The Ultimate Landscape CEO - Jeffrey Scott

Takeaways:

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Ted Carter, is President of Pinehurst Landscape Company in Glen Arm, Maryland. They focus 85%  on residential landscape design, build, and maintenance. The company employs around 40 people during peak season and aims to surpass $6 million in revenue this year.

Pinehurst was founded by Carter’s father in 1964. Initially a lawn mowing business, it evolved into a landscaping company. Ted Carter formally joined the company in 2009, following a significant revenue drop during the recession.

We cover many critcal stages of growth that Ted experienced. 

Challenges and Adaptations: Ted faced numerous challenges, including financial struggles and a key workforce crisis in 2018 when they didn’t secure H2B visa workers. This led to hiring issues and morale problems, ultimately teaching the importance of company values and aligning staff accordingly.

Financial Health: Over the years, Pinehurst shifted its strategy by focusing on value and realistic project bidding. Ted emphasized the need for accurate job costing and avoided underbidding, which helped stabilize the company’s financial health.

Developing a Leadership Vision: Ted’s leadership journey involved overcoming initial defensiveness and fear, building a supportive team, and setting ambitious goals. His focus on creating a professional work environment and strong company culture has contributed to Pinehurst’s continued success and growth. Carter is actively working on delegating key responsibilities, such as financial management and sales, to trusted team members. His goal is to focus on strategic vision and employee relationships while ensuring the company runs smoothly.

Acquisition Success: Ted Carter discusses Pinehurst’s successful acquisition of a company owning a Christmas Decor franchise. This move not only extended their seasonal business but also brought in skilled employees, contributing significantly to their growth and success. Carter is exploring further acquisitions and diversification into new services like pool installations. He recognizes the potential in expanding their offerings to meet client demands and attract new business.

Employee-Centric Approach: Carter emphasized the importance of a supportive and growth-oriented workplace culture at Pinehurst, focusing on employees’ well-being, personal growth, and ensuring they feel valued and respected. This is a huge cornerstone of their company.

Personal and Professional Integration: Carter highlighted the inseparable nature of personal well-being and professional success for entrepreneurs. He advocates for a balance between work and personal life, believing that personal growth and support directly impact business performance.

Summary

Ted Carter, the president of Pinehurst Landscape Company, shares his journey of taking over the family business and growing it into a successful company. He discusses the challenges he faced during the economic downturn and how he navigated through them. Ted emphasizes the importance of investing in employees and maintaining company culture. He also shares his experience of joining a peer group and the impact it had on his leadership skills. Ted’s story highlights the significance of making the right calls, building confidence as a leader, and embracing growth opportunities. In this conversation, Ted Carter, President of Pinehurst Landscape Company, discusses the company’s growth and talent acquisition strategies. He shares how Christmas lighting has been a successful recruiting tool and talks about the potential for future acquisitions and new services. Ted also explores the importance of engaging architects and home renovators in the landscaping industry. The conversation delves into the significance of pool construction and the potential for fiberglass pools and plunge pools. Ted discusses his role as President and emphasizes the company’s employee-first culture and focus on personal growth. He also touches on the challenges of delegating responsibilities and marketing. Ted expresses his long-term involvement with the company and his passion for sailing. He concludes by expressing gratitude for the team and highlighting the value of peer groups in personal and professional development.

Takeaways

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Fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight.

Show Notes:

Electric Sheep is a vertically integrated landscape and robotics company that builds autonomy solutions for commercial landscaping businesses. They challenge industry assumptions and rethink workflows and processes from first principles. The company is focused on the electrification of the industry and the development of AI models for outdoor autonomy. They have acquired and integrated several landscape businesses and are using their data engine to continuously improve their AI models. Electric Sheep’s end game is to create a platform company that leads the industry in innovation and automation. Electric Sheep Robotics is focused on using data and AI to revolutionize the landscaping industry. They believe that the core value lies in their data engine and AI model, which can be applied to different machines and products. They are eager to share their progress and journey with others, aiming to remove the guesswork and show success stories in automation and electrification. While they may not see immediate acquisition offers, they are open to partnerships with technology companies that understand the value of their AI model. The industry is slowly moving towards integrated businesses, and Electric Sheep Robotics wants to be at the forefront of this transformation. They predict that technology companies will become more tightly integrated with service companies, and private equity will shift towards growth equity investing. They also emphasize the importance of reliability before implementing a subscription model.

Takeaways:

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Greg Crabtree is an author and financial expert, and has built a CPA firm focused solely on the needs of entrepreneurs. 

Greg works with entrepreneurs all over the country in a broad range of industries.

He is the author of “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits” and “Simple Numbers 2.0: Rules for Smart Scaling.” He has also contributed to Verne Harnish’s book, “Scaling Up.”

Jeffrey and Greg talk about many financial topics on this podcast, namely, valuation, labor efficiency, return on investment, and many other topics related to running a profitable landscape business — or any privately owned business.

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Over the course of thirteen years leading Green Acres Tree Farm, Dennise observed a troubling trend in the industry. Magnificent, mature healthy trees were being felled to make way for new construction or due to spatial constraints. This frustrating element had just become an accepted part of doing business. Dennise knew there had to be a better way, a realization that sparked the inception of RE-TREE in 2018.

Dennise’s mission goes beyond business; it’s a commitment to a more sustainable planet. Her expertise as an ISA certified arborist, coupled with her passion for technology and innovation, drives the valuable solutions she offers to global problems. Every day, she works to redefine the way we approach mature tree preservation, inspiring property owners, green industry peers and communities.

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Tim Johnson is co owner of Tim Johnson Landscaping, a two branch, 10+M mixed-services landscape business situated in Statesville and Charlotte, NC

Tim has experienced all the growing pains, including ’not being on the same page’ with another owner, carrying everything on his shoulders without a strong leadership team, operating reactively, and being overly focused on the top line.

You will learn about his journey solving those struggles, and some secrets of the trade that he has developed.

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