Loading summary
Transcript201 lines
- [00:04]
A
Hello and welcome to the Green Industry Podcast, your go to guide for building a more profitable and thriving lawn care and landscaping business. Your host, Paul Jamison is the author of five best selling books including Cut that Grass and make that Cash and his latest, Level up your money, all available on Amazon and Audible. Now get ready for more expert insights and practical strategies to boost your business and level up your life. Here's Paul Jameson.
- [00:38]
B
Welcome back to the Green Industry Podcast. Today we are going to hear from Jeremy from Jay Jacobs. I interviewed him at the morning show at the Equip Expo. He has a lawn care landscaping business in Illinois and he is just a wholesome fella who is inspiring as a business leader and also as a person. So if you don't know what the morning show is, once a year we do a live podcast from Room B103 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Equip Expo. And each year it's so much fun, there's so much energy in the room. Hundreds and hundreds of other lawn care and landscaping pros gather together bright and early at 8am on the Thursday of Equip and we just go up on stage and podcast and have a lot of fun. Eat some donuts, bananas, coffee and whatnot. So this year at the morning show I'm going to be interviewing John Ajak. Really looking forward to that, Nay. Talia Farrow is going to be interviewing Eric Triplet, the Pond Digger. And Caleb and Brenny Allman are going to be doing their podcast from room B103 as well. So let's go ahead and remember this classic with Jeremy from Jay Jacobs from Louisville, Kentucky at the Equip Expo. Enjoy. Excellence in broadcasting. Coming to Louisville, Kentucky again. There you go. Our special guest today from Illinois, Jay Jacobs. Jeremy Jacobs. What's up Jeremy?
- [02:02]
C
Morning guys. Good to be with you all.
- [02:04]
B
And we have our co host here today from beautiful Fairfield County, Ohio, Caleb Allman.
- [02:09]
C
What's up everybody?
- [02:11]
B
And from Virginia, Midlothian, Virginia, Naylor. There you go. Suburb of Richmond. So lots of thank yous to give out to before we get started today, we're going to talk about premium pricing and how to actually attract good employees and then keep them with with Jeremy. Before we get started, I want to first say thank you to Naylor. He pioneered this event years ago. We were upstairs on Friday morning, standing room only. And and Naylor, watching you what you do for our community, I just want to say thank you for continuing to do everything you do for our community.
- [02:47]
D
Thank you, Paul. I appreciate it.
- [02:49]
B
Yeah. And you're having A party tonight?
- [02:52]
D
Oh, yeah, the rally at the Yum center tonight. We're going to have a blast.
- [02:56]
B
6:00pm yeah, it's free, 99. It's completely free. You guys are invited to join us tonight at 6pm at the KFC Yum Center. It's upstairs. Also, we want to say thank you to Kohler Engines. I'm not sure if Craig and Jamie are around, but thank you to Kohler for sponsoring this event year after year. We appreciate their partnership, and thank you to Evan. Where are you at, Evan?
- [03:19]
D
There he is.
- [03:20]
B
Evan in the back. He has a spirit of excellence. If you're going to do something, in my opinion, do it well. And, Evan, from the good donuts to the good coffee to the.
- [03:29]
A
To the room.
- [03:31]
B
Thank you, Evan. Am I leaving any. Any thank yous out?
- [03:34]
D
I think you covered it, man. Thank you.
- [03:36]
B
Oh, we got two more. Thank you to Mr. Producer. He's back in the Appalachian Mountains. He's never come to an event before, but we have some breaking news. He's going to come to the first event in our history in January. I don't know how you pulled it off, Naylor, but that check must have been fat.
- [03:54]
D
It's just all about building the network. My network is my net worth. So I asked Mr. Producer if he'd come to the LCR summit and help you teach a masterclass on podcasting in Atlanta, Georgia. So check it out. LCR summit.com shameless plug. Thanks, Paul.
- [04:08]
B
Hey, you're welcome, Naylor. So if you guys ever wanted to meet my producer, he's going to be at an event for the first time ever in January. And last but not least, I want to thank our live studio audience.
- [04:19]
E
If.
- [04:19]
B
If you guys are listening to this podcast, we have hundreds. I'm not exaggerating, am I? Hundreds of people here. 9:00am so we have. I want to give some beanies out who came here from my home state of Ohio. Let's hear it Up. Paradise. Who else is from Ohio? Come get your beanie. It's cold, so you need your beanies here. I'm going to put that right there for you, sir. Anyone else from Ohio? Oh, there you go. All right, who else is here? I feel like Oprah. You get a car. You get a car. Two over here, but. All right, that's. That's enough on Ohio. Who's here from Kentucky, the home state? All right, you want a beanie? I'm gonna run out of beanies here. All right, so yesterday I met somebody from Poland and Ireland. Do you know where Poland Is Caleb. It's by Denmark. They can't hear you.
