Chris Lee's mom called him with a U-Haul in the driveway. He'd already accepted a job in Little Rock. The U-Haul went to Texas instead. He joined his family's landscape company — Earthworks — when it had 25 employees, an answering machine, a pager, and no real systems. His stepdad was a brilliant operator who couldn't tolerate people. Chris was the opposite. He liked people. That turned out to be enough to start something.

Over the next 25 years, Chris built Earthworks from a few hundred thousand in revenue to more than $40 million. He expanded geographically before it made obvious sense. He invested in data systems early, then figured out how to share that data with his team — and tie it to how they got paid. That comp shift, he says, was the single biggest thing they ever did. He opened new branches in Dallas and went greenfield into Houston with one operator and a foreman. And two years before going to market, he hired an advisor and did his own due diligence on the business — so when buyers came, there were no surprises. He sold to Osprey Landscape Group and rolled equity. He's still running the Texas platform. Still working more than he expected to. Still proving they made the right call.

Here's what we discuss with Chris:

• Canceling his job offer and joining the family business in 1998 with a pager and a roll of quarters
• Expanding the geographic and demographic footprint when the business was being too restrictive
• Investing in their first ERP system and what real-time job costing changed
• Why sharing financial data with your team is terrifying — and why you have to do it anyway
• Teaching employees the difference between profit and cash flow
• Tying comp to actionable behavior — and why it became the single biggest move they made
• The rule that changed everything: "My check gets cashed last"
• Opening new branches in Dallas and going greenfield into Houston
• Starting the sale process two years before going to market
• Doing their own due diligence before buyers did
• Getting four LOIs and why the decision came down to culture, not price
• What it actually feels like post-close — more pressure, not less

Running a blue-collar business? Wondering how to think about value or selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or send us a message at [email protected].

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• Learn More: https://www.iconicfounders.com
• Connect: [email protected]
• Production: Lower Street https://lowerstreet.co