945. The Secret to Scaling Isn't More Work… It's More Leaders! (Leanscaper Exclusive With Brad Stephenson)

Summary

Fullerton Unfiltered – Episode 945

The Secret to Scaling Isn't More Work… It's More Leaders! (Leanscaper Exclusive With Brad Stevenson)

Air Date: March 27, 2026
Host: Brian Fullerton
Guest: Brad Stevenson
Location: Leanscaper Cape Coral Operations Intensive

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Fullerton Unfiltered podcast, hosted live from the Leanscaper Cape Coral Operations Intensive, features an exclusive conversation with Brad Stevenson – longtime CEO, leadership coach, and passionate advocate for building successful teams in the green industry. Together, Brian and Brad explore what it really takes to scale a business. Their central thesis: True, sustainable growth is fueled not by piling on more work, but by developing more leaders within your organization. This discussion goes far beyond tactical management advice, diving into real-life stories, actionable frameworks, and honest admissions of the messy human realities behind growing a business.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brad Stevenson’s Background & “Why” (04:23–06:34)

• Career Journey: Brad started in landscaping at age 14, working his way up through every rank at Newcastle (laborer → apprentice → ownership).
• Role Now: CEO and majority shareholder at Newcastle; coaching for 7 years; joined Leanscaper 8 months ago to further his mission.
• Passion: Driven to "change and impact 100,000 lives" by helping leaders build better companies with strong cultures.
  • Quote, Brad (05:00): “Leanscaper is just another vessel for that. Our goal is to change 100,000 lives and impact 100,000 lives.”

2. Leadership Begins With People, Not Just Profits (06:25–09:05)

• Brad reflects on his first Leanscaper speaking engagement, focusing on “growing a company where people don’t want to leave.”
• Supporting People Through Hard Times: Real leadership shows up not just during wins but when “crap hits the fan."
  • Quote, Brad (08:07): “Culture comes out during the hard times, not when everything's great... If you're there behind [your people] and supporting them, that’s what it’s all about.”
• Company Policy: Prioritize caring for employees even if profits suffer temporarily.

3. Attracting and Retaining Top Talent (08:07–09:05)

• The ultimate test: “Being the boss you would want to work for.”
• Leadership legacy: Consider what people will say about your leadership years later.
  • Quote, Brad (08:43): “The better person you become, the better leader you become, the better boss you become.”

4. The Evolution of Leadership: Letting Go & Building Others (09:05–12:45)

• Moving from Technician to True Leader:
  • Early leadership relies on personal output; real growth comes when your success happens through others.
  • The hardest challenge: Letting go, checking pride, asking questions instead of dictating answers.
  • Brad’s company runs successfully even while he's away—testament to the power of developing leaders at all levels.
  • Quote, Brad (12:23): “My people’s wins are my wins. Empowering those people... That's the key.”
• For Managers: Balancing accountability for crew results with nurturing and growing individual contributors, even if some people are “not there yet.”

5. Long-Term Thinking & Structured Scaling (14:09–16:49)

• Leaders must step back and resist the urge to swoop in and "fix" too quickly.
• Success is measured not in annual numbers but in the long-term growth and adaptability of the team.
• Quote, Brad (15:57): “The best leaders, the best companies can pivot quickly... You have to stretch your people and then allow it to retract a little bit and then stretch them again.”

6. Overcoming ‘Control Freak’ Tendencies (17:23–19:50)

• Everyone struggles with letting go, regardless of business stage or revenue.
• Practical tip: Inventory your activities, identify what you dislike, and start delegating—either to a person or a system.
• Succession Planning: Constantly train a “number two.” If you reach $2M with everything still going through you, scaling further becomes nearly impossible.
• Quote, Brad (18:13): “If you’re there now... start bringing people up with you. Elevate as you grow. Don’t be a solopreneur for the rest of your life.”

7. Trust – The Final Hurdle for Leaders (19:50–22:55)

• Even leaders who trust their team with assets still struggle to trust them with responsibility and autonomy.
• Use personality tools (e.g., DISC) to understand how to communicate and structure jobs for each team member.
  • Quote, Brad (20:54): “They're not the owner, so they're not going to do it as well as you... But we haven't given them enough autonomy with checks and balances.”
• Challenge: Don’t reduce someone’s responsibility out of fear—they need challenge and ownership for buy-in.

8. Systems for Replicating Leaders (24:07–26:05)

• Brad describes Newcastle’s three layers of leadership: leadership team, supervisors, and ‘up and comers.’ Always develop future leaders.
• Quote, Brian (25:10): “I want to be a training organization that happens to cut grass—not a grass cutting organization that does a little bit of training.”
• Encourage growth-minded individuals over always seeking just “the all stars.”