- [05:11]
C
Is Shane and Norbert here? Shane and Norbert, are you here?
- [05:14]
B
Is anybody here from Europe? Oh, we got one back. Come on up. Yo, any. Anybody who is here from outside the country? Not Canada. Mike Pletch, come on up. Sorry. Canada. Geez. John, get the microphone. I want to hear where these folks are from. So come on up. Come on up. Don't be shy.
- [05:34]
A
Come on.
- [05:35]
B
So awesome. Hey, Jack, where are you going? Oh, yeah. Where are you from? Come on on the stage. We have international people here. This is absolutely crazy.
- [05:41]
C
Come on up.
- [05:42]
B
Join the green industry podcast. Come on, John. Where are you from?
- [05:47]
C
I'm from Slovenia.
- [05:49]
A
Slovenia.
- [05:49]
B
Where's that at?
- [05:52]
C
We border Italy in the b. Balkans.
- [05:55]
B
Awesome. Is it cold there?
- [05:57]
E
Sorry?
- [05:57]
B
Is it cold there?
- [05:58]
C
Yeah.
- [05:58]
B
All right.
- [05:58]
A
You get a beanie.
- [05:59]
B
Thank you. Thanks for coming. Where are you from?
- [06:02]
C
Ireland.
- [06:03]
B
I. I met you yesterday. Is it cold in Ireland? It's pretty cold. We're out of beanies. Does anybody have cash? We got to give them something. I only got fives and tens. There you go. I'm sorry. Where are you from?
- [06:20]
F
From Ireland as well.
- [06:20]
B
Oh, this is great. Thanks very much. Look, I got ones, fives and tens. If anybody's got a big.
- [06:27]
C
Norbert and Shane. Hungary.
- [06:29]
A
Where?
- [06:29]
B
Hungary. Hungry? Yeah, that's fine. I'll look up. I gotta raise my prices, man. I don't even have a 20 hertz. I don't have anything else to you guys. Where are you from? New Zealand. New Zealand. Let's go. This is crazy. I met you yesterday.
- [06:44]
D
Poland.
- [06:45]
B
That is absolutely amazing. That's. Yeah, let's get a picture here. This is pretty cool.
- [06:51]
E
Go ahead.
- [06:51]
B
We have an international audience on the green industry podcast. All right, thank you, guys. Can we give them a goodies giveaway bag or something? That's later. All right. Thank you, guys. Once upon a time, we're flinging $100 bills when lawn care juggernaut is here.
- [07:12]
F
Canada.
- [07:12]
B
Well, thank you guys for coming. I wish I had. I wish I had more to give. And last but not least, the Equip Expo bought 300 of the books. The Lawn Care Advantage. This is a gift for you guys from Equip. So thank you to Evan and the team for. For getting those books. Feel free to take those.
- [07:29]
C
We're going to auction this thing off. Lot number 25 on the Lawn Care Advantage. You give me 25. 25.
- [07:34]
E
Better.
- [07:34]
C
Now 25. What do you give me 25 now 30 and 30. That'll be. Would it give you 30 hit. $35 bids a 30. Would it give me $35 meter now 30 days. Sold. $35. Put them on buyer number 15. Thank you, sir.
- [07:45]
B
There you go.
- [07:48]
C
That's my icebreaker for the morning.
- [07:49]
B
Mr. Horning, you win. That's your second year in a row.
- [07:55]
C
Thank you.
- [07:56]
B
All right. That was fun. I, I've never had an international audience on my podcast. Well, yeah, or an auctioneer. Jeremy, what are some non negotiables for you in
- [08:09]
C
non negotiable. So I do think I didn't put. So yeah. So basically when you start your landscape company, you're always saying, yes, yes, I'll do that, I'll do that. And it probably took me a couple years to, you know what say I needed some guidelines to tell me what I. What are some things that are a hard no. So get those established early on, especially like your minimums on mowing and be confident in that. But beyond that, some things that are important I think are just how you treat your employees. Because when it comes down to it, if you ain't got guys to do the work, you're not going to make it. And so simple things like being timely with your payroll, it's a non negotiable on Monday by 8am or what. Whenever your pay cycle stops, they need to be paid.
- [08:59]
B
Why do you pay them on Monday versus Friday?
