Nature's Framework for Landscaping Business Success

Paul Jamison sits down with guest Naylor Taliaferro as they explore the fundamental principles separating thriving, profitable landscaping businesses from those that are stressed, broke, and stuck in the weeds, offering practical strategies for building sustainable success and reclaiming your time as a business owner. 🎟️ LCR Summit: https://www.lcrmedianetwork.com/ 🎟️ Equip Expo 👉 Save 50% off Equip Expo Ticket w/ Promo Code PAUL: Register Here https://go.equipexposition.com/promocode-paul 📚 Level Up Your Money (New Release) 👉 Get Your Paperback Copy! https://pauljamison.org/book 🎧 Level Up Your Money (Audiobook) 👉 Listen on Audible https://pauljamison.org/audiobook 📲 Connect with Paul - Visit Official Website https://www.thepauljamison.com/ 🛠️ Paul's Recommended Tools & Professionals Try the CRM Jobber - Click Here https://pauljamison.org/Jobber 📞 CallRail – Track where your leads are coming from: callrail.com https://partners.callrail.com/cc4gs529efdp 📚 The Landscaping Bookkeeper – Know your numbers, stress less: thelandscapingbookkeeper.com https://thelandscapingbookkeeper.com/ The Lawn Care Bootcamp - Click Here https://pauljamison.org/bootcamp 📈 Lawn Care Launch: Click Here https://thelandscapingbookkeeper.com/lawn-care-launch (new program for business owners) 🌐 Footbridge Media – Get a pro lawn care website: footbridgemedia.com https://www.footbridgemedia.com/paul-jamison?ref=pauljamison 📦 Business-Building Resources by Paul Price Increase Letter Template https://www.thepauljamison.com/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2150230978 Contract Templates https://www.thepauljamison.com/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2150230978 📚 Paul's Most Popular Business Books How to Build a Thriving Lawn Care Business: Buy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4K835L4 Cut That Grass and Make That Cash: Buy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SP7MQ13

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Motive. Growing a landscaping company means more trucks, more trailers and more equipment and more revenue doesn't always mean more profit. Motive gives you one platform to see where your vehicles and equipment are, cut idle time and fuel waste and protect your crews with AI dash cams. Motive customers report 20% annual savings on maintenance and fuel. See what it could do for your business at gomotive.com. Again, that's gomotive.com.

• 0:31Speaker 01

  Hello and welcome to the Green Industry Podcast, your go-to guide for building a more profitable and thriving lawn care and landscaping business. Your host, Paul Jameson, is the author of five bestselling books, including Cut That Grass and Make That Cash and his latest, Level Up Your Money, all available on Amazon and Audible. Now get ready for more expert insights and practical strategies to boost your business and level up your life. Here's Paul Jamison.

• 1:06Speaker 00

  Today on the podcast, I am introducing my friend, Naylor Taliaferro. And we're going to talk about why some landscaping business owners are broke as a joke. They're stressed out. And then you have other guys who are making all this profit. They have work-life balance. They're healthy. They're smiling. Their bank account's fat. Their wife's happy. Their kids are happy. There's a stark difference in the industry. So that's what we're going to talk about today and how you can really buy back your time as a business owner. Without further ado, welcome back to the show, Naylor Taliaferro.

• 1:39Speaker 02

  Thank you, Paul. Thanks for having me. I always enjoy our conversations, our laughs off air and on air. So I'm looking forward to it.

• 1:47Speaker 00

  Cool. Well, how are you doing up there in Virginia today?

• 1:52Speaker 02

  I'm doing great. It's, uh, it's starting to get a little bit cooler mornings. So that's good. It's not hot all day, but it definitely still gets hot. And this is kind of like one of those like fake outs, you know, it's still summer, but it's like, ooh, it's like a little fall, a fall brisk morning, and then it's just going to get blistering hot again for another several weeks before it starts to gradually go into fall. And I know that's like that a lot of places, but definitely here in central Virginia, for sure. It's all over the place, but I'm, I'm enjoying, enjoying the weather and enjoying getting ready for the fall and just serving everyone in my life, my family, professional, personal, at the highest level that I can.

• 2:29Speaker 00

  Well, can you explain, I know we talked about this off air, the two different types of landscaping business owners, the one that's stressed out and has no time and everyone's getting their leftovers instead of the best of them versus, you know, someone like Jonathan Petoshnik, who's running a very, you know, very successful business, great marriage, you know, enjoying life. Why don't you explain that to us?

• 2:55Speaker 02

  Yeah. Well, something I've discovered over the last decade that I've been in business, like for my, for myself, as well as my network that I've grown over that decade. So between personal experience and all the conversations I've had, all the networking, I've noticed that there are two different types of landscape or business, landscape business owners. There's the ones over here that are struggling and have their head down, stuck in the weeds, literally, and they, they, they're wondering why this business is, is not how they want it to be. They're questioning if it's even a business that they want to continue. It's not how they designed it. It's not what they were hoping for. And they don't really know how to get out of those, out of the weeds and stuck in the weeds. And they just feel like maybe it's, it's time to give up or they just keep grinding it out

• 3:40Speaker 02

  and hope that something's going to change when they don't change anything for, to, for anything to change. And then on the, on the other side, you've got the, which is a smaller group, the land, the landscape business owners that are crushing it. You know, they're, they're the ones that have figured it out through trial and error, through networking with peers and mentors, getting in the right rooms, right? Just all different ways of getting knowledge, of course, listening to podcasts and watching social media and just book, audio books, reading books, just all the ways of consuming knowledge and getting around the right people for the right information so that you can grow fast. I mean, my friend of ours, both of ours, Charles Nelson with Stepping Stone Landscaping,

• 4:23Speaker 02

  perfect example. We just had our shop tour here in Virginia with my Inner Circle Coaching Group. We were just there last Friday and I was even shaking my head how like, man, Charles, you've come so far in such a short amount of time. Like he literally, he literally like increases, you know, a million dollars every year. He's about to hit three million this year. And it's like, from like last year to this year, it's, it's like, it's almost like he doubled in size, but I mean, he didn't, but it's just like, you know, he went from two million to three million. And every year, just another massive step. And he just, he has 30 something employees. He's got multiple members. He's got six members of leadership. One of my Inner Circle members was like, I don't understand how, how he has six people in, on his team.

