The Landscaping Podcast

Most people only see their property in daylight...

Your customers, your neighbors, and anyone thinking about breaking in see it at night too.

In this episode, Shay and Zac dig into exterior lighting and why it deserves more thought than a few solar stakes along the walkway.

They break down how homeowners and businesses use lighting for security, safety, and curb appeal, and walk through the options available today, from path and accent lighting to uplighting, hardscape-integrated fixtures, and full low-voltage systems.

They also get into the part nobody wants to think about until something goes wrong: installation safety.

Shay explains what a qualified contractor should be doing to keep your system safe, code-compliant, and built to last, and what questions you should ask before you let anyone start running wire on your property.

Whether you manage a commercial site or just want your home to look as good at 9 PM as it does at noon, this one's worth a listen.

Landscaping Unlimited is licensed and insured as both a general contractor and a landscape contractor, serving Eastern North Carolina.

Ready to light up your property?

AI isn't coming for your marketing; it's already here, and most landscaping companies are either ignoring it or using it wrong.

In this solo episode, Zac breaks down how AI is changing the way small businesses show up on social media in 2026, where it actually saves time, and where it makes your brand sound like everybody else's.

The tools are only as good as the story behind them, and nobody can tell your story better than the people doing the work.

If you run a landscaping or hardscaping company and you're wondering whether AI or having a Social Media presence belongs in your marketing, this one's for you.

Most major equipment failures don't happen overnight...

They start with a missed grease point, a filter that stayed in one season too long, or a small noise everybody decided to ignore.

This week, Shay and Zac sit down with Andrew Keech, who brings real experience from both sides of the machine: Mechanic and Operator

Andrew shares his background and how working on equipment changed the way he runs it, and why the guys who operate the machines have more control over repair costs than they think.

From there, the conversation gets into the everyday maintenance that's easy to skip when the schedule is packed: daily walkarounds, fluids, filters, blades, belts, and paying attention when something doesn't sound or feel right.

Getting the little things right keeps crews working, protects your equipment investment, and keeps a $20 fix from turning into a $2,000 repair and a week of downtime.

Whether you own the equipment, run a crew, or climb on a mower every morning, this one is worth your time.

Most landscaping owners think the answer to tight margins is more work.

More bids, more accounts, more installs...

But if your business is leaking money, more jobs just means you lose more, faster.

In this episode, Zac breaks down the hidden holes that quietly drain profit from landscaping and hardscaping companies every single day. We're talking about the morning yard shuffle that burns crew hours before the first stop, midday supply runs that stall jobs, tools that walk off and never come back, equipment breakdowns caused by skipped maintenance, callbacks that make you pay for the same job twice, and the "while you're out here" extras that never make it onto an invoice.

None of these fixes require a new truck, a new hire, or a single new customer; just a few simple systems and the discipline to stick to them. Pick one leak this week and plug it.

Ninety episodes ago, we hit record with no plan, no audience, and no real idea what we were doing...

We just knew we had things worth saying about this trade, and nobody around here was saying them.

In this one, Shay and Zac pull back and look at the whole thing.

Where the show started, what it has done for the company, the episodes that landed and the ones that flopped, and what it actually takes to keep showing up week after week when the season is beating you up, and the last thing you want to do is sit down in front of a microphone.

We talk about the jobs that changed how we work, the people who found us through the show, the mistakes we made in the field and on the mic, and where we think this thing goes from here.

If you have been with us since the early episodes, this one is for you.

You can want a better business, and you can want a better life, but wanting has never moved a single thing forward.

In this episode, Zac gets into the one truth most people spend years avoiding, which is that the only way to get different results is to change what you do every day.

He talks about why the same routines keep producing the same paychecks, the same crew problems, and the same frustrations...

He gets into the gap between knowing what to do and doing it, why that gap is where most landscaping business owners get stuck, and what it looks like to close it.

This one is for the guy who is tired of running the same year over and over.

Whether you are trying to grow a crew, raise your prices, get out of the truck, or just stop feeling behind, it starts the same way = New behavior first, new results after.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your shows.

Everybody in this industry complains about how hard it is to find good help...

