Kevin Butler and Jame Toribio from The Outdoor Living Company discuss how they transitioned from working at one of the largest landscape companies in the country to building their own business. They share lessons on managing growth, maintaining consistency, and the importance of customer experience in scaling their operations.
“Consistency in customer experience, from $7,000 to $70,000 projects, is what makes us stand out.” — Kevin Butler
Here’s what we discuss in today’s episode:
[00:03] – Introduction to Kevin Butler and Jame Toribio, the founders of The Outdoor Living Company
[00:55] – How Kevin and Jame transitioned from working at a large company to starting their own landscaping business
[02:02] – Current business focus: Creating outdoor living spaces in Southern Maryland
[03:05] – How COVID-19 affected their business and accelerated growth opportunities
[04:15] – The economic uncertainty and its impact on client decisions
[05:33] – Growth constraints and how inconsistency in operations can hold them back
[09:04] – How to provide a consistent and exceptional customer experience for every project
[12:01] – The importance of consistency in leadership with the crew and maintaining morale
[13:13] – Overcoming “fires” and staying prepared for the unpredictable demands of the business
[17:16] – The challenges of not having an office admin and how it affects the team’s productivity
[19:48] – When to hire and the risks associated with bringing in new staff for growth
[22:10] – Transitioning from a big company to entrepreneurship and the challenges that came with it
[29:48] – How Kevin and Jame made their business look professional with new equipment and branding
[32:17] – Over-delivering on customer service and its direct effect on business growth
[34:33] – Inspirational business growth strategies from Andy Frisella and Brandon Dawson
[37:36] – Closing thoughts: The power of networking, podcasts, and the landscaping community in helping them grow
Actionable Key Takeaways:
- Consistency is Key: Whether in personal habits or customer experience, consistency sets the stage for sustained success.
- Every Customer Matters: Deliver the same high-quality experience regardless of the project size.
- Invest in Tools and People: Spending on the right equipment and hiring the right staff is essential for scaling your business.
- Clear Leadership: Being consistent in leadership and setting the right expectations ensures your crew performs efficiently.
- Take Risks for Growth: Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks, like hiring new team members or investing in high-quality tools, to propel your business forward.
- Customer Service is the Differentiator: Over-delivering on service is what sets you apart in the competitive landscaping industry.
- Use Networking to Your Advantage: The landscaping community is a great resource for support, inspiration, and collaboration to push your business forward.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Andy Frisella’s Podcast – A series that focuses on delivering more than expected in business, helping you stay ahead of the competition.
Brandon Dawson’s Business Growth Strategies – Provides practical advice on overcoming business hurdles and scaling operations effectively.
SynkedUp Events – Networking and learning opportunities for business owners to improve operations and scale their businesses.
10x Health System – Focuses on strategies for scaling your business and personal growth, perfect for those looking to expand their operations.
The Outdoor Living Company’s Website – The company’s home for information on their services, portfolio, and how they deliver top-tier landscaping solutions.
Episode Transcript
Robert (00:03.054)
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the IAM Landscape Growth Podcast. Today, special guest, know, client of ours. Hope to have you guys. have Kevin Butler and Jamie Toribio from the Outdoor Living Company joining us for the day. So thanks so much guys for doing this.
Thanks for having us, Rob.
Yeah, thanks for having us on.
Before the call started, were talking about the movie Trolls. This is just a random aside, but if you have an opportunity, if you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worthwhile watching. And the reason we brought it up is because the theme at Intrigue this year is No Troll Left Behind, although client retention. So I’m just pumped to be part of doing this with you guys, get to know you better as a client of Intrigue, as well as entrepreneurs.
So for the sake of the wonderful audience, can you give us a cold note summary of like how the two of you decided to join forces and jump off a cliff to learn how to build a plane and start a landscaping company?
Kevin (00:55.757)
Yeah, give it a chance.
Yeah, so Kevin and I worked together at one of the largest landscape companies in the country. I started there in 2006. Kevin was back. What year did start, Kevin?
