Hey, welcome back to the Lawn Hustle podcast.
The podcast that's built for the grinders, the
hustlers, and all those turning grass into cash.
Today we have a guest with us, Ron Coleman. Ron,
welcome to the Lawn Hustle and thank you for
joining. Hey, thanks for having me. Well, tell
our listeners. a little about yourself and your
business, how you got started, how long you've
been in business, and whatever else you want
to share with us. All right. Well, first, like
you said, my name's Ron. The business is called
Greenscapes, Ohio. We're in Northeast Ohio. Been
in the business for just over 25 years now, so
quite a while. I started out in... 1999, actually.
Grew that business for a short while, then sold
out to one of the big guys. They're at the top
of the list of the green industry companies now.
Went to work with that company for a short while.
That was kind of part of the deal. They didn't
necessarily want my business as much as they
wanted me to come join. They're well -known as
a big tree company. They wanted to start a landscape
division in my area. They needed somebody to
run it, so they bought me out. I did that for
a little while, but it was super corporate. It
was not the kind of setting I was interested
in being in. Left there, took a position with
another company for a few years. The owner of
that company ended up getting in a really bad
car accident. So I was kind of put in charge
of that for about six months, basically running
every bit of the operations for him. And then
once he was well and back at it, I thought if
I'm going to be doing all this, I might as well
go back out and do my own thing. did that 11
years ago and I've been going strong ever since.
Well can you tell us what inspired you to get
into the lawn care industry? I mean it's really
simple right there it's just being outdoors I
love to be outdoors all the time I needed to
find something that was New different every day
and just outside, you know, I hate I could never
sit inside a building like a factory You said
at a desk job. I'm just not made for that. So
it was just that simple just being outside Well
one has been your biggest challenge that you
faced in your business up to this point Wow,
there's been so many over the years I think early
on My biggest challenge would have been, obviously,
having that capital for the next thing I needed
to keep growing, or understanding the importance
of having backups for trucks, trailers, equipment.
Starting out, it was on a tight budget, right?
So we got what we could get, and a lot of times
we didn't have a second one of whatever. Growing
the business to the point where we could afford
to have multiples of everything so that if a
truck goes down, you're not done for the day.
You just jump on another one and fix it later
kind of thing. That would have been the biggest
struggles, you know, just starting out and getting
to the point where I have to worry about stuff.
I remember those days breaking down and being
shut down. Talk about frustration because the
grass is still want to grow. Yeah, 100%. And
thankfully, I'm at the point now where we have
just about three or four of everything. So if
we break down, like you said, we can just jump
on another mower and keep going for the day.
But I remember the days when I broke down. I
have to remind myself that when something breaks
and I hop on the next one, don't forget to fix
that other one because you're going to need that
with the next one. That's my issue now, keeping
up with everything that breaks. Right. I remember
when I would break down, you know, the mower
shops at that time, it seemed like they always
said two weeks, no matter what it was. Right.
It could be December. Yeah. But I've built a
relationship with my dealer now, where if I break
down, I can drop a mower off and they'll go to
work on it that day. And I have dropped a mower
off, they fixed it and I picked it up all in
the same day. So good dealer support makes a
huge difference for a lawn care business. Yep,
you bet. What is there that keeps you passionate
about the everyday hustle, the everyday grind,
the work especially in the heat of summer when
it's 90 degrees and 80 degrees or 80 percent
humidity and it's just sweltering hot? What keeps
you passionate to where you'll get up and go
to work every day? Well, I'll tell you, I think
that's changed over the years. At first, it would
have just been, I gotta make money, right? Young
kids, a family to support. So that was obviously
a huge driving factor. Over the years, I think
it's changed a bit. And now, honestly, it's almost
like a competition with myself. Each year, each
week, each month, trying to do better than I
did the time before. And also, I think the community
that we've all got, with other creators online,
people locally. I think there's a friendly rivalry
between us locally, that kind of thing. Very
friendly, right? Nobody's out to get anybody.