• 5:08Speaker 02

  That's got to be expensive. And he, and, and he's like, I have, I have two. It's like me and my wife, you know, and that's it. And I'm like, okay. And you're going to hit a million? He's like, yeah. I'm like, okay. So let's do the math. Two, four, six. He's doing three million, right? And he's like, oh yeah, that makes sense. I'm like, it's all relative. As you scale, everything scales with it. Yeah, of course it's a bigger expense, but he's doing three times the revenue as you. So he needs three times the leadership in the office, you know, to, and in the field to maintain all that. But my point is Charles used to be reluctant. He used to be on the other, in the other group where he had his head down, stuck in the weeds and he wanted to grow. And he was slowing his growth because he wasn't getting in the, every year I'm like, go to equip, go to equip. It's like, yeah, I don't know. I'm too busy or whatever.

• 5:54Speaker 02

  He just always had excuses of going to equip. He never went to equip expo and back then. And he, he didn't, you know, he wasn't really a big fan of like, and spending money on things. He's very, very, very frugal, uh, you know, we'll say, and, and he would just cut all, every corner and save every penny he could. And it was really slowing down his growth. And now he realized, and then after he would finally invest in a CRM or invest in an in-person live event or a coaching group, all those different things that he would be reluctant to do. As soon as he did it, he's like, oh my gosh, why didn't I do this sooner? I could have gotten where I am faster and enjoyed it longer. And I'm like, Charles, I need to get you on the podcast so we can help really get that perspective

• 6:37Speaker 02

  because he's, he's on the other side now and he can still, he's still close enough to that journey, that transformation where he can relate to everyone that's stuck in the weeds, thinking that they have to cut every corner and they don't understand, they don't know how they can afford this or that, how they're going to have time to go here or there. And it's until you do it that you actually get to it. So, you know, you, you can't just hope for the best. You can't just outwork it. You have to actually make a change, make it happen. So Charles is one of many examples and he's in the few, he's in the 19%. You know, we've talked about this, you and I as well, you know, that there's 81% of the industry is essentially stuck in the weeds, right? They're the solo owner operators.

• 7:18Speaker 02

  Maybe they got some 1099 employees that they shouldn't be having subcontractors if they're their actual employees, you know, and, and, uh, and maybe paying under the table cash, like all these things. They might have employees, but they're smaller businesses, you know, under a million dollars. They're, they're, they're really not, they're not living up to their full potential, you know, and, and then maybe not everyone wants to in that group, but there are a lot of people that do, a lot of business owners that want to grow and they want to scale at some level, or they just want to be more profitable and have more time in their schedule and their life and not feel like they just have the least paying job, like the lowest paying job that works them the most. They want to actually have a business that they can maybe step away from a little bit

• 8:01Speaker 02

  and have some freedom to enjoy their life. And it's only on the other side, the landscape business owners that understand that and figured out how to do that, that they're actually making that happen. And, and that's a small percentage, unfortunately.

• 8:16Speaker 00

  Yeah. Well, to break on you a little bit, Naylor, because you used a wonderful example of our friend, Charles Nelson from Stepping Stones, but I'm watching you go to, um, the, wherever SBMO when is Kansas or wherever he is in the world. And then you go to Texas to visit, you know, our mutual, one of our mutual friends. And then you go, I forget where the other trip was.

• 8:40Speaker 00

  You went somewhere else and then you're going up to Indiana whenever they get power or whatnot.

• 8:45Speaker 02

  I went to Arizona for.

• 8:47Speaker 00

  Oh yeah. You went to Arizona. So you were telling me this off air and I was like, I gotta go get an IV. Just listen to this story. Like, cause I, I mean, for me to travel, honestly, like equip is my, my big week at, you know, LCR Summit and equip. Like I planned this all year. Like I got, I planned the whole trip. It's like, takes me a whole year to get my emotions and body and everything ready for this trip. And here you are running and gunning to, to Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Indiana. Oh yeah. Me and my wife are going to the beach for the week. Like, and I'm just like, what in the world? So my question is, how did you pull this off to where, you know, clean cut lawn care is running and your customers aren't calling, yelling at you

• 9:30Speaker 00

  while you're traveling the world? How do you do this?

• 9:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, of course, my situation is a little more unique than the average landscape business owner, but the principles still are the same. And number one is priorities. You have to define your priorities. So what are your priorities? Are your priorities to just be stuck in the mud and just grinding it out? Or do you want to actually do some other things in your, in your life and your business? Maybe your business is keeping you away from the things you want to do in your life. You started this business so that you could have a better life and maybe it's you feel dragged down by your business and not having the best life. So you really have to figure out what your priorities are first. Like, what is your why? You know, is it your family? Well, then your business shouldn't be taking that from you. Your business should be supporting you and your family and your

• 10:18Speaker 02

  priorities, right? So, and if you don't have a family and you're young and your priority is your business to grow that, scale it as fast as possible, then that's your priority. And you probably can't travel. And, you know, there are certain things that you have to say no to. But so, but number one is priorities. Set your priorities. And then number two, set boundaries, right, around those priorities. So like, if your priorities are your health, if your priorities are your family, priorities growing your business, whatever it is, or all the above, then you have to create boundaries around those priorities. So you know how far you can and can't go. I think I've said this, we said this on air once before, that a good example to visualize, you know, you're, it's you and two other neighbors on one

• 11:01Speaker 02

  on either side of you. And if none of you have a fence, one of you might not clearly know where your boundaries are, where your property line is, because the boundaries are not set. So you might not utilize your full backyard, or you might use too much. You might be in your neighbor's backyard, or your neighbor might be in your backyard. But when you put a fence line up, then the boundaries are clearly defined, and everyone knows exactly where their boundary is. And now they can, there's freedom within those boundaries. Instead of feeling maybe potentially restricted and hesitant, not sure what you can and can't do, and how far you can go. So you have to create boundaries around those priorities, so that you have freedom within those boundaries to focus on those priorities.

