The Mulder Life Podcast

On this live episode of the Mulder Life Podcast, Andy shares that he is not attending Equip Expo/HNA due to a family situation after his father-in-law was diagnosed with a large brain tumor and underwent surgery, with pathology still unknown. He answers listener questions about future YouTube content, how he handled leaving his old boss to start his business. Andy clarifies he did not sell his Kubota, describes partnering with West Side John Deere and using Deere machines on jobsites, and explains the decision to buy a Vermeer ML150 while keeping the Ditch Witch 1750. He talks through possible future equipment upgrades like a larger excavator, recommends adding a mini loader or skid with a push box for plowing productivity, and offers perspective on succeeding without "luxury" projects, truck thoughts, and general guidance on hiring and keeping good employees.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

What does it really take to build a $3 million landscaping business? In this special episode of the Mulder Life Podcast, Andy Mulder joins Caleb Auman on the Kid Contractor Podcast to discuss the mindset behind sustainable growth. Andy shares valuable lessons on profitability, managing finances, delegating responsibilities, and making smarter business decisions. Discover why chasing revenue isn't always the answer, why your people matter more than your sales numbers, and how building a successful business is about more than just getting bigger.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy answers a listener question about what gave him the confidence to start Mulder Outdoors and how much he saved before quitting his job. He recounts working 13 years at another landscaping company, gradually building side work, going through Dave Ramsey to get debt-free, saving a $20,000 cushion, and acquiring early equipment and vehicles without loans, including his first employee and first projects. He explains he didn't feel confident at first as much as driven by work ethic, family support, and skills, and says true confidence came over years of repetition and service. Andy also discusses running the business and personal life below their means, using multiple business bank accounts, planning for winter income, and valuing employee gratitude, and he closes by noting the five-year anniversary of his father's death.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy discusses several business challenges faced by contractors, beginning with the issue of soaring diesel prices and explaining why he chooses to absorb these costs rather than implementing immediate fuel surcharges on current clients. Instead, he advocates for adjusting general pricing and hourly rates on future estimates to maintain transparency and avoid nickel-and-diming customers. Transitioning to project management, the host emphasizes that the hallmark of a successful contractor is reliable communication and following through on commitments, expressing deep frustration with unreliable subcontractors like pool companies that fail to meet deadlines. He also shares his approach to snow removal contracts, noting that he continually updates pricing to account for escalating operational expenses like labor and materials while refusing to rely heavily on winter income.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy discusses the operational growth of his landscaping company, while highlighting the technical benefits of specialized machinery like screening and crushing buckets. He details his ongoing search for a larger loader and specific heavy-duty trailers with air brakes to transport his expanding fleet of equipment. A significant portion of the episode focuses on new infrastructure projects at his shop, including the installation of a custom-designed wash pad for cleaning muddy machinery. He also tackles the importance of standardizing business processes, such as creating inventory checklists for job-site efficiency and professional development.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy explains that he and his wife have run and grown their landscaping business for 12 years without borrowing money, influenced by Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and are now fully debt-free personally and in business. Andy discusses how he accounts for his own labor by splitting his salary between overhead and job costs and clocking in when working on-site, while most estimating, design, and project management stays in overhead; he also describes hiring a full-time designer/site layout specialist to build detailed, buildable plan sets, GPS layouts, and SOPs. He addresses whether to keep maintenance work and gives detailed work-life balance advice, including quitting Saturdays, setting clear boundaries for evening client meetings, and prioritizing family despite constant business stress.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy discusses the importance of pricing confidence and client experience in the landscaping industry. Mulder argues that contractors often underprice their work because they undervalue their skills or fear losing jobs. He emphasizes that sustaining a premium brand requires meticulous attention to detail, such as maintaining clean job sites and ensuring proactive communication. By focusing on these high-level standards and deeply understanding his business numbers, Mulder has transitioned from a backyard operation to a high-end contractor sought out by elite clients.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy discusses how fall project scheduling depends on weather and why he won't guarantee timelines in November or December, sometimes staging work like footings and finishing later if conditions allow. Answering a listener, he explains handling "lower bid" price objections by ensuring scope comparisons, emphasizing brand, service, and quality, and refusing to negotiate price unless the scope changes to avoid setting a negotiable precedent. He also shares a lesson from losing a project after doing design work without a signed design contract and reflects on hindsight, patience, and faith. Enjoy!

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy hit the wall this season: two crews running, three jobs in the air, and one guy selling, designing, project managing, and ordering materials for all of it. The choice was simple — go back to one crew or get real help. This week he walks through hiring his first designer/field specialist, the most thorough onboarding day he's ever done, and the weight already lifting off his shoulders before the work has even started.

Also in this episode: a tornado that lifted a grill clean out of a grill island (and somehow left the granite alone), the Kenworth still stuck at the paint shop over a mis-cut rear window, the "Little Ripper" shop car that cost a fraction of a work truck, and an honest conversation about boats, cottages, and why he won't buy either until he could light that money on fire without it changing his world.

Sponsors: Engcon, PaveTool Innovators (code MULDEROUTDOORS50), SynkedUp (code MULDER for $100 off the Contractor Summit, Sept 10–11), and Ozinga.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%

Andy discusses how to manage difficult clients by focusing on clear communication and expectation-setting, using natural stone color variation as the main example. He explains that natural stone has a "color range," can vary from the sample, and may be difficult to match across different orders or timeframes, so those realities should be stated in estimates to prevent disputes. Andy shares why he stopped doing detailed line-item pricing after a client questioned exact material quantities and refunds, and he emphasizes confidently framing fixed-price work. He also recounts a storm-driven tree cleanup job where a neighbor's concerns highlighted the need to clarify access, potential turf damage, and what is or isn't included in the price.

📸 Instagram: @mulderoutdoors 🛒 Shop Mulder Outdoors: mulderoutdoors.com/shop

Save 10% on top resources with code: MULDERLIFEPODCAST

• 📘 How to Price My Job

• 🛒 Amazon Store

• 🧱 Pave Tool — Use MULDEROUTDOORS50 to get $50 off a purchase of $500 or more

• 🔪 Blades Direct — Use MULDER20 to save $20

• 📏 Perma Paver Edging

• 🚧 SynkedUP - Landscape Business Management Software

• 👷 Brunt Workwear — Use MulderOutdoors10 to save $10

• 🍬 Albanese Candy — Official Candy of the Podcast

• 🛠️ Automatic Supply / Heritage Plus — Use MULDERLIFEPODCAST for 15% off (up to $1,500 — one per company)

• 🧱 Unilock

• 🎨 Dirty Graphix

• ⚙️ CMP Attachments

• 🚧 Engcon

• 🚜 A&D Equipment

• 📚 The Hardscape Academy

• 🪨 Amborn Stone — Call: 913-837-6729

• 💎 Latux Diamond Blades — Use code MULDER to save 20%