WEBVTT 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:53.020 16 years of experience in the green industry 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:57.179 and Tonight we have a special guest all the way 00:00:57.179 --> 00:01:02.200 from Australia Gary Ashton. Thank you for joining 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:07.540 the lawn hustle It's a pleasure Andy. I was fortunate 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:11.000 enough to invite you to Come on to my podcast 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.939 for the Australian lawn industry and yeah return 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:17.939 the favor and do an episode each well tell our 00:01:17.939 --> 00:01:22.980 listeners the name of your podcast and where 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:27.260 they can listen to your podcast. So the podcast 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:29.980 is Aussie Lawn Stars. And sorry for the accent 00:01:29.980 --> 00:01:31.519 for your listeners. I'm sure they'll struggle 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:35.219 with this. Aussie Lawn Stars is the podcast. 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:38.019 It is available on all podcast platforms. The 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:40.040 easiest place to find it is either Spotify or 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:45.680 YouTube. Well, let's jump right in. Tell us how 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.579 did you get started in the lawn care industry? 00:01:49.870 --> 00:01:54.030 And what made you take the leap into running 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:58.569 a lawn care business? Yeah, so I've been in the 00:01:58.569 --> 00:02:01.510 industry for 15 years now. So I started just 00:02:01.510 --> 00:02:05.010 after you by the sounds of it. And I was working 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:08.090 for an insurance company 15 years ago. And so 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:10.349 it's getting close to 16 years ago, actually. 00:02:11.069 --> 00:02:15.129 The insurance company was not that great to work 00:02:15.129 --> 00:02:19.090 for. I enjoyed the job, but the pressure. was 00:02:19.090 --> 00:02:23.969 not great. And when I got a bonus for saving 00:02:23.969 --> 00:02:26.009 them one and a half million dollars, the fifty 00:02:26.009 --> 00:02:28.009 dollar bonus just was a bit of a slap in the 00:02:28.009 --> 00:02:36.169 face. So what was your first year in business 00:02:36.169 --> 00:02:41.189 like? And is there something that you wish somebody 00:02:41.189 --> 00:02:46.129 would have told you early? Yes, so my first year 00:02:46.129 --> 00:02:52.259 was in 2010. And I took a career break, so paid 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:56.580 career break, paid parental leave and annual 00:02:56.580 --> 00:02:59.280 leave. And I took 12 months to start the business 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:00.699 where I had the option of still going back to 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:05.960 my old job. So in that time, I didn't understand 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:08.379 business skills very well. And I made a lot of 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:11.560 mistakes. So I didn't make a lot of money in 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:14.740 that first 12 months. One of the things I wish 00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:18.530 is that there was industry podcasts back then 00:03:18.530 --> 00:03:21.250 that obviously make a massive difference to people 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:23.530 starting up now. You get armed with all of that 00:03:23.530 --> 00:03:25.949 information from the podcasts like yours and 00:03:25.949 --> 00:03:30.210 mine. And it helps to make sure people know what 00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:32.189 things they need to think about when they're 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:35.469 starting a business. So I wish I had that. And 00:03:35.469 --> 00:03:39.710 I think the thing I'd like to refer to when I'm 00:03:39.710 --> 00:03:42.150 interviewing people and when I'm looking at what 00:03:42.150 --> 00:03:44.930 makes the biggest difference in business nowadays 00:03:44.930 --> 00:03:48.789 is having systems in place. Now, you may remember 00:03:48.789 --> 00:03:51.870 when you started, Andy, when I started, I had 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:54.490 systems in place, but they were default go to 00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:57.349 things that I did rather than systems that I 00:03:57.349 --> 00:04:00.710 actually thought out and planned well. So a lot 00:04:00.710 --> 00:04:02.990 of them were pretty miserable failures in the 00:04:02.990 --> 00:04:10.409 initial days. Well, what was your biggest mistake 00:04:10.409 --> 00:04:13.569 you made? in the beginning and how did you overcome 00:04:13.569 --> 00:04:19.990 it? So can I say two things instead of just one? 00:04:20.990 --> 00:04:25.269 Absolutely. Pricing was a big mistake and it 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:28.750 took changing accountants and my new accountants 00:04:28.750 --> 00:04:31.250 sat down with me and said you're not charging 00:04:31.250 --> 00:04:34.430 enough, you're undercharging and that took me 00:04:34.430 --> 00:04:36.290 a while to get my head around too because I thought 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:40.310 I was charging a fair amount and You know what 00:04:40.310 --> 00:04:42.509 it's like when you set a price in your head and 00:04:42.509 --> 00:04:44.689 you think that's the right amount to charge for 00:04:44.689 --> 00:04:47.509 a particular job, then you convey that to your 00:04:47.509 --> 00:04:48.769 customers with a little bit of confidence. But 00:04:48.769 --> 00:04:50.370 if you're then going to your customers and adding 00:04:50.370 --> 00:04:53.449 20, 25 % on top of that and saying, hey, this 00:04:53.449 --> 00:04:55.129 is the right amount. And that's how far out I 00:04:55.129 --> 00:04:58.129 was saying this is the right amount. I struggled 00:04:58.129 --> 00:05:03.709 to do that with confidence. Well, what does your 00:05:03.709 --> 00:05:09.350 business look like today? And how have you grown 00:05:09.350 --> 00:05:14.529 to where you are today? Yeah, so the things that 00:05:14.529 --> 00:05:18.050 have changed in that 15 years, I haven't grown 00:05:18.050 --> 00:05:23.189 my business a huge amount. I have a business 00:05:23.189 --> 00:05:26.269 now which is doing only large commercial grounds. 00:05:26.449 --> 00:05:30.889 So I have two contracts and that's it. And I 00:05:30.889 --> 00:05:33.629 have two casual employees that work with me. 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:39.060 So in Australia, compared to America, a lot of 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:41.600 businesses in the lawn and landscape industry 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.279 are running solo or they have casual employees. 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:47.399 They don't grow the business to have a lot of 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:49.399 employees. And there's still some that do, but 00:05:49.399 --> 00:05:51.459 I'm in one of those spaces where I'm quite happy 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:54.639 running a couple of casual employees and a couple 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.839 of large contracts that means that I'm busy. 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:01.439 busy enough to keep myself full -time employed 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:03.839 as well as having casual employees that are coming 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:05.660 close to having another full -time employee, 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:07.819 but I spread it over to casuals that works better. 00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:13.800 And that gives me plenty of time to podcast. 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:17.180 So I start work at six o 'clock in the morning 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:19.639 before the noise curfews because it's an industrial 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:22.319 site, there is no noise curfew. And then I finish 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:24.199 up by about two o 'clock in the afternoon, five 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.899 days a week, chasing interviews with people like 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:31.089 you. I think we talked about on your podcast 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:35.949 the pricing difference there versus here in the 00:06:35.949 --> 00:06:42.430 United States. It's a lot more in Australia than 00:06:42.430 --> 00:06:46.509 it is here, I believe. Yeah, look, there's a 00:06:46.509 --> 00:06:49.589 lot of variables, Andy, and I'll throw a question 00:06:49.589 --> 00:06:53.459 back at you with this one, because often... What 00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:57.959 I see is people will charge a similar price regardless 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.480 of the demographics that they're in. So what 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:03.740 I've noticed recently in Australia is there's 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:08.759 a bit of a price fixation on $80 for a lawn to 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:11.839 be cut. And that's regardless of the size of 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:13.939 it. So if you turn up and you do a lawn that 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:18.439 is going to take one person 20, 25 minutes to 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:21.519 cut. you can charge $80, but if you turn up and 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:23.720 you do a lawn that takes an hour to cut, you're 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:25.300 gonna struggle to charge much more than $80. 