2016 I think.
So we worked together for four years at this company had endless resources. You know, we were rocking and rolling there and then decided to do some side hustle and make a little side cash. So we were installing patios for friends and friends of friends. And then one thing led to another. We decided we would take the leap in 2020. Things were booming, you know, with, with
COVID-19 and the pandemic happening. There was more work than any of us could handle. So it made sense for us to take that leap. And that’s all she wrote. We’ve been grinding ever since and growing the company.
Robert (02:02.126)
And so where are you guys at today? What’s the core focus of the business? Like what’s the type of work that you want to do and like where are you at and where are you taking the company?
So right now we’re doing mainly patios. I think our big thing is creating outdoor living spaces. So whatever that is to somebody, whether it be a pavilion with a patio or a water feature or just landscaping, that’s what we want to provide. And our growth goals, we’re running on one crew right now.
We’re probably as efficient as we can be with one crew and just looking to jump up to two crews this year and kind of build off of that.
Sweet. And whereabouts are you guys looking? Just for the sake of people understanding where you’re coming from.
Say that one more time.
Robert (03:05.602)
Where are you guys located? Where’s the core focus of the business?
So we’re in southern Maryland, Indian head Maryland. So we cover around DC. It’s kind of a weird map if you’re looking at the map. You can’t really do a radius, but most of our work is in southern Maryland, northern Virginia, and a little bit in DC.
Yeah, okay, cool. with this whole doge like, of all the things, did that impact your area you guys at all?
Yeah, yeah, I would say so. Jamie, I don’t know if you want to take that question.
No, I actually, I had a couple clients that, you know, they’d given me a verbal agreement earlier in the year. Hey, we’re going to move forward with the project. Can you go ahead and pencil us in on the books? And then some of this stuff happened within the federal government and made them question whether or not they’re going to have a job later this year. So I had a few phone calls saying, Hey, we’re going to post pen. We’ll be in touch later this year.
Jame (04:15.982)
A couple clients have since then signed their contracts and others are still a little apprehensive to spend their money because they don’t know whether or not they’ll have a job. yeah, there’s some unknown unknowns right now when it comes to federal employment.
Which is the craziest thing in the history because like usually that’s just like the steady job. You got it till you’re, you know, dead. and now there’s this crazy uncertainty. anyway, it sucks. Glad some clients are coming back and you guys are weathering the uncertainty. but to the, to the point of this, of show, what do you guys see as the primary growth constraint pulling entrepreneurs back in the green industry?
yeah, I mean, listening to your podcast, kind of know it’s it’s the owners. Yeah, I my research. So I would definitely agree with that. For Jamie and I, we talked about this earlier today. I think the biggest thing that we miss out on is our consistency.
You’re a man, Kevin.
Kevin (05:33.046)
Sometimes we come up with great ideas, we go all in, and then it kind of falls off a little bit. So I think that has slowed us down some is the inconsistency, because anytime we’re consistent and that even goes outside of work. Like for me, if I’m up early and I hit the gym, then like my day is good.
that start to the day or when I’m reading daily, that will kind of boost me up and that just carries me personally through my whole day. And that will make me shine in business and make me shine really in any aspect of life.
Yeah. And Jamie, what’s it for you?
No, mean, just piggybacking on that, agree. We as owners definitely hold ourselves back. And as far as the consistency goes,
We wind up having to put out fires and I think that’s where we fall off our high horse. That’s what keeps us from being consistent. Guys are short on a pallet. We need to go run and grab a pallet of pavers and next thing you know we’re not following an owner’s task where maybe we need to hire somebody in place of like hire somebody to go pick up pallets or do some of the administrative work that
Jame (07:10.978)
keeps us from being consistent. So definitely ownership. We create our own pains for sure.
Yeah, man, just, I think there’s this saying if your foot hurts, sometimes you step in on your own toe. And I just think though, to have that type of perspective with where you are currently, you know, your journey of entrepreneurship, like you’re gonna make it work. And so I just want to dig into it a little bit. Like, one of the things you said, Kevin, I thought was really neat. It’s like if I…
get up early, go to the gym and learn reading daily. You just mentioned three behaviors. If you’re doing that pretty consistently, you you show up for business, you show up for life, you show up the way you want to show up. Is there a similar type of discipline that’s like the same inside the business? Like what is the consistency or lack thereof you were referring to?
