Premium Pricing and Retaining Top Talent in Landscaping

Recorded live at Equip Expo, this episode explores the non-negotiables of running a highly profitable landscaping business, from confidently charging premium prices to creating a supportive culture that attracts and retains top talent. 🎟️ 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 Jameson.

• 1:05Speaker 00

  Welcome back to the Green Industry Podcast. Today, we are going to hear from Jeremy from J Jacobs. I interviewed him at the Morning Show at the Equip Expo. He has a lawn care landscaping business in Illinois, and he is just a wholesome fella who is inspiring as a business leader and also as a person. So if you don't know what the Morning Show is, once a year, we do a live podcast from room B103 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Equip Expo. And each year, it's so much fun. There's so much energy in the room, hundreds and hundreds of other lawn care and landscaping pros gather together bright and early at 8:00 a.m. on the Thursday of Equip, and we just go up on stage and podcast and have

• 1:49Speaker 00

  a lot of fun, eat some donuts, bananas, coffee, and whatnot. So this year at the Morning Show, I'm going to be interviewing John Pejack, really looking forward to that. Naylor Talia Pharoah is going to be interviewing Eric Triplett, the Pond Digger, and Caleb and Brittany Allman are going to be doing their podcast from room B103 as well. So let's go ahead and remember this classic with Jeremy from J Jacobs from Louisville, Kentucky at the Equip Expo. Enjoy.

• 2:20Speaker 00

  Excellent broadcasting coming to Louisville, Kentucky again. There you go. Our special guest today from Illinois, J Jacobs, Jeremy Jacobs. What's up, Jeremy?

• 2:29Speaker 02

  Morning, guys. Good to be with you all.

• 2:31Speaker 00

  And we have our co-host here today from beautiful Fairfield County, Ohio, Caleb Allman.

• 2:37Speaker 02

  What's up, everybody?

• 2:38Speaker 00

  And from Virginia, Midlothian, Virginia, Naylor Talia Pharoah.

• 2:43Speaker 02

  There you go.

• 2:44Speaker 00

  Suburb of Richmond. So lots of thank yous to give out before we get started today. We're going to talk about premium pricing and how to actually attract good employees and then keep them with Jeremy. Before we get started, I want to first say thank you to Naylor. He pioneered this event years ago. We were upstairs on Friday morning, standing room only, and Naylor, watching you, what you do for our community. I just want to say thank you for continuing to do everything you do for our community.

• 3:15Speaker 02

  Thank you, Paul. I appreciate it.

• 3:17Speaker 00

  Yeah. And you're having a party tonight?

• 3:20Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. The rally at the Yum Center tonight. We're going to have a blast. 6:00 p.m.

• 3:24Speaker 00

  Yeah, it's free 99. It's completely free. You guys are invited to join us tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the KFC Yum Center. It's upstairs. Also, we want to say thank you to Kohler Engines. I'm not sure if Craig and Jamie are around, but thank you to Kohler for sponsoring this event year after year. We appreciate their partnership. And thank you to Evan. Where are you at, Evan? There he is. Evan in the back. He has a spirit of excellence. If you're going to do something, in my opinion, do it well. And Evan, from the good donuts to the good coffee to the to the room, thank you, Evan. Am I leaving any thank yous out?

• 4:02Speaker 02

  I think you covered it, man. Thank you.

• 4:04Speaker 00

  Oh, we got two more. Thank you to Mr. Producer. He's back in the Appalachian Mountains. He's never come to an event before, but we have some breaking news. He's going to come to the first event in our history in January. I don't know how you pulled it off, Naylor, but that check must have been fat.

• 4:21Speaker 02

  It's just all about building the network. My network is my net worth. So I asked Mr. Producer if he'd come to the LCR Summit and help you teach a master class on podcasting in Atlanta, Georgia. So check it out, LCRsummit.com. Shameless plug. Thanks, Paul.

• 4:35Speaker 00

  Hey, you're welcome, Naylor. So if you guys ever wanted to meet my producer, he's going to be at an event for the first time ever in January. And last but not least, I want to thank our live studio audience. If you guys are listening to this podcast, we have hundreds, I'm not exaggerating, in my hundreds of people here, 9:00 a.m. So we have, I want to give some beanies out. Who came here from my home state of Ohio? Let's hear it up.

• 5:01Speaker 00

  Paradise. Who else is from Ohio? Come get your beanie. It's cold, so you need your beanies here. I'm going to put that right there for you, sir. Anyone else from Ohio? OH. There you go. All right. Who else is here? I feel like Oprah. You get a car. You get a car. We're two over here, but all right, that's enough on Ohio. Who's here from Kentucky, the home state? All right. You want a beanie? I'm going to run out of beanies here. All right. So yesterday, I met somebody from Poland and Ireland. Do you know where Poland is, Caleb?

• 5:36Speaker 00

  It's by Denmark. They can't hear you.

• 5:38Speaker 02

  Is Shane in Norbert here? Shane in Norbert, are you here?

• 5:41Speaker 00

  All right. So is anybody here from Europe? Oh, we got one back. Come on up.

• 5:46Speaker 02

  Yo.

• 5:46Speaker 00

  Anybody who is here from outside the country, not Canada, Mike Pless, come on up.