9. Warning: Don’t Compare to Illusions—Benchmark Honestly (26:56–29:37)

• Brad warns against benchmarking against “fake numbers” and vanity metrics touted at industry events.
• Quote, Brad (27:03): “A lot of really good operators are trying to compare themselves to fake numbers, and a lot of people feel like we're just not good enough... We’re all comparing benchmarking to all these other companies... but it’s all the same stuff.”
• Brad advocates for honest, transparent discussions about real struggles.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Brad Stevenson (08:43): "What will somebody say about your leadership someday?"
• Brian Fullerton (25:10): "I want to be a training organization that happens to cut grass, not a grass cutting organization that does a little bit of training."
• Brad Stevenson (27:03): "A lot of really good operators are trying to compare themselves to fake numbers… Start talking about the struggles you had so you can meet other companies where they’re at."
• Brad Stevenson (05:00): "Our goal is to change 100,000 lives and impact 100,000 lives."
• Brad Stevenson (12:23): "My people's wins are my wins. Empowering those people. That's the key."
• Brian Fullerton (14:10): "I have to let my team evolve and grow to hit these goals… It's going to be up to them if they want to hit these goals in a way."

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:23 – 06:34 | Brad’s career path and why he joined Leanscaper.
• 06:25 – 09:05 | Building a people-first company and supporting employees through adversity.
• 09:05 – 12:45 | Shifting from technician to leader, measuring success through the growth of others.
• 14:09 – 16:49 | The importance of long-term strategies and stretching your team.
• 17:23 – 19:50 | Dealing with the temptation to micromanage; succession planning.
• 19:50 – 22:55 | Trust and personality-driven delegation; maintaining high standards without stifling autonomy.
• 24:07 – 26:05 | Structured systems for leadership development and organization growth.
• 26:56 – 29:37 | Dangers of bogus benchmarking; advocating for honesty in the industry.

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Final Takeaways & Where to Connect

• Scaling is about building leaders, NOT just loading more work onto yourself.
• Challenge and trust your team; focus on culture, clarity, and constant development.
• Don’t compare your inside reality to others’ outside “looks”; benchmark honestly.
• Events: Brad is running two field tours at Newcastle (May & August); his team teaches and shares real struggles and solutions.

Connect with Brad Stevenson:

• LinkedIn: Primary platform for networking and updates
• Instagram/Facebook: Also present but less active

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Summary:
This episode demystifies the “secret” to scaling a business in the green industry: Train future leaders, care for your people, and have the courage to let go so others can rise. Brad and Brian’s candid, experience-rich conversation is invaluable for owners and managers at every stage—whether you’re stuck wearing every hat or learning to fully empower your team for the first time.

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(For full practical takeaways and more, listen starting at 04:23!)

Transcript

[LaunchPreneur Academy Announcer]

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[Brad Stevenson]

You're now listening to the Fullerton Unfiltered podcast. Straightforward, no nonsense business advice, completely on unfiltered. Grow your business, grow your life. Now here's your host, Brian Fullerton.

[Brian Fullerton]

All right, guys. Well, good morning. We are hopping on in here today. We're waking up. It's day number two. Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey. And we're at the leanscaper Cape Coral Operations intensive. And we're joined here by very special guest. A lot of you guys know this gentleman. You've seen him speak live, you've seen him on link live. He's been floating around everywhere doing a lot of coaching, consulting, and of course growing his business back at home. Mister, Good morning. How you doing, Brad?

[Brad Stevenson]

Steve.

[Brian Fullerton]

Welcome to the jungle.

[Brad Stevenson]

I am. I'm doing well. It's a beautiful day.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yes, yes, yes. All the way from, is it Pittsburgh?

[Brad Stevenson]

Pensive Arts. Philadelphia.

[Brian Fullerton]

Philadelphia. Philadelphia, that's right. That's right. I knew I was. I know it's Pennsylvania. The Alani still like kicking in. I'm still waking up. D. We've had a very intense first day here yesterday. A lot of note taking, a lot of working on Lana. Got to learn a little bit more about the inventory agent that just came out with Leanscaper. So a lot is rolling out. Sorry if my brain is still coming online this morning. Uh, when you get here. Just endless conversations too, Brad.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, so this is your first, uh, day here as well. You actually came in a little late. You had some family stuff going on.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

Real life.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, my, my son broke his leg and had surgery yesterday. So I gotta practice what I preach. And family comes first. There you go. Hung out with Him. Plus my wife would have divorced me if I didn't stay.

[Brian Fullerton]

Well, to be fair and to help you out as well, not that you need a plus one. My little dude had food poisoning the other night.

[Brad Stevenson]

Oh gosh, for sure.

[Brian Fullerton]

So I'm like, he's actually back in business. He's rocking and rolling. Thankfully it wasn't anything more severe. I was like, we're, you know, Chad, GPT at 3 o' clock in the morning, you know, and it's like norovirus. I'm like, no, no, I had four or five years ago. I wouldn't wish that on my worst. Out of me.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, yeah, I had it too, but. Except it was from swimming in the Jersey ocean and right off the shore and.

[Brian Fullerton]

Really?

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, there's a sewage leak and I had, I got a muggy and I threw up like 16 times.

[Brian Fullerton]

Oh my God, dude, that's horrible.

[Brad Stevenson]

They told us not to swim, but we didn't realize why until.

[Brian Fullerton]

Oh my God.

[Brad Stevenson]

My dad picked up actually a turd.