Almost nobody wants to talk about how hard it is to keep the good help they already have, as turnover is expensive.

You lose the training, you lose the customer relationships, you lose the guy who knew how you like the beds edged, and then you start over with somebody green in the middle of your busiest season.

In this episode Zac breaks down five things that move the needle on retention. It's not free pizza on Fridays, company shirts, or the stuff that makes a man want to show up tomorrow.

Zac talks about cutting loose the miserable employee before he poisons the whole crew, because one guy running his mouth in the truck every morning will cost you three good workers.

He get into what it means to lead with a positive attitude when the equipment breaks and the weather turns, and why your crew reads your face before they read the schedule.

He covers recognition and respect, which cost you nothing and are the two things most guys say they never got at their last job.

And he talk honestly about fair pay and what happens when you try to save fifty cents an hour. And we finish on the ladder, because a man who cannot see where he is going in five years is already looking at somebody else's job listing.

If you run a crew, this one is worth the drive time.

In this episode:

• Removing the miserable employee before he takes the crew down with him
• Leading with a positive attitude when things go sideways
• Recognition and respect as daily habits, not annual reviews
• Paying fair and what cheap labor really costs you
• Building a clear path for growth so nobody feels stuck

The Landscaping Podcast is hosted by Shay Brickhouse and Zac Small of Landscaping Unlimited in Eastern North Carolina. New episodes every week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Most people spend months picking a house and about eleven seconds deciding whether they want to get out of the car...

That decision happens in the front yard.

This week Zac Small and Shay Brickhouse sit down with NC Real Estate Agent, Realtor, and Broker Jordan Calzaretta to talk about the place where their two industries touch the same house at the same moment and almost never talk to each other.

They also discuss how a neglected yard tells a buyer to ask about the crawl space, roof, or other neglected areas they haven't seen yet, whether landscaping is a real investment or just cosmetic spending, and where a seller with five thousand dollars and thirty days should put the money.

Jordan brings the buyer's side of the table.

Shay brings what the work actually costs and how long it really takes.

Then we shift to the part neither industry puts in the brochure...

Real estate and landscaping share the same problem; neither one is a nine to five, clients need things at nine at night and seven on a Sunday, and the pressure to look permanently available wears people down.

Jordan speaks honestly about what that has cost her and what she's changed, not what she knows she should change.

If you're listing in the spring, if you just bought a house and inherited a yard you don't understand, or if you run a business where the phone never stops, this one is for you.

Fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears in the world, and in this business it shows up every single day.

Standing in front of a homeowner, walking a job with a builder, pitching an HOA board, or getting on a stage at an industry event...

If your stomach drops every time you have to open your mouth in front of people, you are not broken, and you are not alone; you are just untrained...

In this episode, Zac covers why the fear shows up, what it's costing you in lost sales and lost relationships, and how to work through it without pretending to be somebody you're not...

You do not need to be a polished speaker to build trust; you need to be prepared, clear, and willing to be in the room.

If you have ever passed on a networking event, dodged a presentation, or let somebody else do the talking on a job you should have led, this one is for you.

The Landscaping Podcast is hosted by Shay Brickhouse and Zac Small of Landscaping Unlimited in Washington, North Carolina. Real conversations about running a landscaping and construction business.

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Your first two weeks at a new job matter more than most people realize...

Before anybody knows if you can do the work, they already have an opinion about whether you are worth keeping. That opinion gets built fast, and it gets built off things that have nothing to do with skill.

In this episode Zac breaks down what actually gets noticed in those first ten working days.

1. Showing up on time and what that really means.
2. How to communicate when something goes wrong instead of hoping nobody finds out.
3. Taking initiative without stepping on toes.
4. Why volunteering for the job nobody wants is the fastest way to get respect.
5. Asking questions the right way, and why the guy who asks is trusted more than the guy who guesses.
6. What being a team player looks like on a real crew, not on a poster in a break room.

This one is for anybody starting a new job, and for anybody who runs a crew and wants to know what to tell the new hire on day one.

The Landscaping Podcast is brought to you by Landscaping Unlimited, a dual-licensed North Carolina General Contractor and Landscape Contractor based in Washington, NC.