I would say just the customer experience off the bat. like someone calls in, you approach, oh yeah, my budget is $70,000. You approach that the same way as somebody that says, my budget is $7,000. So I think the consistency there and like the…
the routine there needs to be very close to the same because you want the customer that doesn’t have so much to spend to have a great experience, just like you want the $70,000 customer to have. So I think for me, if I can give that attention off the bat, like you call in, I’m calling you right away. And then we set up an appointment.
Kevin (09:04.96)
I answer every question, every text, you know, pretty quick and just stay on top of it. And then I follow up. think that’s where, that’s where I shine. when, when I’m on it, then I’m on it. Like you’re going to feel like you’re the only customer I had.
That’s a really cool point. I’m kind of brought it up because I was talking, I’ve been talking to lots of last year, that’s what I do every single day, dozens and dozens on a weekly basis, hundreds and hundreds over a year. And there’s this idea of like, hey, we’re going after these jobs. They’re like, let’s say 100K plus. However, we will take on smaller jobs in between. So we have these stop gaps we’ve got to fill up and like, there might be a delay on a site for a bit because somebody’s got to go
excavator, who knows what it is. But similar perspective, they’re like, okay, what’s going to get this done, bang it out. So it’s got a different customer experience. And there’s this, we built this roadmap after interviewing everybody else and growing our company around how the small customers can refer great customers and also become ones. But they only get that opportunity if we treat them like you’re describing. And what’s really interesting, I’m not sure if you listened to the one we did with Brian Hamilton.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter if he had chances really good, he’s a brilliant guy. But the idea that if we accept the money, like we will do this with you, it kind of puts that obligation on us to deliver the way we would expect ourselves to deliver. And think a lot of people forget that, so I’m pumped you kind of brought that up. I’m going to come back to you on this one, Kevin. Jamie, what’s it for you?
Jame (10:54.974)
That, let me think about that.
Yeah, like what’s your daily discipline or what’s the work equivalent of a daily discipline that keeps you consistent?
Yeah, the work wise is just being consistent for the crews, giving them my consistent leadership. being there before they’re there, providing them with all the appropriate information. So we hand out time sheets, paper time sheets to the guys. So making sure that I do my due diligence and give them everything they need to be successful on the project. Because if they fall short,
or I don’t give them all their information, then it goes back to what Kevin’s saying. The client winds up having a bad experience if I don’t provide consistency at the beginning of the day.
That’s a big deal, We were at, what was it? Equip, it was in Louisville. Have you ever been to a Sync Up event? Have you heard of those guys?
Jame (12:01.355)
Yeah, we’ll see,
Yeah, great. Anyway, so they had a group go to like a tour and this guy built like this really cool outdoor showroom slash office. You know, I he’s like an $80 million business, something like that. they do all right. But like he did this talk all about the workshop, the trucks and the beginning of the day and how preparedness, organization, inventory, equipment running fueled like
The whole thing was like, if you start your day like that, the guys just run. Like it’s just, it’s just crazy. There’s no waste. There’s no questions. Everybody’s on point. You know, he was, it would all, it almost sounded like military-esque, like the discipline, the way he was sharing it, not to say he’s like, you know, crass, but they were just tight. And that idea of being prepped like a coach for your team, like you’ve, you’ve done the video.
reviews, you’re going to go in there, you know, whatever he’s got to work on and you set him out there to go do it. I just think that is often really overlooked. So I think that’s awesome. He brought it up.
Awesome.
Robert (13:13.678)
So, Kevin, what keeps you away from the epic customer experience? I feel like every customer is the only customer.
Yeah, I mean, that’s really just me probably overdoing it sometimes and like trying to do too many things at once and really putting stress on myself more than anything. And sometimes you just you forget to respond to somebody and that can kind of really slow things down. But yeah, I mean,
I try to do it with every customer, but the reality is like, if we’re on a $70,000 project, we’re probably there for a week and a half or two weeks, right? So we’re there all the like more often. On a shorter job, we’re not there very long. So.