[Brian Fullerton]

No way. Floating in the.

[Brad Stevenson]

With his foot and he didn't tell us.

[Brian Fullerton]

Are you kidding me?

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, no, it's great. Oh, the family vacation.

[Brian Fullerton]

The stuff that you find out later. Funny, funny story. Like Lake Michig Gim. West side of the state. There's a nuclear power plant and you know the water that like recycles to the underground or whatever and it's like a huge campsite next to it.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

So you would go swim out there, but you, if you hook around like the little harbor thing there, there's like a hot spring because of all the pipes underneath. So like, you know, people wonder why I twitch and I'm like, dude, I was swimming in like nuclear recycled water when I was like 8 years old with some family friends. So it all, it all probably makes sense now.

[Brad Stevenson]

But now I know why there's an arm growing out of your neck.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. Well, you turn the night, the lights off. I glow at night. It's because I was swimming with sewage like you were talking about back in the day. Or nuclear waste. Oh my gosh, that's good stuff. So Brad, we've actually had you on a couple of stages here at Leanscaper. We've had you on Link. You've got a lot of good, good stuff going on. A lot to share with folks in the, in the industry. For anybody who doesn't know your background, I always like to take it from the top. You've been doing this for what, 20 plus years now?

[Brad Stevenson]

Well, geez, I mean, I've been lan landscaping. Since I was 14 I've been, you know, with Newcastle. I'm the CEO of Newcastle now too, but I've been with them for 20 years. So I started off as a laborer, but an apprentice and grew my way up and into ownership and now I'm majority shareholder with my partner. I've been coaching for seven years. Joined leanscaper about eight months ago. Spoke in Miami. That's when I saw the movement and wanted to be a part of it. And our goal is to change 100,000 lives and impact 100,000 lives. And leanscaper is just another vessel for that.

[Brian Fullerton]

I love it.

[Brad Stevenson]

That's why I joined. And there's great people.

[Brian Fullerton]

Did you know Mark Bradley Prior?

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, yeah. So I knew him through LMN 2016. I met Mark and then I spoke with him in Florida. I think it was three or four years ago for a techo event and then we kind of linked up there and then he reached out to come speak in Miami and then, and then it kind of flourished from there. It's funny it, you know, you just meet people, people are in your path and, and you just got to. Sometimes you just got to say yes to things.

[Brian Fullerton]

Amen. I was driving in here this morning with Jeremiah Jennings, one of my buddies and we just talked about like these people that are attracted to Mark. Yeah, he's got this great pod posse, whatever you want to call it. And I'm only like a year or two into that, you know, world, if you will. And the people that we get to hang out with, guys like yourself, I mean like just class act people, you know, very top shelf folks that in other environments, I don't really know where you kind of meet these individuals.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, and that's, that's one thing with leanscaper. I mean I go to a lot of events but the, the quality group of people that work with leanscaper, plus also a part of the program, the accelerator program as well, they're just top notch people. And yeah, that's what I like to hang out with, you know, and good people attract other good people. So if you're around good people, there's going to be other people around. And he's attracted a lot of, a lot of really good people.

[Brian Fullerton]

I couldn't agree more. Wa. We had you down at the Miami leanscaper event. That was the people intensive.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yes.

[Brian Fullerton]

Do you remember everything you were sharing about and your talk and your speech? Because that was the first time I was introduced to you. Talk to a little bit more about your first Speaking engagement with leanscaper back then.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, you know, it was funny because, you know, that, that speaking event I knew was gonna be an opportunity for me to kind of get out of my, get out of my own way a little bit, but just kind of speak more personally. And that, that talk I was talking about, you know, how to, how to grow a company where people don't want to leave and it's all about, you know, you can call them soft skills or whatever, but started off talking about one of my employees that lost two kids while he was with us and how we, how we supported him. And there's a lot of people that say, oh, you know, I'll sacrifice profit for people, but once the profit goes down, all of a sudden the people start getting pushed out. And we decided a long time ago not to do that. We're there for our employees and, and we're going to help them through whatever, whatever they go through. And listen, with any, any company, there's going to be personal issues that your employees go through. And if you can be there and stand behind them as an employer and as a friend and you're just there, it's amazing what can happen. And then, you know, we don't do it for accolades, we're doing it because we truly care about people. But you know, how do you build a company where people don't want to, want to leave? And it's about caring for and making sure that you're, you're with them, you know, in those hard times. Because that's when culture, culture comes out is, you know, during the hard times, not when everything's great, you know, everybody's party. It's when man crap hits, hits the fan and, and if you're there behind them and supporting them, that's, that's what it's all about.

