discussed in the green industry are couples working together in skilled trades. Surprisingly enough, it's pretty standard. Dynamic Duo's in landscaping are building thriving companies and managing to balance their work and life balance while avoiding landscape burnout.

Caleb and Brittany Auman recently produced and executed a new event named Together in the Trades. An event dedicated to couples that work together - sharing information and advice to help working couples build a business while sustaining their relationship and family.

In this latest podcast with Stanley Genadek Dirt Monkey, Caleb and Brittany dive deep into the details of the event, what they learned, and some of the big takeaways for next year's event in Nashville, Tennessee.

Living, Learning, Growing - Building a Better Landscape Industry Jun 11, 2021

Brian Cotter lives, breathes, and eats the landscape industry. He has worked in the skilled trades from his teens and currently owns and manages two businesses. Lloyds Grounds Management and Durham Artificial Grass both serve the Greater Toronto Area and do it successfully. That didn't happen overnight, and throughout this episode, Brian shares experiences as the person building the business from the ground up.
He shares every experience from creating a more professional industry, hiring and retaining team members, learning from mistakes in the landscape business, and why we should all be more proud in the skilled trades. Brian has been there done that, so to speak, but he's not done yet as he continues to manage two successful businesses in separate divisions.
Stanley Genadek Dirt Monkey digs deep on the latest episode of Landscape Disruptors. In fact, this is our 52nd episode recording. Celebrate with us and catch this episode with Brian Cotter from Durham Artificial Grass and Lloyds Grounds Management.

Together in Trades - How Couples That Work Together, Stay Together Jun 04, 2021

It's not uncommon for couples to work together. It's not unusual for couples to own and build a business together, particularly in the landscape industry, due to the demands of getting your company up and running with little people and cash investment to get started.

Together in Trades is a new event brought to you by Caleb and Brittany Auman. And Brian, and Liz Fullerton. The event aims to help landscape business owners who are married and work together. Sharing strategies to set boundaries, balance work and personal life, and create family time.

Throughout this episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast Brian Fullerton and Stanley Genadek deep dive into some rules of couples that work together and how they stay together. Most importantly, how to conquer the landscape World together and build an empire of your dreams for you and your family.

Inspiring The Next Generation Hardscaper - Words of Wisdom from The Paver King May 21, 2021

In the landscaping world, Paver King (Mike Pennington) in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, leads the pack in social media with his creative, Tweets, Instagram, and YouTube content. His sense of humor has inspired many, and his passion for being a skilled trades person sets the bar for the next generation who are motivated to work with their hands in an industry plagued with a skilled labor shortage.

Mike Pennington, who recently turned 50, has been a longtime self-proclaimed hardscaper and has led the charge inspiring the up-and-coming generation of hardscapers and understands the ups and downs of the industry. He shares his story of the good and the not-so-good moments throughout his career and how he's now in a place that excites him to wake up every single day to go and get the work done.

Throughout this episode, Mike and Stanley The Dirt Monkey Genadek get into what it means to be a landscaper and the role we all need to start owning within the industry to lead the next generation. Mike goes deep on ending the stigma associated with the skilled trades and how we all need to be more proud to be in the green industry.

Believe and Achieve - How To Conquer Your Landscape Business Goals May 14, 2021

Shawn Feurer is a successful entrepreneur, speaker, and mindset consultant. Known for his heartfelt style, high energy, and sincerity, he is loved by clients and audiences all over the United States.

Throughout this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Stanley Genadek Dirt Monkey and Shawn dive deep on mindset in business and how your thoughts can directly impact results. Whether you're in the start-up phase of business or 15 years into building the ultimate landscape incorporation with multiple divisions and monster-sized teams of people, the mindset has everything to do with your results, and it all starts with the leadership teams at the helm of the ship.

Shawn highlights some key strategies and tactics to get you in the right mindset and encourage everyone on your leadership team to lead with levity, positivity and attract the business outcomes and goals you and the company are trying to achieve.

Win More Customers - Reputation Management for Local Service Companies May 07, 2021

What do you know about reputation management? As a local service skilled trade company, you probably know it's important to capture good customer reviews, maintain a strong reputation and hopefully, capture more customer referrals.

In today's world of digital marketing, google my business reviews and reviews matter more than ever. Any new lead does one thing: either google your company name or search your company on Instagram. And if good reviews don't populate or your visibility ranking is low, the chances are that lead will search out another company.

In this episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast, Stanley Genadek Dirt Monkey and Shawny Hill from NiceJob go deep on what it takes to build an excellent reputation, win more customer reviews, and increase leads and service calls.