- [09:01]
C
So basically there's times where we work on Saturdays and I just in my mind I think of, if you look at a calendar, you know, it starts on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. So that's how our payroll goes. It goes two weeks from that first Sunday to that second Saturday. And so that's how we do it Monday morning. By 8 o' clock everybody should have that direct deposit heading their way. That's one of them. The other thing is like I, I would never have my employee do something that I am not willing to do. That could be a physical thing, that could be going up to the door and talking to somebody. I'm never going to put my employee in a situation that I wouldn't do myself. And even in real time there's times where I'm out and I can kind of tell maybe they don't want to do the task that I asked them to do. And you know, I don't like criticize them or anything, but I'm like, you know what, I'll help you out, let's do this together. Because I can just tell maybe their morales is kind of dipped a little bit and it can be A real boost to grab, grab the string, trimmer the edger, be like, you know what, you hop on the mower for the next 45 minutes, I'm going to knock out the string trimming. So little things like that. And then personally, I think it's important that we have hard stops on our own in our own personal life. For myself, I'll just give you an example. So I'm married, I've got five kids, and we're actually expecting number six in. And we've been in business a while. I started in 2009, and probably in the last year, it really hit me. My oldest daughter just turned 15, and it's not that cool to be with mom and dad anymore. It's not that cool to do the things she once did when she was a little girl. And you, you have a limited amount of time to be a, a positive influence on them and to see it where she's starting to make her own decisions. So, anyway, my point is, put your family first. There is a time, early stages in business where you've got to be out there. You miss supper, you miss some family things is going to happen. But as soon as you can, get those priorities switched around, because these are things that you cannot replace with money. Nobody. You're not going to go on your deathbed and be like, man, I just really wish I would have spent more time at work. It's not going to happen that way. So there was something that happened this summer that really brought it home. We Exmark in growing up, Exmark Mowers. We use them as a kid. And about three years ago, they reached out to me to be a partner with them. And it was such a privilege to work with Exmark. And anyway, this spring they invited me to Beatrice, Nebraska for a tour. Paul was going to be there, Brian was going to be there, Jason Creel, Keith. And to me, like, these are like big names. And I really, really wanted to go. So I'm like, you know what? Count me in, I'd love to come. I put it on my calendar, on my phone. And about three weeks later, me and Kelsey were, my wife were talking about our vacation plans for the summer. And we, we got on Airbnb and we, we started shopping around. And anyway, we planned this trip to North Carolina, booked our places, and it took us like a whole Saturday afternoon. And my wife's really picky about the places we stay at and stuff. It's just kind of a hassle. But anyway, we had the whole trip planned, booked our places, and that Night, I just happened to look on my phone, and it fell right during the time period of the Exmark thing. And I'm like, oh, dude, I cannot miss the Exmark thing. I mean, this is. My passion is landscaping and mowing, and it's such a privilege to be with Exmark and whatnot. But then, like, I'm thinking, okay, do I put my wife then second?
- [12:54]
D
And my.
- [12:55]
C
I mean, she. We spent a ton of time, and it's stressful trying to plan all that, and so I didn't know what to do. But I just. The next morning, I just felt like I got to put my family first. And I. And I texted the great people over there, Exmark, and said, hey, sorry, I double booked. And they totally understood. But it was a very. It was a tough decision for me, and I think everybody can relate to that, but I don't have any regrets. Exmark is so gracious, and. But it's just little things like that that once in a while come up that you really need to know where your priorities are.
- [13:30]
B
That's so good. So how do you prosper financially in your business and prosper with your wife and children and have success in both?
- [13:40]
C
Yeah, I mean, prospering in business. Oh, boy. I feel like Caleb alluded to it earlier. Business is a math equation. If you want to make money, figure out what that is and do the math backwards to figure out how much you have to make a day and save a day or whatever to get to where you're going. It's like, one thing for me personally is a few years back, I had a herniated disc in my back and went to the doctor, and he's like, you know what, Jeremy? You really need to gain some strength in your upper body. You're using your back for everything. And I weighed, like 135 pounds, 140, and I could not gain weight. But he told me, he's like, you need to. You need to gain. You need to gain some upper body strength and put on some. Put on some weight. So I figured out how many calories I need to take in. I figured out an exercise routine, and I worked towards it, and lo and behold, after six months, I put on, like, £20. And the. So if my point is create and figure out your problem, put a number out there, work the math backwards, and follow a program to get there. Same thing personally, if you're. If you're having struggles like saving up or getting a retirement plan, the earlier that you can get those things put in place with automatic withdrawals out of your checking. I was taught that as a. As a. As a high schooler, and every month, $400 went into a retirement thing or something. And after a long time, that stuff really compounds. So just being disciplined in those areas.
- [15:19]
B
Absolutely. If you guys have any questions, John is right up there. We'll be happy to get some of your questions on the program. Go ahead.
- [15:28]
C
We got one here.
- [15:30]
B
You're supposed to vet them. Is it a good question? John, good morning. Yeah, quick, quick question.
- [15:38]
F
What one thing would you.
- [15:40]
B
That you did that you, you know, you say, I really don't want to do this ever again.
- [15:47]
F
And you know, what.
- [15:49]
C
What would that be?
- [15:50]
F
What would you teach all of us that.
- [15:52]
B
That you did that said, wow, this
- [15:54]
C
was really, really dumb?
- [15:56]
B
Sure.