• 5:52Speaker 02

  Sorry, Canada. Jeez.

• 5:54Speaker 00

  John, get the microphone. I want to hear where these folks are from. So come on up. Come on up. Don't be shy. Come on on the stage. This is great.

• 6:02Speaker 02

  So awesome.

• 6:03Speaker 00

  Pejack, where are you going? Oh, yeah. Where are you from? Come on on the stage. We have international people here. This is absolutely crazy. Come on up. Join the Green Industry Podcast. Come on, John. Where are you from?

• 6:15Speaker 03

  I'm from Slovenia.

• 6:16Speaker 00

  Slovenia. Where's that?

• 6:19Speaker 03

  We border Italy and the Balkans.

• 6:22Speaker 00

  Awesome. Is it cold there?

• 6:24Speaker 03

  Sorry?

• 6:24Speaker 00

  Is it cold there?

• 6:25Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 6:25Speaker 00

  All right. You get a beanie.

• 6:26Speaker 03

  Thank you.

• 6:27Speaker 00

  Thanks for coming. Where are you from?

• 6:29Speaker 04

  Ireland.

• 6:30Speaker 00

  I met you yesterday. Is it cold in Ireland?

• 6:33Speaker 04

  It's pretty cold.

• 6:34Speaker 00

  We're out of beanies. Does anybody have cash?

• 6:39Speaker 00

  We got to give them something. I only got fives and tens. There you go. I'm sorry. Where are you from? From Ireland. Oh, this is great. Thanks very much. Look, I got ones, fives and tens. If anybody's got a big.

• 6:54Speaker 02

  Norbert and Shane.

• 6:55Speaker 05

  Hungary.

• 6:56Speaker 00

  Where?

• 6:57Speaker 05

  Hungary.

• 6:59Speaker 00

  All right. Hungary. That's fine. I'll look up. I got to raise my prices, man. I don't even have a 20. I don't have anything else to give you guys. Where are you from? New Zealand. New Zealand. Let's go. This is crazy. I met you yesterday. Poland. That is absolutely amazing. That's, oh, let's get a picture here. This is pretty cool.

• 7:18Speaker 02

  Go ahead.

• 7:19Speaker 00

  We have an international audience on the Green Industry Podcast. All right. Thank you, guys. Can we give them a goodies giveaway bag or something? That's later. All right. Thank you, guys. Once upon a time, we were swinging $100 bills when lawn care juggernaut was here. So, well, thank you, guys, for coming. I wish I had. I wish I had more to give. And last but not least, the Equip Expo bought 300 of the books, The Lawn Care Advantage. This is a gift for you guys from Equip. So thank you to Evan and the team for getting those books. Feel free to take those.

• 7:57Speaker 05

  We're going to auction this thing off. Lot number 25 on The Lawn Care Advantage. You give me 25, 25, now 25. Would you give me 25 now? 30, 30, now 30. Would you give me 30? Hey, 35, we'll bid 30. Would you give me 35 now? 30. Sold. $35. Put them on buyer number 15. Thank you, sir.

• 8:13Speaker 00

  There you go.

• 8:15Speaker 05

  That's my icebreaker for the morning.

• 8:17Speaker 00

  Mr. Horning, you win. That's your second year in a row. Thank you. All right. That was fun. I've never had an international audience on my podcast. Well, yeah, we're an auctioneer. Jeremy, what are some non-negotiables for you in building your business? Non-negotiables. So I do think I didn't put.

• 8:42Speaker 05

  So yeah, so basically when you start your landscape company, you're always saying yes, yes, I'll do that. I'll do that. And it probably took me a couple of years to, you know what, say, I need some guidelines to tell me what I, what are some things that are a hard no.

• 8:58Speaker 05

  So get those established early on, especially like your minimums on mowing and be confident in that. But beyond that, some things that are important, I think, are just how you treat your employees. Because when it comes down to it, if you ain't got guys to do the work, you're not going to make it. And so, simple things like being timely with your payroll. It's a non-negotiable. On Monday by 8:00 a.m. or whatever, whenever your pay cycle stops, they need to be paid.

• 9:26Speaker 00

  Why do you pay them on Monday versus Friday?

• 9:28Speaker 05

  So basically, there's, there's times where we work on Saturdays. And I just, in my mind, I think of a, if you look at a calendar, you know, it starts on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. So that's how our payroll goes. It goes two weeks from that first Sunday to that second Saturday. And so, that's how we do it. Monday morning by 8 o'clock, everybody should have that direct deposit heading their way. That's one of them. The other thing is, like, I, I would never have my employee do something that I am not willing to do. That could be a physical thing, that could be going up to the door and talking to somebody. I'm never going to put my employee in a situation that I wouldn't do myself. And even in real time,

• 10:11Speaker 05

  there's times where I'm out, and I can kind of tell, maybe they don't, don't want to do the task that I asked them to do. And, you know, I don't like criticize them or anything, but I'm like, you know what, I'll help you out. Let's do this together. Because I can just tell, maybe their morals has kind of dipped a little bit. And it can be a real boost to grab, grab the string trimmer, the edge, or be like, you know what, you hop on the mower for the next 45 minutes, I'm going to knock out the string trimming. So, little things like that. And then personally, I think it's important that we have hard stops in our own, in our own personal life. For myself, I'll just give you an example. So I'm married, I've got five kids, and we're actually expecting number six in February.