• 11:43Speaker 02

  So those are the two main principles that anyone can, can establish and follow. But the other thing that I kind of, that I really structure everything around is nature's framework. And there's one thing that I have discovered, nature has a framework, you know, there's, it's called seasons, four seasons. And something that nature doesn't do is hustle and grind 24/7, 365 days a year. Like, it's not, that's not a thing. It's, there are seasons of hustle and grind. Like, for example, spring is a season of hustle, and fall is a season of hustle. But summer and winter are not. And something that I, that I, I don't know if

• 12:23Speaker 02

  you've noticed this, Paul, but it's never winter and summer at the exact same time, at the exact same place. But there's never winter and summer at the same time. So if it's, if it's summer here right now, it's winter, I mean, it's winter somewhere else. Like, it's not, it's, it's not, there's, it's never summer, summer and winter are opposites, is what I'm trying to say. So like, it's summer here, on the other side of the planet, it's winter, because nature needs to conserve its hustle. It can't hustle all over the entire world, right? It can't, it can't, it can't take a break all over the entire world at the same time. And it can't hustle and burn itself out all, and have be in summer mode

• 13:07Speaker 02

  all summer long. So if nature has seasons and changes its energy output, then why, why, why don't we? Like, why do we as humans try to work around that, or through that, push through that? Like, there's got to be hustle and hustle and grind breaks. You know, we can't hustle and grind our entire life. There has to be a season. So that's, that's another thing that when you can tie that back to your priorities and your boundaries. So for me, you, Paul, thought that I was doing a lot, and I was doing a lot, but it was in, it was in one season.

• 13:40Speaker 00

  That's right.

• 13:41Speaker 02

  It's not like I was doing that my, the whole year. That was just that one timeframe that I stacked everything up. Okay, I'm going to be traveling back to back to back. Then I went on vacation with my family to Virginia Beach.

• 13:50Speaker 00

  Right.

• 13:50Speaker 02

  You forgot about that.

• 13:51Speaker 00

  No, I mentioned, yeah, I mentioned that in the low front down.

• 13:55Speaker 02

  Yeah. So all these things, but it was all in like, one chunk, one grouping, instead of it being spread out all throughout the year. And, you know, of course, some things are still going to pop up throughout the year. But I structured it, I created that boundary, like, okay, this is a timeframe that I can do all these different things that I want to do that are part of my priorities. And I set the boundaries of times and when and how long and how is this all going to fit, and so on. And the last part of that, that will tie into anyone else, if they're wanting to go to a Equip Expo, for example, or they want to go anywhere, or they just want to take some time off to rest and relax with their family in the summer, instead of just waiting till the winter, when it's not always the best time to, like, it's not the best weather all the time to take a break.

• 14:37Speaker 02

  If it's cold and full of snow, you have to travel somewhere to get to the heat, where in the summer, it's warm, and you could just go in your backyard, or go to the pool or something, and, and enjoy the weather and take some time away from work. But a lot of folks, they're not sure how they can do that. Like, how can I take time off from work? I, I'm working all the time, I'm working all the weekends. And there's a lot of conversations for other days of, to go deeper into that, on how we can get through that, and prioritize our time and everything else. But ultimately, there are ways to still get your work done while you're not working, even if you're solo owner operator, or just communicating to your, your current customers, you know, whatever, however many you have, that you're

• 15:22Speaker 02

  not going to be working during that small timeframe, or a few days that you're at a Quip, or the whole week that you're at a Quip, or you have taken a four day weekend, you know, I'm not going to be available on Friday and Monday, or whatever it is, you know, or you can, if you, like myself, I got to know Charles, I've had other businesses at back in the day. At one point, I had, there's another owner operator that I knew, like, probably eight years ago, I had a crew, but I was going on vacation with my family, and I asked him if he would, would be interested in this idea. Would you want to essentially be the crew leader for me? Right? You use my, my crew, my, yeah, you use my crew, but you go take care of my yards. So it's not like he had to do it all by himself. And he

• 16:07Speaker 02

  actually liked that idea, because it gave him a perspective on what it would be like to have employees. So it gave him an opportunity to be a quote unquote, crew leader, you know, that to, as he wanted to scale up, and my lawns were taken care of. And I knew they'd be taken care of well, because my employees already knew how to take care of it. They just get someone to drive the truck, pick them up, that sort of stuff. And, you know, they weren't at that leadership point. So, so that was an option. Of course, I paid, you know, I paid this, this gentleman, essentially, to be a crew leader and so on. And the same thing with Charles, he, his team has taken care of my properties before in the past, if I was going to be away for a week, and I didn't want to not, you know, I didn't want my customers to not be served for that whole week, if it was a busy time of the

• 16:51Speaker 02

  year. But there are plenty of times during the year, especially in the fall, where you could just take some time, not schedule work, not schedule projects, tell your, your lawns, you know, cut them a little bit shorter the week before, and say, hey, we're, I'm going, I'm going to be out of town next week at a conference for the industry to help me become a better business for, to serve you better, and provide better services for you, you know, make it about them. And, and every time I used to do that, everyone would, either customers would say nothing, the ones that said something would say, oh, that sounds awesome. I can't wait to hear all about it. And then literally, when I came back, those same people would ask me, how was it? And I'd have a whole conversation with them. One time I bought a new mower, and guys, they, did you see that at Quip? I bet you

• 17:34Speaker 02

  saw that there. You came back, bought that mower. So like, you know, when you have these relationships with these customers, it really helps make that a lot easier for you. And usually, it's us, the owners, that are implanting these ideas in our own minds that make us hesitant to do things. We're the ones speaking and think, and thinking for our customers. Oh, they're never gonna, they're never gonna pay this much. Oh, they're never gonna be okay with me taking a few days off. Oh, this, all that. But you didn't even ask. You didn't even, you didn't even give a shot, you know, and see, most of the time, they're perfectly fine with it, as long as you do it the right way, you communicate it properly, and you just make it right. You don't just leave them hanging.

• 18:13Speaker 00

  Good news.