The Ins and Outs of a Multi-Generational Landscape Equipment Business Apr 30, 2021

Founded in 1933, the Ariens company is a fifth-generation company in the green industry and employs over 1500 people and builds some of the best known zero-turn mowers and snowblowers. Founded in a garage, assembled and developed in America, the company continues to grow year over year with family members at the helm of the ship.

Landscape Disruptors and host Stanley Genadek Dirt Money were lucky enough to have Steve Ariens on the podcast for a minute and share his story on what it's like working for one of the most extensive equipment manufactures within the landscape and snow industry.

Throughout the podcast, Steve takes us through the ins and outs of operating a generational business and the trials and tribulations along the way. From R & D to organizational structure, management, and what landscape property management companies should expect shortly are just some of the topics covered throughout this episode.

Love The Grind - Rick Weihl Shares His Trials and Tribulations on Inventing Landscape Equipment Apr 23, 2021

The man, the myth, the legend, Rick Weihl may have started in landscaping, mowing lawns, and plowing snow, but his true passion led him down the road of inventing equipment to help landscape contractors be more efficient.

Rick worked 12 hours a day at his lawn care and snow removal company, but on the side in his free time, he spent countless hours and dollars inventing everything from high-powered leaf blowers, snowplows, rear mount snowplows, and multiple patents.

The real story in this podcast with Stanley Genadek Dirt Monkey is that Rick ran a successful property management business with over 40 employees and sub-contractors while financing his inventions.

It all finally paid off when he sold his invention to some big equipment companies within the industry, and later this summer, he has the new snowplow that will change the snow removal world as we know it. Throughout the podcast, Rick shares some hard lessons learned in business and life that are invaluable and could hopefully help you fast track your company's success.

Building Business - Part Art, Part Strategy Apr 16, 2021

Building a successful business could be summarized as multiple different business functions coming together and working as efficiently and effectively to generate revenue from a product or service. It sounds simple, but the complexities to overcome as a business owner in the start-up phase are endless.

Everything from hiring people, leading people, managing cash flow, managing the business, working on the company, and the list goes on. However, Weston Nicholas' success story as an arborist didn't start out as smooth as you'd think. Like many, he's learned from his experiences and mistakes to build better systems and fill his team gaps as his company continues to grow.

Admittedly, he doesn't have it all figured out, but throughout this episode of Landscape Disruptors with Stanley Genadek, the Dirt Monkey. They discuss everything related to finding a trustworthy partner, not letting your ego get in the way, being singularly focused, hiring slow, managing cash flow, and so much more.

Growing Pains - What Matters When Scaling Your Landscape Business with Kory Ballard Apr 09, 2021

Most landscape business owners in the start-up phase go through many growing pains. Initially, everything revolves around the business owner. When the owner reaches their work capacity limit, both in time and energy, they typically need to hire more staff to meet the demand for work to continue growing the company, all while streamlining systems and processes to accommodate more people and more volume.

As an owner goes through this process of business growing pains, it's relatively common to get caught up in the day-to-day operations - communications, managing people, meeting with customers, capturing more work, and the list goes on. But often, left off the list through this growing process is business development - building better financial systems to eliminate waste, utilizing software to manage the company, creating hiring processes, building company culture, incentivizing your team, just to name a few. It's walking a line of working in the business and working on the business, and Kory Ballard certainly experienced the same as he grew his company, Perficut Landscaping.

Throughout this episode, Kory and Stanley Genadek Dirt Monkey discuss everything related to growing a landscape business and the common pitfalls owners experience as they scale their company. From cash flow problems to ego getting in how you manage your team and not having the suitable systems and processes before growing the business.

Believe and Achieve - How Anne of All Trades Has Built The Career of Her Dreams Apr 02, 2021

From getting her education, living in Asia, and soul searching while holding down a day job, Anne Briggs knows what it means to trial and error and recalibrate along the way until she figures it out.

Over the past ten years, Anne has worked exceptionally hard at acquiring the experience needed to chase her passion for building, woodworking, farming, and every other skilled trade you can imagine. Her vast skill set has led to paving the path for the next generation of skilled tradesmen and women. An ever-growing online and in-person audience has enabled her to chase her dreams and generate a living from her hard-earned skills.

Throughout this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Anne and Stanley Dirt Monkey Genadek go deep on how Anne essentially created something significant from chasing her passion and dreams in the skilled trade world. The relatable trials and tribulation stories shine through during this podcast episode with lessons learned that you will undoubtedly fast-track your business or career in meaningful and valuable ways.