• 10:57Speaker 05

  And we've been in business a while. I started in 2009. And probably in the last year, it really hit me. My oldest daughter just turned 15. And it's not that cool to be with mom and dad anymore. It's not that cool to, to do the thing she once did when she was a little girl. And you, you have a limited amount of time to be a, a positive influence on them. And to see it, where she's starting to make her own decisions. So anyway, my point is, put your family first. There, there is a time, early stages in business, where you've got to be out there. You miss supper, you miss some family things, it's going to happen.

• 11:40Speaker 05

  But as soon as you can, get those priorities switched around, because these are things that you cannot replace with money. Nobody, you're not going to go on your deathbed and be like, man, I just really wish I would have spent more time at work. It's not going to happen that way. So, there was something that happened this summer that really brought it home. We, Exmark, in, in growing up, Exmark mowers, we used them as a kid. And about three years ago, they reached out to me to be a partner with them. And it was such a privilege to work with Exmark. And anyway, this spring, they invited me to Beatrice, Nebraska for a tour. Paul was going to be there, Brian was going to be there, Jason

• 12:23Speaker 05

  Creel, Keith. And to me, like, these are like, big names. And I really, really wanted to go. So I'm like, you know what, count me in. I'd love to come. I put it on my calendar on my phone. And about three weeks later, me and Kelsey, or my wife, were talking about our vacation plans for the summer. And we, we got on Airbnb, and we, we started shopping around. And anyway, we planned this trip to North Carolina, booked our places. And it took us like, a whole Saturday afternoon. And my wife's really picky about the places we stay at and stuff. It is just kind of a hassle. But anyway, we had the whole trip planned, booked our places. And that night, I just happened to look on my phone, and it

• 13:03Speaker 05

  fell right during the time period of the Exmark thing. And I'm like, oh, dude, I cannot miss the, miss the Exmark thing. And this is my, passion is landscaping and mowing, and it's such a privilege to be with Exmark and whatnot. But then, like, I'm thinking, okay, do I put my wife then, second? And my, I mean, she, we spent a ton of time, and it's, it's stressful trying to plan all that. And so I didn't know what to do. But I, I just, the next morning, I just felt like, I got to put my family first. And I, and I texted the great people over there at Exmark and said, hey, sorry, I double booked. And they totally understood. But it was a very, it was a tough decision for me. And I think

• 13:43Speaker 05

  everybody can relate to that. But I don't have any regrets. Exmark is so gracious. And, but it's just little things like that, that once in a while come up, that you really need to know where your priorities are.

• 13:57Speaker 00

  That's so good. So how do you prosper financially in your business, and prosper with your wife and children, and have success in both?

• 14:07Speaker 05

  Yeah. I mean, prospering in business, oh, boy. I feel like Caleb alluded to it earlier. Business is a math equation. If you want to make money, figure out what that is, and do the math backwards to figure out how much you have to make a day, and save a day, or whatever, to get to where you're going. It's like, one thing for me personally is, a few years back, I had a herniated disc in my back, and went to the doctor, and he's like, you know what, Jeremy, you really need to gain some strength in your upper body. You're using your back for everything. And I weighed like, 135 pounds, 140, and I could

• 14:51Speaker 05

  not gain weight. But he told me, he's like, you need to, you need to gain, you need to gain some upper body strength and put on some, put on some weight. So, I figured out how many calories I need to take in. I figured out an exercise routine, and I worked towards it. And lo and behold, after six months, I put on like, 20 pounds. And the, so if, my point is, create and figure out your problem, put a number out there, work the math backwards, and follow a program to get there. Same thing personally, if you're, if you're having struggles, like saving up, or getting a retirement plan, earlier that you can get those things put in place with automatic withdrawals out of your checking. I was taught that as a, as

• 15:35Speaker 05

  a, as a high schooler, and every month, $400 went into a retirement thing or something. And after a long time, that stuff really compounds. So, just being disciplined in those areas.

• 15:46Speaker 00

  Absolutely. If you guys have any questions, John is right up there. We'll be happy to get some of your questions on the program. Go ahead.

• 15:55Speaker 05

  We got one here.

• 15:57Speaker 00

  You're supposed to vet them. Is it a good question, John?

• 16:00Speaker 02

  Good morning. Yeah, quick, quick question. What one thing would you, that you did, that you, you know, you say, I really don't want to do this ever again. And, you know, what, what would that be? What would you teach all of us that, that you did that said, wow, this was really, really dumb?

• 16:23Speaker 05

  Sure. I think we have to be really, really careful with how we criticize our employees. If we, if we do, we don't criticize our employees. And I feel like, there's maybe been times where it's so easy to find the things they did wrong throughout the day. If you send a text, it's usually because they missed something, or a customer complained about something. But how many times do we actually encourage them? My wife reminds me, you need to be telling how thankful you are, all the time, every day. And there's been times where I've been really quick to correct. And, and they're just out doing, and maybe it's, it's one of those little nuances that I noticed, but you know, the

• 17:07Speaker 05

  other 60% of people won't notice. But I'm, I'm very quick and very ready to pick apart, or show them the areas that they can improve on. And sometimes I can beat them up, I feel like. And so I think that's one thing that I would really caution everyone in, is to give way, way more positive feedback to your employees than negative. They need the negative so that they know which areas to improve in, be real tactful how you do it, so that they, you know, know it's coming from your heart that you really appreciate them. And it's for their betterment.