• 18:16Speaker 00

  We have, can you hear me, Naylor?

• 18:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 18:19Speaker 00

  We have figured out how to get the live stream on to my regular Instagram account, real Paul Jamison over there. So our last few episodes, there was a technical difficulty. That's been resolved and we have some questions coming in from Instagram. So I want Naylor to answer these from Urban Green Lawn Care. He says, "Help me understand Equip Expo." You want to tackle that one, Naylor?

• 18:44Speaker 02

  I would love to. Well, Equip Expo is the largest trade show in our industry. But above and beyond that, because there's a lot of trade shows in our industry and just saying it's the biggest one might actually scare some people, you know, make people a little anxious about it because, you know, 30,000 people, it sounds intimidating if you're not someone that's used to being around a lot of people. But here's the thing, the networking possibilities at Equip Expo are so much more plentiful and because of the online community that we've really embraced Equip Expo over the last decade and made it more of a community-based, I mean, the show itself has

• 19:25Speaker 02

  worked with you, with Paul, myself, and so many other content creators that have businesses to create these type of networking opportunities because of how important and impactful it is. And not every trade show, in fact, most trade shows don't, don't, don't do that, let alone have that kind of a presence that, of course, they try and I've been to some and there's a couple that I've been a part of to help them grow that part of their, of their show. But ultimately, Equip Expo is the number one place to go to meet like-minded landscape business professionals of all types, all sizes, solo, multiple crews, multimillion dollars, everyone's willing to share,

• 20:08Speaker 02

  everyone's willing to learn, all over Louisville, Kentucky, from the Expo to downtown Louisville, you know, to just go into a restaurant, go and walk around downtown, just all the different opportunities that you have to really network. I mean, of course, there's great equipment there. Every trade show has, has, has booths, has, you know, an exposition hall with booths and everything. Equip Expo has outdoor booths, which also sets it apart from any other trade show. It has the largest outdoor demo area. So you can demo everything from, you know, a loader, you can push dirt, you can dig in the dirt, you can ride mowers around in the dirt, slash grass.

• 20:51Speaker 02

  And, you know, there's chainsaws and string trimmers and bolt blowers and aerators and spreaders and sprayers, like anything and everything, arborist ladders that you can go all the way to the top, like essentially every major category in the green industry. They even have an arborist section where they've got a big tree up in the one of the halls and, you know, they've got arborists there showing you how to properly tie down and climb and cut and all these things, like drone training, like how to fly drones over your properties and, you know, areas that are hard to get to. So you can survey it and there's so much and Equip grows every year based on the demand and the needs of our industry. Like, hey, we want drones. Boom,

• 21:34Speaker 02

  they got it. Hey, we want to learn more about trees. Let's put a tree up. Boom. Like all these things to really grow our industry. So regardless of what you are into and what your, what your business is structured like, it is a great opportunity to network with like-minded individuals such as myself, Paul, so many others. I've met so many lifelong friends at Equip Expo for the first time. Sometimes I knew them online and I met them in person for the first time. Sometimes I just completely met them, a complete stranger, and maybe they knew me from social media or they didn't. We just bumped into each other and just had a conversation and then we kept in touch. And it helps you feel not alone. That's the whole point. It's, it's, it's a lonely, a lonely

• 22:17Speaker 02

  road here sometimes when you're out here grinding it out, especially in the, in the heat of the summer. And it's good to know that someone else has your back and you're not alone.

• 22:25Speaker 00

  That's so good. Well, piggyback off of Equip Expo, which is obviously coming up October 20th through 23rd in Louisville, Kentucky. You have an event in the same city, Louisville, at the Galt House on October 19th through 20th. Can you share with us a little bit more about what you got going on with LCR Summit Louisville?

• 22:49Speaker 02

  Yeah. So over the, over the years, being a part of that networking and seeing how impactful it was for everyone around me and myself as well, how it helped me personally and professionally. I really, and there, there wasn't really much other than big trade shows as far as like networking events, educational events. I mean, every, you know, there's companies out there, you know, CRMs and so on, that had their, their different types of conferences, but there wasn't like a real community base. Like we had a lot of spinoff networking events that we, that we still have that keep popping up and growing at Equip Expo where above and beyond the show, we can get together somewhere and, you know, have a drink, have something to eat, fellowship,

• 23:34Speaker 02

  play games, different things of that nature, listen to good music. And I just wanted to add more value to the community that has done so much for me and, and hopefully I can do my part and then bringing that, bringing value back in return. And the LCR Summit is a two-day learning and networking event where you can learn how to earn on your own terms. And you spend two days, I talked about in the beginning of this episode, you spend two days with the 19%, you know, and the 81%, but you have the 19%, the Charles Nelsons, right, of literally, he's going to be, he's been there for years. After I finally got him to go to Equip Expo and he's like, why, man, why didn't I go this sooner, right? He just had nothing but excuses. He was

• 24:16Speaker 02

  too busy and all these things. But now he goes every year, it's, can't wait to sign up as soon as it's, as soon as everything's ready to sign up, he signs up immediately. So he's going to be there. Many other of the 19%, some of my inner circle coaching group that are in the 19%, they're going to be there, meaning those are the, those are the guys and girls that are crushing it in their business. They're growing, they're scaling, they're getting more efficient. And then there's the attendees that are wanting to learn from them so that they can either be more efficient in their current business, business or grow their business to a closer size to what they are. Maybe you want to get to a million dollars or more, or maybe you just want to make sure you're actually making the money that you need to make in, in your actual business that you, that you're

• 24:57Speaker 02

  at currently. And there's a lot of different efficiencies there that you can clean up. So it's two days of spending with the people that want to give back and the people that want to learn and the combination of the two. And there's going to be lots of different speakers there, you, Paul Jamison, myself, John Payjack, Eric Triplet, Jason Creo, who's really, he's scaled his business up multiple times, sold it multiple times, and now he's really happy, has the sweet spot, solo, Fert and Squirt Company. So he's going to have a good conversation there because not everyone needs to grow their business to a million dollars or more, right? Like you got to do what is, what, what makes you happy and what your definition of success looks like. You could be a solo owner operator and be happy and successful, right? Tony Rudolph, good friend