- [15:57]
C
I think we have to be really, really careful with how we criticize our employees if we. If we do, we don't criticize our employees. And I feel like there's maybe been times where it's so easy to find the things they did wrong throughout the day. If you send a text, it's usually because they missed something or customer complain about something. But how many times do we actually encourage them? My wife reminds me, you need to be telling how thankful you are all the time, every day. And there's been times where I've been really quick to correct, and they're just out doing. And maybe it's one of those little nuances that I notice, but the other 60% of people won't notice. But I'm very quick and very ready to pick apart or show them the areas that they can improve on. And sometimes I can beat them up, I feel like. And so I think that's one thing that I would really caution everyone in, is to give way, way more positive feedback to your employees than negative. They need the negative so that they know which areas to improve in. Be real tactful how you do it, so they, you know, know it's coming from your heart, that you really appreciate them and it's for their betterment.
- [17:17]
D
I was just gonna say, I mean, think about it. Positive reinforcement makes you want to do it more. You know, like, negative is. You're gonna not want to do it, but if. If you just keep getting negative, negative, negative, then you're just gonna completely, like, withdrawal and not even know what to do anymore. So the more positive, the more you want to do it. So sometimes you don't even need to give any negative criticism if you just keep spinning everything in a positive way, you know, like, hey, I really liked how you striped you know, this yard, you know, last week, instead of saying, you know, this was a terrible job that you did this week on this yard, and then they think about how, how they, oh yeah, what about did you like? And you kind of maybe go into a little bit and they focus on how you liked them mowing that yard or striping that yard instead of like how bad they did that yard. So I think it's just, it's all a mind game. It really is. It's all mental. Switch back to the previous questions on Caleb's, you know, podcast. Just like he was saying, we kind of get really caught up as the owners spoiling our clients and then we grow and then our employees are never going to measure up to us. Right. Like we have that mindset. We have to get out of our own way, out of our own head so that we can allow the team to grow and perform. And like Caleb said, Our 120% is, you know, their 100%. And the customers won't even notice a difference if they aren't spoiled by our 120% all the time. And we have to ease that transition.
- [18:41]
B
Hey Jack. Yeah.
- [18:42]
C
We got another great question from Frank.
- [18:45]
B
This has been great, guys.
- [18:46]
D
Thanks so much for this.
- [18:48]
B
Jeremy, I know you love the box
- [18:51]
D
trucks and we run trucks and trailers and I'm just wondering maybe a good
- [18:56]
B
way to transition to the box trucks. Any advice you'd have how to do that?
- [19:01]
F
Yep.
- [19:01]
C
So what he's talking about, we run Isuzu single axle straight trucks and they have the beaver tail and you can put the mowers on there. You don't have to pull a trailer with that. In my mind, if you are a lawn mowing contractor and that's kind of your bread and butter, we also do lawn treatments and those trucks work awesome for that. It is just a no brainer. A lot of our employees are anywhere from the ages of 17 to 24 years old. And you know they're going to make, they're going to make the wrong turns. They're going to get into parking lots where they got to get out of, they're going to have to turn around on streets. And trailers are just a huge headache. Even we have a couple dump trailers and I've had to rewire each of those already one time and we bought them brand new a few years back. There's just so many risks. Unfortunately, the cost of those trucks have went through the roof in the last three years. Back in 2017, you could get a brand new NPR with a beaver tail. Set up for like 43,000. Now it's like 73,000. So if you can get into a used one, the older diesels, you're going to get a lot of life out of those. The newer diesels I would stay away from and I would just get the 6 liter Chevy gas engine. But yeah, for us, they are. They are low maintenance. We bought all of our. All of ours brand new. Like between 2015 and 2018, I'm expected to get about 200,000 miles out of them, which is about 20 years because we put right around 10 to 11,000. And I did the math, and at the cost we bought them at will basically be spending, you know, in tires and maintenance, only about $3,000 a year to pay for the cost of the truck and to maintain the truck. I mean, that's peanuts. And so I am. I'm 100% on board with going with the NPR trucks.
- [20:51]
B
Thorough answer, Jeremy. Good job, Pay Jack. Last. Last question that I want to. I want to talk to you about pricing and make sure we're. We're above market rates. And then we're going to take a picture and we got some more giveaways and we're going to sing a song.
- [21:05]
C
Okay, well, just. Just hold off on the cash, okay? I'm getting low on funds here.
- [21:11]
B
I gotta. I gave away my tip money for the. Yeah, luggage guy, so I need to.
- [21:15]
D
That's okay.
- [21:16]
C
I'll bill you. But we got a great question from Daniel here. So this question's for you, Paul. So this is your fourth book, if I'm not mistaken.
- [21:25]
A
Correct.
- [21:25]
C
So do you have plans for a fifth book? Or do any of you up there, do any of y' all have a plan for a book or any other thing that may be coming out?
- [21:35]
B
I'm in the preliminary stages of a fifth book about. About money, like ironically. And we had a great question earlier. Someone asked about investing and things of that nature. So I'm working on that one right now. But it's in the rough draft stage. So book five, you know, will hopefully be out in the next year or two.