I like building that relationship throughout the project because it gives me more opportunities to show like, okay, well, they’re on top of their stuff. Like they show up when they say they’re going to be there. Kevin’s responded to every text message, you know, answers every call or he’s calling back. the, guys clean up every, every night before they leave. like that is easier to show.
on an ongoing job than it is on a one day Insta.
Robert (14:47.221)
Yeah, no question.
So I think that’s where it makes it a little harder on these shorter jobs, but you still give it your best every time. You really do want your customers to feel like they are the number one priority. They are the only customer at that moment.
I think if you make customers feel like that, you guys are going to do very well. That’s true though. That’s how clients want to feel. if I’ve heard, even when I call and they’re like, sorry, I’m too busy right now with other customers. I’ll call you back like tomorrow or in two days. Like, cool. That’s great. So then what is it keeping you from that preparedness, Jamie? Like what’s the fires? And the reason I’m asking these questions, because I think there’s a lot of people in this very similar position as they’re growing their businesses. They realize that we got to create this
Thanks
Robert (15:37.966)
We’ve to bring our consistency to ourselves and our business, but shit happens and we have to go do stuff sometimes that’s, what the business requires. So what is it that’s throwing you off from hammering it every day?
I would say the biggest thing. So we had an office admin when we, like, what was it, Kev, second year in, we hired an office administrator. She was with us for two years, like was able to answer the phone, take care of just some of the redundant things, marking this utility, some of the silly things we should not be doing. In the past couple of years, we have not had an office admin. So.
Kevin or I will have the phones forwarded to our cell phones and we’re getting utility, like we’re stopping on the side of the road and getting utilities marked on our computers and just all the little things Kevin and I should not be taken care of, that an admin should be doing or office managers should be doing. We’re taking all that on. So that takes my focus or Kevin’s focus off of our crews, our clients.
designs, you name it, you know, we’re, we shouldn’t be doing some of these small things. And it kind of goes back to like, you like buying back your time. That’s like a big thing this year. Like definitely buy your time back. And as business owners, we should all be doing that. Like putting the appropriate people in the positions that we should not be handling. Trusting other people to do everything else.
Yeah.
Robert (17:16.374)
Yeah, well, and so on that note, this is a conversation that pops up all the time, know, when to hire someone. And so sometimes I’ll hear things like, well, the business can’t afford another person right now. And it’s like, you know, we’re going to, let’s say, squeeze out $100,000 in profit this year. And if we put another salary, let’s call it 50K, the profits gone. And so it’s like, well, when should we hire this person?
And then on the flip side, hear people say, you can’t afford not to hire this person. Cause if you do, you’re probably going to make $150,000 in profit this year and more next year. Cause you’re starting to put yourself into higher value work and you know, day to day effort. And then, so I’m like, okay, so is it about making bets? Like, it like, all right, let’s make a bet. Let’s focus on what’s the thing and let’s bet some cash on bringing in a resource to see if it helps us break through the bottleneck or help us grow.
What’s your take on all that?
Okay.
yeah, I mean, I definitely agree. think it’s always a risk, right? Anytime we’re throwing money on the table, you’re taking a little risk, but we got in this when we got in this, it was a risk.
Robert (18:36.268)
No, I was about to say that.
You know, like it’s a risk either way. like, do you risk not hiring that person and getting burned out every couple months? Or do you hire that person and then build off of that and take the risk on that person to maybe get to the next level? You know? And it really, I mean,
It lights a fire as well, right? So now we have to cover another 50, $60,000 salary. We better get to work. And now we also need work for that person to do. you know, that’s, yeah, mean, what are you going to risk? You either.
risk growing or you risk staying the same and potentially taking a step back because whoever does hire that person’s probably gonna be a little bit ahead you soon. Quick.
Okay.