The Hiring Debate: Skill Set vs. Cultural Fit in Landscaping Mar 26, 2021

Finding the right people in Landscaping or the skilled trades that are the best fit for your company can be challenging. Do you seek out those with the skills that match up for your hiring role, or do you seek out that rockstar personality who's motivated, wants to work hard, and learn and grow alongside the company?

The answer is frequently both when speaking with the thought leaders in today's green industry, but it's typically not such a simple process to source both skill and the right company culture fit people. Frequently companies attract both the right people and the wrong people. The culture you create within your company can significantly impact productivity and your teams' ability to get the work done on time and budget.

Ryan Markewich spent over 20 years building his Landscape Company, constantly turning the dials, and now has a rock-solid 20+ staff that make up his dream team. Today's generation of landscapers wants more than a paycheque. They want to feel like they contribute to something larger than themselves and belong to a group that means something. Throughout this episode, Ryan and LMN CEO Mark Bradley cover everything from finding the right people, addressing the millennium workforce struggles, and the higher processes that not only attract the people you want but ultimately create a winning elite team of landscape workers.

The Landscape Industry Is Evolving - The Future of Landscape Supply Mar 19, 2021

When you think about businesses, most can be profitable, and some can be lucrative, and operating a landscape business is complex. It's heavy on operations. There can be multiple divisions, many people, customers with high expectations, materials and supplies, equipment, weather, and the list goes on. There are many moving pieces, and anything an owner can do to streamline the business or make a process more efficient usually improves profitably or benefits the company in a big way.

More important than ever before, efficiency is the name of the game. Most recently, LMN and SiteOne partnered up and integrated online landscape supply purchases directly through the LMN Estimating software. In theory, when you create an estimate in LMN now, you can order the materials directly through SiteOne Supply which skips a few steps and reducing an estimator's time.

During this episode of the podcast, Stanley Genadek and Sean Kramer talk about the future of landscaping and how the industry is evolving. They cover everything from how Sean got his start in the green industry, his role at SiteOne Landscape Supply, where the green industry is headed, and what landscape contractors need to be conscious of heading into 2021.

Succession Planning and How To Exit Your Landscape Company Mar 12, 2021

So you've built a successful landscape business that services an extensive list of customers, but your ready to retire and not sure how to exit the business, sell the company, or successfully transition the business to a new owner.

Most landscape owners that have been in the business for an extended period of time actually end up in this position more than you might realize. It's the exact reason why LMN CEO Mark Bradley and Ron Edmunds from the Principum Group sat down for a conversation on Landscape Disruptors.

Throughout this episode, Mark and Ron cover mergers and acquisitions, how to build value within your landscape company, how to evaluate your business for what it may be worth, and how to potentially sell your landscape company when you are ready to retire.

But what is succession planning exactly? Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing leaders within your landscape company who can replace the old guard when they leave or retire. This process usually ensures the company can live on successfully long after the owner has exited the business.

Landscaping Hype House - What's All The Hype About? Mar 05, 2021

Recently down in Anna Maria, Florida, landscape disruptors Brittany and Caleb Auman conceptualized and executed what is known as a Hype House event where creators come together, share ideas, create content, and build momentum.

During the week, some of the guests featured were Brian Fullerton, Shawn and Savvanah Spencer, the Green Industry Podcast, Mitchells Lawncare, and many more. From roundtable meetings conversing about their business ideas and experiences to help each other, visiting job sites, and connecting with landscape construction crews in the local area, the Hype House was an opportunity to connect and learn as much as possible in a short amount of time.

Peer groups and connecting with other like-minded landscape business owners can be incredibly powerful, especially if your peers are willing to share experiences that help expedite and grow your business into a more profitable and sustainable business.

During this episode with Caleb and Brittany Auman, they cover everything from how the Hype House came to be, what working closely with others over the years has taught them in their business, and how you can get more involved with your peers in landscaping.

Growing Your Landscape Business with Continuous Improvement Marketing Feb 26, 2021

The continuous improvement method stems from Kaizen, a concept referring to business activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to assembly line workers.

The same methodology could be applied to marketing in the landscape industry. In this episode of the podcast, Kelly Dowell from Keldo Digital covers all the current marketing strategies to enhance your landscape business and help fill the funnel with the customers you want to attract. From Facebook marketing to using text messaging as a tactic and channel to reach new customers, she and LMN CEO Mark Bradley cover it all.

Kelly Dowell specializes in helping landscape contractors build their business. Her services include website development, social media management, content & design creation, marketing & sales systems, recruiting & hiring systems, systems & growth processes.

With each project, she takes a three-step approach.