Plenty of work for everybody. But just seeing
what they're doing and then try to elevate myself.
I think that's really it. I'm just motivated
to keep doing better every day. Will they say
if you can increase just a few percentage points
every day? and be a little better today than
you were yesterday, be a little better tomorrow
than you were today, you're going to find success,
you're going to not have a problem getting clients
and maintaining clients. I was talking with a
customer today and they asked me, how do you
keep clients and what do you do to retain your
customers and my simple answer to them was well
you just do everything with integrity and honesty
and you show up when you say you're going to
and you do the job so let me ask you this how
many clients are you serving now in your business
um as far as like weekly maintenance yes We're
mid 40s, I would say, but we're also, we're in
a very rural area for the most part. So we've
got lawns that are, we've got a few that are
10 ,000 square feet, but we've got some that
are eight, 10 acres as well. So the number isn't
huge, but the square footage is huge. Right.
What about the ratio to commercial and residential?
Do you do more residential or more commercial?
Yeah, yeah in the beginning I liked the commercial
work a lot more Over the years through some bad
experiences that the biggest thing for me about
commercial is there's no There's no real bond
like you have with a lot of your residential
customers, you know, you see him and wave, you
know Hi, Mrs. Smith. How you doing? Most of the
commercial accounts I've had just my experience.
They don't really care about you, you know, they're
gonna go with You're great this year next year
that guy might be better. We might go with him
So there's not a lot of longevity. I have had,
and I do still have, a select few commercial
accounts that are really great. But I've got
a relationship with the people that are my contact
for that spot. And that's the same kind of relationship.
So I don't have to worry. Some of these accounts
are big accounts. You don't want to put all your
eggs in this basket and then lose it next year,
right? So I'm comfortable with the commercial
accounts we have now. As far as the percentage,
I'm probably 90 % residential, 10 % commercial.
Well, you hit something very true. That commercial
property, they don't care about you. All they
want is their property serviced. They just want
the grass mowed, the bushes trimmed, or the parking
lot plowed and salted. To them, it doesn't matter
if it's you or Chuck in the truck. as long as
somebody will show up and get the job done. But
those residential, I've got some that I've been
serving since, well, for the last 16, almost
17 years now. I got them when I first started
my business and I've been able to retain them
through the years just by building a relationship
with them. thinking of them as more than just
a client, developing a friendship, you know,
a working relationship between the client and
me as the business owner. And we have been successful.
Our ratio is about 60, residential, 40 % commercial.
And when I say commercial, I throw in the churches.
into the commercial side of it because, you know,
it's just more commercial than it is residential.
But if you could go back to day one when you
first started your business, what advice would
you give yourself? so many things come to mind.
One thing I would definitely, and I never really
had an issue with this, but I would maybe want
to reiterate this to, you know, back then me.
The thing that's been so great for us as far
as retaining customers and stuff is always going
that tiny little extra mile that the next company
doesn't do. I would want to remind myself to
do that stuff. It's as simple as, you know, bringing
the trash can up from the end of the driveway.
Grabbing the newspaper and put it on the porch
instead of leaving it in the town the driveway
those things take you seconds to do and They
honestly over the years. You wouldn't believe
the number of people that have commented on all
it, you know He's so great. He brings a trend
like they're recommending you on Facebook and
stuff from something as simple as Pulling the
trash can up and honestly you're on the mower.
You just grab it right up to the house It's it's
no issue, but I think remembering to do that
whenever you can uh the little things blow off
the porch you know maybe you didn't get any grass
on it but there's just do it it takes a couple
seconds and those little things like that they
add up and they're the what really sets you apart
from the guy that's just there to get a paycheck
and go on so i think i'd remind myself to not
lose track of that that is so good and that's
exactly you know what i would remind myself do
the small things the little things The things
that some people think are unimportant or not
necessary, or I've heard this one, what's not
my job? Yeah, right. It's not my job to pull
up their trash can. It's not my job. Well, it
might not be your job, but those little things
make a huge difference. I had a customer not
long ago. It was right after Thanksgiving. They
called me and said, can you stop by the house?