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:29.579 So it depends on the demographics, but that's 00:07:29.579 --> 00:07:33.279 a reality across Australia. So if you are in 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:37.410 an area where you can get $80 for... 20 to 25 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:39.110 minutes work. You're going to charge more when 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.230 you're doing 45 minutes work or an hour's work. 00:07:41.269 --> 00:07:43.389 Yeah, you'll charge double. But somebody who's 00:07:43.389 --> 00:07:46.970 working in a more regional area where their lawns 00:07:46.970 --> 00:07:49.670 are what we refer to quarter acre blocks by comparison 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:51.870 to the smaller ones that are half that size. 00:07:53.430 --> 00:07:55.769 Quarter acre would sound would resonate with 00:07:55.769 --> 00:07:59.629 the land sizes in America, yeah? So what is your 00:07:59.629 --> 00:08:07.730 minimum for a mowing surface? the minimum cut 00:08:07.730 --> 00:08:13.889 price? Yes. So for me, I'm only doing large commercial 00:08:13.889 --> 00:08:17.009 work. So I tell people now $50 ,000 a year is 00:08:17.009 --> 00:08:20.490 my minimum starting price. But if we go back 00:08:20.490 --> 00:08:23.829 to residential work, then a lot of people are 00:08:23.829 --> 00:08:26.810 going to be at around the 60 to $80 mark as their 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:31.149 minimum on residential jobs. Okay. So what is 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:34.149 your most profitable service that you offer? 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:38.809 Or should I ask first, What services do you offer 00:08:38.809 --> 00:08:43.490 and what is your most profitable? So my business 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:47.250 is revolved around maintenance only rather than 00:08:47.250 --> 00:08:51.590 doing improvements. So I'm not doing a business 00:08:51.590 --> 00:08:57.669 model where we do hard landscaping. do some mulch 00:08:57.669 --> 00:09:01.269 installs and a few garden installs but predominantly 00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:04.129 what I'm doing is lawn and garden maintenance. 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:07.950 So hedge trimming and lawn mowing and general 00:09:07.950 --> 00:09:11.049 garden tidy. So weed spraying, weed pulling. 00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:16.309 And that's the bulk of what I'm doing. I find 00:09:16.309 --> 00:09:19.580 for myself I package that all into one, so I'm 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:21.840 not putting a higher price or a lower price on 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:24.779 that. And when it comes to doing a mulch install 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:28.960 or a garden install, then I will look at the 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:31.659 costs associated with that job and make sure 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:39.019 that my margin is a healthy ratio. OK, what systems 00:09:39.019 --> 00:09:43.740 or tools has made the biggest impact on your 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:48.700 efficiency? What equipment do you use? Oh, I'm 00:09:48.700 --> 00:09:50.399 going to hit both of those there. So systems 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.000 and tools. So there's a couple of tools that 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.639 I have found really have improved my efficiency. 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:02.860 I started 15 years ago with a residential quality 00:10:02.860 --> 00:10:07.679 Dixon 42 inch zero turn mower. And now I use 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:10.340 a couple of right standards. So I've got the 00:10:10.340 --> 00:10:12.840 standard I 42 inch and I've got the standard 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:18.100 ZK 61 inch and the Productivity levels on the 00:10:18.100 --> 00:10:21.139 61 -inch machine are far superior to any other 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:22.740 machine I've used, and I've used quite a few. 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:25.179 But yeah, the productivity levels on that 61 00:10:25.179 --> 00:10:27.580 -inch machine with a 37 -horse vanguard on it, 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:31.600 it's just amazing. So that's one. Battery tools 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.659 is another massive efficiency gain for me. I 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:37.159 have had a lot of problems with tennis elbow 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.139 or golfer's elbow, depending on which way you 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:44.519 swing that one. But... The battery tools, I have 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:46.440 not had any problems while I'm using them. So 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:48.820 the battery tools have been really good, not 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:51.639 just for preventing injury, but also in terms 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:55.860 of operation, they're quiet and effective. I'm 00:10:55.860 --> 00:10:58.059 able to recharge them while I'm on the run, so 00:10:58.059 --> 00:11:02.440 that's not a problem. And yeah, those are the 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:03.980 tools that I think make the biggest difference 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:10.419 for me. Then systems, I have... I've interviewed 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:14.059 270 odd people since I've been podcasting Andy. 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:17.639 And what I've learned from other people, I've 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:21.899 adopted myself along the way. So the systems 00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:24.039 that probably make the biggest difference to 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:28.740 me right now would be having documentation. And 00:11:28.740 --> 00:11:30.840 some people might say, oh, that's boring. That's 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:34.179 not a system. Everything we do is a system, whether 00:11:34.179 --> 00:11:38.509 it's intentional or not. And so the way you start 00:11:38.509 --> 00:11:41.470 your run in the morning, how you pack your tools, 00:11:42.429 --> 00:11:44.610 what you tell your employees, everything is a 00:11:44.610 --> 00:11:48.629 system. What I've found is that if the system 00:11:48.629 --> 00:11:53.629 is in my head, it's reliant on me doing it or 00:11:53.629 --> 00:11:56.549 giving directions to an employee to do it. And 00:11:56.549 --> 00:11:59.710 that's inefficient. When it's documented, and 00:11:59.710 --> 00:12:02.990 I've got clear documentation for employee contract 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:08.210 and... work health and safety policy and standard 00:12:08.210 --> 00:12:12.230 operating procedures, then it gives my employees 00:12:12.230 --> 00:12:17.509 a sense of confidence that they know what their 00:12:17.509 --> 00:12:20.029 expectations are and what their job role is and 00:12:20.029 --> 00:12:24.870 if they enjoy it. If they don't have that foreseen 00:12:24.870 --> 00:12:27.070 approach where they can go, yeah, we know what 00:12:27.070 --> 00:12:29.789 we're doing, then there's a little bit of uncertainty 00:12:29.789 --> 00:12:32.909 just in general, but also in their job stability. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:37.379 So that's a great system. Well, let's talk about 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:40.419 the battery powered equipment for a minute. I 00:12:40.419 --> 00:12:45.179 just did a podcast with Danny Hernandez with 00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:50.620 all that grass lawn care. And he is... Thank 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:55.620 you. He's transitioning to battery powered equipment. 00:12:56.100 --> 00:13:00.360 And I believe you primarily use battery powered 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:05.259 equipment. Is that correct? Correct. So the petrol 00:13:05.259 --> 00:13:07.720 tools that I still use are the ride on or stand 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:12.080 on mowers of course and I still have a BR600 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:16.919 backpack blower. So what is your feeling about 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:20.879 battery powered equipment? Is it going to take 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:25.919 over our industry? Are we going to be kind of 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:30.080 pushed into battery powered equipment? or will 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:33.399 gas -powered equipment always be around too? 00:13:34.899 --> 00:13:37.899 So, look, I've been at the forefront with battery 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:40.379 -powered equipment in Australia, and I think 00:13:40.379 --> 00:13:42.419 Australia versus America, there are slightly 00:13:42.419 --> 00:13:44.399 different adoption rates when it comes to battery 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:49.879 power, but I've been using it since 2019, and 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:53.580 actually started testing it in 2018. But what 00:13:53.580 --> 00:13:56.779 I've found over that time frame, so we're talking 00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:00.299 six, seven years now, is that the battery powered 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:03.240 tools are far superior in a lot of ways. They 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:05.779 have some downsides. So carrying petrol is much 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:07.720 more efficient than carrying batteries when you're 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.799 running a tight route density. And you want to 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:14.120 know that your employees and you have the access 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:18.539 to fuel or battery. So battery is a fuel one 00:14:18.539 --> 00:14:22.639 way or another. But yeah, carrying gas, as the 