SCALABLE: She’ll collaborate with you to create proven, manageable systems that your team can execute.

REPEATABLE: Then she’ll set your systems on autopilot. With process automation and personalization, you can do it again and again with confidence in your success.

RELIABLE: When you can depend on your business systems to run smoothly, you can relax away from the office and live the life you always imagined! Growing your business doesn’t have to depend only on you. Contact Kelly to find out how technology might help your sales, marketing, or recruiting processes.

Identifying Problems To Streamline Your Landscape Company and Maybe Even More... Feb 19, 2021

Joshua Martin is the founder and owner of LandOne Takeoff, which he built out of necessity for his own landscape company.
Like most when creating successful products or services, Joshua identified a problem or pain point in his own business and came up with a solution for that. He built landscape software to measure properties for enhancement and to streamline the proposal design process when working with clients and enhancing their property.
In this episode of the Landscape Disruptors podcast, Joshua sits down with LMN CEO Mark Bradley. They discuss all things related to conceptualizing the business idea, executing, and everything that falls in-between when running a landscape company and building takeoff enhancement software.
They also discuss how emerging technologies are changing the landscape of the landscape industry and how contractors are doing business with their customers. The challenges of meeting customers' expectations and needs are becoming more and more time-consuming. The only way to keep the train on the tracks is to keep the funnel full and automate as many parts of your landscape business as possible. With so many complexities to the company, fast speed to value proposition is vital so you can close a sale before a competitor does.

Women in Construction and Work-Life Balance Feb 12, 2021

Missy Scherber is literally paving the way for the next-gen construction entrepreneurs, women in construction, landscaping, and skilled trades in general. She manages a family, her ever-growing social media following, and is a boss woman on the construction site.

She initially left her dream job in the not-for-profit sector and team up with her husband at his demolition and excavation specialty company in the greater Minneapolis area. Since becoming the co-owner of T. Scherber Demolition and Excavation, they have become a superpower couple in business and significantly grown their company.

In this episode of the podcast with Stanley Genadek, Missy covers everything from finding the work-life balance for couples who work together and manage it. They also cover the importance of customer service and how each customer should be treated like your very first and for a good reason. Finally, of course, they get into the nitty and gritty of construction and some of Missy's invaluable lessons in business and her next step in the skilled trades.

Importance of High Involvement Planning in Landscaping - How To Have The Best Meeting of the Year Feb 05, 2021

What are the elements of a good planning meeting, and why is it so important? In Landscaping, it's already pretty well known that talent is hard to find, so maybe the solution isn't always finding the best people, but the ones that are willing to grow alongside the company and have a great work ethic. Eventually, these staff, if given the right opportunity and support, will become the best people.
If you've been running your landscaping business day-to-day in survival mode, as most have been, you might not even have regular staff meetings on your radar, never-mind an all-inclusive annual planning meeting.
No matter the size, every company should be taking time every year to evaluate the past season and make plans for the next ahead. Everyone needs to have a voice and feel like they have a voice, especially if you are all working towards the same company goals.
Every team will be different, but in this episode of the podcast, Ryan Markewich, Owner of Creative Roots Landscaping, and LMN CEO Mark Bradley talk through the importance of getting your team involved high level and how it drastically changes the company culture and motivation.
The goal is always to improve business results and the lives of the people who drive those results. The company is the product, and there will always be room for improvement. If the people are improving, the chances of the business improving are pretty high.

Need To Know Marketing Techniques and Strategies for Landscape Businesses with Dennis Yu Jan 29, 2021

A local service business discoverability is everything in today's world of the internet and social media. With some of the most straightforward marketing strategies and techniques from Dennis Yu, you significantly improve your companies google ranking and visibility today.

Dennis says that business results are the only thing that matters and whether you can tie those metrics to sales in light of all the social media channels out there. Measurable business results are the ultimate currency for any local service business. In this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Dennis walks us through the need to know local service companies' marketing techniques and strategies. From Google My Business optimization to getting all of your social media working with google to help improve your companies visibility and the dos and don'ts in marketing.

This is how to become the number one ranked landscape business in your local service business in your area. Simple techniques from one of the world's best digital marketers and how to improve your online familiarity so that when a potential does a google search for the best landscape companies near me, they will identify you and contact your company first. Because as the saying goes, it takes a potential customer to see your brand a minimum of ten times before they eventually convert into a sale.

How The Green Industry Is Making A Difference - What An Arborist Has To Say Jan 22, 2021

As a Landscaper, what do you know about trees? You might know they are suitable for the environment. Customers usually appreciate them. They are an excellent way to enhance a customer's project while generating more revenue from the job. But beyond that, they have a deep purpose, and there are better ways that all landscapers can begin to approach planting and upselling plants and trees in general.