[Brian Fullerton]

A lot of folks constantly ask, you know, how do you attract good people to your organization? And then, you know, obviously the other conversation is that how do you keep them? Yeah, And I love what you just said there, like when the rubber meets the road, do we actually mean what we say, say what we mean? Yeah, you know, oh no, hey, like, you know, you need to be there for your kids first day of kindergarten or first grade or first day of school. Right? And then other folks like, no, it's seven o' clock here and if you're not here, like, dude, you know, three, three write ups and you're gone. And it's like, dude, would you be the, I heard somebody say recently, like, be the boss that you would want to work for. Yeah, something like that.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And it kind of stuck with me, you know, like it was a good litmus. Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

And there's one, one good saying that I like to say a lot is, you know, what will somebody say about your leadership someday? You know, what are they going to say about you and how you're showing up? And it's amazing. The better person you become, the better leader you become, the better boss you become. And you know, it's important, so it's fulfilling as well.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, I love that John Maxwell. He's got the whole bookshelf at Barnes and Noble. Right. And I'm sure you've went on that whole journey and it's, it's. Everybody goes to a John Maxwell kick, I call it. And you read, you know, 360 degree leader, 2100 February, laws of leadership. Fantastic books, fantastic reads. But one of his core concepts is the velvet covered brick. And I've always tried to remember. I've actually got to hear him give that speech live at another business event. And it just really made me like, like you just said, summarize. What do I want to be as a leader for the guys that we're bringing on? And it's, it's. Let me ask you this. As people continue to evolve, I want to ask you about this for a couple minutes. The evolution of going from technician to, you know, operator or technician to entrepreneur technician from, to growing a bigger business. How have you seen, you know, your leadership have to change from going from, I mean, you literally walk the walk.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, right.

[Brian Fullerton]

Like you went from a crew lead to. And I don't, you don't know the full story there, but obviously ownership and it was probably a journey there. But how has your leadership changed from being a leader on a crew to leading an organization of 100 plus individuals?

[Brad Stevenson]

Well, I think you have to, you know, as you start progressing, you have to start letting go more and more and allowing your, you know, your success is through your people instead of your. Like, I don't have a checklist anymore. Like, it's not about what I do, it's about what my people do. And that's how I, that's how I rate my managers as well. Like, how are there people growing? So you have to step back. You got to check your pride. You got to ask a lot of questions and not give a lot of answers.

[Brian Fullerton]

Okay.

[Brad Stevenson]

And you know, you have to know, like, you know, where do you want your people to go? Whoever you're managing, and you have to allow them to self discover by asking questions. Sure. And it's tough because if your pride's not set.

[Brian Fullerton]

Caleb Allman, everybody.

[Brad Stevenson]

If your pride's not, like, if you're not. Like, if your pride isn't where it needs to be and your ego's not checked, then it's hard to lead. So you gotta look at a lot of personal development. It's about building yourself up as a person and how can you have the confidence that you don't have to constantly be proving yourself? Because if you're not proving yourself and you're just. You're. You're celebrating your team's wins and building them up, it's so rewarding. Plus, like, for me, I'm down here. My team runs my company. I'm the CEO. I'm the visionary. But I. I built and we built teams of people that can run themselves.

[LaunchPreneur Academy Announcer]

Right.

[Brad Stevenson]

And I think that's the key is. And it's hard to see, like, because I've been through it, you know, from the ground up, and I know how it looks, but a lot of people can't even fathom what that would be, you know, and it's hard. So for me now with speaking and coaching, I have to make sure that I bring myself back to where I started and build people up from where they're at instead of trying to get them to where I think they should be right away. And it's about those experiences and not confusing your people by like, well, no, you need to do this. No, no, no. You start at the ground, the base, the foundation, and start growing them from there. But it comes back to this good leadership, sk Skills and being a good person. So, yeah, you gotta check your ego at the door. And your wins are like, I don't have any personal wins necessarily, but my people's wins are my wins.

[Brian Fullerton]

Right.

[Brad Stevenson]

Like, if somebody succeeds, it's my win empowering those people. Yeah, yeah. So. And it's tough because, you know, again, I.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's like a proud papa moment. You know what I mean? Like, they call it.

[Brad Stevenson]

People say that, but, like, so I'm an owner, so it's a little bit easier for me. But as a manager, you're still trying to prove yourself.

[Brian Fullerton]

Sure.

[Brad Stevenson]

So, man, like, if you're trying to prove yourself and then you have some people on your say you have some people on your crew that just aren't doing it, they're just not getting there. And then you're being held accountable as a leader. But then you have to show what you have too, to make sure your Boss is happy with you. So it's a little bit of a conundrum, this give and take. We want you to train your people and grow them well. Yeah, but you're holding me accountable for all these numbers, and this guy sucks. Good person, gonna be great three years, but he ain't helping me out now.

[Brian Fullerton]

Right.

[Brad Stevenson]

So I think, you know, as owners, as leaders, we have to understand the growth process and make sure we're measuring that on a scale and not just

[Brian Fullerton]

the number, you know, I want to hear your hot take on this. Thought I was listening to a podcast with Corey Ballard, Leroy Mains, and they had a guest on Sam Gamble. I know you know Sam, and yeah, I mean, Sam's one of my guys. And one of them asked like, hey, Sam, what's your sales revenue goal this year? And it was like 10 or 11 million, whatever it was. And they said, like, are you gonna hit it? And Sam goes, we should, but we'll see. And it was like this weird, fun, dynamic conversation. And I'm just, you know, listening in the peanut gallery on the podcast, you know, two weeks later, and it was something like Leroy was saying, well, can you get there? And Sam said, if I did the work.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yes.