• 25:41Speaker 02

  of ours, right? He, he's, he's solo and he's been crushing it, you know, debt-free, has a family, everyone's happy, he's, he's living the dream, serves his high-end customers. I mean, everyone, there's ways to do it. And I just, I just mentioned a way, you know, high-end customers, right? So you don't have to have as many low-end customers. If you can find a smaller group of high-end customers and have complete full lawn maintenance and beyond and serve them at the highest level. Now you're not working spread so thin for so many people. You have smaller amount of people. So all those type of people are going to be at the LCR Summit because all those business owners, because that's what it's all about. It's about networking, learning, growing, sharing, and focusing on all the different aspects of your business so that

• 26:25Speaker 02

  you can really come away with a plan in hand and, and not only just feel motivated, but have action steps so that you can put them into plates. The next, is, some people do it literally while they're there in the actual, you know, at the LCR Summit, they're literally sending emails or changing stuff on their social media so they can attract the right customers and so on. And, you know, but if, if not that in the middle of the day, you could do it the next day and just start crushing it and then end the year strong and then start the next year stronger.

• 26:54Speaker 00

  Yeah. I'm really honored that you invited me to, to speak. I'm in my little lane of social media and I, I think I was looking on Facebook that shows you how many real reels views you got. And I think mine said 340 million views on reels, which I was just like, that's crazy. That's a big number, you know, a lot of people watching my videos. But how do you actually make money with posting, you know, on social media? How does that turn into?

• 27:26Speaker 00

  You know, making money. So that's going to be the topic that I'm going to tackle is creating content that actually attracts paid customers. And so anyway, I'm really excited to be sharing what I've been learning about social media. And how you can convert that into money. And then I'll be, you know, looking forward to listening and learning from the other people I learned. Last year from Eric Triplet on some sales tactics, he said some things like, don't do this. And I was like, that's exactly what I do, you know? And so, you know, he, he's really good at teaching sales. Of course, Payjack nerds out with the calculator and crunching numbers on how to know the numbers. So there's a lot to learn from John about dialing in our numbers.

• 28:09Speaker 00

  And Jason Creel, you know, has always got, he just, he just doesn't try to be funny, but he's funny. Like he's just, he's just so clever with those little zingers and one liners and he's, he's very funny, but I'm, I'm very adamant to emphasize what you did. That there are paths like Johnny Mo, like Tony Rudolph, like Jason Curl, who are just solo operators who have a very profitable business. And they have extra margin to spend with their wives, children's community, things of that nature. So, um, you know, he'll be able to share his perspective and then your special guest speakers, of course, Cornell Mac is going to be

• 28:52Speaker 00

  EMC in the event and he's high energy and he, he does a really good job. Now I'm curious with the VIP dinner, is that already sold out or is there any tickets left for that? That's always one of my favorite parts of the LCR summit, or is that already sold out?

• 29:08Speaker 02

  As of the time of this recording, there's actually a few seats left because they, they actually opened up a few extras. So I, we've gone to the same place, the barrel room. It's, it's, it's been a hit every year.

• 29:19Speaker 00

  Oh, yeah.

• 29:19Speaker 02

  Once the same place for multiple years now, and they're always kind of squeezing in some, some extra folks sometimes for me at the last minute there. So this year they were like, well, you know, we can see this many. And I'm like thinking to myself, how, how do you do, how are you doing that? You know, I'm just making sure. But so, uh, so I, I upped the amount of tickets because there's actually a few more seats than last year. So basically there's a few seats left. So get, get them while you can. But essentially what that is, is it's an upgrade from the regular experience. So that on Monday night, right? The, it's Monday, Tuesday. So on Monday night you can have a, like, one of the most VIP type dinners you can ever, I mean, we get escorted to our private elevator, go upstairs to our own private room.

• 30:04Speaker 02

  We have our own servers and bartender and everything else. And they wine and dine us at the highest level and the food is absolutely amazing. I remember the, the first year there, we, the first year we were there, I had like a tomahawk steak, like full tomahawk steak for the table. You know, it was like an appetizer and Stan was like, you, these are appetizers? I'm freaking out. And now every year they're like, would you like to order tomahawk steak, steak appetizers again this year? I'm like, no, I don't know about this year, but there's plenty of other amazing, you know, they get the thick cut bacon, all the food is amazing. But the conversation is even more amazing because, because it's with all of the speakers and other, think about this, like,

• 30:47Speaker 02

  Paul, you and I have been to an event that changed our lives a couple of years ago on multiple ways. And I didn't realize that I was quote unquote, like forcing you. So I thought I was encouraging you, you know, to, to get the highest level ticket, you know, the platinum level ticket for this event. But that put us in rooms that we wouldn't have had access to that, that allowed us to, to be in the platinum only breakfast rooms, right? And lunch rooms. So we were sitting at tables with only platinum people that bought those tickets. So the conversations and the experience and the networking is at the highest level possible. So that's the whole point of the VIP dinners. Not only do you get to hang out with the speakers and, and quote unquote, pick their brains,

• 31:31Speaker 02

  but you also get to sit with the higher caliber, you know, the Charles Nelson's gone every year. He bought the VIP dinner every year, right? That's one of many examples, you know, now he's up to $3 million. Like those are people that you might want to rub shoulders with and get to know a little bit. And I know another friend of ours, Erica Crouppen, she has befriended Charles and she has, because she went to the VIP dinners and she got to know Charles some more. They talked a whole lot and Charles has helped her so much in her business. And, you know, they talk every now and again, you know, outside of that too. So there's just, the connections are priceless. So the VIP dinner is not just to have a great steak, amazing steak dinner with thick cut bacon and salmon,

• 32:13Speaker 02

  whatever your thing is, but it's to also network and have amazing conversations with high level people, the speakers and the VIP ticket holders. Because it's not just anyone that's going to buy those tickets.