• 17:45Speaker 02

  I was just going to say, I mean, think about it, positive reinforcement makes you want to do it more. You know, like, negative is, you're going to not want to do it. But if, if you just keep getting negative, negative, negative, then you're just going to completely, like, withdraw and not even know what to do anymore. So the more positive, the more you want to do it. So sometimes you don't even need to give any negative criticism. If you just keep spinning everything in a positive way, you know, like, hey, I really liked how you striped, you know, this yard, you know, last week. Instead of saying, you know, this was a terrible job that you did this week on this yard. And then they think about how, how they, oh, yeah, what about it did you like? And you kind of maybe go into a little bit. And they focus on how you liked them mowing that yard, or striping

• 18:27Speaker 02

  that yard, instead of like, how bad they did that yard. So I think it's just, it's all a mind game. It really is. It's all mental switch. Back to the previous questions on Caleb's, you know, podcast, just like he was saying, we kind of get really caught up as the owners, spoiling our clients. And then we grow, and then our employees are never going to measure up to us, right? Like, we have that mindset. We have to get out of our own way, out of our own head, so that we can allow the team to grow and perform. And like Caleb said, our 120% is, you know, their 100%. And the customers won't even notice a difference if they aren't spoiled by our 120% all the time. And we have to ease that transition.

• 19:08Speaker 00

  Hey, Jack?

• 19:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, we got another great question from Frank.

• 19:13Speaker 02

  This has been great, guys. Thanks so much for this. Jeremy, I know you love the box trucks. And we run trucks and trailers. And I'm just wondering, maybe a good way to transition to the box trucks, any advice you'd have, how to do that?

• 19:28Speaker 05

  Yep. So what he's talking about, we run Azuzu, single axle, straight trucks, and they have the beaver tail, and you can put the mowers on there. You don't have to pull a trailer with that. In my mind, if you are a lawn mowing contractor, and that's kind of your bread and butter, we also do lawn treatments, and those trucks work awesome for that. It is just a no brainer. A lot of our employees are anywhere from the ages of 17 to 24 years old. And you know, they're gonna make, they're gonna make the wrong turns. They're gonna get into parking lots where they got to get out of. They're gonna have to turn around on streets. And trailers are just a huge headache. Even, we have a couple dump trailers, and I've had

• 20:10Speaker 05

  to rewire each of those already one time. And we bought them brand new a few years back. There's just so many risks. Unfortunately, the costs of those trucks have went through the rough in the last three years. Back in 2017, you could get a brand new NPR with a beaver tail setup for like $43,000. Now it's like $73,000. So if you can get into a used one, the older diesels, you're gonna get a lot of life out of those. The newer diesels, I would stay away from, and I would just get the six liter Chevy gas engine. But yeah, for us, they are, they are low maintenance. We bought all of our, all of ours, brand new, like between 2015 and 2018. I'm expected to get about 200,000 miles out of them, which

• 20:55Speaker 05

  is about 20 years, because we put right around 10,000 to 11,000. And I did the math. And at the cost we bought them at, we'll basically be spending, you know, in tires and maintenance, only about $3,000 a year to pay for the cost of the truck and to maintain the truck. I mean, that's peanuts. And so I'm, I'm 100% on board with going with the NPR trucks.

• 21:18Speaker 00

  Thorough answer, Jeremy. Good job. Payjack, last, last question, and I want to, I want to talk to you about pricing and make sure we're, we're above market rates. And then we're going to take a picture. And we got some more giveaways. And we're going to sing a song.

• 21:33Speaker 05

  Okay. Well, just, just hold off on the cash. Okay, I'm getting low on funds here.

• 21:38Speaker 00

  I gotta, I gave away my tip money for the luggage guys. I need to.

• 21:42Speaker 05

  So that's okay. I'll, I'll bill you. But we got a great question from Daniel here. So this question is for you, Paul. So this is your fourth book, if I'm not mistaken, correct? So do you have plans for a fifth book? Or do any of you up there, do any of y'all have a plan for a book or any other thing that may be coming out?

• 22:02Speaker 00

  I'm in the preliminary stages of a fifth book about, about money, like ironically. And we had a great question earlier. Someone asked about investing and things of that nature. So I'm, I'm working on that one right now, but it's in the rough draft stage. So book five, you know, will hopefully be out, I mean, next year or two. So thank you. Go ahead, John.

• 22:26Speaker 05

  No, I was just.

• 22:28Speaker 00

  All right.

• 22:29Speaker 05

  Wait, there's one more question.

• 22:30Speaker 00

  Okay. Last question, and I want to ask you about pricing.