- [21:57]
E
So.
- [21:57]
D
Thank you.
- [21:58]
B
Go ahead, John.
- [21:59]
D
No, I was just.
- [22:01]
B
All right.
- [22:01]
C
Trying to find that other. Wait, there's one more question.
- [22:03]
B
Okay, last question. And I want to ask you about pricing.
- [22:06]
C
I have a quick question about pricing. So I'm a younger guy. Some people get confused because they don't think that I own the company, but I just speak for behalf of them. So I like charging my premium prices, but how do I show that I own a legit company with employees and overhead. And I'm not just a kid trying to pay my way through school. I mean it's, there's a lot of social proof. I mean do you have a website? Do you have an Instagram page? Do you drive a truck? Do you wear uniforms? There's just a few things that you can do real easily to become come across as a professional business. Are, you know, when they Google you, do they find, find you on Google? I mean that's where I would start. Just make sure that you're out there and you have that professional image.
- [22:51]
B
Yeah. So let's dive deeper into premium pricing. How do you do premium work onto charging premium, you know, hopefully above the market rate for what's average in your area.
- [23:03]
C
So, and I haven't heard it from Caleb, but I've heard it from other hardscapers that there's no money in mowing and they're getting out of it and doing hardscaping and that's where all the money's at. No, I don't think you've, I don't think I've ever heard on your podcast, but I hear it all the time from other people. The problem is they just didn't know how to price mowing in the first place. There is money there, you just need to go get it and you need to make sure that you are charging accordingly. So for us, I'll just tell you like a really simple thing. In my area, I'm out of central Illinois, but each man on my crew every day needs to be grossing the company between five and $700 each guy. So if it's a crew of two, they need to do $1,000 worth of mowing every day minimum. So you just sit down, plan your routes, you know how much you're charging for each yard and make sure it adds up to $1,000. If it's two man crew, it's not rocket science. And if you do that consistently, you're going to make money. Now as far as like becoming that premium on price, I don't, we are on the high end, but I wouldn't say that we are the most expensive in our area. We capitalize on efficiency and we have an awesome crew. We don't, we, we have things we, we do not tolerate downtime. Downtime doesn't work for us. But I would say, you know, being consistent, that's some things that I think all of you guys probably do. You show up at the property at the same time every day of the week to mow it I would say, you know, if you, if you market yourself and brand yourself like the Isuzu trucks, the stripes, those are some things that as a local community, they see us and that's, they think Jay Jacobs, when they see a cab over Isuzu truck, when they see a lawn that's dark green stripes, they think of Jay Jacobs. So that branding goes a long ways. And I think keeping that continuity with all your social media and your, your website and stuff like that, it just builds value. The last thing I'll say here is, and I know a lot of people look down on this, but if you have time, go to college and learn your plants, learn your shrubs, learn your trees. When I go out on the job site and the customer walks around and they're like, do you know what kind of bush this is? I'm like, yeah, that's a lilac or that's a viburnum or that's a Mohican. They're like, oh, man, this guy actually knows what he's talking about. And there are so many of you guys out there that don't have a clue about what a maple versus an oak looks like. Or maybe you do and you're guessing, but go out there, spend your winter or get a night class, or do it yourself online, but learn your plants. There's going to be a lot of value there, not only for yourself, but that you can share with others.
- [25:48]
B
Yeah. And to the young man who asked that question, if you show up and you do a really good job like that, that's all. When someone wants you to come mow their lawn, they just, they want you to show up that you're trustworthy, that you do a good job. And if you're doing that, someone who's out working hard, they don't want to worry about their yard. They'll pay you a fair amount. So I would focus on excellence. Do your job well and charge. You know, find out what the market average, what the big boys in town are charging the, you know, legit companies, and charge a fair market rate, but make sure you're doing an excellent, excellent job.
- [26:25]
A
Lawn care and landscaping pros, listen up. If you're tired of guessing your way through pricing, marketing, hiring and sales, this is your wake up call. The LCR summit hits downtown Louisville, October 19th and 20th at the Galthouse, the same week as Equip. And it's gonna change the way you run your business forever. This is not another sit and listen event. It's two full days of hands on workshops from leaders who've actually built what you're trying to build. Neylor Taliaferro shows you how to generate better leads through smarter marketing. Paul Jamison teaches content that converts. John Pajak breaks down your numbers so you'll stop working for cheap. Eric Triplett, the Pond Digger reveals how he built a multi million dollar business, making more money with less work. Plus you'll have a surprise guest speaker. Add in live Q and A panels, powerful networking, and an exclusive VIP dinner with all the speakers. When you purchase at the Platinum level, grab tickets and infolcrsummit.com or just tap the link in the podcast description. That's LCR summit.com stop guessing. Start growing. Build the business you've always imagined at the LCR Summit.