In this episode of the podcast, Stanley "Dirt Monkey" Genadek and ISA certified Arborist talk about trees. You see, most people think that arborists cut down trees, but they, in most cases, prefer to prune, plant, and maintain trees. Usually, they resort to the removal of a tree if it is hazardous or in severe decline. Eric Batty gets into the real dirt of being an Arborist and how the job title is much more complicated than people might think. He and Stanley also talk about different species, planting techniques, the balance of surrounding species, what's native, and what might serve a customer better in the long term.

If you're into trees and planting and horticulture, this is perhaps one of the most informative episodes we've ever covered on Landscape Disruptors. Enjoy!

A Greener Industry - Is Ecological and Organic Landscaping The Next Big Thing? Jan 15, 2021

What do you know about ecological and organic landscaping? Perhaps it's not part of the future, but more or less a traditional and more sustainable landscaping application to tackle today's environmental challenges. Ecological and organic landscaping is a form of landscaping, avoiding pesticides and herbicides, sourcing mostly or only native plants and organics, and balancing the ecosystem with insects and native grasses. The work is a little heavier on the front end, but once the soil and surrounding ecosystem fully establish, there may be less maintenance.

Richard McCoy is a 30-year green industry professional. He is the visionary behind Richard A. McCoy Horticultural Services Inc.. which he established in 1995. His expertise, attention to detail, and ability to develop an instant rapport with clients is just the beginning of what sets this company apart from others. Recognized by many as an organic and ecological land care thought leader, Richard and the Team at McCoy Horticultural have been offering environmentally and sustainably responsible, fine-gardening design, installations, maintenance, and organic lawn care since 2005.

In this episode of Landscape Disruptors, Richard explains organic and ecological landscaping and its environmental advantages over the traditional landscaping we all know of today. This episode highlights how a company can find a niche or a division within the company, and specialize services based on a customers needs. Restoring the ecosystem as nature intended it to be using native plants, grasses, organics and insects is a fantastic selling point, but are customers adopting it? Tune into the episode to hear it from Richard himself and the successes he’s found in a greener industry.

A Labor of Love - Leaving The Oil and Gas Industry for Landscaping Jan 08, 2021

It's a well-known fact that most landscapers work in landscaping simply because they love it. Whether your an equipment junkie, love the outdoors, the skilled trades, or the satisfaction of seeing a hands-on project come to reality, the green industry has a lot to offer. In this episode of the podcast, Ryann describes his role in the oil and gas industry, working for a Texas land oil drilling rig, and why he's fallen in love with landscaping.
After years of contemplating his departure from the energy sector and having a flexible work schedule of two weeks on two weeks off, he's finally ready to leap into landscaping. Outfitted with a reliable Ford F350 6.0 diesel truck, a used skid loader, and some hand tools, he's taken an entrepreneur hands-on approach to landscape. From researching retaining walls, listening to Stanley Dirt Monkey, and consuming every bit of landscape content he can, he's a self-taught himself and slowly building his portfolio as he goes.
His game plan is to continue building his portfolio and collecting pictures for his website, followed by turning to social media to help be found by new customers. His crawl, walk, and run approach is a good strategy while he slowly exits his day jobs and gets the hands-on experience required to run a landscape business. Stanley also offers some retaining wall advice and adequately installing the base when using a particular manufactured stone.

What's The Real Cost of Waste in Your Landscape Company? 5 Questions with LMN CEO Mark Bradley Dec 18, 2020

In this episode of the podcast, LMN CEO Mark Bradley and Stanley Genadek cover some common questions and pain points for all landscape companies. One of those commonly asked questions is, what should a company be willing to pay to hire and recruit a good foreman? And the answer will surprise you because although it's somewhat straightforward, there is a pretty handy formula and qualitative ways to determine this.

Another great question that Stanley puts forward to Mark is the top 3-5 wastes in every landscape company. Waste is perhaps the number one cost driver on any landscape project, from unbillable commuting, washroom breaks, waiting for materials, over-delivering materials, and the list goes on. Waiting equals dollars lost on every landscape job, but Mark shares some simple solutions throughout the podcast.

The other question tackled is centered around the great equipment debate, and how does a landscaper know when to buy new equipment? Or should you rent? It's commonly asked but not typically answered, and purchasing new landscape equipment is different for everyone. Mark shares a somewhat qualitative formula to help you make better and more informed decisions when buying, leasing, or renting landscape equipment.