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:27.330 Americans call it, we call it petrol here. That's 00:14:27.330 --> 00:14:32.429 easier to deal with in general. But the comparison 00:14:32.429 --> 00:14:36.090 I've seen here at the moment is that in the commercial 00:14:36.090 --> 00:14:38.429 space, there has been a great uptake of battery 00:14:38.429 --> 00:14:41.629 powered tools. And outside of the commercial 00:14:41.629 --> 00:14:44.509 space, it's almost nonexistent. So even then 00:14:44.509 --> 00:14:46.350 in the commercial space, I think it's around 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.590 10 to 15 % of contractors in Australia using 00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:53.950 battery tools. So certainly I don't see it being 00:14:53.950 --> 00:14:58.169 pushed really heavily here. And I don't think 00:14:58.169 --> 00:15:00.289 the government is mandating it here other than 00:15:00.289 --> 00:15:02.830 one or two small spaces, but in America, you've 00:15:02.830 --> 00:15:06.129 got, you know, California rules, which are mandating 00:15:06.129 --> 00:15:10.610 a lot of battery powered tools. So I guess it's 00:15:10.610 --> 00:15:12.870 just one of those things, Andy, if you look at 00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:14.730 cars and the way they've changed in the last 00:15:14.730 --> 00:15:18.769 15 years, or your lifetime and my lifetime, cars 00:15:18.769 --> 00:15:21.370 have changed hugely. And it's not a matter of 00:15:21.370 --> 00:15:22.970 being mandated. It's a matter of going, well, 00:15:23.009 --> 00:15:24.470 what do you want? You want something that's current 00:15:24.470 --> 00:15:28.059 and fairly efficient to operate. Well, I've had 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:33.299 a brand reach out to me and I'm going to become 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:38.940 a Influencer for this brand And they are sending 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:43.600 me a bunch of battery powered equipment And I'm 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:46.519 excited to use it. I can't wait to get it. It's 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.460 gonna be shipped on the 18th of this month so 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:53.870 stay tuned Stay tuned. There's going to be some 00:15:53.870 --> 00:15:57.669 content on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook. 00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:01.809 And we'll probably do a podcast episode about 00:16:01.809 --> 00:16:04.409 it. So I'm excited to work with this brand and 00:16:04.409 --> 00:16:08.830 I'm excited to try out the battery powered equipment. 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:13.789 Chris sent me a blower and I've been using it. 00:16:15.009 --> 00:16:18.289 Echo sent me a blower and I've been using it. 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:24.480 Cynics sent me a blower and I've been using it 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:31.240 so I like the way they work. I mean just pull 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:34.399 a trigger and go. You don't have to pump it, 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:38.059 prime it, pull a string, any of that. You just 00:16:38.059 --> 00:16:41.320 grab it, pull the trigger and start blowing or 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:45.600 start trimming. So do you feel like the battery 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:50.090 powered equipment is more efficient? than gas 00:16:50.090 --> 00:16:53.429 powered equipment. Andy, there's a couple of 00:16:53.429 --> 00:16:56.950 things that come up there. And I like to say 00:16:56.950 --> 00:17:00.210 this, but the battery blowers are a gateway drug. 00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:06.789 They really are a lot of fun and so easy to use. 00:17:06.849 --> 00:17:08.710 The blower is one of those tools you're just 00:17:08.710 --> 00:17:10.549 always sitting there when you pull it out of 00:17:10.549 --> 00:17:13.470 the trailer, priming it, pumping it, pull starting 00:17:13.470 --> 00:17:15.029 it, and away you go. Whereas the battery blower, 00:17:15.029 --> 00:17:16.869 you pull it out. As long as it's got a charged 00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:18.069 battery in it, all you gotta do is pull that 00:17:18.069 --> 00:17:21.130 trigger. And a lot of battery tools nowadays 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:23.569 don't even have an on -off switch. So some of 00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:25.470 the brands I've used, it's just pull the trigger 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:27.589 and away it goes. You've got to be careful. It 00:17:27.589 --> 00:17:29.009 doesn't accidentally bump the trigger when it's 00:17:29.009 --> 00:17:35.150 in the trailer. So what you'll find comparing 00:17:35.150 --> 00:17:37.750 different tools in the battery lineup, you do 00:17:37.750 --> 00:17:41.450 get efficiency gains with some tools. The hedge 00:17:41.450 --> 00:17:43.910 trimmer is one of the most efficient battery 00:17:43.910 --> 00:17:49.099 tools you will find. So one of the... The terminology 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:51.619 that we use talking about battery tools is the 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:54.660 battery capacity. Now you will have different 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:58.460 voltage brands and you'll have a host of different 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:03.619 variables there, but if you look at volts times 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:07.440 amps, that will give you watts, right? So if 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:12.019 you have a 5 amp hour battery that is 36 volts, 00:18:12.099 --> 00:18:14.859 you multiply 36 by 5 and that will give you the 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:19.079 amount of watt hours of available electricity. 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.539 So that's just one option. So that's 180 watt 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:24.099 hours for anybody who hasn't done the maths. 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:27.960 When you're looking at battery tools, the average 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.799 watt hours available on a handheld tool will 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.500 be somewhere around 200 to 300 watt hours. Sometimes 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:35.819 that 180 watt hours is fairly common as well. 00:18:36.670 --> 00:18:38.950 If you're running a whipper snipper, you can 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:42.309 chew through that battery in five minutes, or 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:44.710 you might get 40 minutes runtime if you're doing 00:18:44.710 --> 00:18:47.369 well -maintained grass that is easy for you to 00:18:47.369 --> 00:18:52.569 trim. If you look at a hedge trimmer, that same 00:18:52.569 --> 00:18:57.329 battery will do three to four hours. And in a 00:18:57.329 --> 00:19:01.869 blower, five minutes. Yeah, the hand -held blowers 00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:06.700 that I've been sent, the batteries... They run 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:11.660 down pretty quick. But I haven't really noticed 00:19:11.660 --> 00:19:16.519 any less power with the battery blowers versus 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:23.619 my steel BR800 or my handheld steel. So I think 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:29.740 the power is about the same. My only hesitation 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:34.140 is that battery life. Trying to get it to last. 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:37.559 long enough to where I can work the entire day 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:42.980 and keep batteries charged and running. What 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:46.119 I've found, because I've interviewed a lot of 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:48.019 guys in Australia that are running battery equipment, 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:51.940 the average brand of battery tool, so there's 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:55.460 variables but the average one, for an individual 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:58.059 person between six and ten batteries to get them 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:03.430 through a day. And what brand? What brand of 00:20:03.430 --> 00:20:07.230 battery -powered equipment are you using? I've 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:08.750 played around with a few different brands like 00:20:08.750 --> 00:20:11.930 you, so I've predominantly used Husqvarna and 00:20:11.930 --> 00:20:15.849 Ego. Okay. Well, have you heard of Greenworks? 00:20:16.930 --> 00:20:20.589 Yes, I have indeed and I do like Greenworks. 00:20:21.410 --> 00:20:24.670 Greenworks sent me a battery -powered hedge trimmer. 00:20:25.009 --> 00:20:29.470 Yeah. And I love that thing. It'll trim anything. 00:20:30.329 --> 00:20:34.029 There's not a there's not a shrub too thick or 00:20:34.029 --> 00:20:36.970 too tall that that thing will not cut through 00:20:36.970 --> 00:20:40.769 And it's battery powered and it will last a good 00:20:40.769 --> 00:20:47.309 long time So I'm excited about that but I I really 00:20:47.309 --> 00:20:50.349 want to get to the place where I'm following 00:20:50.349 --> 00:20:55.049 the industry and I'm not going against the industry. 