- [27:41]
B
Are you serious about leveling up your lawn care business this year? Then you need to be in Louisville, Kentucky from October 20th through 23rd for the equip Expo. This is the super bowl of our industry, featuring 30 acres of outdoor demos where you can test the latest gear from every major manufacturer. Don't be the pro who pays a hundred and twenty dollars at the gate. Go to the link in the show notes right now. Use promo code Paul at checkout and you'll save 50% off. That's half off your registration locking in your pass for as low as $12.50. Don't wait. Register today at the link in the show notes. Use promo code Paul. You'll save half off and I hope to see you soon in good old Louisville, Kentucky. So rapid fire. Go ahead Naylor.
- [28:26]
D
Also real quick, if you're young out there, remember I said I interviewed someone on the LCR Media podcast. So check out that episode coming soon. It will answer your questions. But just remember this. He was 13 when he started. He was 15. He hired his first employee to drive the truck for him because he didn't have his license. Now he's 20, making over 4 million a year. He doesn't even go to the dealer to buy trucks anymore because he's tired of the nonsense like where's your dad? He just buys it all online, avoids the sales team. All that nonsense goes and picks it up. These are big trucks, big cherry picker trucks. They do tree work and landscaping full service customers down in Florida. So check out that episode. You'll feel a lot more confident about it.
- [29:05]
B
Thanks Brooke. Rapid fire in one sentence. And Robert, could you please put that QR code up on the screen? Rapid fire. If you got how many people are finding value from today's episode? Did that one guy, that one Guy over there sleeping. Look at this over here in the front.
- [29:28]
C
Hopefully we can do disclaimer. He was sleeping during his podcast, not ours.
- [29:33]
B
We put him asleep, man. Yeah, we do have free coffee in the back, but if you guys are finding value of our show, if you could scan that QR code there, get out your phone and scan that QR code. That's the Green Industry podcast. We do this every single day, Monday through Friday. I'm coming up on 1100 episodes. So we'd love to give you the knowledge, some motivation for your business so you can follow the Green Industry podcast Rapid Fire. To conclude, one piece of practical advice to someone just starting out in the landscaping business. In one sentence, write your schedule down
- [30:07]
C
every day, decide what you're going to
- [30:09]
D
be world class in network.
- [30:13]
B
That was less than one sentence. That was really good. All right, well, our sponsor for today's event is Kohler, and it happens to be Jamie's birthday from Kohler, which is pretty cool. So we're going to sing her Happy birthday in a minute. And I also want to get a group picture, not just with my international friends, but with everyone here. So, Naylor, do you want to coordinate us getting a picture and.
- [30:36]
C
Yeah.
- [30:37]
D
Well, first we have to let Jamie come up, do the raffle so we can raffle off all the. The Kohler giveaways. Everyone get out your raffle tickets.
- [30:44]
B
Thank you to Kohler.
- [30:45]
D
Thank you to Jamie.
- [30:46]
B
Can we. Can we sing Happy Birthday as she comes up? Go right ahead. You kick us off singing. You start us off.
- [30:53]
D
Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Jamie Happy birthday to you.
- [31:14]
E
I'll take this one. I thank you, I do. I thank you. I do. I thank you, everybody. I thank you. I do.
- [31:23]
D
Nice.
- [31:25]
E
My mom made us sing that my whole life. If you didn't sing that, you didn't get your gifts. So thank you all very much. I love sponsoring this event. And what I love more is coolest thing for me is I'm just one person, right? And the fact that you all remember me and come and say hello, it means so much to me. I can't even begin to tell you how much it means. I mean, it's not hard. I'm like the only female in the booth, but that's not the point. I had a lady come up to me yesterday and she asked, are you in charge? And I'm like, why? She's like, you're the only woman, so are you in charge? But anyway, so to that end, thank you all for everything that you do. I love working with these guys. They're outstanding. I love meeting you people. I just. That one kid, there's a 12 year old who runs his own business.
- [32:12]
D
Oh, no, he's 20 now, but he started.
- [32:14]
C
No, no, there's a.
- [32:14]
E
Literally, I met him outside. Well, and his dad drives him around. He has 15 customers and his dad brings him here so that he can trial the equipment and decide what it is that he wants next. He's 12. So when I get home, I'm going to tell my 20 year old son, there are jobs out there anyway, so we're going to do. I have four kids, you know, so you got to find the humor in life. So I am going to give away 12 swag bag items this past February. These guys were awesome and helped me with the Lawn and Landscape Society event in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which is where our manufacturing plant is. I'm looking to do that again in 2025. What I want to do is every other year because you guys have a lot to do in February. I've noticed there's a lot of events, so I'll be sending out information on that. So those of you who did make it, you know, thank you. It was a fabulous time. It was a lot of fun. It was. We had a three day and a two day conference. Lots of discussions, amazing food. If you hang out with me, you will not be hungry. Okay. I love food and I will feed you well. So I'm looking to do that. So what I did is I had a bunch of leftover swag bags from that event. Inside the bags. I think they're over there. Tom, can you go? Or they're over here. Oh, God. Hello. Hi. So this is it. Inside we have hats, mugs, all sorts of great stuff. Okay. Do we have the raffle tickets? Does everyone have a raffle ticket? Does everyone have a raffle ticket? Anybody need a ticket? Okay, so I have my friends here from Italy, if you don't know. We not only make gas engines, we also make diesel engines. So my boss Nino is here from Reggio Emilia, Italy, where our diesel plant is.