Jame (19:48.302)
Yeah, I think Kevin’s spot on. Uh, one challenge I see is finding the right candidates. You know, you, a lot of people, I interview very well with people anytime I’ve interviewed with for a job, like I can talk myself through or into any position, but then when you hire me on, am I going to perform? So that’s, that’s one thing that I think is holding us back from filling that position now is that.
and put a lot of energy and time into a couple. We’ve actually hired a couple office admins and we not giving them the appropriate tools to succeed in our company or they not fit in our culture. So I think as far as that position goes, it’s a hundred percent necessary, a hundred percent worth the investment and it’s got to free up our time to sell a
not their quarter million dollars worth of work. No brainer, you know, as much time as it takes for us to answer 20 phone calls a day on the road. It’s taken away from a lot of important responsibilities we have as owners. So just finding a good candidate is, is the hurdle to hurdle that I see. Yeah.
And I don’t think you’re in a boat on your own. You know, there’s a lot of people in a very similar position. And I think I’ll put a couple of resources in, you know, some, some things to consider when recruiting, not my ideas from other folks that have done an amazing job recruiting. Actually, there’s a really good episode with Chris Shear from Father Nature in Tacoma. And in 20, I think I did the interview in 2022, and he was
had he had a lineup of people waiting to work for him when nobody had anybody like it was just zero work like workers like you remember those days before. Right. Well, we’ll get we’ll get we’ll come back to that one and I’ll put a couple resources in the podcast summary. But I want to get into the story a little bit. You guys are going you’re working with one of the largest companies in maybe the world in terms of like size of landscape businesses, definitely the States. And then you’re like, let’s do this.
Robert (22:10.412)
Let’s shake bake. And you did it. So like, what was it like from the side hustle to the transition to the full? Just walk us through it.
Yeah, I I would say it’s a lot different. We were working, so we ended up getting fired from that company because they found out we were doing side work and they didn’t like it, which is understandable. But we were working the next day, which I thought was pretty cool. you know, we…
We went from, like Jamie said earlier, having every resource that you could even imagine, unlimited trucks, know, everything was right at our fingertips. So a big company definitely comes with its challenges, but being a salesperson, project manager at a big company is a lot different than doing it at a small company because we went from, you know, having trucks, having the equipment to-
Yard, huge shop, all the tools, everything.
everything. We went to two pickup trucks that, know, 1500s that can’t really haul anything. Where now we’re, we need to get everything delivered. And if we’re over on material, we have to figure out a way to get the material out of here. So that is a huge shift. But it’s made us just better at managing those projects and like,
Kevin (23:48.866)
really dialing down on materials and on labor because you really can’t, you don’t have any room for error when you’re… And then where do you take the material if you have extra?
You gotta be sharp.
Robert (24:05.998)
Yeah, was really interesting. don’t know if you watch or listen, read, whatever, follow Mark Bradley.
I do not.
Anyway, he’s just got this really, so leans paper, we’ll talk about it afterwards. got something that you guys might be interested in. but he talks about the idea of like the enemy is waste in like a business. And then he like orients his team around this idea that like wasted the enemy because it impacts profit and profit impacts bonus. So he’s like, I’m not the enemy, the owner guy who you think all is rich because everybody that works for you, they all think you’re rich. I mean, you may or may not have known that already, but any owners listening to this, your team thinks you make like five times more than you make.
Maybe 10. so you reframe the whole thing around like, we make more profit, you get more bonus, waste is the enemy of profit. Let’s fuck waste. And I just thought it was a really cool perspective about like, you know, even what you’re referring to and how sharp you have to be because you’ve got this delivery and you really can’t waste anything because if you do, it’s really going to impact your bottom line.
Yeah, no doubt. mean, it’s. Yeah, I could definitely see that I would definitely agree with that.
Kevin (25:18.476)
Yeah, I don’t know what else to say.
It’s all good. It’s all good. All right. So you guys got fired for doing side work. That’s kind of interesting. But anyway, and you but you’re working right away because it’s gangbusters. You got your trucks, but it’s not enough. So you’re doing delivery, you’re getting sharp. So then like, how’d you end up into okay, we got this like it’s it’s fully like we’ve got we’re getting paid. It’s full fledged operation. Like what was it like the transition?
doesn’t happen overnight, that’s for sure. I would say it just happens a little at a time. Like we ended up buying like a, what was it, Jamie, like 1996 after.