I said, sure. And I knew I had just serviced
their property for the last time for the season.
Got all the leaves cleaned up and mulched up
and everything looked good. So I go to the house,
I knock on the door and he comes to the door
and he hands me a card. He said, Merry Christmas.
I didn't think anything about it. I just got
back in the truck, and when I started to go home,
I just opened it up, see what the card read.
And inside the card was a check for $1 ,500.
And he had said to me, Merry Christmas. So I
called him, and I said, it's going to be one
now. You didn't have to do that. But I sure appreciate
the thoughtfulness. And he said, well, it's worth
that $1 ,500 bonus because I don't have to worry
about my grass. I don't have to worry about trimming
hedges. He said, and there's so many little things
that you do that you're not required to do. For
example, his wife come home from grocery shopping.
I wasn't about to stand there and watch her carrying
big bags of dog food and cases of water while
I'm there mowing. So I just jumped off the mower
and carried him in for her, sat him down, have
a good day. Didn't have to, and that's not my
job. That's true. But I think it says a little
bit about your personality, your character. and
what you stand for. So what trends are you seeing
currently in the green industry that are different
than they were when you started? That's a good
question. Obviously the equipment has changed
dramatically since I first started to now. We
were all using Walk behind belt drive walk behind
mowers back, you know 25 years ago Equipments
changed a ton with the advent of the you know
battery stuff That's that's certainly changed
Payment style has changed quite a bit, right?
We're all pushing for like a card on file or
you know things like that even even things like
Venmo and cash app and stuff that we would have
never considered, you know Most of my customers
25 years ago, you know, there's a check under
the grill or, you know, I left an envelope under
the mat type of thing, right? Or, you know, you're
sending paper invoices once a month or whatever
to get your check. So I think, you know, the
style of payment has changed. Interaction with
the customers has changed quite a bit for me.
Back then, you know, you'd go do an estimate,
you'd meet the customer, talk to them, and that
might be your only interaction you ever had with
them. You know, you send them a bill, they pay
it, everything's fine, you come back next year,
do it all over again. I've found that, and maybe
I've changed, maybe that's the difference in
this aspect, but I'm a lot more friendly with
the customers now. I see them all the time, I
see them around town at different events. I'm
friends with a lot of them on Facebook, which
is maybe not a good idea for certain reasons,
I suppose, but it's never been an issue for me.
Let's see, what else? That's a tough one. So
many things have changed. I've noticed This is
a big one. I think I think most companies that
have been around a long time have really become
more of a business than the mowing guy, right?
People are people in this I think I think a lot
of small businesses in this space have become
more professional Appearing than what they used
to be back in the day it was a job that you know
like the check in the truck right anybody with
a lawnmower and a pickup truck was out there
grinding making money on the weekends and stuff
it seems that we've elevated ourselves to be
a little bit more respectable we're not the guy
driving around in the beat -up truck with his
shirt off smoking cigarettes i've noticed that
maybe that i guess i would go with that overall
that's the biggest change the attitude that not
only we we have for ourselves and our business,
but I've noticed the attitude that people have
toward us has changed quite a bit over the years.
And I think what's helped change that, and I've
seen that too, and I believe you're right. I
believe that is probably the one big thing that
has changed in our industry, just our overall
appearance, how we present ourselves, how we...
brand ourselves. I think it's changed drastically
for the good. But I think what has helped change
that is attending some of these events that are
going on, like coming up in October with the
Equip Expo. You know, it's our Super Bowl in
the green industry. It's the sixth largest trade
show. in the United States. That's huge. And
our industry is a part of that. And so I think
those things have helped change the overall appearance
of our industry. And I think attending like the
LCR Summit with Naylor Taliaferro, being a part
of groups like you are with the Echo means business,
you know, those things make a huge difference.