[Brian Fullerton]

If my team does it, we'll find out. But I have to be willing to, like, you know, slow down, to speed up. I have to let my team evolve and grow.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

To hit these goals, and it's going to be up to them if they want to hit these goals in a way.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know what I mean? And so it's like, I'm like, man, like, what a. What a weird, interesting dynamic. As a. As a leader, like you. Your. Your foot's on the gas behind the scenes. But, like, obviously, you want to give the tools and the equip these folks to. To hit these goals.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

What a. What a.

[Brad Stevenson]

Well, I think as a leader, you know, you always know that if you need. If you have to step in, you're going to make. You're gonna make it, right. If you had to.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yes.

[Brad Stevenson]

Right, sure. But a lot of times we step in too quick and we don't allow things to evolve because, you know, listen, we look at one year at a time because that's how tax works. Right. But this is a long game. It's not just, well, this year, then next year. No, no, next five years, next 10 years, next 25 years, like, how are you growing? And that's how I measure growth. It's not one year at a time, because then the next year could be everything. Could fall off. So again, how are you building your people? How are you sustaining what you already have? And it's hard to get through, and I understand it, but it's who you're becoming throughout the process. I always say goals are set there. You want to have obtainable goals, short goals, but as far as, like the horizon, and I was listening to a book about the gap and the gain and making sure you're looking back as far as where you came from instead of looking at the horizon. A discount keeps pushing forward. That's to stretch you, but you also have to celebrate your wins. So a sales goal, okay, you, you set a sales goal because you need the revenue to cover your costs, overhead, everything else. You got to make sure you're hitting that revenue. But if you're looking at a budget on a monthly basis and you're constantly seeing where you're at, percentage wise, you know you can change. And the, the best leaders, the best companies can pivot quickly.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

And if you can't pivot because you set a budget, the beginning of the year, like this year, September hit and we weren't going to hit our numbers, and we're like, okay, like, what are we going to do as a leadership team? We met and we did daily huddles every morning, and everybody had a sales goal. And we didn't just look at the sales team saying, you guys need to do this. It's no, how are we, all of us, how are we getting to it? And we hit our goal. But it's, yeah, you have to step in once in a while, but don't step in too soon. Understand? It's a process and you're building people. It's like a rubber band. You stretch them and it goes back. So you gotta stretch your people and then allow it to retract a little bit and then stretch them again. And that's how you build them because you're building future leaders of your company so you can step away and allow them to run the day to day. Plus, there's a lot of pride with that as well.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. For time's sake, one or two more quick questions here that I've got for you because I don't want to take your whole morning here. You just got in on an airplane last night and like you said, family, real life. I know you want to make friends. Mango, do the deal. Like, what an environment to do it. I want to go back to the control conversation. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts? A lot of guys listening in, you know, they're between zero and, you know, a million or two on my show, you know, I fall into that category as well. I know Mark Bradley jokingly says, like, we're all recovering control freaks in one way or another.

[Brad Stevenson]

I'm one of them.

[Brian Fullerton]

I guess, I guess revenue doesn't matter, right?

[Brad Stevenson]

No, it doesn't.

[Brian Fullerton]

So, so loaded question, but do you have any suggestions or thoughts for guys that are like, well, nobody trims as good as I do. Nobody can sell like Brad Stevenson.

[Brad Stevenson]

That's true.

[Brian Fullerton]

Well, that's correct. Yeah. Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

So don't expect 100% of what you, you're gonna be. And no, it, it, it, you, like I always say, list out things that you do on a. I have people do activity inventories for like two weeks. List everything you do in 15 minute increments and then look at the list and look at the stuff you'd hate doing. And then you have to find somebody else, somebody or a system or a process to do that for you. And then how are you any leader in my team? Who's the next coming up? Who are you training? Who's taking your spot? And if you don't have a number two person that you're building up and bringing alongside you, there's going to be a huge gap. So, you know, think about it. You know, you build a company say to a million, two million, it's all you, it's all you. Now you have this. Now you're searching for somebody just like you, you have to pull off the street and that ain't gonna happen. Like, most likely it's not gonna happen. So if you haven't, if you're there now listening to this, it's okay. But start bringing people up with you. Like elevate as you grow, bring people with you and don't be a solopreneur for the rest of your life. You have to, at some point you have to, you have to do that. But who are you, who are you bringing up beside you in order to take on more of those responsibilities and then stuff you don't like to do. Yeah. And I think a lot of times we end up giving up things we love to do because we feel guilty of giving somebody something we don't like to do. There are many people out there that love the crap that I don't love, which is details. And I surround myself with detailed people. And that's how, that's how we're able to grow. So find your weaknesses, hire your weaknesses, bring those people up with you and let them go and know they're going to make mistakes and you're just there to pick them up. Know, like, what the, what's the threshold? What's the worst case scenario? Understand what that is and then make sure that you have a plan in place that if things go sideways, but they're good people, hire people off of their core values. Are they a good person? Are they growth mindset? Can you build them up and then start, just start, just unload on them and allow them to grow as well?

