Welcome back to the lawn hustle Today we're talking
about Timeless biblical principles for business
growth. Timeless biblical principles for business
growth grounded in scripture and highly applicable
for entrepreneurs, leaders, and service -based
business owners. Like those in the green industry.
2026 is here. We welcome the new year, but we
refuse to do things like we've always done them.
The definition of insanity is doing the same
thing over and over and over and over and expecting
a different result. The changing of the calendar
will not change your business. It is up to you
to put forth the effort, the work, and set your
business up for success. So we want to talk about
some biblical principles that will help us do
that. Number one, Everything belongs to God.
We manage it faithfully. 1 Corinthians 4 or 2
says, moreover, it is required in stewards that
a man be found faithful. So what is the business
application to this scripture? Number one, We
treat our business as a responsibility, not just
an asset. We manage our time, our finances, our
clients, and equipment with a spirit of excellence.
Growth follows faithfulness. If you're faithful
over a few things, the scripture said he'll make
you ruler over many things. If you're faithful
in the lean days, he will reward you with days
of plenty. Growth follows faithfulness, not shortcuts.
Number two, integrity builds long -term success.
Character sustains growth when opportunities
appear. If you are faithful and you work your
business with integrity, In the years when the
finances aren't there, the collaborations aren't
there, the sponsorships aren't there, but you
are faithful with what you have and you work
with what you have, opportunities will appear.
Because if you're faithful, faithfulness always
is followed by follows faithfulness, not shortcuts.
If you are taking shortcuts, you are setting
yourself up for failure. If you use terms like,
failure's not an option, or I refuse to come
up short, you are setting yourself up. Unless...
You are putting in the work to make sure failure
is not an option. So, integrity, it builds that
long -term success. The Bible said in Proverbs
21 and verse number one, a good name is more
desirable than great riches. My dad, God rest
his soul. used to tell me all the time that don't
do anything to put a black mark on your name
because if you destroy your name you might not
ever get it back and that has that has resonated
with me and stuck with me. I am now 60 years
old and throughout my life I want to try to be
a man of integrity, honesty, and faithfulness.
Keep your word with your customers and your employees.
your jobs honestly and deliver what you promise.
It's okay to not be the low guy, but if you're
the higher guy, make sure you deliver a job that
justifies the price. Your reputation compounds
faster. than marketing because word of mouth
at times can be your best advertisement. Principle
number three, diligence produces increase. Consistent
effort outperforms talent without discipline.
Let me say that again. Consistent effort performs,
or outperforms, I'm sorry, talent without discipline.
The plans of a diligent lead surely to abundance,
Proverbs 21 and five. The plans of the diligent.
lead surely to abundance. If you plan and you
work your plan, it will lead to abundance. The
business application is build your systems, your
schedules, and your standards. Don't rely on
motivation. rely on process. Motivation can fail,
motivation can dissipate, motivation can vanish.
But if you build systems, schedules and standards,
they will stand when you're not motivated. So
you cannot rely on motivation alone. Daily improvements
create big growth. How can I be five or 10 %
better today than I was yesterday? What can I
do today to asset my business, to bring my goals
to fruition? What can I do today to help me be
the best version of me. What can I do to help
my business grow? Biblical principle number four,
growth flows from service, not self -promotion.
We're gonna take a break and we're gonna hear
a word from Joey Koberley, the landscaping. Keeper.
Did you know that bookkeeping is one of the first
things you should outsource before scaling your
company? Hey guys, it's Joey with the landscaping
bookkeeper and I wanted to personally invite
you to join our group of more than 50 lawn care
owners that have decided to track and learn their
numbers. With the landscaping bookkeeper, you'll
get monthly accountability and peace of mind
knowing that your business is on the right track
financially. You can book a call with us by going
to the landscaping bookkeeper .com and scheduling
a 15 minute phone call. I look forward to hearing
from you guys. Thanks. And we're back. We want
to continue our biblical principles to business
growth. Principle number four. Let's recap. Number
one, stewardship over ownership. Number two,
integrity builds long -term success. Number three,
diligence produces increase. And number four,
Growth flows from service, not self -promotion.
