Summary5 min read

Side Hustle Squad Podcast Ep. 333

Title: Robotic Mowing Is Here… So Why Are People Still Fighting It? First Kress Install & Demo Breakdown!
Host: Mike Garvey
Date: May 12, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Mike Garvey shares his experience as a new Kress robotic mower dealer, detailing the team's first client install and demo of the Kress KR174 robotic mower. He dives into industry resistance to battery-powered and autonomous mowing technology, discusses customer and crew reactions, and breaks down why skepticism persists despite clear advantages for labor, maintenance, and business growth. Mike also explores business models for successful robotic installations and offers candid advice for lawn care pros looking to future-proof their operations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Spring Rush and Robotic Mowing Rollout

Mike sets the stage with an update on spring operations and the challenges of weather, scheduling, and staying ahead ([01:21]).
He introduces Kress’ line of robotic mowers, specifically the KR174, and outlines the differences in capabilities and pricing compared to larger models ([02:00]).
Mike's dealership is rolling out a mobile showroom to bring demos directly to other landscapers and events ([03:05]).

First Robotic Mower Demo—On-Site Impressions

Mike coordinated with Chad Woodring (regional Kress rep) for a hands-on demo at a South Jersey company ([03:23]).
The focus was on the Voyager, a commercial-grade fully autonomous mower: “For those of you that don't know, the Voyager is the fully autonomous mower that is a 40 inch and it is a beast. It can cut for eight hours.” ([04:03])
Observing live reactions provided valuable insight:
- “Most people were blown away. The owner's blown away. He's future thinking... looking to solve labor problems.”
- “...the gas mechanic... he wasn't into it at all. And I don't know, I don't think there's changing him at all, maybe it's gonna take a really long time.” ([04:35])
The tangible feel/demo aspects made the tech much more convincing for skeptics. Seeing the mowers, handling trimmers and blowers, and feeling the power up close dispelled doubts about battery reliability. ([05:14])

Technology Resistance: Why the Pushback?

Mike discusses reasons for resistance within landscaping teams, especially among mechanics and traditionalists:
- “People resist technology because technology, what, changes his role. But here's the thing, I would say adapting is always better than resisting.” ([06:24])
Many pros still doubt commercial-grade credentials of battery tools—a holdover from previous generations with long charge times and weak power ([07:30]).
Modern advancements—like eight-minute charging and significant power increases—address most earlier objections ([08:15]):
- Example: Crews report only needing “two to three batteries on 25 houses for a weed whacker because they're not full throttling the whole time.”

Learning by Doing: First Real-World Install

Mike and crew installed the KR174 at a client’s home as well as at his and Larry’s properties ([09:10]).
Mapping, perimeter setup, and the RTK antenna/software integration were critical learning points ([10:00]).
Impressive mapping capabilities: “I have this thing running over the edges, going over the sidewalk, going on to the little part between the sidewalk and the street, getting right up next to mailboxes, getting right up next to mulch beds.” ([10:35])
Accurate mapping reduces (sometimes eliminates) the need for post-mow weed whacking ([11:10]).

Business Model & Industry Outlook

Robotic mowing opens up new service models: Install robots for “a fresh cut lawn every day, every other day” and provide traditional trimmings, trimmings, and maintenance ([11:25]).
Dealers and business owners can charge for installation, tech support, and ongoing service, not just mowing ([12:00]).
Mike notes the business case for adapting is clear given rising labor costs, tightening labor markets, volatile fuel prices, and increasing insurance ([13:10]).
“Battery and robotic, it's not going to solve every problem, but they can solve some of them. And the companies that are adapting to this as quickly as possible and learning the technology, they're going to have an advantage for the next five to ten years. That's it.” ([13:32])

Mindset for Success: Learn, Don’t Reject

Mike’s advice: demo, learn, and don’t immediately reject the new tech ([14:00]).
Early adopters will be rewarded as autonomous mowing and battery platforms expand.
He shares enthusiasm for ongoing dealership growth and the journey of figuring things out in real time.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On change and adaptation:

