In this interview, Marty Grunder is joined by Taylor Milliken to talk about changes that come when you grow a company and the journey from being a high-schooler striping lawns to now being an impressive, professional operation serving Nashville's growing market.

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Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Start

01:01 - A Heartfelt Thank You

01:50 - Meet Taylor Milliken

02:31 - Taylor’s Background and Early Days

05:13 - Building the Business

07:13 - Challenges and Lessons Learned

15:19 - Focus on Customer Service

18:22 - Balancing Innovation and Focus

19:49 - Embracing Peer Groups and Industry Advocacy

21:17 - Balancing Ideas and Implementation

23:32 - The Importance of Vision and Core Values

24:26 - Write This Down!

26:03 - Leadership and Empathy in Business

29:34 - Streamlining Technology for Efficiency

34:39 - The Power of Continuous Learning

36:41 - Future Outlook and Closing Remarks

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp  

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips  

The Grow Group   

Grunder Landscaping   

Marty Grunder LinkedIn  

Stihl  

Show Notes:

The Strategic Reset: Going Backwards to Go Forward

The Problem (2023-2024): Revenue dropped from $14M to $13M

The Solution: "Sales needs to be a product of customer service"

Hard Lessons That Stuck

The Property Line Disaster

First pool project - installed pool with property line running through middle of it, completely off client's property.

What Changed:

The Learning: "Professionalism is about being prepared for your client"

The Idea Filter: Stop Chasing Squirrels

Used to implement 50 things in 30 days after conferences. Nothing stuck.

Now runs every idea through:

Key Quote: "Too many businesses optimize things that shouldn't even exist in our company" - The Science of Scaling

New Rule: Pick 3 priorities maximum. Master them before adding more.

Game-Changing Communication System

The 5-10 Rule

The Friday Email (100% Eliminated Weekend Complaints)

Before leaving Friday, project manager emails client:

Why it works: Customers spend weekends looking at work and developing questions. Proactive communication eliminates reactive complaints.

Accountability: All emails CC'd to management, part of PM evaluation

The Team That Challenges You

30-day controller Sherry: "Taylor, you have the team focused on too many things. We need to focus on just being great landscapers."

Response: Within 24 hours, brought to team, deprioritized immediately.

Leadership Principle: If your team can't tell you when you're off base, you either have wrong people or need to add someone who can.

Daily Standards

Trucks washed every day before going out

Client meetings: Both decision makers must visit office for initial appointment

Strategic Reading Approach

Minimum 4 books/year for all leadership and middle management

Taylor's Method: Read books aligned with when you'll need those skills

Interview Question: "What book are you reading?"

Technology Philosophy

Key Learning: Technology without dedicated ownership doesn't succeed

Nashville Market Competitor Agreement

Gentleman's agreement with 4-5 competitors:

2026 Outlook

Bottom Line

Happy clients sell the next job. Focus on who you're serving today, not just who you're selling tomorrow. Implement fewer things better. Surround yourself with people who'll tell you when you're wrong. Create systems that prevent problems before they start.