00:20:55.049 --> 00:20:58.289 You know what I mean? If the industry is heading 00:20:58.289 --> 00:21:01.549 that direction then I want to head that direction 00:21:01.549 --> 00:21:05.390 because I think you either flow with the industry 00:21:05.390 --> 00:21:10.529 or you'll get ran over by the industry. Yeah. 00:21:10.930 --> 00:21:14.690 Well, I had the the fortune of interviewing still 00:21:14.690 --> 00:21:17.450 a few months ago. So I noticed you mentioned 00:21:17.450 --> 00:21:20.509 that you've got still battery, not battery, but 00:21:20.509 --> 00:21:23.650 petrol powered tools and the still battery line 00:21:23.650 --> 00:21:26.230 up that is available now is phenomenal. So that's 00:21:26.230 --> 00:21:28.109 another brand that is well worth looking into. 00:21:29.329 --> 00:21:32.410 used a couple of steel tools use them when I 00:21:32.410 --> 00:21:34.230 interviewed them I had a demonstration with their 00:21:34.230 --> 00:21:39.150 tools but I'm still considering different brands 00:21:39.150 --> 00:21:41.289 at the moment so I've been using the Husqvarna 00:21:41.289 --> 00:21:43.849 and the Ego for a while but most of my batteries 00:21:43.849 --> 00:21:47.049 are now at that stage where five six seven years 00:21:47.049 --> 00:21:51.250 old and it's time to replace them so that's why 00:21:51.250 --> 00:21:53.769 I'm thinking I might try Greenworks or Steel 00:21:53.769 --> 00:21:56.589 in Australia we've got another brand called Bushranger 00:21:56.589 --> 00:21:59.660 I've never heard of that Yeah, it's an Australian 00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:03.180 brand. The Scenics has just come here as well. 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:09.539 So tell us your honest opinion on battery powered. 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:13.980 Is it worth the investment? Because there is 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:17.000 an investment to it. The price of everything 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:21.160 is a little higher when you go to buy the batteries, 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:30.350 the charger, and the piece of equipment. what 00:22:30.350 --> 00:22:35.829 brand or what would give someone the best ROL 00:22:35.829 --> 00:22:40.069 return on their ROI, I'm sorry, the best return 00:22:40.069 --> 00:22:44.190 on their investment. So, look, I'm going to say 00:22:44.190 --> 00:22:46.910 this varies, Andy, and if you've got somebody 00:22:46.910 --> 00:22:49.859 that's just starting a business. And in Australia, 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:52.319 we refer to our industry as a low barrier to 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:54.779 entry. Anybody can go buy three tools, chuck 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:57.099 them in the back of their hatchback. You would 00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.180 have heard Paul Jamieson mention that. That's 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:02.539 how I started. Yeah. If you chuck three tools 00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:04.960 in your hatchback, you're going to find it a 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.000 lot easier if you go down to your local hardware 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:12.460 store and buy a Ryobi. And if you want something 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:16.069 that's going to be commercial quality, then that's 00:23:16.069 --> 00:23:18.690 where you can start to find its neck and neck 00:23:18.690 --> 00:23:21.250 between the return on investment between battery 00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:24.049 and petrol. So with petrol tools you will save 00:23:24.049 --> 00:23:26.509 money up front because you're not buying fuel 00:23:26.509 --> 00:23:28.849 when you buy the tool, whereas with the battery 00:23:28.849 --> 00:23:31.130 tools when you buy the tool you're buying... 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:34.259 a lot of fuel up front. Now yes, you still have 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:36.460 to recharge your batteries, but the cost of recharging 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:38.559 is very low by comparison to the cost of buying 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.920 petrol. So those two costs tend to balance each 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.599 other out over time. And you find after you've 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:46.759 bought batteries, like I said, I've had between 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:49.259 five and seven years run out of my Husqvarna 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:52.059 batteries. And they're at that stage where they 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:55.480 need to be replaced. So keep in mind each battery 00:23:55.480 --> 00:24:01.589 was about $400 to buy. When you're buying battery, 00:24:01.869 --> 00:24:04.009 you're making all of your investment up front. 00:24:04.410 --> 00:24:08.650 When you buy gas powered, that investment is 00:24:08.650 --> 00:24:14.009 every week filling up the gas, the mixed oil. 00:24:16.430 --> 00:24:21.750 You got to constantly repair and fix. I've had 00:24:21.750 --> 00:24:25.849 so many problems with some of my equipment, with 00:24:25.849 --> 00:24:29.279 the screen getting clogged up. and having to 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:32.619 take it out, clean it, burn it off, put it back 00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:37.160 on. And we can thank California for all of that, 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:40.779 that we have to deal with. We have that same 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:43.700 issue here. And there is one brand in particular 00:24:43.700 --> 00:24:47.279 that is really common for that. We call it the 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:49.859 spark arrestor. That's the screen in your exhaust 00:24:49.859 --> 00:24:52.380 that you have to pull out and clean. What most 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:54.819 people do here is they pull it out and, oops, 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:56.900 didn't put it back in. Never blocks up again. 00:24:59.060 --> 00:25:01.440 We're going to take a short break and hear a 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:06.119 word from my show sponsor, Eartha Pro. It is 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:10.400 a software designed for solo operators or small 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.900 business owners. Let's listen to what Eartha 00:25:13.900 --> 00:25:17.359 Pro has to say. Tired of chasing payments and 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:20.779 losing track of jobs? Eartha Pro back office 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:23.779 software makes it simple for solo guys and small 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:27.420 lawn care and landscaping crews. schedule, invoice 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:30.700 and organize all in the same place. We also have 00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:33.559 a mobile app and integrate into QuickBooks. Sign 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:37.000 up at EarthaPro .com with promo code THELAWNHUSTLE11 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:41.420 for a $50 Amazon gift card, 10 % off and personalized 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:44.359 onboarding. Eartha Pro, you run the outside work, 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:49.519 we run the office. And we're back with Gary Ashton. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:52.140 We're happy to have him on the show tonight. 00:25:52.670 --> 00:25:58.289 And I was a guest on his podcast last week, and 00:25:58.289 --> 00:26:01.990 I enjoyed myself. And I appreciate you being 00:26:01.990 --> 00:26:09.490 here tonight. Let's talk about our faith for 00:26:09.490 --> 00:26:14.829 just a minute. We are not ashamed of the gospel 00:26:14.829 --> 00:26:18.609 of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. 00:26:19.789 --> 00:26:24.990 So, let me ask you, Has there been any time in 00:26:24.990 --> 00:26:29.750 your business where your faith was challenged 00:26:29.750 --> 00:26:35.769 or questioned by maybe a client or a competitor? 00:26:36.990 --> 00:26:41.009 Any experience in that? Yeah, Andy, look, I'm 00:26:41.009 --> 00:26:44.190 happy to be really raw and real with this. I 00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:46.589 started my business in a very tumultuous time 00:26:46.589 --> 00:26:53.089 of my life. So 2010, I had been divorced. and 00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:59.109 remarried and remarried with one child of my 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:01.869 own two stepchildren and one child that's ours 00:27:01.869 --> 00:27:07.470 so four children new marriage new business and 00:27:07.470 --> 00:27:11.890 the family life was tumultuous and the business 00:27:11.890 --> 00:27:15.349 was not doing well and my ex -wife took me to 00:27:15.349 --> 00:27:20.740 court to get custody of my son so i was at the 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:24.759 lowest point in my life about a year into my 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:28.839 business where I was going to court and I said 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:33.779 to God one night I said I have lost the motivation 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.460 for absolutely everything in my life I really 00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:41.480 don't have any care or desire to be here and 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:43.859 I wasn't suicidal but I was at that point where 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:45.720 I was done with life and I was like everything 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:50.799 is just hurting so I prayed that morning when 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:57.519 I got up and I said to God, I have zero investment 00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:00.579 in the outcome of anything that I am doing here, 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:04.559 God. So it is yours. Whatever happens, you tell 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:06.319 me what you want me to do. If you've got some 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.259 instructions for me, because I'm not sure where 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:11.859 I stand with what I believe anymore. It's yours, 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:16.619 God. And I started getting phone calls for new 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:20.640 customers. Every single one of those phone calls, 00:28:20.680 --> 00:28:23.460 Andy said that my phone number, they found it 