“Adapting is always better than resisting. But people that are going to win in this next phase… are people willing to learn the technology early.”
— Mike Garvey ([06:30])
On first-time impressions:

“Most people were blown away. The owner's blown away. He's future thinking… looking to grow, looking to innovate, looking to solve labor problems.”
— Mike Garvey ([04:18])
On why some resist:

“They know what they know. They know small engines. They don't want to have to understand software, sensors, batteries, firmware, GPS, cameras, autop, you know, all, all of this stuff.”
— Mike Garvey ([07:05])
Business case for robotic mowing:

“It's not going to solve every problem, but they can solve some of them. And the companies that are adapting to this… are going to have an advantage for the next five to ten years.”
— Mike Garvey ([13:32])
On trying new tech first-hand:

“I would demo it, learn it, understand it, don't reject it. Because I think those people that adopt this stuff early are going to be rewarded.”
— Mike Garvey ([14:03])

Timestamps for Key Segments

[01:21] – Spring rush, business and weather update
[02:00] – Kress KR174 features, pricing, and dealership setup
[03:23] – First client demo with Kress rep Chad Woodring
[04:03] – Voyager commercial mower capabilities
[04:35] – Crew and client reactions to demo
[06:24] – Traditional vs. adaptive mindsets
[07:30] – Obstacles to acceptance, old vs. new battery tech
[08:15] – Commercial crews now using fewer batteries
[09:10]–[11:10] – Mapping, install, and real-world robot performance
[11:25] – Robotic mowing as a business model
[13:10]–[13:32] – Industry trends: labor, insurance, and fuel
[14:00] – Advice for pros: demo and adapt early

Conclusion

Mike Garvey provides a candid, field-tested look into how robotic mowing solutions are being integrated into real businesses. His step-by-step accounts of demos and installations, balanced with sharp commentary on resistance, offer guidance for both seasoned and rookie lawn care pros. The future, according to Mike, belongs to those who try, learn, and lead with technology—while those who resist risk being left behind.

Check out video snippets and results on the Side Hustle Squad Instagram and stay tuned for future updates from industry events!