• 32:28Speaker 01

  Lawn care and landscaping pros, listen up. If you're tired of guessing your way through pricing, marketing, hiring and sales, this is your wake up call. The LCR summit hits downtown Louisville, October 19th and 20th at the Galt House. The same week is equipped and it's going to change the way you run your business forever. This is not another sit and listen event. It's two full days of hands-on workshops from leaders who've actually built what you're trying to build. Naylor Talia Faro shows you how to generate better leads through smarter marketing. Paul Jamison teaches content that converts. John Payjack breaks down your numbers so you'll stop working for cheap.

• 33:08Speaker 01

  Eric Triplet, the pond digger reveals how he built a multimillion dollar business, making more money with less work. Plus you'll have a surprise guest speaker. Add in live Q and A panels, powerful networking, and an exclusive VIP dinner with all the speakers when you purchase at the platinum level. Grab tickets and info at lcr summit.com or just tap the link in the podcast description. That's lcr summit.com. Stop guessing, start growing, build the business you've always imagined at the LCR summit.

• 33:43Speaker 00

  Your lawn care business deserves to be seen. Footbridge Media crafts optimized, mobile-ready websites to put you ahead. These guys are great. That's why they have so many five-star reviews. They're simply the best. To get started with Footbridge Media and have them create you a banger of a website, visit today's show notes. Click on that link and let Footbridge Media transform your online presence. I highly recommend going. It's a, it's a great dinner and dessert, the whole thing. I just, I go buck wild because it's, they bring you so much food and it's like family style, like the mashed taters and everything, you know, I'm like, keep, keep them coming.

• 34:23Speaker 00

  You know, I just, I ate so much last year. It was, it was amazing. And then I had dessert.

• 34:29Speaker 02

  With Myron and he's going to be like, who are you? Who is this?

• 34:33Speaker 00

  You're like, oh. No, well, my, the guy I go golfing with Myron went on vacation to Mexico and he gained a bunch of weight while he was gone. So when he comes back, I was like, how was it? He's like, the food was great. And I was like, I said, I can tell.

• 34:51Speaker 00

  Oh man. Well, that's all right. Cause I'm, I'm like preparing now, like I, I already know I'm going to, I'm going to enjoy the thick cut bacon. And Naylor's like, he was explaining this to me the very first time he had it at this, this restaurant place. He's like, yeah, well, you know, I, I had this bacon and it was thick cut. And I'm thinking I, you know, I go to our grocery store. Our grocery store down here in Florida is, is called a Publix. So I get thick cut bacon. So I'm thinking, well, yeah, you know, I, I have, I'm thinking to myself like Naylor, I eat thick cut bacon all the time. You know what I mean? And so I'm like, what's the big deal about this? And, um, it's, it's thick cut bacon.

• 35:32Speaker 00

  It's, it's not like anything I've ever had. It's so good. The mashed potatoes are good. The steak, I get steak. It's good.

• 35:39Speaker 02

  It was so good. Payjack punched me after he had a bite of that thick cut bacon. You, both of you thought I was exaggerating. I took you out to breakfast and like, all right, we gotta get the thick cut bacon.

• 35:48Speaker 00

  It, it lived up to the hype and more, but like you said, the, the networking, when you get around people like that, I mean, that's how I met Ryan Cabrera, who opened up all these other doors for me because the event we went to, we got platinum and I was going to get the general admission ticket. Like I, it was so bizarre because I remember I was like on the website. I had almost gotten it. And then you had texted me something about like platinum. Which, and I was like, oh, man. And then we did it. And because we're in

• 36:17Speaker 00

  there's three times the price and I was so far outside of my comfort zone. But like when I look back, it was such a great decision on so many levels. So.

• 36:27Speaker 02

  That's a good reflection point, Paul. That's the exact same thing Charles was saying to me, how when he looks back on those decisions that he finally made, or just took a chance, took a leap of faith, and it changed. It changed his life or progressed his business to the next level. And he thought to himself, man, imagine if I didn't do that. Or like, it took me so long before I did that in some cases, you know, but your life, your life would be literally completely different. I mean, I might have still followed similar paths that I did from, from my end with coaching and everything, but your, your life would have been completely different.

• 37:02Speaker 00

  Completely different. I, I may still be living in Atlanta. I, I, I may not have launched my golf journey and, and people get to see me golfing with all these cool people, but it all, it all goes back to us randomly. We say randomly, but like sitting next to Ryan, we didn't even know who Ryan and Ashley were. We just sat down at lunch.

• 37:21Speaker 02

  Down next to us. We, we, we, that's the thing too. We like sat down at a table, like, let's pick a different table, different people. Every, every time I was like, let's pick a different table.

• 37:29Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:29Speaker 02

  And we sat down and Ryan's like, hey, is this, are these seats taken? They are now, you know?

• 37:34Speaker 00

  Yeah. And then And then I basically told Ryan, I was like, yeah, I'm considering, I'm kicking the idea around of moving to Florida. And he, he was like, yeah, come on down. And he's like, I, I can get you connected. And, and we exchanged phone numbers. And I thought, I, I, in back of my mind, I thought he was talking a big game. He's like, oh, yeah. He's like me and my other boys. Like, yeah, come on down. I'll get you, you know, I'll get you connected and plugged in in his studio. And like, I was thinking like, he's talking like a big game, you know what I mean? But I was like, I don't know. But he gave me his number. I moved down to Florida. I called him. I was like, hey, Ryan, hey, Paul. He's like, yeah, let me text you address. Come on by. And then I met all these cool people and like, all because of that. Like, we were in the room, we're at the table. And it was just.

• 38:19Speaker 02

  And he, he had a podcast set up too. So that was, that was authentic too. So that should have told you, okay. And Dan Shands came over and, you know, he, he knew all the people. So definitely, Ryan definitely has those connections. So.