• 22:34Speaker 03

  I have a quick question about pricing. So I'm a younger guy. Some people get confused because they don't think that I own the company. But I just speak for behalf of them. So I like charging my premium prices. But how do I show that I own a legit company with employees and overhead? And I'm not just a kid trying to pay my way through school?

• 22:54Speaker 05

  I mean, it's, there's a lot of social proof. I mean, do you have a website? Do you have Instagram page? Do you drive a truck? Do you wear your uniforms? There's just a few things that you can do real easily to become, come across as a professional business. Or, you know, when they Google you, do they find, find you on Google? I mean, that's where I would start. Just make sure that you're out there and you have that professional image.

• 23:18Speaker 02

  Yeah. So let's dive deeper into premium pricing. How do you do premium work onto charging premium, you know, hopefully above the market rate for what's average in your area?

• 23:31Speaker 05

  So, and, and I haven't heard it from Caleb, but I've heard it from other hardscapers that there's no money in mowing. And they're getting out of it and doing hardscaping, and that's where all the money's at. No, I don't think you've, I don't think I've ever heard on your podcast, but I hear all the time from other people. The problem is, they just didn't know how to price mowing in the first place. There is money there. You just need to go get it. And you need to make sure that you are charging accordingly. So for us, I'll just tell you like a really simple thing in my area, I'm out of central Illinois. But each man on my crew, every day, needs to be grossing the company between $500 and

• 24:13Speaker 05

  $700. Each guy. So if it's a crew of two, they need to do $1,000 worth of mowing every day, minimum. So you just sit down, plan your routes, you know how much you're charging for each yard, and make sure it adds up to $1,000. If it's two man crew, it's, it's not rocket science. And if you do that consistently, you're gonna make money. Now, as far as like becoming that premium on price, I don't, we are on the high end, but I wouldn't say that we are the most expensive in our area. We capitalize on efficiency, and we have an awesome crew. We don't, we, we have things, we do not tolerate downtime. Downtime doesn't

• 24:54Speaker 05

  work for us. But I would say, you know, being consistent, that's some things that I think all of you guys probably do. You show up at the property at the same time every day of the week to mow it. I would say, you know, if you, if you market yourself and brand yourself like the Azuzu trucks, the stripes, those are some things that as a local community, they see us, and that's, they think J Jacobs when they see a cab over Azuzu truck. When they see a lawn that's dark green stripes, they think of J Jacobs. So that branding goes a long ways. And I think keeping that continuity with all your social media and your, your website and stuff like that, it just builds value. The last thing I'll say

• 25:36Speaker 05

  here is, and I know a lot of people look down on this, but if you have time, go to college and learn your plants, learn your shrubs, learn your trees. When I go out on the job site, and the customer walks around, and they're like, do you know what kind of bush this is? I'm like, yeah, that's a lilac, or that's a viburnum, or that's a Mohican. They're like, oh, man, this guy actually knows what he's talking about. And there are so many of you guys out there that don't have a clue about what a maple versus an oak looks like, or maybe you do, and you're guessing. But go out there, spend your winter, or get a night class, or do it yourself online, but learn your plants. There's gonna be a lot of value there, not only for yourself, but that you can share with others.

• 26:16Speaker 00

  Yeah. And to the young man who asked that question, if you show up, and you do a really good job, like that, that's all, when someone wants you to come mow their lawn, they just, they want you to show up, that you're trustworthy, that you do a good job. And if you're doing that, someone who's out working hard, they don't want to worry about their yard, they'll, they'll pay you a fair amount. So I would focus on excellence. Do, do your job well, and, and charge, you know, find out what the market average with the big boys in town are charging, the, the, you know, legit companies, and charge, charge a fair market rate, but make sure you're doing an excellent, excellent job.

• 26:52Speaker 05

  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.

• 27:02Speaker 01

  The LCR Summit hits downtown Louisville, October 19th and 20th at the Galt House. The same week as Equip, 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 Taliaferro 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. 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

• 27:44Speaker 01

  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 LCRsummit.com, or just tap the link in the podcast description. That's LCRsummit.com. Stop guessing. Start growing. Build the business you've always imagined at the LCR Summit.

• 28:08Speaker 00

  Are you serious about leveling up your lawn care business this year? You need to be in Louisville, Kentucky from October 20th through 23rd for the Equip Expo. This is the Super Bowl of our industry, featuring 30 acres of outdoor demos, where you can test the latest gear from every major manufacturer. Don't be the pro who pays $120 at the gate. Go to the link in the show notes right now. Use promo code PAUL at checkout, and you'll save 50% off. That's half off your registration, blocking in your pass for as low as $12.50. Don't wait. Register today at the link in the show notes. Use promo code PAUL. You'll save half off. And I hope to see you soon in good old Louisville, Kentucky.

• 28:51Speaker 05

  So rapid fire, go ahead, Naylor.

• 28:53Speaker 02

  Also, real quick, if you're young out there, remember I said I interviewed someone on the LCR Media Podcast, so check out that episode coming soon. It will answer your questions. But just remember this, he was 13 when he started. He was 15, he hired his first employee to drive the truck for him because he didn't have his license. Now he's 20, making over $4 million a year. He doesn't even go to the dealer to buy trucks anymore because he's tired of the nonsense, like where's your dad? He just buys it all online, avoids the sales team, all that nonsense, goes and picks it up. These are big trucks, big cherry picker trucks. They do tree work and landscaping, full service customers down in Florida. So check out that episode. You'll feel a lot more confident about it.