- [33:55]
B
So.
- [33:55]
E
So Nino and Aliche are going to be walking around with raffle tickets. So hands way high up in the air, actually stand up, stand up. If you need a raffle ticket, stand up tall. I'm going to show you quick then, what's in here while we're waiting. So we have a hat.
- [34:09]
A
Ooh.
- [34:10]
E
Did you guys see the kid? The one kid that had like 30 hats on his head? I have a mug. I have you Know what? I'm going to start giving these away. I will save six for the rest of you. Okay. I want to kind of move this silver knot behind.
- [34:27]
D
Also, I want to say this 300 hour oil change kit, my equipment dealer kind of like read something about it like a couple years ago. And I was like, can you order it? Because I want to use it and I use this on all my Kohler engine Toro machines. This was even before, like I was, you know, we partnered with Kohler. It's just a great. I'd rather change my oil and my mowers, you know, like every couple of months instead of every month. So it saves time, right? Time is money.
- [34:51]
E
Yes, you do still have to check your oil. So this is Tom Valo.
- [34:54]
C
Of course, you got to top it off.
- [34:56]
E
Yes, you do have to check your oil. Just because it says 300 hours doesn't mean just run it into the ground. You still have to check your oil. So this is Tom Vallow, he's our product manager who handles 300 hour oil. Tom is a very smart guy and he's retiring in April. He's been with Kohler 26 years. So Tom is going to be retiring. Does everyone have their tickets? Do we hand stuff out? All right, Tom, just quickly wanna.
- [35:22]
F
Am I on? I'm on. Good, thanks. You know, two of our scarcest resources are time and as Paul demonstrated, money.
- [35:30]
B
Bingo.
- [35:31]
F
You're a winner. And Kohler Genuine Parts can save you time and Money. And the 300 hour oil kit that Naylor mentioned is a prime example of that. The kit includes Kohler Pro 10W50 synthetic oil and an extended life oil filter. And when you pair those together on a Kohler engine, you can triple the oil change interval from 100 hours to 300 hours. So you can eliminate two out of every three oil changes that you would normally do with conventional products. In the process, save up to 50% of the total annual cost on oil changes while improving uptime and productivity. So we worked with Amsoil to formulate a proprietary oil specifically for our engines. And this is very good stuff. It is not a passenger car oil, but it gives you the extended drain interval, great wear, protection, protection against thermal breakdown, lower oil consumption than conventional oils, and it's an all season oil, whether it's the heat of the summer, cold of the winter, one oil does it all. So these kits are also available from Kohler dealers, as Naylor mentioned. And the synthetic oil is perfectly suitable for new engine break in. And it's certainly applicable to any Kohler engine. In your fleet at the next oil change, just add the filter and oil and you're good to go. To realize the benefits of the extended oil change interval. So Jamie and I would like to invite you all to come to the Kohler booth and learn more about our products. You may not be familiar with our diesel engines, and of course, hopefully you're familiar with our class leading command pro. Electronic fuel injected engines which start at the turn of a switch, have great throttle response power, great fuel economy, and are easy to maintain. And last but not least, learn how you can save money and time with Kohler Genuine Parts.
- [37:30]
E
All right, are we good? Do we have the box? Where's the box? Do we have the. Do have the ticket box? Thank you. Come on, Craig. Sorry. Craig is in management, so he's a little slow at task orientation. He loves me.
- [37:50]
B
Craig loves Jamie. What did Jeremy teach us?
- [37:53]
E
What.
- [37:53]
B
What about criticizing our employees?
- [37:55]
E
Okay, it is true. Craig does work for me. Obviously.
- [38:02]
B
You're doing great, Craig.
- [38:04]
E
Craig Megalin, everybody. All right, all right. Want to open it up and shake it around? Okay, so I am full of bags. So here we go. You gotta be here to win, right? Stop on by my booth to say hello. We actually have a giant booth this year. We have a lounge in the back if you want to swing by. You want to take a seat, you want to get something to get up, water, some snacks, come and see me. Okay. All right, here we go. First one. Are we ready? 380312. 38-0312. Anyone? Okay. They don't want to be here. Moving on. 380037. We got it. You do it, baby. You do it. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Here you want to. Let's wait, let's make sure. I don't want to. I just. I gotta be fair. Okay. All right, I'm gonna. I'm just gonna drop those next. All right. 380-146-146. Ah, there you go. Come on up. Thank you. You know what? I'm just gonna take these off. You guys are doing great. I don't know. I'm a mom. I'm used to holding everything.