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Transcript6 lines

[00:02]
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Here's a question. Do you have a system for your business or are you just buying stuff and hoping it works? Equip Exposition, taking place this October, is where landscapers go to build the whole package equipment, software and training. Registration is just $25 before May 31st. Equip exposition.com register now@equipexposition.com or use the
[00:24]
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link in the podcast description.
[00:26]
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Save 50% off your registration when you apply the code. Side Hustle at Checkout Are you ready to kick back and get inspired? Grab your favorite drink, pop the top and join the Side Hustle Squad with Mike Garvey. This podcast is the perfect resource for anyone who's already started their side Hustle or is just considering taking the lead. With in depth interviews featuring guests from the green industry and beyond, you'll gain valuable insights and learn what it takes to succeed in running a business while juggling a full time career career. From personal stories to practical tips, the Side Hustle Squad podcast has everything you need to turn your passion into a thriving business. Now here's your side Hustle Squad host, Mike Garvey.
[01:21]
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Hey, what's going on guys? It's your host Mike Garvey with the side Hustle Squad podcast coming at you from the Brandon Bull Studio. Another of this Spring Rush. Everything is going well. I hope everybody's out there killing it. I'm sure they're everyone's busy. We're working on weekends juggling the rain. We got a tough schedule this week here. Luckily we're doing okay. Not fully. We're, we're kind of ahead, I would say. So we're, we're doing okay. But you know, I'm sure everybody's juggling the rain and different oh, if they say it's going to rain, then it's not going to rain. Then it just doesn't say it's going to rain. But it does rain. So sure everybody's juggling the same issues that that I am. I want to give an update on some Crest power equipment, some robotic outdoor power equipment. How we're doing with that. We did our one of our first setups for a customer with the 174. It's probably the bigger, it's the biggest of the the smaller mowers. There's a, it's an acre and a quarter and then you you get go up from that to the 3 acre model which is about that. The the give you an idea. The the 174 is $2,600 roughly and the the 233 is about $6,000. So there's a big, big difference in capabilities. So we're really pushing the 174 is for a lot of homeowner use. It's a, it's, it's a badass machine. I have set one up on my property. We set one up on Larry's property. It's awesome. The setup was Chad Woodring from Cress came down. He's our rep for Crest. He represents the. Not represents, he. He is the. Our go to person, I guess. Yeah. Representative for New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware. So he's been great and we've been working with him extensively as we're rolling out our dealership, our Crest dealership. And it's just been great. It's been really awesome. We're sending out some quotes for homeowners to, for robotics for these robots. But this 174 is badass. I put one on my property. The lines are super sharp. I have some pictures on Instagram. They're super straight. It is outstanding. But so we did A1. Our model is to have a mobile trailer, mobile showroom, mobile crush showroom that we can bring to other landscapers, other contractors, other, you know, big events and stuff like that for people to take a look at. So we, we're not fully there. We're. It's not fully built out yet. We still have to wrap it, we still have to build out the inside. So we are, we're, we are building that out. But in the meantime, we haven't really done any demos. So we coordinated with Chad, brought Chad to a company down in South Jersey. They had a lot of their people test the equipment. They were very happy with it. We had the Voyager out there. For those of you that don't know, the Voyager is the fully autonomous mower that is a 40 inch and it is a beast. It can cut for eight hours. It got me thinking, talking about how we just completed our first mowing demo with a potential client. And it was kind of, it was pretty eye opening just to get people's responses to the technology, looking at their reactions and all of them, most people were blown away. The owner's blown away. He's future thinking achiever, looking to grow, looking to innovate, looking to solve labor problems. And then there were others. And I would say especially, you know, the gas mechanic who wanted, you know, the mechanic who's into fixing engines and small engines and he wasn't into it at all. And I don't know, I don't think there's Changing him at all, maybe it's gonna take a really long time. So I wanted to talk about too what we're learning out there and why people are resistant to this change, why battery or robotics are coming, whether people like it or not. And kind of give you behind the scenes looks on our demo and our first crest KR174 install. So let's jump into talking about doing our, the demo. It was awesome. You can see the videos online, you can see things on YouTube, you can watch on Instagram. But when you're in person watching these mowers, the small mowers mow, the, the voyager mow, getting the tool in your hand, getting the weed whacker in your hand, the hedge trimmer, feeling the weight, feeling the, the power, feeling the backpack blower on your back. It, it's not a gimmick. It's, it's, it's where the industry's going. It's real. And what's cool was watching the reaction the, the crew and the potential client that you can almost see, like, wait, this stuff actually works. This is powerful. This you know where. And the owner's starting to think about again, labor savings, consistency, less fuel, less maintenance, lower noise. And I think stuff that contractors struggle every day. So I had the wheels turning of those people. Now the, everyone, the funny part is everyone's on board except the mechanic hated it. And I don't really understand it. I think they should be maybe adopting, maybe he should be looking to, hey, I want to know more about everything, about all this stuff because it's coming, not being resistant to it. But people resist technology because technology, what changes his role. But here's the thing. I would say adapting is always better than resisting. But people that are going to win in this next phase of the green industry really are people that are willing to learn the technology early. So not the