• 29:33Speaker 00

  Thanks, Brooke. Rapid fire in one sentence. And Robert, could you please put that QR code up on the screen? Rapid fire. If you got, how many people are finding value from today's episode?

• 29:47Speaker 00

  That one guy, that one guy over there is sleeping. Look at this. Over here in the front. Hopefully, hopefully, we can do.

• 29:57Speaker 05

  Disclaimer, he was sleeping during his podcast, not ours.

• 30:00Speaker 00

  We put him to sleep, man. We do have free coffee in the back. But if you guys are finding value of our show, if you could scan that QR code there, get out your phone and scan that QR code. That's the Green Industry Podcast. We do this every single day, Monday through Friday. I'm coming up on 1,100 episodes. So we'd love to give you the knowledge, some motivation for your business, so you can follow the Green Industry Podcast. Rapid fire to conclude, one piece of practical advice to someone just starting out in the landscaping business in one sentence?

• 30:33Speaker 05

  Write your schedule down every day.

• 30:36Speaker 02

  Decide what you're gonna be world class in.

• 30:39Speaker 00

  Network.

• 30:41Speaker 00

  That was less than one sentence. That was really good. All right. Well, our sponsor for today's event is Kohler, and it happens to be Jamie's birthday from Kohler, which is pretty cool. So we're gonna sing her happy birthday in a minute. And I also want to get a group picture, not just with my international friends, but with everyone here. So Naylor, do you want to coordinate us getting a picture? And yeah, well, first we have to let Jamie come up, do the raffle, so we can raffle off all the Kohler giveaways. Woo! Everyone get out your raffle tickets. Thank you to Kohler. Thank you to Jamie. Can we, can we sing happy birthday as she comes up? Go right ahead. You kick us off. I suck at singing. You start us off.

• 31:20Speaker 02

  Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Jamie. Happy birthday to you.

• 31:41Speaker 03

  I'll take this one. I thank you. I do. I thank you. I do. I thank you, everybody. I thank you. I do.

• 31:50Speaker 00

  Nice.

• 31:52Speaker 03

  My mom made us sing that my whole life. If you didn't sing that, you didn't get your gifts. So, um, thank you all very much. Um, I love sponsoring this event. And what I love more is coolest thing for me is I'm just one person, right? And the fact that you all remember me and come and say hello, it means so much to me. I can't even begin to tell you how much it means. Um, I mean, it's not hard. I'm like the only female in the booth, but that's not the point. I had a lady come up to me yesterday, and she asked, are you in charge? And I'm like, why? She's like, you're the only woman. So are you in charge? Um, but anyway, so to that end, uh, thank you all for everything that you do. I love working with these guys. They're outstanding. Um, I love meeting you people. I just, the

• 32:36Speaker 03

  one kid, there's a 12 year old who runs his own business.

• 32:40Speaker 00

  Oh, no, he's 20 now, but he started with 14.

• 32:41Speaker 03

  No, no, no. There's a literally, I met him outside. He's 12.

• 32:44Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 32:44Speaker 03

  And his dad drives him around. He has 15 customers, and his dad brings him here so that he can trial the equipment and decide what it is that he wants next. He's 12. So when I get home, I'm gonna tell my 20 year old son, there are jobs out there. Um, anyway, so we're gonna do, I have four kids, you know, so you gotta find the humor in life. So, um, I am going to give away 12 swag bag items. Uh, this past February, these guys were awesome and helped me with the lawn and landscape society event in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which is where our manufacturing plant is. Um, I'm looking to do that again in 2025. What I want to do is every other year, because you guys have a lot to do in

• 33:26Speaker 03

  February. I've noticed there's a lot of events. Um, so I'll be sending out information on that. So those of you who did make it, um, you know, thank you. It was a fabulous time. It was a lot of fun. It was, we had a three day and a two day conference, lots of discussions, amazing food. If you hang out with me, you will not be hungry. Okay. I love food and I will feed you well. So I'm looking to do that. So what I did is I had a bunch of leftover swag bags from that event. Inside the bags, I think they're over there. Tom, can you go? Or they're over here. Oh God, hello. Hi. So, uh, this is it. Inside we have hats, mugs, all sorts of great stuff. Okay. Do we have the raffle tickets? Does everyone have a raffle ticket? Does everyone have a raffle ticket? Anybody need a ticket? Okay. So I have my

• 34:11Speaker 03

  friends here from Italy. If you don't know, we not only make gas engines, we also make diesel engines. So my boss, uh, Nino is here from Reggio Emilia, Italy, where our diesel plant is. So Nino and Aliche are gonna be walking around with raffle tickets. So hands way high up in the air. Actually, stand up. Stand up if you need a raffle ticket. Stand up tall. I'm gonna show you quick then what's in here while we're waiting. So we have a hat. Ooh. Did you guys see the kid? The one kid that had like 30 hats on his head?

• 34:43Speaker 03

  Um, I have a mug. I have, you know what? I'm gonna start giving these away. I will save six for the rest of you. Okay. I want to kind of move this so we're not behind.