• 38:31Speaker 00

  Yeah. Um, Urban Green Lawn Care asked what I did in Atlanta. So I started my first lawn business in Atlanta in 2011. And I grew that, grew that, grew that. And then I started my podcast, The Green Industry Podcast in 2018, where I started teaching people how to grow their lawn care business. And then, um, long story short, around 2020, I, I had to kind of make a decision because it was getting hard serving thousands of people with the podcast and serving like my 50 lawn care customers. And it's like something had to give. And so I went more of the route of creating content and being a business consultant and helping other people

• 39:12Speaker 00

  with their lawn care business. So I switched gears around 2020 to, to focus more on serving the community at, at a larger scale of, of, of, you know, serving the lawn care landscape industry. Rather than just serving my, you know, my little

• 39:30Speaker 00

  neck of the wood customers in, in, um,

• 39:34Speaker 00

  suburb of Atlanta. So yeah, I, I used to, I used to cut that grass and make that cash in Atlanta for 10 years, literally. I didn't, I didn't have delegation like Jonathan Petoshnik. I was the crew. I, I was the guy who weeded, I mowed, I trimmed the bushes. I, I did it all, me, for 10 years. And it was, it was quite the learning, learning experience. So.

• 39:56Speaker 00

  Now I sit in an air conditioning room with this microphone and I like it. So for the LCR Summit, you were running a special where if people use my promo code PAUL, they got 50% off their ticket. Is that still activated?

• 40:12Speaker 02

  It is still activated, Paul. Yes. So make sure everyone capitalizes on that. So you can save 50%. That's on the standard ticket. That's on the VIP ticket.

• 40:21Speaker 00

  Okay. I can't help you there other than encourage you to get the VIP ticket. So you can have.

• 40:26Speaker 02

  And do is you can use 50% off the regular ticket. And I put in, I, I put an add-on for the VIP. So you can, you can add on the VIP part, you know, so you're, you're paying the extra for the VIP, but you're saving on the standard ticket. So you could do that. There, there's a little bit of a workaround there that I created for, uh, an attendee that has been going multiple years and said, hey, is there something you can do about this? Cause I'm bringing my wife and, you know, I'm just trying to figure this all out. I'm like, you know what? This is what I'll do. Just add on the VIP to your, to your normal ticket and you'll be good to go. So. You heard it here first, giving you, giving you my own workaround.

• 41:06Speaker 00

  There you go.

• 41:07Speaker 02

  Active. So you might as well. Just trying to help everybody out.

• 41:10Speaker 00

  Yeah. Was there anything we're, we're leaving out here that, that needs addressed?

• 41:16Speaker 02

  No, I think we're good. I mean, I was checking the live to see if there's any more questions that I could answer too, while you were answering. But I didn't see any new ones pop up, but, because I'm, I'm all, I'm all about giving everyone the opportunity to ask their.

• 41:28Speaker 00

  Yeah. If you guys have any questions real quick on Facebook, I can see on my, my end, YouTube comments, Facebook comments and Instagram comments. So if anybody else has another question for Naylor, you can get that in here.

• 41:41Speaker 02

  I mean, shout out to Zach a long time ago when we started, you know, at 601, he said, see y'all down in Louisville. Keep up the great content. So appreciate you, Zach. He's, he's always, he's always on it. Yeah. I saw you popped it up earlier, but I didn't get, I was in deep in, in conversation. So I didn't, didn't get to shout him out. So Zach is definitely a friend of the community for sure. He's always leaving positive comments and sharing. It reminds me of you back in the day, Paul, you know? So maybe Zach will be the next big content creator one of these days. You never know, but he's always very encouraging and following along and on all, all of your lives. I don't really do a whole lot of lives, but he pops on mine as well. So can't wait to see you in Louisville, Zach.

• 42:19Speaker 00

  Yeah. I, I bumped into him on Fourth Street a couple of years ago. I was walking down. Appreciate him always resharing our content.

• 42:29Speaker 00

  And all of that. A quick question I have for you. You filmed with SB Mowing. Did that video come out yet? Or is it coming out? I, I got confused. I've been keeping an eye out for it and I hadn't seen it yet.

• 42:39Speaker 02

  Yeah. Confused? What do you mean? Like the, like the date when it was?

• 42:42Speaker 00

  Yeah. I keep thinking it's coming out and then I'm not seeing it and, and giving up my hopes.

• 42:47Speaker 02

  It was supposed to come out last Friday, but he asked if we could push it back to this Friday.

• 42:51Speaker 00

  Okay. That's what it was.

• 42:52Speaker 02

  Yeah. So I just texted him today. I was like, we're still good for this Friday? He's like, yep. Cause you know, it's a whole big thing. We're both, we, we both have, like, I did a whole behind the scenes video. And all kinds of stuff. And it was a wild, wild experience on so many levels. Uh, but you know, he's got a, he's setting up a GoFundMe link. Another, that's another clue. So he's setting up a GoFundMe link. Um, so he's going to send me that. So I can put it in my, uh, episode description. So we're, we're, both of our videos are dropping at, well, nine AM Central time, something like that. I just, just, just stay tuned Friday morning. I care. Cause he's Central time and I'm Eastern time.

• 43:35Speaker 02

  We'll figure it out. I'll go back to my notes, what he said and make sure we, we upload them at the exact same time so that everyone can watch them both and go back and forth. And, uh, it's, it's, it's going to be a good time. But currently what just went out, what has been out since Sunday, I also saw Top Notch Lawn Care as well when I was up there. So I made a video with him as well. Uh, similar, similar vibe, just totally different experience. Like we went to see one of his properties in progress. I didn't actually, we didn't actually do the work like SB Mowing. I spent a day and a half with SB Mowing. Like I was his rookie employee, just literally doing all the same stuff he was doing and recording it all, just like he was. It was, it was wild experience

• 44:14Speaker 02

  and exhausting, but he's like almost half my age. So that I'm like, dude, I gotta take a couple more breaks. I'm sorry, man. It is what it is. But Top Notch's video is out and it's, it's a really good video, really good, um, perspective and behind the scenes of what it's like to mow tall grass, overgrown grass, overgrown properties, really help people and neighbors out, the community out that are in a bind. You know, they, they, for multiple reasons. Uh, that's the same thing SB Mowing does. Uh, they just have different ways of doing it. So yeah, Top Notch Lawn Care, he's an OG of the community. You know, he had all of the vlog videos back in the day and then he pivoted to the overgrown properties and he's been crushing it doing that too. So we had a good time hanging out. And that video is popping off. So you guys can check that out on my YouTube channel as well.