Finally, the show ends with how an owner should truly use their numbers as the guiding light when rowing their company and know when to crawl, walk, and run. And what are the top 3 mistakes every owner makes when starting a company? This is undoubtedly a podcast you won't want to miss.

From The Top - What Canada's Largest Landscape Association President Has To Say Dec 11, 2020

Have you ever heard of a Landscape Association called Landscape Ontario? Well, if you haven't, now you have. They are by far one of North America's largest associations, with well over 2000 members in total. From advocating for the green and snow industry in government backrooms to creating value benefits for its members and creating industry standards provincially and nationally, Landscape Ontario is at the forefront if it all.

And at the helm of the wheel is recently appointed President, Dave Wright. Dave Wright has over 50 years of experience in Landscaping. Born into the landscape industry, following his father's footsteps through the industry, Dave has built a wildly successful design and build and maintenance company.

In this episode of the podcast, Stanley and Dave talk about climbing insurance rates, how to deal with COVID, industry standards and how we move forward in 2021. They also cover the Landscape Ontario task force and his role in creating a more sustainable future for the next generation landscaper.

Why The Industry Needs More Women in Landscaping and What We Can Do About It Dec 04, 2020

Carla Bailey oversees all operations of HR at TLC Landscaping, located in London, Ontario. TLC Landscaping has been the premier stop for both multi-residential clients and design-build clients in London for over 30 years. Before that, Carla was a sitting member on the board at the Landscape Ontario London Chapter. She is a founding member of Women in Landscaping and has been a significant advocate and voice to reduce the barrier to entry for women in landscaping.

In this episode of the podcast, Carla and Stanley talk about all things related to women in landscaping. What we need to do as an industry, what associations could be doing better, and encourage the next generation landscaper to be more inclusive. They chat about everything from boot sizing, clothes, pee breaks, recruiting and retaining women employees, and where a landscape industry newcomer should go if they want to get involved.

Both Stanley and Carla seem surprised that this is still an issue in landscaping as we move into the year 2021, but certainly, some common themes raise to the surface as the two of them dive deep on HOW and what the industry can do to recruit more women landscapers.

Thanksgiving Special - Growing And Shrinking Segments Within The Landscape Industry, And What To Plan For In 2021 Nov 27, 2020

Eric Jones, the Turf Teacher, and Stanley Genadek talk shop during this American Thanksgiving Special. 2020 has been a year most would love to put behind, but beyond that, there is a conversation on how to move forward in 2021.

Have you tried to hire or train new staff in 2020? We've had some great podcasts on generational theory, and in this episode, Stan and Eric take the gloves off and address the real concern of how people want to work, but whether they even want to.

And indeed, there have been some winner and losing segments within the landscape industry during 2020. But for the most part, the industry took a major leap forward, particularly in the design and build segment. Some companies have said their sales are up more than 50% from 2019. However, the commercial maintenance segment took a big loss, and with people looking to move outside the city for good, it seems like the design-build will carry that same momentum into 2021.

Happy American Thanksgiving to all of our landscape listeners and beyond. We hope you have the best day, and as always, thanks for listening.

Advice from a Marketing Wizard - Using the Power of FB and Google to Super-Charge your Local Landscaping, Lawncare, and Maintenance Business Nov 20, 2020

Andy Seeley isn't new to Marketing. In fact, he's been around the block, and then some becoming a wizard, yes a wizard, in sales and digital marketing and has led several companies and clients to achieve success. His work redefines what it means to be a people-person, putting everyone's best interests from individual team members to each client account at the forefront.

In this episode of the podcast, he and Stanley get into some incredibly useful advice. Advice that you can begin implementing today to optimize your landscape companies business and improve how well search engine optimized its ranking is on google. But that's not all. Andy takes it a step further and gets into the deets on what landscape companies should be posting on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms to stay ahead of the ever-changing algorithms. Ultimately, ensuring your work is consistently showcased in the visibility or home page feed, driving new leads, and capturing more work. Catch the episode and then head on over to his website https://creativelydisruptive.com and begin learning at his small business marketing academy.

Love Your Numbers - Commonly Asked Questions with Mike Lysecki Nov 13, 2020

At first, building a landscape business is mostly a creative process. You are coming up with solutions or services to problems or inconveniences for customers attracted to render your companies services. You take on work, start generating revenue, build a customer list, and soon before you know it, you have yourself a business.