• 34:54Speaker 02

  Also, I want to say this 300 hour oil change kit, my equipment dealer kind of like read something about it like a couple of years ago. And I was like, can you order it? Because I want to use it. And I use this on all my Kohler engine, um, Toro machines. This was even before like I would, you know, we partnered with Kohler. It's just a great, I'd rather change my oil in my mowers, you know, like every couple of months instead of every month. So it saves time, right? Time is money.

• 35:18Speaker 03

  Yes. You do still have to check your oil. So this is Tom Vallow. Tom is-

• 35:22Speaker 02

  Of course. You gotta top it off.

• 35:23Speaker 03

  Yes. You do have to check your oil. Just because it says 300 hours doesn't mean just run it into the ground. You still have to check your oil. Um, so this is Tom Vallow. He's our product manager who handles 300 hour oil. Tom is a very smart guy, and he's retiring in April. He's been with Kohler 26 years. So Tom is going to be retiring. Um, does everyone have their tickets? Do we hand stuff out?

• 35:46Speaker 03

  All right.

• 35:48Speaker 03

  Tom, just quickly, wanna-

• 35:49Speaker 02

  Am I on? I'm on. Good. Thanks. You know, two of our scariest resources are time and, as Paul demonstrated-

• 35:57Speaker 03

  Six.

• 35:57Speaker 02

  Money. Bingo. You're a winner. And Kohler genuine parts can save you time and money. And the 300 hour oil kit that Naylor mentioned is a prime example of that. The kit includes Kohler Pro 10W 50 synthetic oil and an extended life oil filter. And when you pair those together on a Kohler engine, you can triple the oil change interval from 100 hours to 300 hours. So you're can eliminate two out of every three oil changes that you would normally do with conventional products. In the process, save up to 50% of the total annual cost on oil changes while improving uptime and productivity. So we worked with

• 36:41Speaker 02

  Amsoil to formulate a proprietary oil specifically for our engines. And this is very good stuff. It is not a passenger car oil, but it gives you the extended drain interval, great wear protection, protection against thermal breakdown, lower oil consumption than conventional oils, and it's an all season oil. Whether it's the heat of the summer, cold of the winter, one oil does it all. So these kits are also, um, available from Kohler dealers, as Naylor mentioned. And the synthetic oil is perfectly suitable for new engine break in. And it's certainly applicable to any Kohler engine in your fleet. At the next oil change, just add the filter and oil, and you're good to go to realize the benefits of the extended

• 37:26Speaker 02

  oil change interval. So Jamie and I would like to invite you all to come to the Kohler booth and learn more about our products.

• 37:34Speaker 03

  Or just hang out.

• 37:34Speaker 02

  You may not be familiar with our diesel engines. And of course, hopefully you're familiar with our class leading Command Pro electronic fuel injected engines, which start at the turn of a switch, have great throttle response, power, great fuel economy, and are easy to maintain. And last but not least, learn how you can save money and time

• 37:56Speaker 03

  Awesome.

• 37:56Speaker 02

  with Kohler genuine parts.

• 37:58Speaker 03

  All right. Are we good? Do we have the box? Where's the box? Do you have the, do you have the ticket box?

• 38:07Speaker 03

  Thank you. Come on, Craig. Sorry. Craig is in management, so he's a little slow at task orientation. He loves me. Craig loves me.

• 38:18Speaker 00

  Jamie, what did Jeremy teach us?

• 38:20Speaker 03

  What, what?

• 38:21Speaker 00

  About criticizing our employees.

• 38:23Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 38:25Speaker 03

  It is true. Craig does work for me, obviously.

• 38:29Speaker 00

  You're doing great, Craig.

• 38:32Speaker 03

  Craig Magelin, everybody?

• 38:38Speaker 03

  All right. Um, all right. Want to open it up and shake it around? Okay, so I am full of bags. So here we go. You gotta be here to win, right? Stop on by my booths too. Say hello. We actually have a giant booth this year. We have a lounge in the back. If you want to swing by, you want to take a seat, you want to get something to get a water, some snacks, come and see me. Okay. All right. Here we go. First one. Are we

• 39:01Speaker 03

  ready? 380-312-380-312. Anyone? Okay. They don't want to be here. Moving on. 380-037. Ah, coming up, man. You got it? You do it, baby. You do it. Winner winner chicken dinner. Here, you want to, let's wait. Let's make sure. I don't want to, I just, I gotta be

• 39:38Speaker 03

  fair. Okay. All right. I'm gonna, I'm just gonna drop those. Next. All right. 380-146. 146. Ah, there you go. Come on up. Thank you. You know what? I'm just gonna take these off. You're, you guys are doing great. I don't know. I'm a mom. I'm used to holding everything. Okay.

• 40:00Speaker 00

  Congratulations.

• 40:00Speaker 03

  Next. Thank you, darling. 380-097-097. 97. Year of graduated high school. Great year. 097. Okay, moving on. Ah, 380-210-380-210. Right there? Is that you? Here she comes. Scream, shock.

• 40:32Speaker 00

  That's my friend from Ohio.

• 40:33Speaker 03

  Thank you, baby girl.

