Jeff Korhan, founder of Treemendous Landscape Company® (suburban Chicago) and now marketing strategist at TrueNature.com, brings over 20 years of hard-won experience running a residential design-build landscape company — and another decade helping green industry companies sharpen their brand, win better clients, and grow with intention. Jeff went from corporate America (chemistry and oil) to building an award-winning landscape firm, then transitioned into consulting, speaking, and authorship. In this episode, he gets into the strategies that actually moved the needle for his business and how landscape company owners can apply those same principles today — including how AI is completely flipping the SEO playbook and what you need to do about it right now.

Key Takeaways:

The post Stop Chasing Competitors and Start Building a Category of One — Jeff Korhan’s Blueprint for Landscape Companies appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

If your estimators are buried in takeoffs, passing on bids because there just isn’t enough time, or manually counting plants for hours on end — this episode is going to hit close to home. Jeffrey Scott sits down with Michael Ding, founder of Bobyard, a San Francisco-based AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform purpose-built for the construction and landscape industry. Michael breaks down how Bobyard uses computer vision models (not your typical ChatGPT-style AI) to read complex construction drawings and automate the most time-consuming parts of the estimating process — cutting takeoff time by 50% to 70%, and in some cases 80%. They dig into how the technology actually works, why landscaping was the most difficult construction niche to crack, the real ROI for companies of all sizes, and what it means to increase the “leverage” of every estimator on your team. Michael also opens up about his leadership philosophy — from hiring only high-caliber talent with a brutally rigorous interview process, to the discipline of repeating your vision until your team is tired of hearing it. Whether you’re a $2M owner doing your own takeoffs on weekends or a $20M company with a full estimating team, this conversation will change how you think about AI, bidding strategy, and business growth.

TAKEAWAYS

🎟️ Summer Growth Summit — Detroit, August 18–20 Michael will be on the AI panel live at this year’s Summit — don’t miss the chance to see Bobyard in action and connect with the sharpest minds in the landscape industry. Early bird ends June 26. Save $300 per ticket. Register here: https://jeffreyscott.biz/summer-growth-summit-26/

The post How AI Is Cutting Landscape Estimating Time by 70% — Inside Bobyard with Founder Michael Ding appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

If you’ve ever fumbled through a presentation, relied too heavily on data slides, or watched your team’s eyes glaze over mid-meeting — this episode is your fix. Jeffrey Scott breaks down why storytelling is the most underrated leadership skill in the landscape industry, and how any owner or manager can master it. Drawing from his hands-on work coaching speakers for the Summer Growth Summit, Jeffrey walks you through exactly what separates a forgettable talk from one that moves people to action. Whether you’re addressing five employees or a room of 500, the frameworks he shares here — including a proven 6-point keynote structure — are immediately usable. This isn’t theory. It’s the same playbook Jeffrey uses with real landscape company founders and their teams to turn technical knowledge into stories that stick.

🚨 Super early bird ends May 8th! Register now and save $400 per ticket: https://jeffreyscott.biz/summer-growth-summit-26/

Key Takeaways:

The post Storytelling: A Leadership Superpower with Jeffrey Scott. Learn to Teach, Lead, and Inspire Through Stories appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Troy Clogg, Founder of Troy K. Clogg Landscape Associates, based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, sits down with Jeffrey Scott to share the unfiltered story behind building a $20 million landscape and snow business from the ground up. Troy started the way most of us do — knocking on doors as a teenager, cutting grass four square miles at a time. Fast forward a few decades and he’s closing in on $20 million in revenue, with his first employee still on the crew after 40 years, a supply house built around a hot pink de-icer, and a company culture rooted more in humanity than P&L margins. He pulls back the curtain on what actually drove his growth — from offering full-time salaries in the trades before it was common, to running door-hanger campaigns with handwritten notes, to an upcoming acquisition that marks his first real move away from purely organic growth. He’s also refreshingly honest about what doesn’t work: he straight-up tells you the supply house doesn’t make money and why most contractors shouldn’t open one. Troy is a co-host at the Summer Growth Summit, August 18–20 in downtown Detroit — and if you’re a landscape or snow business owner ready to stop guessing and start scaling, this episode is your preview of what’s coming.

🎟️ Super early bird ends May 8th! Register now and save $400 per ticket. 👉 https://jeffreyscott.biz/summer-growth-summit-26/

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

🔗 Link mentioned by Troy Clogg: https://hotpinkhelpers.com/

The post From Door Knocking to $20M+: Troy Clogg’s Blueprint for Building a Landscape Empire The Right Way appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

In this episode, Jeffrey Scott sits down with Ivan Katz, founder of Great Lakes Landscape Design just outside Detroit, Michigan. Ivan’s been in the game for 37 years, but he’s moving like he’s just getting started. They dive into four surprise questions—from what he wants attendees to notice during his new facility tour, to the one thing he believes he does better than almost anyone else (hint: it’s not just design work). Ivan gets real about the hardest transition he’s made: moving long-time, loyal employees off his leadership team and bringing in outside talent without blowing up the culture. He also calls out where too many contractors settle—especially around training and promoting people into roles they’re not ready for. Plus, Ivan shares why he keeps bringing big teams to the Summer Growth Summit year after year, and what’s changed now that he’s co-hosting. If you’ve ever struggled with scaling, loyalty vs. performance, or keeping your team hungry, this one’s for you.