00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:26.839 in the Yellow Pages in Australia. And in Australia, 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:30.380 the Yellow Pages is a paid phone book. You pay 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:33.700 to be in it as a business. And I have never been 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:35.400 put in the Yellow Pages. I've never paid for 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:39.460 it, not in there. Amazing. So I went from 20 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:42.559 customers to 70 customers in a very short space 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.029 of time. And every one of them said they found 00:28:46.029 --> 00:28:49.410 my phone number in the yellow pages. Wow. So 00:28:49.410 --> 00:28:54.329 I was walking a very close relationship with 00:28:54.329 --> 00:28:56.730 God through this experience and I said to God 00:28:56.730 --> 00:28:58.329 one day, I said, hey, you've blessed me with 00:28:58.329 --> 00:29:00.869 a problem. I've got so many people that I need 00:29:00.869 --> 00:29:05.250 to look after, I can't keep up. So I said, God, 00:29:05.329 --> 00:29:06.869 I'm going to need to put on an employee. And 00:29:06.869 --> 00:29:09.500 then I went and talked to my father. and my father 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:11.740 -in -law and I said hey I'm gonna have to put 00:29:11.740 --> 00:29:14.819 on some employees gonna think about this and 00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:17.680 um recommendation came back to employ a couple 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:19.960 of my nephews that were just finishing school 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:22.599 and give them casual work before the in between 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:26.740 school and studying at university and I called 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:28.619 my accountant up and I said hey I need to put 00:29:28.619 --> 00:29:31.740 on employees and can you help me set up the paying 00:29:31.740 --> 00:29:34.279 their tax and all the different documents I need 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:39.099 for that so my accountant said hey I've got a 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:41.079 employment agency on the books do you want me 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:42.859 to ask them if they've got anybody and I said 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:44.519 well sure because I'm going to need somebody 00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:47.279 once my nephews start studying at university 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:50.759 but you need to find somebody who's close by 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:52.779 so that I don't have to worry about travel and 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:54.240 preferably if they've got a driver's license 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:58.759 as well. The next day I got a phone call from 00:29:58.759 --> 00:30:01.670 an employment agency And they started rattling 00:30:01.670 --> 00:30:03.230 off a spiel. And I thought, hang on a minute, 00:30:03.309 --> 00:30:05.049 that doesn't sound right. And I'd interrupt them. 00:30:05.130 --> 00:30:07.150 I said, hang on a minute. Did my accountant give 00:30:07.150 --> 00:30:09.890 you my phone number? And they said, no, no, no. 00:30:10.029 --> 00:30:11.990 This is the first time we've ever done this. 00:30:12.170 --> 00:30:14.430 We're cold calling businesses from the yellow 00:30:14.430 --> 00:30:21.849 pages. So Andy, God's been really powerful in 00:30:21.849 --> 00:30:25.089 my life. And... That experience has one final 00:30:25.089 --> 00:30:28.029 thing that really stood out for me about 12 months 00:30:28.029 --> 00:30:30.789 after that initial experience. I realized I wasn't 00:30:30.789 --> 00:30:32.589 actually praying and relying on God every day 00:30:32.589 --> 00:30:35.769 when I started my day and asking him to lead 00:30:35.769 --> 00:30:40.269 and giving him the outcomes. So I was doing one 00:30:40.269 --> 00:30:43.289 of those jobs. Now, around here, I was doing 00:30:43.289 --> 00:30:45.809 jobs that range from 30 minutes to an hour. And 00:30:45.809 --> 00:30:47.910 then this one job that I picked up that God gave 00:30:47.910 --> 00:30:51.170 me was three hours long to mow the whole yard 00:30:51.170 --> 00:30:55.559 and do some gardens. And I started praying as 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:59.160 I started this three hour job. God, I've neglected 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.740 you. What is it you want from me? And it was 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:04.039 like a bolt of lightning, like not audible words, 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:06.759 but he basically said, you've got a court date 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:10.480 coming up next week for family custody arrangement 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:13.099 and you haven't given them instructions. You 00:31:13.099 --> 00:31:15.640 need to sort it out right now. So I said to God, 00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:17.960 I said, okay, done. As soon as I finished this 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:20.960 job, I will send an email to my lawyers with 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:23.779 the instructions. for the upcoming court date. 00:31:24.619 --> 00:31:28.740 As that happened, Andy, in my mind, then in the 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:33.279 prayer going through there, I was running ISO 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:36.200 tunes in my ears to listen to podcasts and whatever 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:38.480 while I was working and wasn't listening to something 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:40.960 then while I was praying, but I heard an email 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:45.140 tone come through the ISO tunes. Three hours 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:47.319 later, I've pulled up from putting the mailer 00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:49.480 in the trailer, hopped in my car, and I read 00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:51.720 the email that came in and it was from a lawyer. 00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:58.700 And my lawyer said, Gary, your ex -wife has withdrawn 00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:01.500 from the court case. It is all over. It's done. 00:32:02.220 --> 00:32:11.660 Awesome. I am so convinced that God is mindful 00:32:11.660 --> 00:32:15.519 of us. If it wasn't for the hand of God touching 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:19.619 my life, I wouldn't be here today. I would have 00:32:19.619 --> 00:32:24.619 died of cancer at one point. The doctor told 00:32:24.619 --> 00:32:29.319 me I had two weeks to live and that I would die 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:35.220 in my sleep. But I made it and I've been cancer 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:41.200 free now for 18 years, 17 years, something like 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:44.920 that. Congratulations. That is an awesome testimony 00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:51.740 for God. But it was nothing short of God touching 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:56.579 me. healing my body and giving me strength to 00:32:56.579 --> 00:33:00.200 start my business and to help me grow my business 00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:03.539 we started off with one customer now we have 00:33:03.539 --> 00:33:11.779 a hundred and forty and it all goes back to God 00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:14.200 putting this hand on my life and touching me 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:17.700 and I'm grateful for that in my life I'm grateful 00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:22.460 for what God has done in your life And we should 00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:27.859 never be intimidated to share our faith and our 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:31.339 testimony with somebody else. And that's why 00:33:31.339 --> 00:33:35.380 it's always welcome on my podcast to talk about 00:33:35.380 --> 00:33:39.000 our faith and our experience and our relationship 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:44.700 with Jesus Christ. Thanks, Andy. And yeah, I 00:33:44.700 --> 00:33:46.880 don't often talk about my faith on my podcast, 00:33:46.980 --> 00:33:49.299 but I don't deny it and I don't hide it. It's 00:33:49.299 --> 00:33:51.279 just one of those things where my podcast is 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:55.619 focused on business and helping people. And so, 00:33:55.619 --> 00:33:58.039 you know, if faith comes up, it comes up. Right. 00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:03.700 But yeah, it is great to share testimony. And 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:07.680 I think across. time, 2000 plus years since Jesus 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:10.659 was on earth, the testimonies that we share are 00:34:10.659 --> 00:34:13.260 the most powerful evidence of God's existence. 00:34:14.440 --> 00:34:18.940 Right. Well, let's move back into the lawn care 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:26.139 side of the show. What CRM are you using and 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:30.820 how do you do your billing? A little secret there 00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:34.079 at the moment, I'm not using a CRM. However. 00:34:34.510 --> 00:34:39.869 I have talked to a couple of CRM manufacturers 00:34:39.869 --> 00:34:42.949 that are Australian based and they are designed 00:34:42.949 --> 00:34:46.289 to benefit the Australian industry. So the two 00:34:46.289 --> 00:34:49.769 that I've talked to is ServiceMate and Sortscape. 