Mark 10, 43. Whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant. We are servants. We're
servants to our clients. We're servants to our
community. And if you want to be great, you first
have to be a servant. Solve real problems with
real people. Train your team to serve, not to
just complete tasks. Loyal customers come from
genuine care. I have an ebook coming out soon
on rooted for the long haul, how to retain customers
in the green industry. Those customers, those
loyal customers come from genuine care. You treat
them with dignity. You treat them with respect.
You're a man of integrity. You walk with excellence
and honesty. And it builds a relationship with
your clients. And we all want loyal customers.
Those that will stick with you year after year
after year after year I've got some clients.
I've been serving since the first year. I was
in business Biblical principle number five wise
counsel accelerates growth Wise counsel accelerates
growth. Isolation limits perspective. Council
multiplies wisdom. No man is an island. I want
to tell you, we need each other in this industry.
We need to be a part of this community. When
you isolate yourself or you bury your head in
the sand, how will you know what's going on within
the industry in general? The trends, the new
equipment, the new programs to help your business
run more efficiently. You need to attend meetings
like the LCR Summit with Naylor. Talia Farrow,
you need to attend Equip Expo to see the latest
and the greatest in equipment. But more than
seeing new equipment, it's the networking opportunity.
I've heard it said several times, your net worth
is your network. Your network. is your net worth.
So you need to attend these meetings. There's
more meetings that are made available and offered
to those in the green industry to help your business
grow, to help you grow. If you stop growing,
you're dying. Can I repeat that? If you stop
growing, you are dying. Wise counsel accelerates
growth. There's nothing like getting next to
someone who has been where you are. And now they
have grown, they have scaled, they have advanced.
and they can help you. They can give you advice,
they can give you some principles to build your
business on, to establish systems that will help
you grow in this industry. When you serve before
you scale, It solves real problems for real people.
It trains your team and it builds those loyal
customers, those clients that won't leave you
when you raise your price because they know the
quality of work that you do. People are willing
to pay for their desired outcome. That's why
when you go to do an estimate, you need to communicate
with your potential client. Find out what is
their desired outcome. So you know how and what
you should price the job. Charge according to
your worth and the perceived hours. And if you
don't get the job, that's okay. Because there
will be more Google searches, there will be more
phone calls, there will be more estimate requests.
Charge your price, but deliver a job that justifies
your price. I hope that makes sense. Wise growth
accelerates when you get counsel. Plans fail
for lack of counsel, but with many advisors,
they succeed. Proverbs 20 and 18. Plans fail
for lack of counsel, but with many advisors,
they succeed. That's powerful stuff. Seek mentors,
coaches, peer groups. Join my mastermind group
on Facebook, The Lon Hussle Mastermind. We have
Zoom calls. We talk about business growth. We
talk about personal growth. We talk about what
we can do, when we need to do it. All of these
things are important. When you surround yourself
with people, there's something powerful that
transpires when you join your community. Learn
from those that are ahead of you. One thing I've
noticed about going to Equip Expo is I can walk
in and there's 30 ,000 people there. There are
a lot of businesses that are much further advanced
than I am. They run bigger operations. They have
greater revenue. They have nicer equipment. and
the list goes on and on. It does not intimidate
me because I can learn from them. And then there
are businesses that aren't where I am. And they
come up and talk to me, shake my hand, take a
picture, ask questions. Because the green industry
is a community. And when you surround yourself
with people that are further than you, it gives
you the encouragement or the strength that you
need or that inner self -worth that says, I can
do this. I want everyone to know you can make
it. Don't you give up? Don't you quit? Don't
you throw in the towel you can make it in this
industry get a mentor Get a coach and it might
cost you some money, but you need to invest in
yourself It's my opinion you should invest in
yourself equally to what you invest in your business
It might be a lot of money But when you invest
in yourself, it's going to make you a better
business owner, a better man, a better husband,
a better father. Read good books. And I can throw
this in, I'm not getting paid for any of this
advertisement, but I encourage you to read Paul
Jameson's books. Listen to the pond diggers podcast
Listen to the LCR media podcast Listen to Tony's
lawn care my friend Tony Rudolph listen to his
podcast Listen to Aaron Sutter's mowing in the
dark podcast Listen to the turf nerds podcast
with Greg and Evan great people They've been
there. They've done that. They know what's going
on in the industry. They're on the cutting edge,
and they can help you grow. When you're out working,
don't waste time just mowing. Listen to a podcast.