And it makes us look more professional. It makes
us appear to be more of a business than the truck
and the truck. Yeah, you bet. So you've been
in the industry for quite a few years now. Yeah.
Are there any misconceptions about the lawn care
industry that you would like to clear up or?
Yeah. Yeah, I would. Yeah, yeah. Let's start
with, you know, a lot of my friends, for example,
people like me. Oh, you own your own business.
You must be rich. You're swimming in money, right?
Or like, you know, hey, there's this thing on
the 15th. You want to go? Well, I got to work.
You work for yourself. You can take it off. You
make your own schedule. Yeah. Well, and then
the fact that It must be so nice just you know
working whatever like in the spring or in the
late fall Even the winter when we're not working
a 50 60 hour week that we normally would The
idea that the time we spend out in the field
is it and then we're done right? I'm working
You know, it feels like 24 -7, right? If I'm
if I'm home if I'm at the shop, whatever there's
there's something that needs done Just because
I'm not out Producing income physically working
doesn't mean I'm not working. I'm doing estimates.
I'm doing billing I'm always doing something.
So I think that's the biggest one that would
be for me just It's not it's not what people
like to think it is. So I'm we're not swimming
in piles of cash over here just because Yeah,
I've had people tell me you know you own your
own business, you know, you can you can take
off any time you want Yeah, and People say well,
why did you go into business? Did you not want
to work for somebody you wanted to be your own
boss? Well, yeah, that's kind of true sure, but
Even though I don't have a boss to answer to
every morning at the shop. I have a hundred and
forty bosses You know that I answer to every
week so I don't think that there's ever a time
when you're really your own boss. I consider
little Mrs. Smith down the road, she's my boss.
She's the one that writes me a check. She's the
one I gotta make sure is happy and the one that
is getting the best service that's possible.
So I don't know if you ever really become your
own boss. because however many clients you have,
that's how many bosses you have. What are you
currently noticing in the green industry that
is getting your attention? Is it battery powered
equipment, autonomous mowers, battery powered
mowers? Is there something in the industry that
you see that's getting your attention or that
maybe concerns you? Well, certainly both the
things you mentioned, the autonomous mowers,
those are awesome. The battery powered equipment
is very interesting to me. We've taken on the
battery equipment pretty strongly. I use battery
equipment every day. I think that's huge. And
I think depending on your region, even your small
local areas, for us here, I'm about 15 minutes
from a college town, Kent, Ohio. It's a very
green, earthy, kind of hippy -dippy city. And
there is a market for customers who are willing
to pay a premium for that battery service. So
that's very interesting to me, something that
I'm kind of dipping my toe into a little bit.
We haven't gone to any battery powered mowers
yet. I do have some 21 inch battery powered mowers
that rarely get used, but as far as like a big
stand on or ride on mower, I haven't taken that
step yet. I hope to, but we need to get the battery
technology up a little bit and the cost down
a little bit. And then I think I'll be in...
for that. The autonomous motors are very cool
in the fact that they don't call in sick, they
don't have a court date, you know, all those
things. They don't need workers cop if they step
in a hole. That's very intriguing to me. I have
a couple of properties where they could be useful,
but again the cost is up there. And everyone's
got their own model, right? If you sign up for,
you get this autonomous motor, well then you
have to sign up for this service, this software
that needs to be updated. And you've got either
a monthly payment, an annual payment. I think
that it's a great idea, but I think we're up
charging ourselves to a point where it's no longer
a great idea. It would have saved me, you know,
if I can save $50 ,000 in salary, but I've got
$50 ,000 in software updates. I'm getting close
to back where I came from. But the battery thing
is huge to me. I think soon, well, I shouldn't
say soon, five to 10 years, I think it's gonna
be most of what we see. Well, I was interviewing
a guy on my podcast a few months back about AI.