No, it was like at 85 Ford F 350 dripping oil, smoking down the road. This is a bad look. It had muscle. Yeah. So we were, we were limping around town on that and breaking down and you know, we, started the company with off of our first side jobs. So we haven’t really, we haven’t borrowed any money. We didn’t do anything like that. Kevin and I were
but it had muscle.
Jame (26:30.112)
We were apprehensive to spend $200 on a website when we started. We were just like cheap. like, what credit card are we going to put this on? Hold up. We don’t have a credit card. So.
That’s
We were just like, we were holding ourselves back. like, we got this. Like, let’s just go for it. And we started, we started off as three core, LC is three core landscaping. And then we were like, well, you know, as part of our core values, were like, we need something that’s going to resonate with customer base. What’s a name? And Kevin came up with the outdoor living company and we just.
started branding and capitalizing on social media was huge. So like Facebook was a game changer for us. We got tons of work through Facebook. And once people recognize that we were doing the work, like people started coming to the outdoor living company. They had to have us and Kevin and I were able to get out of the field. And I mean, we were landscape fit. I think both of us were pretty buff at that point. We didn’t have to go to the gym in the morning. We were slinging pavers.
but then we started hiring crews and we had two crews rolling. Things were good, buying trucks, buying machines and just rocking and rolling now. Awesome. Yeah.
Robert (27:58.016)
I guess there’s just so much in there of like, you know, Hey, let’s just do it with our, let’s just use a credit card. We don’t even have a credit card. right. That’s the good, but we need to act that story happened legitimately to us. Like we, we started, I don’t know if you know this, but we started off by installing a flat screen TVs and like essentially putting like video ads on them in like a local area as like an alternative to the newspaper or radio stations like 20 years ago. And so we bought one for 800 bucks and spelled it at the university center. And then.
People kept asking us to install another TV in a different location or in their location, but it cost me $2,500 to install a TV, like computer, monitor, big screen, whatever, mount, cables, you name it. And we walked into a Best Buy, a future stop at the time, and there was this kiosk, and it was like, apply now for your 90-day no interest, no payment credit card. And we’re just like, all right, we’ll see what happens. We have no other way they’re gonna do this. We’re still in university. We don’t even have a credit score. It’s like, you’re approved for $2,500, which is like,
pretty much the cost of an entire unit. We feel like sweet. So if we buy one of these, we got 90 days to sell enough advertising on this thing to pay it off and then to pay interest on it. And so we did that like 13 times over in the course of like six months. But yeah, you need to start somewhere. like, yeah, it’s cool. So then what was it that made you decide to go all in and push your chips in? Because you’re limping away, like you started a business, you jumped off a cliff. But then you’re like, okay, let’s…
put our chips in, let’s do this. Like you obviously had to spend some cash and really, you you branded and then, or was it just this like gradual climb to all of a sudden you’re like, okay, we are a legitimate company.
Yeah, I think a little bit of both. So when we created a website, we just want to go daddy and created one.
Kevin (29:48.194)
We got Google leads quick for some reason. We have no clue why. Now your team handles that, so they, I’m sure, know why we’re getting leads now. But at the time, we didn’t know why we getting leads, but these were actually decent leads for a little while. So we were able to build up some cash. And then you kind of have to make a decision.
a new truck, a new machine and look very professional? Or do you just try to pay for everything right away or keep your, you know, keep your costs low? And Jamie and I both were like, if we’re trying to do high end jobs, we need to look the part. So, you know, that was, we bought a F650 dump truck. We got a dump trailer and we got a skid loader.
And they were all new, obviously all financed. And that has led to less time trying to scoop excess material in the back of the truck. We looked a lot better. And now we have a billboard driving around.
That’s it.
Those were huge things. then, you know, on top of that always, I feel like the customer service just has to be there. So if you get to a job, you look good, everybody’s organized, knows what they’re supposed to do. And then you’re, you shine on the customer service side, meaning like you’re steadily, like always communicating with the customer. Then,
Kevin (31:45.472)
your word of mouth leads just kind of…
Oh man, absolutely. We talked about, was, um, Jill Odom, I don’t know you know her, she, she’s like an editor for the National Association of ASB Professionals, epic human being. But we were talking about getting back to the basics and how like, if you smile when you see people and on the phone, show up when you say you’re going to show up, uh, do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Send emails when you say you’re going to send emails, send quotes when you say you’re going to send quotes, like you’re in the top 10 % right there. Which is bananas. It’s bananas.