But as business advances, your time becomes limited, and many of the more subtle but just as essential details become more critical in your success. In this episode of the podcast, Stanley Genadek hosts Chief Technical Officer Mike Lysecki. Mike is in charge of all software developments at LMN, but before that, he spearheaded the operations team of a multi-million dollar landscape company. His latest development is field labor reports. An algorithm that runs the numbers and instantly shows you a breakdown of your most profitable work. So, now you don't have to take on every job. You know where is the best bang for the buck.

Mike's many years of experience in landscaping shines through as Stanley asks some tough questions and what becomes apparent is how important it is to love and understand your numbers. It's not just about mastering your operations, but genuinely understanding them to make informed decisions becomes evident if you want to grow or be profitable in landscaping. Happy listening!

Short Story: The Truth About Seasonal Business, Managing Cashflow, and Retaining Employees in Landscaping Nov 06, 2020

Catering to some of Muskoka's finest waterfront properties has not been the easiest road to success. In-fact, relatively seasonal work, remote projects that are often on islands, and a small rural population of people to attract, recruit and retain employees make Kevin's business one of the more unique in the green industry. The vast majority of their landscape projects are centered on Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau, and Lake Joseph, and if you live in that area, they've probably worked on your lake property too.

Experienced crews operate together in their specialty areas such as hardscape and stone installation, gardens and planting, lighting and irrigation, property maintenance, and caretaking. And their clients appreciate the complete landscape experience they offer from the first conceptual drawing to the first sunset in your Muskoka chair.
13 years later, in the landscaping business, and Muskoka Landscapers owns the lion share of work within the Muskoka area and is in a position to work with select customers who appreciate the company's attention to detail and quality craftsmanship at every level.

Throughout this episode, Stanley Genadek pokes and prods Kevin to share some of his experiences in operating what is mostly a seasonal business, how he manages his cashflow, and retains his employees. They also get into the details and processes in how Muskoka Landscapers have grown and managed their growth since 2007.

The Secrets To Become An Administrative Genius - How to Streamline Your Landscape Company Oct 30, 2020

Since 1952, Impullitti Landscaping, Inc. has built a reputation on quality and innovation within the landscape industry. Wayne Impullitti, president, is the third generation of his family to head one of North America's most successful and largest landscape companies and has hand-selected the right team members to help grow and control their growth. One of those key staff members is Sherry Watts, who has been with Impulliti for over 20 years and is the Administrative Director. In this episode of the Landscape Disruptors Podcast, Sherry shares her expertise on administration creativity and the organizational skills required to manage a company, and insight on operations and how they have streamlined their company processes over the years.

Marketing Strategies to Attract and Recruit Employees in Landscaping Oct 23, 2020

Joseph Stark from Ground Works Land Design left the Whiskey industry as a professional marketer to implement new and innovative strategies as a green industry professional working for a highly successful landscape company. In this podcast episode, we dive deep into marketing strategies to attract and recruit new staff while also attracting new customers by managing multiple channels to improve their company's online visibility.

Experiential Learning - How Arron Witt Built a Multi-Million Dollar Marketing Construction Agency Oct 16, 2020

Aaron Witt from BuildWitt built a multi-million dollar marketing construction agency at the age of 25. In this episode of the podcast, he talks us through how following his passion for construction and learning trial by fire and recalibrating along the way has led him to establish a niche business. Mastering marketing, branding, employee recruitment, and business specificity has served Aaron Witt well.

Status of The Landscape Industry in 2020 Oct 09, 2020

LMN CEO Mark Bradley and Stanley Genadek review the industry's wins and losses in 2020 and how the design-build and residential maintenance took a surprising leap forward despite the unforeseen pandemic. However, on the commercial side of things, there are still many unknowns, and as we head into 2021, Mark and Stanley provide some predictions and advice on how to move forward and prepare.

Advice From A Serial Entrepreneur - Work Hard, and Hold Yourself Accountable Oct 02, 2020

Eric Jones, aka the Turf Teacher, talks us through the truth about working in the green industry and how working hard early on plays an inherent role in your success, and why business owners are always accountable.

Maintenance To Design - Finding Your Niche to Improve Margins Sep 25, 2020

Michael Garcia describes how Soares Landscaping transitioned from landscape maintenance work to design-build and focused on repeatable and standardized custom projects to eliminate inconsistency and improve profit margins.

Age Is Just A Number - Advice From A Young Landscape Entrepreneur Sep 18, 2020

What age did you start your first business? Garrett Williams from G & M Outdoors Services began building his landscape company while he was in high school. Garrett takes us through what it looks like to juggle school and business and how taking the time to develop his company slowly and adequately has led to long term sustainability, growth, and profitability.