And he was saying, within the year, We're going
to see and I don't know he says he he worked
for a company that Elon Musk owns and He said
we're gonna see robots out mowing yards We're
gonna see Driverless vehicles pulling up to properties
to service So I am intrigued by where our industry
is heading, but I'm also a little concerned.
Is all of the advancement gonna put out of business
the smaller companies? Is it gonna hurt the industry
as well as help it? So I'm a little concerned.
I've had people send me some battery -powered
blowers. And to me, the battery's just... don't
last very long at all you know I can I can start
with a blower and on the second or third property
the battery is dead so I don't know if there's
a better line of batteries that I should buy
or if the batteries just need to improve that
much well it's it's both for sure they're definitely
I tried I would venture to say every brand's
battery technology at this point. And there are
certainly some that are much better than others,
certainly some that have a better battery life
than others do. But also the battery technology
with the tabless batteries and things like that
that all the major manufacturers are working
with now, that battery technology is going to
increase greatly within the next couple of years,
maybe sooner, because they're close on a lot
of these. So that's going to make a huge difference.
And then it just comes to Like for me, I'm with
you blowers seem to have maybe chainsaw too But
they have a huge draw on the on the battery themselves,
but string trimmer You know a hedge trimmer those
kind of things I've got some hedge trimmers.
You can go all day on one battery you trim all
day with it It just doesn't use the power that
you know that a blower requires, but those blowers
are coming a long way to Every year, we see more
advancements in those backpack blowers. A lot
of companies out there have pretty great ones
right now. Runtime is still the issue. And then
wait, right? We can add more batteries. It'll
last longer. But are you able to stand up anymore
because you've got 50 pounds of batteries on
your back? So I think with the new battery technology,
we're going to see better runtime. They're going
to be lighter, more powerful. I'm hopeful on
those for sure, but like what you said. It definitely
is worrisome, the fact that a robot, a driverless
car, you know, they've got those, those way most
and stuff that pick you up and drive you around
like an Uber without, you know, if there's no
driver that that stuff's odd and that is going
to happen. I think eventually it's going to happen,
but that robot isn't going to carry the bags
of dog food in for Mrs. Smith and it's not going
to bring your trash can out. It's not going to,
there's going to be people that are looking for
that aspect. I think probably always, hopefully.
And people aren't quick to switch over from things
like that either. So I think one day in the future,
that's probably going to be everyone's going
to have a little robot that does everything for
them. But I don't think you and I are going to
see that. I hope not. Yeah. It's going to happen
one day. Greenworks sent me a battery hedge trimmer.
Yeah. And I love it. It works really great, but
it's so heavy. OK. it's a lot more heavier than
my steel gas powered hedge trimmer. So I find
myself after several bushes putting the battery
power down, firing up the gas powered one and
you know finish the job just because it's heavy
not because I'm having trouble with the battery
or that it doesn't cut, doesn't do what it's
supposed to, because it does do a good job. and
the battery does seem to last on that hedge trimmer
for a long time. But it just gets so heavy because
that battery is so big, you know, it slides on
the back of it. So. And that's, I think that's
the difference between just one model and the
next. I think if you tried, like I use some that
Echo has and they're so much lighter than the
gas counterparts. And also, did you put a...
you know, a five amp hour battery, an eight amp
hour battery. They're different sizes, different
weight, obviously. But I've found great luck
with a five amp hour battery. I'll go all day
long with that. And it's much lighter. And it
doesn't get hot. And I don't have fumes. And
especially with trimming bushes, right? We've
got a commercial property. And it's all glass
around the front. And you get up against that
glass with the sun shining off and then the exhaust
from the bush trimmer. it's miserable that that
battery versus gas and circumstances like that
is so much nicer and and one of the biggest things
for me is obviously the maintenance aspect right
we don't have to worry about almost anything
but my shoulder over the years i've done this
forever you have to my shoulder from starting
things it's garbage it's junk so the fact that
i don't have to pull anything that's a game changer
for me i love that part yeah Well echo means
business sent me the pink blower Because every
October we have a breast cancer awareness month
And we go pink we wear pink shirts and pink hats
It's a big deal in my city and I've gotten newspaper
interviews because of it and been in the paper
and on the news and all kinds of things but They
sent me that blower and it does a great job,
but the battery just doesn't last. That's my
only concern. And I'm not opposed to battery
going all battery powered stuff. That's not what
I'm saying. I'm just saying I think we need to
improve the lifespan of the battery. and I think
we need to get the price down on some of the
equipment. So that's where I'm at. But I want
to go battery. I think it's a lot easier to use.