- [39:32]
B
Congratulations.
- [39:33]
E
Next. Thank you, darlin'. 38009-7097. 97. You're a graduated high school. Great year. 097. Okay, moving on.
- [39:50]
F
Ah.
- [39:50]
E
3802-102103-80210. Right there. Is that you? Here she comes. Scream shot.
- [40:04]
B
That's my friend from Ohio.
- [40:06]
E
Thank you, baby girl.
- [40:07]
B
Hi.
- [40:08]
E
Just check, double check her for me. Come on.
- [40:12]
B
Congratulations.
- [40:13]
E
Come on. Beautiful. All right. 380-256-256. 256. Jump loud. Jump proud. No. 256. All righty. 380231, 231. Good Lord. Okay, moving on. All right. 380-264-264, 264. Oh, for the love of Jesus. Okay, we're just going to keep going. 11338, 0113113. Uno, uno, tres. Where? There.
- [41:04]
B
Come on up.
- [41:04]
E
Screaming that's for him. You Betcha. Next up, 380-295295.
- [41:17]
B
Got somebody. Come on up. I heard it.
- [41:19]
E
Come on down.
- [41:20]
B
Come on up.
- [41:21]
E
There's that one. How many do I have left? Six. One left. One left. Okay. Yeah. These six, too. 199. 380199.
- [41:35]
B
There we go.
- [41:36]
E
Thank you for that.
- [41:37]
B
Congratulations.
- [41:38]
E
Bingo. 380002002.
- [41:50]
B
Come on up.
- [41:51]
E
Those all go, baby.
- [41:52]
B
Those all go?
- [41:53]
E
Nope. Those all go. I don't want to take them home. I love your shoes. Those are outstanding. Literally, I love them. All right. 3 5, 9. 3.
- [42:06]
F
59.
- [42:07]
E
359. Sorry. I'm throwing these on the stage. All right. Sweet. What are we down to? 40530. 53. Right there.
- [42:21]
B
Congratulations.
- [42:24]
E
All right, we're down to three. Here we go. 090090. Come on down. We're over here across the state line. Come down two more. Feel like I'm miles away. Okay. 0840-848484. 84. I heard it.
- [42:52]
D
Yeah.
- [42:52]
E
All right.
- [42:53]
B
What'd Keith say? Get in where you fit in.
- [42:56]
E
What's left? Is that the last one now? One more. Oh, my gosh. You won. Good job. Way to be here early. All right, last one. All right. 380323.
- [43:18]
C
Yeah.
- [43:20]
E
All right. Sweet. Sorry for making a mess.
- [43:22]
D
That's all good.
- [43:23]
E
All right, guys. Thank you so much. Swing by the color booth. Say hello. I.
- [43:27]
B
Let's all come up here real quick for a picture.
- [43:29]
D
Group picture.
- [43:29]
E
Yes.
- [43:30]
B
And, hey, here for the group picture. We can't stay stand on the stage. So we'll break it. So let's stand in front.
- [43:36]
D
You're welcome. Can you stay here?
- [43:37]
B
Group picture. Everybody come up and stand in front. Elijah, this is your cue to get the camera ready in the back. So let's. Let's get in in the front. Brittany or Elijah. I mean, our guys there just somebody. Oh, you're.
- [44:11]
E
Yeah, Sorry. I'm loud. Young guys with good knees maybe want to kneel in the front.
- [44:23]
B
Where'd craig. Where'd craig go?
- [44:29]
C
Hiding in the crowd?
- [44:30]
E
All right,
- [44:33]
B
anybody else want to be in the picture here between the two speakers? So if you're. You're left of the speaker, you need to. You need to get in a little shorter here or closer. Yeah, we got a long way to go on this side with the speakers. Let's bring it in a little bit, tighten it up.
- [44:54]
A
Why?
- [44:54]
D
Why?
- [44:54]
B
We smush it in. I want to tell everyone a joke. I told this to Naylor. He thought it was funny. Does anybody know where bees like to pee? Where do bees like to pee?
- [45:08]
D
Bp.
- [45:09]
C
Bp.
- [45:10]
B
The gas station bp. I don't know if they have the gas station BP in Italy. Oh, do you get my joke, then? Bees like to pee at bp. All right, are we good, Elijah? All right, let's all look at the cameraman. One, two, three. Cheese. All right, one more time. Thank you to Kohler and Equip.
- [45:36]
C
Thank you, everyone.
- [45:37]
D
See out there on the showroom floor out in the demo area?
- [45:55]
A
Hey, it's Marty, producer of the Green Industry podcast. This episode is over, but check the episode notes for links to products and services that you heard about during the episode, and thanks for listening.