[Brian Fullerton]

Let me, let me ask you. This is a personal realization that I've had too. And believe it or not, this sounds so oxymoron as I continue to say this statement out loud. But it's. I always believe that I believe the best in people until my rubber meets the road where I go to give them responsibility. Yeah. It's something I'm realizing about myself and I'm like, dude, like, do you actually trust these people to do, to perform? You know, like, take 100 grand rig out down the road? I've noticed that I, I don't actually struggle with giving people that role, but it's something like ingrained, you know, there's some head trash I got somewhere floating around still, even for you're, you know, the guru here. That I'm like, will they do it and be accountable to it and do it as good as I'm hoping, You know, Like, I, I'm trying to articulate what I'm trying to say, but it's like I, I don't have a trust issue with them taking a hundred grand rig down the road. Like the financial trust factors there.

[Brad Stevenson]

Sure.

[Brian Fullerton]

But I'm like, are they, are they doing a good job when, like nobody's looking?

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, like that kind of stuff.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And do you struggle with that? Have you ever struggled with that? Is that a control freak thing?

[Brad Stevenson]

Oh, 100 struggle with that. And I still do. But you have to understand, they're not, you're. They're not the owner of the company, so they're not going to do it as good as you. Sure. Now, I do believe that everybody's livelihoods are hooked to the job and, oh, you know, they don't care so much because they can go get another job. I don't believe that we just haven't given them enough responsibility and enough autonomy with some checks and balances. But do they know what's expected of them? Is it clear? Are you speaking to them in their language? You and I are high. I'm a disc guy through John Maxwell. I got trained through John Maxwell. But disc understanding your people and are they detail driven? Are they influencers? Are they inspiration? Are they just get it done people and just understanding who they are. And then you, you create the job, whatever job title for them for what they're what, how they're made up instead of trying to push something on somebody that they're just not. They're not made up that way. Right.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. Somebody was saying like, I think it was Gamble, I heard him on a webinar say we're in the, your front lines in the landscape business, but we're in the people business. And I'm like, that's a good line to remember. And you're treating or starting to build and develop these leaders, you know, in this organization. And I think that's something that I to articulate about it was I trust folks, but I'm like, it's always like the capacity question.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, and people obviously do.

[Brad Stevenson]

Right.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, that's the thing I'm getting. I have to get over myself. Like nobody can do it as good as you or sell or cast the vision or organize the workshop. And I'm like, that's just, that's so stinking thinking.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

But I know so many of us struggle with that. From honestly probably zero, like you said to even where you're at today.

[Brad Stevenson]

Absolutely. And I have coaches and I'm in groups that, you know, make sure they call me out on that as well. And I think, you know, as an owner, as an operator, you're going to be becoming, you're going to get paid for who you are instead of what you do.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah, right.

[Brad Stevenson]

And if you, if you have every day you just have a checklist like, man, how can you shrink that down some and give other people responsibility? And here's one maybe parting thought. A lot of times we want people to feel good and culture is this happiness thing. And I don't know if it's a happiness scale. It's really like are they challenged? You know, do they feel like their work means something? And if you pull things away because you feel like they're just not good enough, well now you've reduced their buy in and how they feel, the pride that they have. So a lot of times we'll pull that stuff away just to make them happy so it's easier. Easy isn't happy. So there's gonna be some struggles. Know, like it's not just gonna be seamless. They didn't start the company, you did. Right. So. But how do you challenge them to want More and then how do you give them some space and then some check ins and then coaching and building them up throughout the way. So you know, as a, as a founder, as a leader, you know, you, you become, you're, you're, you're getting paid for who you are instead of what you do. If you have that mindset, you start training everybody else for the skill side of things and, and building them up and then replicate.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah, and replicate's the, the best part of that is, in my opinion, because that's what we're looking at as organization. We just talked about that at our pre spring kickoff because we had this like, you know, fake spring that came through. So we had a couple of, we had the team in, did a team meeting, cleaned up a bunch of the equipment. We're going to do a real spring kickoff here at the end of the month of March as you guys are listening to this show. But I said, guys, we need to start replicating and developing leaders. Yeah, right. Like your frontline crew need to be right hands at least by next year and crew leads in two years.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And I don't care if there's no timeline on that, but you know, from apprentice to crew, crew to right hand. Right hand to crew leader by next year.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

Right. Because if we want to go to 5 million, like we need 15 or 20 crew leads.

[Brad Stevenson]

Sure.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, so we're going to start developing these folks and that's where we're trying to have this culture of not holding people down, not hazing, not ridiculing, not like making fun of the new guy. It's like, dude, you could literally run a crew making 60,000 bucks.

[Brad Stevenson]

Sure.

[Brian Fullerton]

In the next 24 months here.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

You know, and we, we really want to be, I jokingly said on another show, I said I want to be a training organization that happens to cut grass.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

Not a grass cutting organization that does a little bit of training. Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

And there's levels of leadership too. So I think, you know, at Newcastle we have three layers of leadership. So we have the leadership team, then we have supervisors, and then we have the up and coming.