Like you said, you're not yanking on a string
to try to start it. Just pull the trigger and
you're blowing. But that's where I'm at on that.
I want to go battery. I just think we need to
improve the battery life, bring down the price
just a little bit. But I think when there's a
demand more for it, the price is going to have
to come down. I was in California and they've
passed a law. It's not a... It's illegal. It's
against the law to use gas powered equipment
now. You got to use battery powered. But I was
standing outside of my Airbnb drinking a cup
of coffee and I seen a mowing crew pull up. So
I just stood there and watched them. A guy jumps
out, grabs a push mower, starts mowing this little
bit of yard. Another guy. grab some hedge trimmers,
he's trimming some hedges up front, just taking
the new growth off. And another guy grabs a gas
-powered backpack blower, steel BR 800. He fired
that thing up and started blowing the sidewalks
off. When he was done, I walked across the street,
introduced myself to him, and told him what I
do for a living, and I said, I thought it was
illegal here for you to use that blower. He said,
they're going to have to catch me before I give
up. So, you know, they don't like it either,
but what normally happens in California migrates
to the East and it hits every spot in between.
So if it's a law there, it's going to come to
us. I've heard so many stories of even HOAs that
are adopting that rule. which they don't want
gas powered equipment in there, just battery
only. Small townships and cities around the country
are doing it, and it's common. We're going to
have to face it head on, and the manufacturers
know that. All the ones I've talked to, especially
Echo, which I have a little more information
with them, but they are on it. The problem with
the cost, I think, is the money that they have
sunk into research and development for this battery
technology. They're gonna have to make some of
that back. I think before the prices come down
too much. They've just spent so much on it But
yeah, I know that technology is getting much
better and much more affordable. It's coming
for sure Well, is there a piece of equipment
or a hand tool? Something that you would say
is absolutely necessary for you to have if you're
running a lawn care business Well, yeah, I mean
sure I think Besides a motor is absolutely Okay,
yeah, I mean I think the obvious ones right you
need a trimmer you You're gonna have to weeding
and blow off I guess you could you know get by
with the broom possibly and that kind of thing
but I think those are Necessities beyond that.
I think it's just There's a lot of gadgets out
there that just make your day easier. I think
it's whatever you see that might increase your
efficiency and make the job easier on your body
physically. I think anything like that is a plus
from tiny little, the little handheld chainsaws
and stuff are so great. You don't have to worry
about. gas and mixing oil and everything you
just grab it out of the truck and zip that branch
that keeps hitting in your head every time you
go under the crab apple or whatever you know
those little things like that are great but um
i don't know honestly i i guess if we if we went
over from the tools that we use in our job every
day i think i think the cell phone right has
changed the game so much that's a that's a tool
that's integral to to my business for sure from
dealing with customers i'm doing estimates i'm
checking to see anything social media related.
I'm even tracking the hours on equipment, maintenance,
stuff like that. That little computer in your
pocket is certainly a tool that I feel is necessary.
It's a computer in your hand. And I remember
the days when a phone was just a phone. Now it's
a computer, it's a camera, it's a GPS. Let's
take a short break and hear a word from my sponsor.
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onboarding. You run the outside work, we run
the office. And we're back with. Greenscapes.
Ohio. And I appreciate him being on the show
tonight. Let me ask you. Is there anything that
you do in your area? to give back to your community.