Listen to a book. Educate yourself. Train yourself
to become better. So, wise counsel. accelerates
growth. Learn from those that are ahead of you
and humility opens doors that pride closes. Humility
opens doors that pride closes. Number six. excellence
honors God your work is work that is done wholeheartedly
whatever you do work at with all your heart as
working for the Lord Colossians 3 23 The business
application is do quality work when no one's
watching. You know, they say the definition of
integrity can be you do watch right when you're
by yourself. You do watch right when no one's
watching. You do what's right when you're not
in a crowd. Train your team to care about the
details. I rolled up on a job one morning. I
told my helper, before we start, grab that trash
can, roll it up and set it beside the garage
door. He asks a question, is that our job? No,
it's not in the contract, but it's our job. Because
when you do the little things, it opens the door
for big things. When you're faithful over a few
things, it'll make you ruler over many things.
Excellence separates leaders from laborers. Principle
number seven. Patience beats impulse. Sustainable
growth takes time. Let us not become weary in
doing good. For at the proper time, we shall
reap a harvest. Galatians 6, 9. Don't rush growth.
Don't rush success. Daily put in the work. Daily
do what you need to do. Again, faithful in the
small things. Avoid fast money. that damages
trust. Build for the long term, not just this
season. And consistency creates momentum. We've
done a podcast in the past. Consistency is key.
Number eight, generosity. unlocks increase. Giving
creates a capacity for growth. Luke 6 .38, give
and it will be given unto you. Invest in your
people. Support your community. Give to the poor.
Be generous with knowledge and opportunity. I
was reading Paul Jameson's book on Level up your
money biblical principles And in this chapter
that he talked about giving to the poor it inspired
me And I mow a little homeless camp in town.
I don't get paid for it. I do it out of my heart.
And I went there to mow and a lady came walking
across the field. And I waved her down. She walked
up. I shut the mower off. and I reached into
my pocket, I had a $10 bill in my pocket, and
I gave it to her. I said, go get you something
to eat. Now, the biblical principle is you give
without an expectation of being paid back because
what you do in secret, he will reward openly.
So I gave her the $10 knowing she would never
pay me back. And that's okay. Because God will
reward. God will bless when you give to the less
fortunate. So be generous. Number nine. Leadership
is accountability. Authority grows when responsibility
is embraced. Luke 12, 48, from everyone who has
been given much, much will be demanded. So you
lead by example. You cannot lead. by saying,
you do what I say. You lead by saying, do what
I do. You see, I just believe you cannot be a
good business owner and not be a good husband.
They bleed together. You can't be one thing at
work and another thing at home. You can't be
one thing at home and another thing at work.
You need to be consistent. Take responsibility
when things go wrong. Growth follows trustworthy
leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership.
And if you think you're a leader, and nobody's
watching you, nobody's walking with you, then
you are just taking a walk. Biblical principle
number 10 for business growth, seek God first.
Matthew 6, 23, seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness. and all these things will
be added to you. The biblical application for
your business here is made decisions through
prayer and wisdom and godly counsel. Don't sacrifice
values for profit. When your priorities are right,
provisions follow. We're going to wrap this up,
but we're going to hear from our show sponsor,
Eartha Pro. And I want to say thank you, Eartha
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onboarding. The bottom line is, God grows what
we steward well. Serve faithfully. Lead with
integrity. Business growth isn't just about scaling
revenue. It's about building something that lasts.
If you have enjoyed this episode, share it with
a fellow lawn hustler. I hope that you find value
in this episode. It has meant a lot to me to
share it with you. We'll talk again next week.
I hope you have a great week.