[Brian Fullerton]

Okay.

[Brad Stevenson]

And making sure you have three layers of leadership. So you're, you're training those new people because they're eventually going to be supervisors, crew leads, whatever the future. Yeah. Making sure that you're giving them time as well. And they're called mavericks, but like picking out the people that you know in the future will be the, the next up and coming. Otherwise if you don't do that, you're going to age yourself out. So you got to constantly be bringing in young people. And another thing, you know, everybody wants the all stars out there. You know, I want to hire these people that are all stars. Just hire good people that you can train and then lift them up.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. The 1% better every day.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. I love that Mark Bradley talks about growth minded individuals.

[Brad Stevenson]

Right.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's funny. Here's the. We'll wrap it up right this. My wife and I were talking and we're, you know, normally the conversations, the years pass, right? It's equipment or trucks or this or that. And I'm like, we need training in this system, in this process. And she was like, this is overwhelming. I go, welcome to the entire self help book section of Barnes and Noble.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

I was like, if you had a book on right. Mowers, trimmers and blowers to buy, it would be a pamphlet.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

I was like, welcome to what every, literally organization and company in America is constantly doing and investing in and teaching and training and seminars and conferences and all this stuff. But anyway, it's, it's a wild take, you know, than just trying to, hey, I got to get the next, you know, two mower operation set up going, which is still important.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

But now you got like, well, who the hell is running this thing? You know, so it's a, it's a fun, it's a challenging conversation, you know, But I'll tell you guys what, like, it's important.

[Brad Stevenson]

I do want to say one other thing. I wrote a article for Lawn and Landscape magazine. I think it's coming out next month, but about benchmarking.

[Brian Fullerton]

Okay.

[Brad Stevenson]

And like, I think a lot of times, you know, there's a lot of fake numbers out there and a lot of really good operators that are trying to compare themselves to fake numbers. And a lot of people feel like we're just not good enough. And it drives me that crap crazy. Right. I don't know if you can swear or not.

[Brian Fullerton]

It's unfiltered. So it's literally we. All right. I never swear my YouTube channel. So I like, I need an outlet. All right, so we'll drop an F bomb once in a while, but it's

[Brad Stevenson]

that crazy, you know, I think, you know, we have these good people that are running really good businesses and if they really looked at inside all these other businesses that are these high, like, literally, like, if you ask me a bunch of questions about my company, I'm going to tell you all the dirt in my company because it's not easy and it's all the same stuff. But we're all comparing benchmarking to all these other companies. What are their numbers, what are they measuring? Who actually looked into their QuickBooks, into their P and L to see truly,

[Brian Fullerton]

what are they measuring story behind this?

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, it just drives me nuts and I think for a lot of the young people like you, like a lot of young entrepreneurs that are really great, they just feel less than. And I, I just want to, I just want to bash that and try to get that out of the industry. And that's what I love about Leadscaper and the people here, they just tell the truth. I mean, sure, there's going to be people at, you know, my top line is this, but like, what's the story? And stop talking about your accolades talk. Start talking about the struggles you had so you can meet other companies where they're at.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. If you're getting around folks that are just giving you lip service or just vanity metrics or stats or they're drinking, you know, some red wine into steak and they're just. Gosh, I was in a whole other story for another time, but like this dude, I was at a table with a bunch of folks and this guy was just bashing his organization. Yeah, bashing Brad. I was like, like, and, and I had two, two, you know, younger guys in business there. One was an 18 year old kid, the other guy's like 25. And you know, they're both doing sub a million. And dude, we're just excited to be here. We're like, dude, this like we're going to the moon. And this guy's like, oh, you guys are still newbies and still. Yeah, I'm like, I've been doing this for 20 freaking years, dude. Like I, I know enough, like, give me a little bit of cred here. And he was doing like, you know, three and a half, just ragging on his organization. And I was like, dude, you're a, you're a garbage human being, like, and everything. You're ragging on your guys. Do you know who that is a direct reflection of? I was like, but I'm just like, you know, just eat my filet, you know. I was like, this isn't my battle. But I was like, dude, you're a turd. Like, that's the reason. Yeah, you're ragging on your organization. Your organization sucks because of you.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And I'm like, it's like, dude, like, look in the mirror.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

And like when you come to these environments, you will be challenged. You, you you'll want to leave as a better person.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

If you're a good person coming in here. Let me rephrase that. You'll want to be a better person leaving here. Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

So. And that's one thing that I guys, I, I'll land the plane there. I always appreciate and gravitate is probably a better way to say it towards you, Brad. It's always fun. I'm like hey, like I got you know, big bros here. Like let's get some back up. You know it's like here's, here's my, my, my other team. Who John Maxwell.

[Brad Stevenson]

I'm nothing special.

[Brian Fullerton]

We did lal and I was like we couldn't afford John Maxwell so we got, we got Timu, John Maxwell, Sam Gimble. But I, I know you were at Sam's event and dude, it's just folks like again as you continue to come to these environments you see a lot of the same folks and we're on this journey together. So joking there but I, I really do appreciate your friendship getting to see you here and I'll give the last thought any, anything we missed, anything you want to cover, anything you want to get out while we're here and going into the spring rush.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah, no, I mean we are running two tours this year at Newcastle. One in May and.