• 44:59Speaker 00

  Cool. Well, thanks so much.

• 45:01Speaker 02

  My YouTube channel is, uh, you could just type in Lawn Care Rookie and, and you should pop up, LCR. So same thing with my podcast, LCR Media Podcast.

• 45:13Speaker 00

  Love it. Well, in summary, uh, you can join us October 19th through 20th at the Galt House, LCR Summit Louisville. My friend Jason Carroll will be speaking, uh, John Payjack, Eric Triplett, the Pond Digger, Naylor, Cornell Mack, EMC in the event. We have some special guests going to be there. We got some Q and A action going on. The VIP dinner and you can save 50% off your ticket with the promo code PAUL. And then why not stay the rest of the week for the Equip Expo then, um, starting Tuesday evening at Churchill Downs. And that goes on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. In Louisville, I booked my flight. I'm all set, um, to attend both, uh, LCR Summit Louisville, speak there, eat some fat bacon.

• 45:59Speaker 00

  And steak, mashed taters, mashed taters.

• 46:04Speaker 00

  I love it. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna enjoy and even the dessert. I'm gonna just

• 46:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:09Speaker 00

  Enjoy. Yeah. And I don't do that all the time. Obviously, I would.

• 46:14Speaker 02

  You gotta treat yourself sooner or later.

• 46:16Speaker 00

  And enjoy it. Yeah.

• 46:17Speaker 02

  Hustle and grind all the time. You have to, you have, there's gotta be a payoff there. You gotta be able to reward yourself for all the hard work. In a healthy way, right?

• 46:24Speaker 00

  Right. So healthy.

• 46:28Speaker 00

  I know.

• 46:29Speaker 02

  You could be eating a lot worse. Eating steak and potatoes and everything like that. It's, it's, it's not, it's not good for you, but it's not like you're eating a bunch of Doritos and.

• 46:38Speaker 00

  Yeah, no, no, no. It's, it's, it's good. It's good food, but I, I feel.

• 46:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, a lot of calories.

• 46:45Speaker 00

  But the point is, yeah, to enjoy all this work we do all year, to get to go out and enjoy a night of laughter and fun. I really look forward to your VIP dinner and we laugh quite, quite well at those. So.

• 47:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, I will say too, I didn't say this earlier, Equip Expo is literally the most transformational week in our industry out of the year. Like I, I, we've called it the Superbowl of our industry. It is, it is everything and then some. So it's definitely. When people go for the first time, they never not go anytime. Like it's just a rinse and repeat every year. Some people like, I don't know, I don't know. And they kind of oh, hum it or whatever, you know, and kick the can down the street, as you say, Paul, but they, uh, when they eventually go, they, they, they don't want to not go ever again because it's that transformational. And then you just look forward to it every year.

• 47:37Speaker 00

  I'm glad you're more rested. Last, last time Naylor tried that line, he's like, I kicked the street down the can. And I was like, Naylor, it's time to go get some rest, my man. Those dog days of summer. But yeah, you, you, you're like, yeah, you sometimes you gotta kick the street down the can. And I was like, all right. Go get some rest, get some water, hug your wife. But you got it right today. Kick the can down, kick the can down the road. But yeah, you're right. Like, um, Mitchell Gordy, for example, he goes every single year. You and I, we go every single year, even Mr. Producer now. He went for the first year and now he's like, hey, where are you staying? Like he's, he goes every year now. My friend, this is, my friend, Dr. Frank isn't even in

• 48:18Speaker 00

  the industry. Uh, and he was, uh, we were talking on the phone a couple of weeks ago and he's like, hey, when's that event again? And he's like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna come. He's like, but I ain't staying at the Red Roof Inn this time. He, he stayed at the.

• 48:30Speaker 02

  He stayed at the Red.

• 48:31Speaker 00

  At the famous Red Roof Inn. At the famous Red Roof Inn.

• 48:36Speaker 02

  Famous for, for a good reason. He's like, oh, but you told me to stay there, Paul. You said it was famous.

• 48:42Speaker 02

  But it's infamous, not famous.

• 48:44Speaker 00

  Yeah. Well, we were joking because I didn't realize he had stayed there. I was like, you really stayed at the Red Roof Inn? He's like, oh, it was a dump. And he's like, I ain't staying there this year. And, uh, but he's the, like, he had so much fun. He's a health coach, uh, where he teaches people how to get rid of their belly fat and have longevity and, and, um, I, I think Jonathan Patoshnik would love if he ever met Frank, like they would go, they would go crazy talking to each other about, um,

• 49:09Speaker 02

  Business.

• 49:10Speaker 00

  Vitochondria and optimal health and all this stuff. Anyway, my friend, Dr. Frank, isn't even a redneck landscaper. He's about the exact opposite of that. But he caught the vision of like, how much fun we have. And he literally, literally told me, he's like, hey, I'm planning on coming. Like I'm, I'm working out my schedule so I can be there. Like, that's just a testament to our community that someone who's outside the community wants to come be a part of it. So pretty cool stuff.

• 49:34Speaker 02

  Sure. For sure.

• 49:36Speaker 00

  So, all right, Naylor, I'll, I'll let you get, get at it. But, um, LCR Summit, guys, I can't encourage you enough to, to join us for the fun at the Galt House, October 19th through 20th, year 2026 in good old Louisville, Kentucky.

• 49:49Speaker 02

  LCR summit.com.

• 49:52Speaker 00

  There you go. All righty, let me end the, um, the Instagram

• 49:58Speaker 00

  right here.

• 50:01Speaker 00

  End on that.

• 50:04Speaker 00

  And then the Stream Yard.

• 50:08Speaker 00

  We're ended on that. And we're still going on the audio podcast, as you always say, I gotta, sometimes I forget to hit stop on that and things get kind of crazy. So let me hit stop on that before this, the producer lets something.

• 50:40Speaker 01

  Hey, it's Marty, producer of the Green Industry Podcast. This episode is over, but check the episode notes for links to products and services that you heard about during the episode. And thanks for listening.