• 40:35Speaker 00

  All right.

• 40:35Speaker 03

  Just check, double check her for me?

• 40:38Speaker 03

  Come on!

• 40:39Speaker 00

  Congratulations.

• 40:40Speaker 03

  Come on, beautiful. All right. 380-256. 256. Jump loud, jump proud. No 256? All righty.

• 40:57Speaker 03

  380231, 231. Good Lord. Okay, moving on.

• 41:08Speaker 03

  All right, 380264, 264, 264. Oh, for the love of Jesus. Okay, we're just gonna keep going. 113, 380113, 113, uno uno tres. Where? There?

• 41:31Speaker 00

  Hey, come on up!

• 41:32Speaker 03

  Scream!

• 41:34Speaker 00

  Let's go!

• 41:35Speaker 03

  That's for him. You betcha. Next up.

• 41:40Speaker 03

  380295, 295?

• 41:44Speaker 00

  We got somebody. Come on up!

• 41:46Speaker 03

  I heard it. Come on down!

• 41:47Speaker 00

  Come on up!

• 41:48Speaker 03

  There's that one. How many do I have left? Six? One left. One left? One left? Okay. Yeah, these six too. 199, 380199.

• 42:02Speaker 00

  There we go.

• 42:03Speaker 03

  Thank you for that.

• 42:04Speaker 00

  Congratulations.

• 42:05Speaker 03

  Bingo!

• 42:09Speaker 03

  380002, 002.

• 42:18Speaker 00

  Come on up!

• 42:18Speaker 03

  Those all go, baby. Those all go. Nope, those all go.

• 42:24Speaker 03

  I don't want to take them home. I love your shoes. Those are outstanding. Literally. I love them. All right, 359, 359, 359?

• 42:38Speaker 03

  Sorry, I'm throwing these on the stage. All right, sweet. What are we down to? 4053, 053. Right there.

• 42:48Speaker 00

  Congratulations.

• 42:51Speaker 03

  All right. We're down to three. Here we go. 090, 090? Come on down! We're over here, across the state line. Come down. Few more. Feel like I'm miles away. Okay. 084?

• 43:13Speaker 03

  084, 84, 84? I heard it?

• 43:19Speaker 00

  Yeah!

• 43:19Speaker 03

  All right.

• 43:21Speaker 00

  What'd Keith say? Get in where you fit in?

• 43:23Speaker 03

  What's left? Is that the last one now? One more. Oh my gosh, you won! Good job!

• 43:34Speaker 03

  Way to be here early. All right, last one. All right. 380323.

• 43:45Speaker 00

  Yeah!

• 43:47Speaker 03

  All right, sweet. Sorry for making a mess.

• 43:49Speaker 00

  That's all good.

• 43:50Speaker 03

  All right, guys. Thank you so much. Swing by the Kohler booth, say hello. I...

• 43:54Speaker 00

  Let's all come up here real quick for a picture, group picture.

• 43:57Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 43:57Speaker 00

  Hey, hey, here. For the group picture, we can't stay, stand on the stage, so we'll break it. So let's stand in front. You're welcome. Can you stay here some more? Group picture, everybody come up and stand in front. Elijah, this is your cue to get the camera ready in the back. So let's...

• 44:16Speaker 00

  Let's get in in the front.

• 44:24Speaker 00

  Brittany or Elijah? I mean...

• 44:28Speaker 00

  Just somebody. Oh, you're...

• 44:34Speaker 03

  Young guys, maybe you need to kneel on one knee in the front, young guys with good knees?

• 44:39Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:40Speaker 03

  Sorry, I'm loud. Young guys with good knees, maybe want to kneel in the front?

• 44:49Speaker 03

  Good knees and good back.

• 44:50Speaker 00

  Where'd Craig, where'd Craig go?

• 44:52Speaker 03

  Craig Magellan!

• 44:56Speaker 00

  Hiding in the crowd. All right.

• 45:00Speaker 00

  Anybody else want to be in the picture here?

• 45:06Speaker 00

  Between the two speakers, so if you're, you're left of the speaker, you need to, you need to get in a little shorter here, or closer?

• 45:14Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's great.

• 45:15Speaker 00

  We got a long way to go on this side with the speakers. Let's bring it in a little bit.

• 45:18Speaker 02

  Tighten it up.

• 45:21Speaker 00

  While, while we smoosh it in, I'm gonna tell everyone a joke. I told this to Naylor, he thought it was funny. Does anybody know where bees like to pee?

• 45:32Speaker 00

  Where do bees like to pee?

• 45:35Speaker 02

  BP?

• 45:36Speaker 00

  BP. The gas station? BP?

• 45:40Speaker 02

  Wah wah wah wah.

• 45:41Speaker 00

  I don't know if they have the gas station BP in Italy. Oh, do you get my joke then?

• 45:49Speaker 00

  Bees like to pee at BP. All right, are we good, Elijah?

• 45:54Speaker 00

  All right, let's all look at the cameraman. One, two, three, cheese!

• 46:00Speaker 00

  All right. One more time, thank you to Kohler and Equip.

• 46:03Speaker 02

  Thank you, everyone. See you out there on the showroom floor, out in the demo area.

• 46:22Speaker 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.