Do you do anything special for maybe the veterans
or maybe law enforcement or any other group?
Yeah, a lot actually. It's one of my favorite
parts of the business. It's the opportunity to
give back to that. Everything from Youth baseball
sponsorships working on their fields drainage
projects there our local park in our town We've
done everything from 46 acres of aeration there
seed work Obviously monetary donations for all
these things Veterans Day and 4th of July parades.
We donate a lot of stuff to that things at the
local cemetery I mean, you name it, I'm always
looking for some way to get involved. We actually
had, just a couple days ago, I was doing an estimate
for a customer. One of her friends was walking
through the neighborhood. She stopped and they
had a quick conversation about a local elementary
school that has kind of a, it's not necessarily
a community garden, but it's a small fenced -in
garden, maybe like 50 by 50 square, that they
take the kids out and teach them about gardening
and planting and stuff like that. There was a
parent who was running it for that program at
the school. They've had some health issues, so
they're not able to do that anymore. And they
can't find anyone to take it over. So I just
grabbed, I took that on just a couple days ago
as well. I'm always looking for that, right?
That's, I mean, what else are we doing all this
for other than to have that part? We have a good
time with it. Are there any funny or unexpected
moments? in your lawn care career that you would
like to share? It's been a lot of funny things.
I don't know if they're all podcast appropriate.
Or maybe they're too embarrassing that I don't
want to. Yeah, let's keep it PG. Right, right.
Now I've had, you know, the typical stuff, right?
And I don't know if you've ever done this. I've
done it a couple of times. I've showed up and
started doing a job only to have someone come
home and ask me who I am and what I'm doing there
because I'm at the neighbor's house instead of
the one I'm supposed to be at next door you know
small things like that I can't nothing really
stands out as far as you know really funny things
that certainly not funny at the time but I guess
you can look back and think that they're funny
but no nothing really stands out we had an employee
that has a friend that needed a yard done. Well,
I thought the guy knew where it was and all that,
so I asked him where it is, and he told me, we
go. And I said, which one is it? Which house?
He said, I think it's this one. We mow the whole
yard, and it was a big property. We mow it, we
trim, we blow. We blowed off the porch, the back
patio, just... everything that you would do to
try to impress somebody. I'd done it because
I wanted to retain that property. And we were
loading back up. I pulled up on the trailer,
jumped off, lifted the gate up. The door across
the street opened. A lady stepped out and said,
are you Andy? I said, yeah. She said, I think
you were supposed to mow my yard. We spent about
45 to 55 minutes on that property and we mowed
the wrong property. The lady come out from, from
the house and said, thank you. And I said, Oh,
you're welcome. She said my yard needed mode.
But I've been there for sure. Let me ask you
this. You are planning on going to equip. Oh
yeah. Never miss it. I will be there. Are you
going to be at the Echo Means Business booth
or anytime there? I've got a couple things. I
will be there. I think I'm coming in Tuesday,
Wednesday. I'll be at the Echo social media patio,
they're calling it this year. It's basically,
it's not the booth where they're going to have
all the equipment, but it'll be down next to
Pod Row. So I'll be there for happy hour, I believe
from three to five on Wednesday. That's in the
West. I'll be in and out of there. Yes. Yep.
Yeah, it'll be right next to pod row. Okay. So
we'll be there Wednesday afternoon and then I'm
sure Thursday and Friday I'll be there as well.
I've got a couple other booths I've got to stop
in real quick and do some stuff. But yeah, I'm
sure I'll be there quite a bit. They've got a
really cool setup coming this year. That's so
much money on this, but it's it's gonna be really
awesome. I'm sure there'll be some more info
coming out about it soon, but I'm excited In
combination with Padre there is gonna be gonna
be really cool for everybody Well, I will try
to get there when you're at the booth so we can
meet in person We've actually met a couple times.