Rethinking Generations - How to Use Generational Theory to Build a Better Workplace Sep 11, 2020

Boomer, Gen x, Millennial, Gen Z - What generation do you fall in? Benji Carlson breaks down the stereotypes and discusses generational theory as it applies to business management in the skilled trades, and strategies to overcome hiring, engaging, and working with millennials in a productive way.

When The Going Gets Tough In Landscaping, The Tough Get Going Sep 04, 2020

Shawn Spencer from Spencers Lawn Care shares his story of hitting rock bottom, what he learned along the way and how he saved his family from the brink of bankruptcy to become well known and successful lawn care providers within the industry.

Couples That Work Together In Landscaping - What You Need To Know Aug 28, 2020

Caleb and Brittany Auman not only work together in landscaping but also own and operate Auman Landscaping LLC. They open up and share strategies and advice for other couples that may work together and the do's and don'ts when starting in business.

A Winners Mindset In Landscaping Aug 21, 2020

B&B Lawn Care is quickly growing their customer list and the services offered, but it's not been without its bumps along the way. Blake Albertson, the owner of the company, shares advice on how a winners mindset has been his guiding light in finding success and being able to perform on the bad and the good days.

Positioning Your Landscape Company For Success and Attracting The Customer You Want Aug 14, 2020

Keith Kalfas talks about positioning your landscape company uniquely and competitively and aligning your marketing and pricing structure to attract the customer you want and need.

How To Upsell Services In Landscaping And Be More Profitable Aug 07, 2020

Expand horizontally or grow vertically? Brian Fullerton, from Brian's Lawn Maintenance, talks about how he grew his landscape company vertically by upselling his current customers on new services instead of increasing horizontally and spreading himself too thin without any more profit.

How To Build An Elite Landscape Company And Set Yourself Up For Success Aug 07, 2020

LMN CEO Mark Bradley shares his trials and tribulations learned through growing his landscape company. From systemization, company culture, leadership, and utilizing a continuous improvement methodology to create an elite level landscape company. Here's what performance on demand looks like!

Open Book Management - How It Can Benefit Your Landscape Company Aug 07, 2020

Ryan Markewhich from Creative Roots Landscaping talks all things open-book management and shares his experiences in how it’s transformed his company into a company of owners where all employees profit share, ultimately improving employee productivity and retention.

Increase Your Company’s Footprint - Marketing And Local SEO In The Landscape and Snow Industry Aug 07, 2020

Lisa Buyer and LMN CEO Mark Bradley talk all things related to marketing and local SEO in the landscape business. They define the vaguely used term marketing and dive deep on how to maximize your company’s footprint and lead generation using local SEO and marketing techniques.

The Secret To Success In Hardscaping Aug 07, 2020

Doing great work and hardscape production is a tiny part of the success equation. Josh Jones from Mass Hardscaping talks about how knowing your numbers and budgeting is nearly a zero fail strategy in business and will ensure profitability as long as you lead with your numbers.

Advice From A Landscape Business Expert Aug 07, 2020

Jeffrey Scott operates the largest peer to peer group and is arguably one of the most successful business consultants in the landscape industry. He's helped countless companies and owners build incredibly successful businesses. Jeffrey shares advice on the sweet spot, trends in the landscape industry, and answers one of the toughest questions ever - does budget lead strategy, or does strategy lead budget?

Buy vs. Lease. vs. Rent - The Great Equipment Debate Aug 07, 2020

Should you buy, lease, or rent your equipment? We ask Kevin Forestell who owns a rental company called DOZR and his answers might surprise you.

Building Company Culture within Your Snow Removal Company Aug 07, 2020

Troy Clogg from Troy Clog and Associates is one of the largest and most successful snow removal providers in North America. Troy shares his journey in how he got there and created a company culture like none other.

Scaling Your Landscape Company - What You Need To Know! Aug 07, 2020

Should you grow your company or pump the brakes? Steve Wheatcroft built a wildly successful landscape and equipment business and filled us in on all the pain points and experiences along the way. From scaling, dealing with complex decisions, understanding the comfort zone, and so much more.

The True Lifecycle Cost of Lawn Equipment Aug 07, 2020

Ed Wright, The CEO of Wright Mowers, breaks down the true lifecycle cost of carrying equipment and what considerations you should make in great detail before your next landscape equipment purchase.

Revenue Per Man Hour - What You Need To Know! Aug 07, 2020

Aquascape is a landscape company specializing in pond installs and is on track to clear 60 million in revenue in 2020. Greg Wittstock, the owner, and CEO of Aquascape Academy shares how a systematized business mindset significantly improves revenue per man-hour and the consistency in landscape production.

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