00:34:50.489 --> 00:34:52.730 And the best way to describe the difference is 00:34:52.730 --> 00:34:56.150 that ServiceMate is aimed at industry where you 00:34:56.150 --> 00:34:59.280 have... the need to quote every job and you have 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:01.340 to do a lot of marketing. So it's really good 00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:04.019 at capturing leads and helping you to filter 00:35:04.019 --> 00:35:07.920 those leads from leads into schedules. Whereas 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:11.139 Sortscape is more focused on routine maintenance. 00:35:11.199 --> 00:35:13.960 So if you're doing a job every two weeks or every 00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:17.320 week or once a month or whatever it is, Sortscape 00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:20.219 is amazing at that side of it. And obviously 00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:23.820 they both can do both, but there is that little 00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:25.780 bit of a niche that they operate in differently. 00:35:27.460 --> 00:35:30.380 So I'm not actually using them, but I have had 00:35:30.380 --> 00:35:32.820 a bit of a play with both of those. I don't need 00:35:32.820 --> 00:35:35.800 to use a CRM at the moment because I only have 00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:41.900 two contracts. Right, okay. But Andy, if I can 00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:44.019 take you in an interesting direction, I didn't 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:47.239 mention to you beforehand, sorry if this throws 00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:50.079 you, but one of the things I've done with large 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:55.070 commercial work, is I have implemented a series 00:35:55.070 --> 00:35:58.289 of autonomous mowers to operate on the grounds 00:35:58.289 --> 00:36:02.789 there. So they do roughly a third of the lawn 00:36:02.789 --> 00:36:08.070 mowing for me. Oh, wow. Nice. That's good. What 00:36:08.070 --> 00:36:12.929 brand of autonomous mowers are you using? Look, 00:36:12.929 --> 00:36:16.250 I've played with a few brands. A lot of the mowers 00:36:16.250 --> 00:36:19.289 that I've been using are made by Ambrosio. They're 00:36:19.289 --> 00:36:22.780 an Italian brand. I've had a bit of a play with 00:36:22.780 --> 00:36:24.820 Husqvarna's as well and Husqvarna's are probably 00:36:24.820 --> 00:36:27.420 the OG in that space in terms of they've been 00:36:27.420 --> 00:36:30.039 around longer than any other brand. The other 00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:32.800 ones that I've found really interesting to use 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:37.119 are the Segway, the Segway Navimo. I seen the 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:43.219 Segway booth at Equip Expo and I watched their 00:36:43.219 --> 00:36:48.579 little mower, they had a little path set up for 00:36:48.579 --> 00:36:51.619 it to, you know. so people could watch it work. 00:36:52.260 --> 00:36:55.320 And it was going up a hill and down and around. 00:36:55.920 --> 00:36:58.440 And it was very interesting to me. And those 00:36:58.440 --> 00:37:03.840 have always been intriguing to me. I wonder, 00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:07.219 do you have to leave the mower on site or do 00:37:07.219 --> 00:37:09.260 you pick it up and take it back with you every 00:37:09.260 --> 00:37:12.880 day? That is a really good question. So all of 00:37:12.880 --> 00:37:15.539 the autonomous mowers I've used you leave them 00:37:15.539 --> 00:37:19.099 on site and they just stay there and the benefit 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:23.090 comes when they mow every day so In Australia, 00:37:23.429 --> 00:37:25.909 on average, a contractor will mow a lawn once 00:37:25.909 --> 00:37:30.110 every two weeks. So we call it fortnightly. A 00:37:30.110 --> 00:37:31.489 little bit different terminology, but that's 00:37:31.489 --> 00:37:34.809 what we run with. I encourage Australians to 00:37:34.809 --> 00:37:36.909 go to weekly cuts on their lawns, and then if 00:37:36.909 --> 00:37:38.769 you've got a robot, it's cutting once a day. 00:37:38.829 --> 00:37:42.570 So the finish is much better. Now, the other 00:37:42.570 --> 00:37:46.150 difference between Australia and the US in that 00:37:46.150 --> 00:37:49.719 regard is that... We often cut our grass like 00:37:49.719 --> 00:37:52.420 you would refer to sports turf. So it is cut 00:37:52.420 --> 00:37:56.340 around two to three inches tall. So a little 00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:57.860 bit lower than what the average lawn would be 00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:00.719 in the US. And I'm sure there's variation depending 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:03.860 on what state you're in in the US as well. But 00:38:03.860 --> 00:38:07.400 sports turf, around that two, I cut a lot of 00:38:07.400 --> 00:38:10.900 mine at two and a half inches, but then... there's 00:38:10.900 --> 00:38:12.940 an area which I cut like a golf course and it's 00:38:12.940 --> 00:38:17.119 cut at one inch tall. So 25 centimeters tall. 00:38:18.019 --> 00:38:20.219 And the robots excel at that because they're 00:38:20.219 --> 00:38:23.019 cutting once every day. And I think this is where 00:38:23.019 --> 00:38:25.400 I like to make a lot of noise about this. The 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:28.159 more often you cut, the lower you can cut and 00:38:28.159 --> 00:38:30.719 still have a really healthy lawn. So if I was 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:33.139 to come and cut some of your lawns at one and 00:38:33.139 --> 00:38:34.800 a half to two and a half inches, it would look 00:38:34.800 --> 00:38:36.960 like they've been scalped, right? Because they 00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:39.599 take all of the green off them. Whereas if you're 00:38:39.599 --> 00:38:43.260 cutting at one inch every day of the week, it 00:38:43.260 --> 00:38:44.940 looks green and it looks like a golf course. 00:38:46.460 --> 00:38:49.599 I cut my grass between three and a half and four 00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:58.199 inches. Yeah. And it looks green, healthy, and 00:38:58.199 --> 00:39:02.840 the stripes are beautiful. But we have cold season 00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:06.559 grass because we get a lot of snow in Indiana. 00:39:07.059 --> 00:39:10.929 So we're a cold season state. or warm season 00:39:10.929 --> 00:39:14.969 grasses like in Georgia, Florida, maybe California, 00:39:15.429 --> 00:39:19.829 they cut their grass shorter than what I do because 00:39:19.829 --> 00:39:24.809 the different seasons and how that affects the 00:39:24.809 --> 00:39:29.849 grass growth and the health of the grass. So 00:39:29.849 --> 00:39:33.610 I don't cut real short. I've had a lot of customers 00:39:33.610 --> 00:39:37.750 ask me, well, can you cut shorter? I say, no. 00:39:38.840 --> 00:39:41.880 I would like to, but I just really don't want 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:44.780 to. Because you're going to have healthier grass. 00:39:45.260 --> 00:39:49.679 Because where I'm here from, short grass, you 00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:54.519 get more weeds. You get a weaker root system. 00:39:56.159 --> 00:40:00.179 But that loner grass, it seems to choke out weeds. 00:40:01.179 --> 00:40:04.420 The grass is healthier and stronger and looks 00:40:04.420 --> 00:40:07.659 better. So that's... one of the major differences 00:40:07.659 --> 00:40:11.619 between Australia and where I'm from in the United 00:40:11.619 --> 00:40:16.039 States. Yeah, and I think you'll get varying 00:40:16.039 --> 00:40:19.019 mileage when it comes to the issue about weeds 00:40:19.019 --> 00:40:22.619 coming through shorter or longer grass. One of 00:40:22.619 --> 00:40:25.300 the things I've noticed is that the warmer season 00:40:25.300 --> 00:40:29.000 grasses, if you cut them short, they thicken 00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:31.440 up really nicely and they choke the weeds out 00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:34.980 really well. So obviously in Australia we don't 00:40:34.980 --> 00:40:38.920 have a lot of areas where we have cold season 00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:40.980 grasses and even where we do have cold season 00:40:40.980 --> 00:40:44.480 grasses, we still don't get snow regularly in 00:40:44.480 --> 00:40:49.519 those areas. So most of Australia, it's an exception 00:40:49.519 --> 00:40:53.820 to see snow rather than the rule. We do have 00:40:53.820 --> 00:40:56.280 a couple of snow fields, but you don't see a 00:40:56.280 --> 00:40:57.679 lot of grass being mowed in the snow fields. 00:40:58.280 --> 00:41:02.440 We got a couple of inches of snow Monday. So 00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:05.380 we had our first snow, I had to let it melt off. 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:08.900 so I could finish trying to do some leaf cleanups, 00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:14.559 which we worked on those all day today. But I 00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:16.980 appreciate you. I really do. I thank you for 00:41:16.980 --> 00:41:20.699 reaching out to me and inviting me to be on your 00:41:20.699 --> 00:41:24.119 show. It was a great honor. And I appreciate 00:41:24.119 --> 00:41:28.159 you being a guest on my show. Where can our listeners 00:41:28.159 --> 00:41:33.780 follow you? How can they listen to you? So the 00:41:33.780 --> 00:41:36.559 easiest place to find me is Instagram. So if 00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:38.840 you look up Ozzy Lawn Stars, you will find my 00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:41.199 Instagram account. If you want to listen to my 00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:43.780 podcast, any of the podcast platforms, you will 00:41:43.780 --> 00:41:47.139 find Ozzy Lawn Stars. But again, Spotify and 00:41:47.139 --> 00:41:49.280 YouTube are the easiest place to find Ozzy Lawn 00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:52.539 Stars. Well, when you reached out to me to be 00:41:52.539 --> 00:41:57.079 on your show, I searched you on Apple Podcast 00:41:57.079 --> 00:42:01.559 and subscribed and hit the notification button. 