Summer Growth Summit (Aug 18-20):

Key Takeaways:

The post Building a Growth Machine: A Landscape Founder’s Raw Take on Leadership with Ivan Katz appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

In this episode, Jeffrey Scott sits down with Desiree Bouchard, Integrator and General Manager, and Ellen Moore, Director of Continuous Improvement — both from Great Lakes Landscape Design in the Detroit, Michigan area. These two have built one of the most intentional leadership structures in the green industry. Des shares how she rose through the ranks over 13 years, from office support to becoming the obvious choice for integrator when the company adopted EOS. Ellen brings an unconventional background — from nuclear power to an MBA to landscape — and now serves as what she calls “the integrator’s integrator,” diving deep into process fixes so Des can focus on running the company. Together, they break down the real work of operational leadership: building meaningful KPIs, implementing daily huddles that actually stick, standardizing sales estimating in LMN, and using tools like the Five Why’s and tabletop customer journey exercises to eliminate process breakdowns for good. They’re honest about what change management actually requires — patience, persistence, buy-in strategy, and the courage to go through the hard stuff, not around it. If you’re a landscape business owner, integrator, or anyone trying to scale with better systems and a stronger culture, this one is packed with actionable insight straight from the field.

🌱 Great Lakes Landscape Design will be co-hosting the Summer Growth Summit — August 18–20th! Des and Ellen will both be speaking, and you won’t want to miss it.

👉 Grab your spot here — Super early bird discount ends May 8 – https://jeffreyscott.biz/summer-growth-summit-26/

Key Takeaways:

The post Inside the Dual Leadership Structure at Great Lakes Landscape Design, with Desiree Bouchard & Ellen Moore appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

In this episode, host Jeffrey Scott sits down with Doug Taylor, CEO of Frontiers Design Build in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Doug shares the fascinating 18-year journey of evolving his business from a landscape design-build firm into a high-performance construction company. He opens up about the real-world challenges of managing two vastly different business models—landscape and construction—under one roof, and how he navigated the financial tightrope to find the perfect balance. Doug also dives into his latest chapter: pivoting into multi-unit affordable housing by applying high-performance building principles. Finally, he offers a masterclass on moving beyond basic AI usage, explaining how he’s built a “knowledge base” to turn AI into a true strategic thought partner for business development and marketing.

Registration is Now Open for the 2026 Summer Growth Summit: https://jeffreyscott.biz/summer-growth-summit-26/

Key Takeaways:

The post Beyond the Backyard: A Successful Pivot Into Home Building & Renovation – With Doug Taylor appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

In this episode, Jeffrey Scott sits down with Christian Ruf, founder of Uncommon Elite and former Night Stalker helicopter pilot with the elite 160th SOAR, to break down one of the most impressive first years in recruiting you’ll hear about — 78 placements in 12 months, serving construction, home services, HVAC, fencing, foundation repair, and more. Christian pulls back the curtain on why special operations veterans outperform conventional hires in blue-collar leadership roles, how he’s built a headhunting firm that completes placements in days instead of months, and the lessons that surprised him most about working with small business owners. From defining outcome-based scorecards before you even post a job, to using military-style case studies as a pre-hire screening tool, this episode is a masterclass in hiring for keeps — not just filling a seat. Whether you’re a $5M landscaping company or a multi-location HVAC operator, if you’ve ever struggled to find a strong operations manager, GM, or sales leader, this conversation is exactly what you need to hear.

Takeaways:

The post Why Your Next Best Hire Might Be a Navy SEAL: Christian Ruf on Recruiting Veterans for the Trades appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

In this episode, Jeffrey Scott sits down with Kelli Anh Shaw, COO of HYRE (HYREup.com), a boutique offshore staffing and virtual assistant management firm based out of Overland Park, Kansas. Just two years old as of January 2026, HYRE has already placed around 80 virtual assistants across client companies and built an internal team of 11 — hitting $1.7M in revenue and proving fast that their model works. Kelli shares the real story behind how HYRE was born — out of a moving company that grew 863% in three years, landed on the Inc. 5,000 multiple times, and then nearly unraveled when the housing market froze. Facing massive overhead with shrinking revenue, her team turned to offshore staffing from the Philippines and Latin America, eventually saving $350,000 annually on admin costs alone. What makes HYRE different isn’t just the placement — it’s the deep discovery process, hands-on onboarding, and dedicated account management that helps landscape, HVAC, plumbing, and other trades businesses actually integrate virtual assistants in a way that sticks. Whether you’re looking to support your sales team with CRM hygiene and cold calling, free up your field managers from scheduling chaos, or find a bilingual assistant to help manage your H-2B workers, this episode breaks down exactly how it works, what it costs, and what to expect in your first few weeks.

Takeaways:

The post Virtual Assistants for Trades Companies: Supercharging your Sales, Operations, Admin and Customer Service, with Kelli Anh Shaw of HYRE appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

In this Olympics-inspired episode, Jeffrey Scott draws powerful parallels between the 2026 Winter Olympics and running a high-performance landscape business, sharing 10 actionable lessons every CEO can apply right now. From Lindsey Vonn’s fearless leadership under injury to Italy’s surprising rise as a winter sports powerhouse, Jeffrey unpacks how Olympic principles — team synergy, real-time scoring, leaderboards, coaching from the sidelines, and relentless efficiency — translate directly into business wins. He challenges leaders to stop being player-coaches, start building client-facing cultures, obsess over margin efficiencies, and never stop tracking the competition, all in pursuit of building a business that performs like an Olympic team.

Sales Symposium – March 10th. Register before February 26th for special pricing.

https://jeffreyscott.biz/sales-symposium/

Key Takeaways:

The post Gold Medal Leadership: 10 Olympic Lessons for Building a High-Performance Landscape Company appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.