[Brian Fullerton]

Oh really?

[Brad Stevenson]

One in August. So we're, we had some last, last year we ran some with Frank Bork.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. Okay.

[Brad Stevenson]

We ran one with Frank Bork.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

But no, I, we're. We're doing that and we like a

[Brian Fullerton]

field trip or what do you call that?

[Brad Stevenson]

Field trip. And then my team, my team teaches. So.

[Brian Fullerton]

Okay.

[Brad Stevenson]

We just opened. We talk about the turds, we talk about the struggles just to get some reality behind it.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

And to help people. Like we want to impact a hundred thousand lives. We want to change the industry, we want to shatter the stereotypes and wherever we can help, that's what we're doing. My whole team does that.

[Brian Fullerton]

Yeah. So plug that for me. Soft pitch. But I didn't even know you had all that going on. Yeah. Where can people find more?

[Brad Stevenson]

So it'll be. We're going to have. I have cards here. But we'll be launching in March 14th. All the stuff will be going out on LinkedIn and give me the info, would you?

[Brian Fullerton]

I will and we'll, we'll try to do our best. If you're in the greater Penns area surrounding states, you know four or five hour drive. I always joke is local. You know you can leave at 4am and get there and rock and roll.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

That's awesome. Okay. Super cool again. I still remember your whole conversation and speech from Miami. It was really awesome. Getting to hear a lot of practical stories you were talking about. You guys had some challenges with the H2B program. Like, dude, wild stories, folks. Like, they needed cheeks in the seat beats. And I, like, Brad just had me, like, enthralled in this, like, story, and I'm just like, so what do you do? And, dude, he was sharing. So here's what we did. And I was like, damn, this guy's a good storyteller. So if you. If you haven't had the privilege or if you see Brad sharing or speaking at a conference or a breakout session at Equip or elevator Sima. I don't know, wherever you're. You're floating around everywhere, go check him out. Sit in the hot seat, get to hang out with him. Go shake his hand, say, hey, I heard you in the Fullerton unfiltered podcast, and give him a high five. And I know it'll make his day. So how about that?

[Brad Stevenson]

That'd be awesome.

[Brian Fullerton]

There you go.

[Brad Stevenson]

Talk to anybody.

[Brian Fullerton]

I love it. I love it. All right, cool. Well, hey, I don't want to be an expensive first date and morning here for you.

[Brad Stevenson]

Let's.

[Brian Fullerton]

Let's sign off with. Where can people find you, Brad? Are you on LinkedIn? Instagram? Yeah.

[Brad Stevenson]

LinkedIn's the. The best way to get a hold of me.

[Brian Fullerton]

Cool.

[Brad Stevenson]

And. And just reach out. Just. Yeah, we can become LinkedIn friends. And I'm on Facebook. Instagram, but LinkedIn's kind of my hub.

[Brian Fullerton]

That's your thing.

[Brad Stevenson]

Yeah.

[Brian Fullerton]

Gotcha. So sounds good. All right, guys. Well, hey, we'll wrap it up right here. Thank you again to the leanscaper folks for letting us podcast here. Sorry for a little bit of the loud background background noise. We've got about 500 people, plus or minus, going back and forth for morning breakfast, but that's. We're gonna land the plane today. We appreciate all you guys listening in. Don't forget to hit follow. If you guys are new here, leave us a rating review, Let us know how we're doing, and we'll catch up with all of you guys here on the next one.

[LaunchPreneur Academy Announcer]

If your business is stuck below that $500,000 mark, let's just say it straight. The problem, it might be you. Not because you're failing, but because everything runs through you. You're answering the calls, solving problems, checking crews, putting out fires, and by the end of the day, there's nothing left for growth. That's exactly why LaunchPreneur Academy built the SOP bundle. Inside, you'll get more than 50 field training SOPs, a full office training system, and 30 plus business documents and resources to help you build a team that will actually run without you. Train f Delegate better, Scale smarter. The presale period is open now for only $14.99. When it launches April 22, the price jumps to $24.99. Get Lifetime Access, lifetime updates and the systems to help you step out of the day today, visit lawntrepreneuracademy.com.

[Podcast Outro Narrator]

Thanks for taking the time to listen to the Fullerton Unfiltered Podcast with Brian Fullerton. We hope you enjoyed this production. If so, please consider leaving us a five star review for the show. While the techniques and ideas presented here are designed to help you grow a more successful and profitable business, no one can guarantee these results for you. We want to emphasize that entrepreneurship is not easy and the ideas presented here are just the opinions of Brian Fullerton and his respective guests. No one can guarantee success for you. That being said, we hope the ideas presented here help you and motivate you to go on out there and crush it with your own business.

[Brad Stevenson]

Fullerton Unfiltered Podcast thanks for listening and

[Podcast Outro Narrator]

we hope to see you on the next episode.

[LaunchPreneur Academy Announcer]

This has been a Brian Fullerton and Mr. Producer Production.