00:42:02.159 --> 00:42:03.940 Because I don't want to miss an episode. I want 00:42:03.940 --> 00:42:06.739 to hear what you have to say. Because I believe 00:42:06.739 --> 00:42:11.480 you can be a voice in my life to help guide and 00:42:11.480 --> 00:42:16.820 direct me towards success. And I encourage my 00:42:16.820 --> 00:42:21.199 listeners to search him. Follow him. Subscribe 00:42:21.199 --> 00:42:24.780 to him. And you will enjoy his podcast. I've 00:42:24.780 --> 00:42:29.210 listened to several. in the last few days and 00:42:29.210 --> 00:42:34.710 I've enjoyed those and I like your content and 00:42:34.710 --> 00:42:40.969 I appreciate your voice in our industry. It really 00:42:40.969 --> 00:42:46.690 has meaning, has something to share with us and 00:42:46.690 --> 00:42:50.309 to help us grow. So thank you for all of that. 00:42:51.130 --> 00:42:53.289 Thanks for the comment words and I'll say this 00:42:53.289 --> 00:42:56.880 about that. started my business 15 years ago. 00:42:57.099 --> 00:42:59.699 I started listening to content on my phone straight 00:42:59.699 --> 00:43:02.659 away, but podcasts were not big back then. And 00:43:02.659 --> 00:43:05.099 it was a little way down the track before I found 00:43:05.099 --> 00:43:09.619 Julio to me. And Julio's in Canada, right? And 00:43:09.619 --> 00:43:12.139 I was listening to Julio's podcast. Two things 00:43:12.139 --> 00:43:14.760 stood out to me. One is that Canada and the US 00:43:14.760 --> 00:43:17.199 have very different conditions to Australia. 00:43:17.260 --> 00:43:20.900 The other one was that when Julio did an interview 00:43:20.900 --> 00:43:24.099 episode, it piqued my interest. So I started 00:43:24.099 --> 00:43:26.039 listening or looking through his content just 00:43:26.039 --> 00:43:27.539 for the interviews because I was like, okay, 00:43:27.579 --> 00:43:29.820 when he's interviewing somebody else, that is 00:43:29.820 --> 00:43:32.039 really interesting to me. And so my podcast is 00:43:32.039 --> 00:43:34.139 built around doing interviews. There is every 00:43:34.139 --> 00:43:37.880 episode that's an interview with somebody. What 00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:49.099 is your best marketing strategy? Have we got 00:43:49.099 --> 00:43:54.929 another hour? Now I'll keep it short. So in my 00:43:54.929 --> 00:43:58.889 opinion, Andy, we have the capacity to look at 00:43:58.889 --> 00:44:01.650 marketing predominantly based on what our brain 00:44:01.650 --> 00:44:04.510 tricks us into believing is true. So when you 00:44:04.510 --> 00:44:06.829 start your business and you started by doing 00:44:06.829 --> 00:44:10.030 a word of mouth job, so somebody approached you 00:44:10.030 --> 00:44:11.789 and said, can you do this? And you're like, oh, 00:44:12.010 --> 00:44:14.050 there's an opportunity. I'll start a business, 00:44:14.090 --> 00:44:16.050 which took a little bit of time for you to get 00:44:16.050 --> 00:44:18.429 that process into place, but that's how you started. 00:44:18.809 --> 00:44:21.369 So. What your brain tells you in this situation 00:44:21.369 --> 00:44:25.630 is word of mouth marketing gives you a 100 % 00:44:25.630 --> 00:44:30.389 success rate. Right. My first year, my business 00:44:30.389 --> 00:44:34.329 grew 0 % from word of mouth. So I had word of 00:44:34.329 --> 00:44:38.349 mouth inquiries come in and I got them 100 % 00:44:38.349 --> 00:44:42.050 but come and go. So I'd lose one, I'd gain one. 00:44:42.610 --> 00:44:45.050 Over that first 12 months, I barely gained anything. 00:44:45.889 --> 00:44:49.250 What I have found is word of mouth can get you 00:44:49.250 --> 00:44:53.429 customers, no doubt. But also if you start doing 00:44:53.429 --> 00:44:58.030 marketing down the lines of, so we can't do door 00:44:58.030 --> 00:45:00.070 hangers in Australia, but letterbox dropping 00:45:00.070 --> 00:45:05.469 or Google ads or Facebook ads, you can do really 00:45:05.469 --> 00:45:07.329 targeted advertising with all of those three 00:45:07.329 --> 00:45:12.110 options, right? So those allow you to increase 00:45:12.110 --> 00:45:15.369 the value of word of mouth. So what I'm saying 00:45:15.369 --> 00:45:18.570 here is by combining the various different forms, 00:45:18.570 --> 00:45:22.030 you get the best value. So if you just do Google 00:45:22.030 --> 00:45:25.329 ads or Facebook ads or letterbox drops, you are 00:45:25.329 --> 00:45:29.630 getting half of one percent return in inquiry 00:45:29.630 --> 00:45:35.489 rate. So you put out a hundred flyers and you 00:45:35.489 --> 00:45:41.239 will get half of one inquiry. Right. If you put 00:45:41.239 --> 00:45:43.719 out those hundred flyers around a neighborhood 00:45:43.719 --> 00:45:45.920 where you've already got half a dozen lawns or 00:45:45.920 --> 00:45:49.400 all of your route, then when people see your 00:45:49.400 --> 00:45:52.920 flyer, they've also seen your trailer. Now, if 00:45:52.920 --> 00:45:55.559 they recognize you from the flyer and they go, 00:45:55.579 --> 00:45:57.500 oh yeah, the branding lines up, I can see his 00:45:57.500 --> 00:46:00.000 trailer, I can see his uniform, all those different 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:01.760 things. He looks polite, he looks professional, 00:46:01.800 --> 00:46:04.500 the job looks neat. You've got about five touch 00:46:04.500 --> 00:46:06.719 points just on those things, right? If you've 00:46:06.719 --> 00:46:08.820 got five touch points, that person trusts you. 00:46:09.679 --> 00:46:14.519 guess who's going to call you. Right. That's 00:46:14.519 --> 00:46:16.860 what I believe is the way to go. So you can do 00:46:16.860 --> 00:46:18.679 one or you can do the other or you can get the 00:46:18.679 --> 00:46:22.039 best of everything. I've started asking my customers 00:46:22.039 --> 00:46:30.300 if you are happy with the job and you are pleased 00:46:30.300 --> 00:46:34.860 with the work, leave me a five -star rating and 00:46:34.860 --> 00:46:40.429 a nice review on my Google business page. And 00:46:40.429 --> 00:46:49.510 last month, I got 68 contacts from Google calling 00:46:49.510 --> 00:46:54.710 for service. And I'm doing three jobs tomorrow 00:46:54.710 --> 00:47:00.730 from my Google ad. And on all of my local groups, 00:47:00.929 --> 00:47:04.210 like what's happening in New Castle, Indiana, 00:47:04.489 --> 00:47:08.590 or what's happening in Henry County, Indiana. 00:47:09.050 --> 00:47:14.789 I'll do an ad on those sites on Facebook. And 00:47:14.789 --> 00:47:18.789 I have gotten a ton of work off of those pages. 00:47:19.269 --> 00:47:23.110 So you are exactly right. And I think branding 00:47:23.110 --> 00:47:28.570 your vehicles, branding your shirts, your hats, 00:47:29.230 --> 00:47:34.230 all of that is a powerful influence on your business. 00:47:35.510 --> 00:47:43.280 So let me ask you this. One question before we 00:47:43.280 --> 00:47:49.679 start wrapping this up. What is the best or worst 00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:54.699 business advice you've ever been given? Best 00:47:54.699 --> 00:47:57.099 or worst business advice I've ever been given? 00:47:59.099 --> 00:48:04.019 Look, there's a dirty word that needs to be spoken 00:48:04.019 --> 00:48:11.389 about, and that word is mindset. So, in my opinion, 00:48:11.789 --> 00:48:17.369 Andy, mindset is the way we do things. In Christianity, 00:48:17.550 --> 00:48:20.909 we often think mindset is woo -woo and it is 00:48:20.909 --> 00:48:24.530 leading us down a path of spiritualism that is 00:48:24.530 --> 00:48:27.170 not God -focused, right? It's taking you away 00:48:27.170 --> 00:48:30.969 from God. Mindset literally is, when I get up 00:48:30.969 --> 00:48:32.429 in the morning, what's the first thing I do? 00:48:32.730 --> 00:48:36.250 Do I... let my mind be distracted by things that 00:48:36.250 --> 00:48:38.170 are taking me away from God or do I sit there 00:48:38.170 --> 00:48:42.329 and read my Bible and pray? Mindset is also this 00:48:42.329 --> 00:48:44.309 is the way I run my business so these are the 00:48:44.309 --> 00:48:46.230 steps I put in place every day and that's how 00:48:46.230 --> 00:48:49.329 my mind works, that's how everything works. I 00:48:49.329 --> 00:48:52.489 believe 100 % we need to challenge our mindset. 00:48:52.889 --> 00:48:54.989 We need to actually sit there and go okay what 00:48:54.989 --> 00:48:59.050 is it that my mind automatically does and is 00:48:59.050 --> 00:49:01.510 that healthy or is that bad? I can tell you right 00:49:01.510 --> 00:49:03.409 now if you've got an addiction and I've struggled 00:49:03.409 --> 00:49:05.610 right if you've got an addiction that is your 00:49:05.610 --> 00:49:09.530 mindset your mind is hooked on that process more 00:49:09.530 --> 00:49:13.889 than it is hooked on a substance if your mindset 00:49:13.889 --> 00:49:20.750 is in line with God's design for us and in line 00:49:20.750 --> 00:49:23.670 with business thinking, you hang out with five 00:49:23.670 --> 00:49:25.710 people you wanna be like on a regular basis. 00:49:26.869 --> 00:49:29.030 There's a bunch of other things we can run through 00:49:29.030 --> 00:49:32.269 like that, but you get what I'm saying. Utilizing 00:49:32.269 --> 00:49:35.250 the awareness that you can change your mindset 00:49:35.250 --> 00:49:37.349 and you can make it stronger and you can make 00:49:37.349 --> 00:49:40.389 it better. You can start to focus on business 00:49:40.389 --> 00:49:45.280 skills. rather than addictive substances or processes, 00:49:45.280 --> 00:49:47.699 you can make sure that your family life and your 00:49:47.699 --> 00:49:56.219 business life are built on healthy habits. That's 00:49:56.219 --> 00:50:01.599 good. That's real good. I think I read recently 00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:04.360 in a book, I'm trying to think of the name of 00:50:04.360 --> 00:50:07.260 the book I was reading because I'm always reading 00:50:07.260 --> 00:50:11.260 something or listening to a book. I've listened 00:50:11.260 --> 00:50:15.139 to or read, I think, all of Paul Jameson's books. 