I don't know if you remember Last year. Did you
go to the dinner at the Mexican place last year
with Tony? Yes Yeah. Yeah, I was I said next
to Tony's dad there. I don't know if you have.
But then we met briefly last year in the, you
know, little room they gave the people with the
media credentials to come out in. And we met
briefly in there one morning. I think you were
about to do a podcast with somebody. So it was
it was quick. But yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, I think
I remember now meeting you. I couldn't remember
before, but I think you. jarred my memory and
I remember meeting you now. But I'm going to
be there all week. I'm coming in for the LCR
Summit on Monday and Tuesday. And I'll be there.
I'm actually coming in on Sunday. So I'll be
there Sunday till Saturday of the week. And to
me, I'm interested in the new equipment, the
latest and the greatest. But to me, these events
are more about networking, building relationships
within our industry, and making friends and meeting
people. So I'll be there, but I'm going to look
for you and try to get together with you. Definitely.
Well, where can our listeners find you? What's
your web page? What social media sites are you
on? How can they connect with you? Share a little
bit about your social media, your website, and
how people can connect with your business. Our
website is greenscapesoh .com. And I guess you
could email me or contact me through there. The
website's just for the business. It's not really
a social media. type thing i don't even know
to be honest i think there probably are links
to them but as far as everything else goes um
youtube is is the biggest one that i pay the
most attention to uh we're just greenscapes ohio
on there and then um instagram and tiktok as
well but i'm not i'm not super active i might
post on instagram once a week or something tiktok
a little bit more um but yeah we're greenscapes
ohio on everything across the board Let me ask
you one more question before we wrap this up
if you weren't in the green industry What would
you be doing? That's hard to say the the green
industry was always great for us because my wife's
a teacher So I'm too and we had four kids, right?
So while she was You know awful all summer It's
my busy time of year and she was able to be with
the kids I didn't have to we didn't have to worry
about babysitters or daycare and then vice versa
right when she's busy all the time with work
I'm around during the winter. So again, we didn't
have to so that part was was really important
now that the kids are They don't need to be babysat
or anything anymore It's hard to say it would
definitely be something else that Allows me to
be outside doing something with my hands Something
I don't know. It's a tough one. I haven't really
even ever given that much thought I would There's
a lot of things I like to do that I don't know
if I could necessarily make it living at them
so I guess if money weren't an issue my answer
would be different, but I Could spend I volunteer
a lot at a local It's like a kitchen type thing
or whatever it's called now. It's a food bank,
and they feed people every day. I'm there all
the time. I just love interacting with those
people. I have so much fun there. I've met so
many great people. If I didn't have to earn a
living, I could easily spend my days doing that.
I just love it. It's so much fun. Or possibly,
I always thought it would be cool to maybe sell
real estate. I don't know why. That seems interesting
to me. So maybe that, I guess. I don't know if
I'd be any good at it. I'd give it a shot. What
would you like to expand on anything else or
add anything else to this show before we start
wrapping it up? No, not right off the top of
my head, but I would like to just thank you again
for having me on. It was great getting to talk
to you and get to know you a little better. And
I hope to see everybody at Equip in October.
It's coming up soon, so. Looking forward to hanging
out with you and the rest of the guys and everybody
I'm watching. Are you going to Tony's event at
the Mexican restaurant this year? Yeah, absolutely.
I'll probably be a couple minutes. I think he's
trying to be there like right at five. I'll probably
be a little bit after because I've kind of I've
got to be at Echo until five. So as soon as I
can get out of there and get across the parking
lot, probably five fifteen or something, I'll
be there. OK, well, we'll save you a seat. Appreciate
it. Well, I appreciate you being a guest on the
show and Adding value to the green industry by
your answers and your responses to the questions
and I just want to tell you I appreciate you.
I thank you Again for for being a guest. I appreciate
it. Thank you well Until we meet again, just
remember to keep hustling, keep growing, and
keep turning the grass into cash. Thank you for
being a part of the lawn hustle.