Yeah.
Robert (32:17.89)
that that is competitive advantage, but it is. And so, yeah, it just sounds like you guys are doing it right. So what is like one resource or author slash speaker that you like kind of got aha moments from that you want to share with the audience they should check out?
for me, like, Andy for Sella, he really, I liked him his early stuff. So he used to have, and he’s the podcast is different now, but it used to be the NFC project. And the crazy thing is the way I found him was I was getting so frustrated. So I went to, to an appointment that was.
Like an hour and a half away. don’t know even why I went there. It was in Herndon, Virginia. You have to pay to get into Herndon and you have to pay to get out. So there’s a toll going both ways. free estimate, obviously. And it was like a, like I gave her a price right away, think, or a ballpark. And I was so frustrated. I’m like, she doesn’t go with this. Like I just wasted all this time, all this money.
Like, and then I’m like thinking about, like how are other people selling more? They got to be doing, they got to be somehow persuading them or whatever. And I type in on, on Spotify type in like persuasion tactics or something like that. And like, one of the first things was that came up was like Andy for sell a podcast that was like, basically it’s not about persuasion. It’s just about like.
And I should have wrote down the name of podcast, but it’s just basically like over-deliver and just keep doing the right thing and you’re already ahead of everybody else. And that, like I just started listening to him and that really got me going. And he always would recommend books and I would read all the books that he would recommend. So learned a lot from that. So yeah, that has been huge.
Kevin (34:33.611)
you you listen to one person or you find like one author that you really like and then you do some research on them. They’re like, well, I learned this from this book or I learned this from this guy. So.
Yeah, and they all point back to like the same couple books.
right up there in the top.
There it is. Yeah, exactly. 100%. It’s one of them. And what are you doing? Source of inspiration for the audience?
Yeah. Inspiration wise, mean, I’m inspired by our, our industry as a whole, like the network that we have. between intrigue or synced up or any of the other podcasts that are available, like Kevin and I, I don’t do it so much now, but in the past, always look at listening to all these podcasts for inspiration and like really helped us get over certain humps where we’re like stumped on the unknowns.
Robert (35:33.358)
time like 10 years ago the industry wasn’t like this I guess no it’s really it’s really ramped up anyway sorry I didn’t mean to you off
Jame (35:40.814)
Yeah, no, no, not at all. But, um, yeah, the industry is just, it’s such a awesome community and everybody’s willing to help. So that to me in itself, being in the industry for a long time, just seeing a transition to that is motivating and getting out of the frame of mind, like, you know, I worked for the best landscaping country and the cut, you know, best landscaping company in the country to, Hey,
There’s some new people on the street that are doing some pretty bad ass stuff. Like, let’s get inspired. Let’s shift gears. Let’s reinvent the wheel a little bit. And I would say that’s, that’s a big one. one other one would be, Brandon Dawson, you know, just as far as business structure goes, Kevin turned me on to him and he’s, he’s bought, he’s brought up like just some
key points in business, some like barriers that he’s, he is brought into our, our faces and has allowed us to jump over hurdles where we’d otherwise be stumped. So for any listeners, I would definitely recommend, you know, listening in to Brandon Dawson and, um, was it 10 XCOV?
Yeah, yeah.
What was the 10x part story? it the podcast?
Jame (37:11.214)
What is minutes?
It’s their company. they
10x Health System.
Yeah, yeah, so they do like some business growth strategies. So there’s a lot of YouTube videos. You can learn a lot. Very cool. Podcasts like Googling and YouTube and
just…
Robert (37:36.33)
Awesome. So Brandon Dawson and Ed Fasala, Andy Fasala, sorry.
Yeah.
Hey, you guys are awesome. you for doing this and everybody from the scene to another episode of the I Am Landscape Book You