00:50:16.079 --> 00:50:20.579 His newest book, Level Up Your Money, is a great 00:50:20.579 --> 00:50:27.360 read. But I read that if you get up in the morning, 00:50:27.579 --> 00:50:29.480 the first thing you do is grab your phone and 00:50:29.480 --> 00:50:33.280 look at Instagram or look at Facebook or whatever, 00:50:34.139 --> 00:50:37.360 your day automatically is going to start off. 00:50:39.150 --> 00:50:44.010 more negative because of people putting garbage 00:50:44.010 --> 00:50:48.489 on social media and garbage in, garbage out, 00:50:48.489 --> 00:50:52.510 you know? But if you... It fuels a dopamine hit. 00:50:52.610 --> 00:50:55.809 And that dopamine hit is not a positive dopamine 00:50:55.809 --> 00:50:57.610 hit. If you want a dopamine hit, go for a run 00:50:57.610 --> 00:51:01.590 in the morning. Go to the gym. I get up in the 00:51:01.590 --> 00:51:07.750 morning and the first thing I do is I have to 00:51:07.750 --> 00:51:11.989 get my cat. some treats. She wants treats first 00:51:11.989 --> 00:51:14.989 thing in the morning. So I give her some treats 00:51:14.989 --> 00:51:18.789 and I make a pot of coffee. And I will look at 00:51:18.789 --> 00:51:22.250 my schedule and confirm what all has to be done 00:51:22.250 --> 00:51:27.130 that day. And is it necessary? Is it important? 00:51:27.650 --> 00:51:31.969 Is it an emergency that I get this done? Is it 00:51:31.969 --> 00:51:34.610 something I can delegate? Is it something that 00:51:34.610 --> 00:51:38.780 I need to do myself? and then I will set my schedule 00:51:38.780 --> 00:51:42.739 for that day according to what I planned that 00:51:42.739 --> 00:51:46.440 morning. And I know when I get in my truck and 00:51:46.440 --> 00:51:49.820 leave what I have to do, how long it's going 00:51:49.820 --> 00:51:53.900 to take me, and I can guess within about 30 minutes 00:51:53.900 --> 00:51:56.719 what I'm going to pull back in my driveway that 00:51:56.719 --> 00:52:00.380 night because I've timed myself on every job 00:52:00.380 --> 00:52:03.639 so I know exactly how long every day is going 00:52:03.639 --> 00:52:08.670 to be. And I try to start my day off positive. 00:52:09.329 --> 00:52:12.269 You know, I'll read some scriptures or I'll listen 00:52:12.269 --> 00:52:16.869 to a podcast or I'll listen to a motivational 00:52:16.869 --> 00:52:22.469 speaker. Something to help me start my day in 00:52:22.469 --> 00:52:26.409 the right direction. So you're exactly right 00:52:26.409 --> 00:52:31.150 that how you start your day will affect how the 00:52:31.150 --> 00:52:36.730 rest of your day goes. So that's so true. But 00:52:36.730 --> 00:52:40.369 I think we're going to wrap this up for tonight. 00:52:40.510 --> 00:52:42.510 Is there anything else that we're missing or 00:52:42.510 --> 00:52:46.250 leaving out that you want to share with us? Look, 00:52:46.349 --> 00:52:48.309 there's one thing you touched on. I didn't get 00:52:48.309 --> 00:52:49.909 the chance to say it at the time because we were 00:52:49.909 --> 00:52:52.849 moving in a different direction. But your location, 00:52:53.230 --> 00:52:56.210 you talked about the city that you're in being 00:52:56.210 --> 00:52:59.710 Newcastle. Yeah. Newcastle, Indiana. The name 00:52:59.710 --> 00:53:04.289 of the city is closest to me in Australia. Oh, 00:53:04.289 --> 00:53:11.239 really? Wow. That is amazing. I've heard you 00:53:11.239 --> 00:53:13.440 say that a few times on your podcast, but yeah, 00:53:13.639 --> 00:53:15.579 that's one of those things. I should mention 00:53:15.579 --> 00:53:20.840 that. Well, thank you for sharing that. I don't 00:53:20.840 --> 00:53:24.420 believe anything happens by accident. I believe 00:53:24.420 --> 00:53:28.980 that whatever happens, there's a reason for it. 00:53:28.980 --> 00:53:34.489 There's a purpose. And you told me that A man 00:53:34.489 --> 00:53:38.969 in Australia listened to my podcast and told 00:53:38.969 --> 00:53:42.869 you about it. That's correct. And then you contacted 00:53:42.869 --> 00:53:47.409 me to be on your show. I don't believe his name 00:53:47.409 --> 00:53:49.550 is Grant Osborne. So a big shout out to Grant 00:53:49.550 --> 00:53:51.570 for pointing me in this direction. Thanks, Grant. 00:53:52.030 --> 00:53:56.670 Thanks, Grant. I appreciate it. I don't think 00:53:56.670 --> 00:54:00.210 it was an accident that we met. I believe there's 00:54:00.210 --> 00:54:02.489 there's a purpose and I might not know the purpose 00:54:02.489 --> 00:54:05.840 now. I might not know or understand the full 00:54:05.840 --> 00:54:10.119 reason behind it yet, but there's a reason, there's 00:54:10.119 --> 00:54:15.159 a purpose. And when I make a friend, Tony Rudolph 00:54:15.159 --> 00:54:18.420 told me, when he makes a friend, we're friends 00:54:18.420 --> 00:54:22.840 for life. So when I make a friend, I want to 00:54:22.840 --> 00:54:24.559 tell you we're friends for life. You're stuck 00:54:24.559 --> 00:54:27.880 with me. Well, Andy, you're a good person to 00:54:27.880 --> 00:54:29.880 make a friend with. So I look forward to keeping 00:54:29.880 --> 00:54:34.070 in touch. Maybe I'll even make the effort to 00:54:34.070 --> 00:54:37.710 do a trip over there for the GIE Expo. I would 00:54:37.710 --> 00:54:41.710 love to have you come to the GIE Expo. It is 00:54:41.710 --> 00:54:47.170 to our industry what the World Series is to Major 00:54:47.170 --> 00:54:51.650 League Baseball. Or what the NBA Championship 00:54:51.650 --> 00:54:55.920 is to the NBA. That's what... Equip Expo is to 00:54:55.920 --> 00:54:59.780 the lawn care industry. It's the third largest 00:54:59.780 --> 00:55:04.880 trade event in the United States. So it is a 00:55:04.880 --> 00:55:08.440 huge event and if you come, I can introduce you 00:55:08.440 --> 00:55:12.320 to a bunch of people and we can go out, we can 00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:15.119 eat, we can fellowship. We just have a great 00:55:15.119 --> 00:55:18.400 time. Sounds awesome. I heard this year they 00:55:18.400 --> 00:55:20.320 did the prayer breakfast, I think they called 00:55:20.320 --> 00:55:27.750 it. Yes. Mike, oh, he played for the Chicago 00:55:27.750 --> 00:55:31.449 Bears Singletary, Mike Singletary. He was the 00:55:31.449 --> 00:55:36.889 speaker. Next year, Willie Robertson, Willie 00:55:36.889 --> 00:55:40.190 Robertson from Duck Dynasty is going to be the 00:55:40.190 --> 00:55:44.969 speaker. A year before last, Darrell Strawberry 00:55:44.969 --> 00:55:47.949 was the speaker, the Major League Baseball player. 00:55:48.690 --> 00:55:54.760 But it's awesome. It's incredible. just this 00:55:54.760 --> 00:55:58.199 year there was probably 400 people at the prayer 00:55:58.199 --> 00:56:01.559 breakfast. It started off I think the first prayer 00:56:01.559 --> 00:56:04.059 breakfast they said there was just a handful 00:56:04.059 --> 00:56:09.119 of people that showed up. Now because word is 00:56:09.119 --> 00:56:13.360 getting out how powerful it is and what an impact 00:56:13.360 --> 00:56:16.340 it's having on people's lives. People are coming 00:56:16.340 --> 00:56:20.659 and this year we had over 400 people show up 00:56:20.659 --> 00:56:23.639 for the prayer breakfast. Yeah. Well, I think 00:56:23.639 --> 00:56:26.079 a trade show like that can often revolve around 00:56:26.079 --> 00:56:28.360 the party life. So it's great to see that it's 00:56:28.360 --> 00:56:30.860 also got that spiritual life that's very present 00:56:30.860 --> 00:56:33.800 there. Right. And that's one thing that I admire 00:56:33.800 --> 00:56:40.159 about our industry. It is a community. It will 00:56:40.159 --> 00:56:43.659 accept and take in everyone. There really is 00:56:43.659 --> 00:56:47.079 no big eyes and little use. When you step into 00:56:47.079 --> 00:56:51.780 that massive showroom floor, and you can meet 00:56:51.780 --> 00:56:54.980 the Paul Jamiesons or the Naylor Taliaferros 00:56:54.980 --> 00:57:00.340 or the Bryan's Lawn Maintenance. You can meet 00:57:00.340 --> 00:57:02.519 these guys and shake their hand and talk to them 00:57:02.519 --> 00:57:04.840 and they'll answer questions. They'll talk to 00:57:04.840 --> 00:57:07.380 you. They'll give you advice. And it's the same 00:57:07.380 --> 00:57:10.699 thing. I'm not on their level. I don't know if 00:57:10.699 --> 00:57:13.380 I ever will be, but I've had people approach 00:57:13.380 --> 00:57:17.679 me and say, I watch your Instagram or your TikTok. 00:57:18.239 --> 00:57:20.820 I want to thank you for your content. I want 00:57:20.820 --> 00:57:23.420 to thank you for your podcast. Had a guy reach 00:57:23.420 --> 00:57:27.780 out to me just two weeks ago, thanking me for 00:57:27.780 --> 00:57:30.659 my podcast. One of the episodes that he listened 00:57:30.659 --> 00:57:34.159 to, he said it was exactly what he needed to 00:57:34.159 --> 00:57:39.460 hear at that moment. So our industry, it's a 00:57:39.460 --> 00:57:44.559 community and it's just awesome. If you come, 00:57:44.780 --> 00:57:47.500 I promise you, you would not be disappointed. 00:57:48.449 --> 00:57:52.150 I'm sure. But I want to just say a positive thing 00:57:52.150 --> 00:57:56.130 about you. I think you were a little bit dismissive 00:57:56.130 --> 00:57:57.789 of not being on the same level as the other guys 00:57:57.789 --> 00:58:01.070 in the podcast industry there. And I've listened 00:58:01.070 --> 00:58:03.429 to all of the podcasts, maybe not every one of 00:58:03.429 --> 00:58:05.489 them, but I've listened to them. And I choose 00:58:05.489 --> 00:58:08.210 to listen to yours because yours has a good focus 00:58:08.210 --> 00:58:10.849 on learning business skills and a focus on improving 00:58:10.849 --> 00:58:15.269 businesses. So on that level, I see your podcast 00:58:15.269 --> 00:58:19.059 as one of the best in the industry. I really 00:58:19.059 --> 00:58:23.940 appreciate that that that humbles me and I appreciate 00:58:23.940 --> 00:58:29.199 you for saying that. Thank you That's true and 00:58:29.199 --> 00:58:34.280 it was a joy to have you on my show and We're 00:58:34.280 --> 00:58:37.300 gonna stay in contact. You've got my email. You've 00:58:37.300 --> 00:58:42.119 got my my phone Let's stay in contact. I'll get 00:58:42.119 --> 00:58:45.400 you back on the show, you know here in the future 00:58:45.400 --> 00:58:49.539 and we'll have a great great show There's many 00:58:49.539 --> 00:58:51.480 more things we could talk about in another episode. 00:58:51.840 --> 00:58:53.960 Look, thanks for your time, Andy. It's been good 00:58:53.960 --> 00:58:56.300 to join you on your podcast and likewise having 00:58:56.300 --> 00:58:59.159 you on mine. Well, I appreciate you. I wish you 00:58:59.159 --> 00:59:02.659 nothing but success. And I know you're going 00:59:02.659 --> 00:59:07.420 in the right direction. Thanks. Well, folks, 00:59:07.460 --> 00:59:10.119 thank you for listening to the Lawn Hustle podcast. 00:59:10.860 --> 00:59:15.199 Until we talk again, remember the grass is greener 00:59:15.199 --> 00:59:18.449 where you water it. Thank you for joining. We'll 00:59:18.449 --> 00:59:19.429 talk again real soon.