people stand, not the people standing by saying that this will never, this will never replace grass. This is a gimmick. Because I don't necessarily think it's about replacement. I think it's about substituting. There's always going to be technicians, there's always going to be laborers. There's always going to be a need for gas. Especially here in the northeast with the, with some applications that, you know, we're never going to see a full gas power blower ban. I don't think, I think there'll be some, there will be some sort of monthly, during the months of October, November, December. It's a, it's, you know, you can do it, but I think it's where it's headed. But some of these mechanics and I think some of these dealerships also too, aren't into it. They don't want to learn a new. They want to know what they, they know what they know. They know small engines. They don't want to have to understand software, sensors, batteries, firmware, GPS cameras, autop, you know, all, all of this stuff. But let's jump into why are people resisting? I think people were resistant initially because the amount of batteries that you needed. Now with Crest, you know, some of these, these batteries charge in eight minutes. So you don't need an onboard ton of batteries. We're getting reports back from our lawn and landscape, our landscape crews or our lawn care crews, their cutting crews, that they're only using say two to three batteries on 25 houses for a weed whacker because they're not full throttling the whole time. So I don't think, I think the battery stuff, you know, five, 10 years ago, it wasn't that impressive at all. You needed a ton of batteries. You had long charging times, you had weak power. But now it's here and we're at, like I said, the fast charging, the autonomous mowing, the commercial grade tools. So it's not like homeowner little chintzy stuff that you're getting at Home Depot. It's, I think that was a resistance that people have from years ago that they don't, they don't think that it's commercial grade. Also too, I think that people are resistant because they don't really understand this stuff yet. But I think once you actually see it, you get it, you get your hands on it, you see it working, the wheels start turning. Let's pivot to the install. So coming from this demo, then pivoted to getting a robot, the KR174, on the owner's residence. So it was really, it was really good to get that under our belt. It was. We got everything mapped out. We got the connection from, you know, the RTK software that goes from, you know, the antennas to, to the robot. And we, excuse me, dialed in the perimeter. So we did. We've done an install on Larry's house, We remapped. We've done an install on my house. And you can. I have this thing running over the edges, going over the sidewalk, going on to the little part between the sidewalk and the street, getting right up next to mailboxes, getting right up next to mulch beds. And so it helped us on our first install that we can see on a customer how we can map it very, very well and get it right up to that mulch bed where you won't need weed whacking. So we got the charging station where we wanted it that then has to. The robot has to find its way to it, start there, map it and then be able to get it from the charging station to the backyard when he wants it. And it's just creating this service. And again, we're charging for the installation, we're charging for the service. And that's the model I think people lawn care business owners can offer robotic mowing that you can offer a fresh cut lawn every day, every other day. And you go there and weed, whack and blow off and maintain and hedge trim and do other stuff. So it's creating an automatic service. So it's very cool to get our first install done. We have a couple more coming up. I think it's just, it's funny to see different reactions from different people based on your role at a company. The owner's role totally changes from the, from the mechanics view of it. But labor is getting hard to find, insurance is going up, gas is fluctuating and going not in the right direction. And I think that battery and robotic, it's not going to solve every problem, but they can solve some of them. And the companies that are adapting to this as quickly as possible and learning the technology, they're going to have an advantage for the next five to ten years. That's it. And that's why we started roped robotic outdoor power equipment distributors here in New Jersey. We are a, you know, full, fully authorized Crest dealer and we are able to start rolling this stuff out in our own businesses and helping others. So I, you know, granted it's, we're very early, we're learning, we're figuring out the things in real time really. But honestly it's, that is the really exciting part. If I think if you're in this industry, don't shy away from it. I would demo it, learn it, understand it, don't reject it. Because I think those people that adopt this stuff early are going to be rewarded. So just a cool little episode, talking about the dealership, the setup, the demo and really kind of getting our feet under us here, hitting our stride very early on. But we're excited and I love sharing this stuff with you, love sharing the my thoughts on the future and the robots and the battery. I think it's going to be awesome. So appreciate you guys tuning in. We got big stuff coming up headed to Louisville at the end of the week this weekend. Coming up, stay tuned for the Relco Guinness Book of World of Records event. Going to be down in Louisville with Paul Jameson, Cornell Mack. Check us out on Instagram. We'll be posting on that. Really looking forward to to that event, catching up with those guys and hanging out with the great folks from Rollco. So stay tuned for that and we'll catch you guys on the next one.
[16:15]
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Thanks for tuning in to the side Hustle Squad Podcast with Mike Garvey. We hope you enjoyed this episode and gained valuable insights to help you succeed in your side Hustle journey. Connect with M using the links in the podcast description. If you love the show, please leave us a well worded five star review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback and support help us grow and continue to provide you with the best content. And don't forget to follow the show to be notified when the next edition of the Side Hustle Squad Podcast is available. We have many exciting guests and topics lined up so you won't want to miss a single episode. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you next time on the side Hustle Squad Podcast.
[16:56]
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