Ep 354. Build It to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You!

Summary

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Side Hustle Squad Ep 354: Build It to Sell – Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You!

Host: Mike Garvey
Guests: Eric Triplett (The Pond Digger), others
Date: July 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode, recorded live at the Lawn and Landscape Technology Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, dives deep into the crucial distinction between building a business to sell versus simply owning a job in the green industry. Mike Garvey and Eric Triplett (aka The Pond Digger) share candid experiences of scaling their own businesses, discuss the importance of systems, succession, and exit strategies, and reflect on how to create businesses that are sustainable, sellable, and not dependent on the owner’s daily involvement. The conversation is peppered with personal anecdotes, hard-won advice, and tips for entrepreneurs who want to craft a legacy rather than just work another job.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building a Business vs. Owning a Job

• Eric and Mike discuss the key difference:
  If your business can’t run without you, you own a job—not a business.

  • Eric (05:12): “The guys that I’m talking about probably could have worked for another company that had really good operators, and they probably could have made the same money without all the risk and headache.”

• Mike’s vision:
  Mike started his lawn care side business with the goal of making money even while working his full-time job as a state trooper. The aim is to be hands-off—not absentee—but able to “package it up and sell” when the time comes.

  • Mike (03:14): “I want it to keep progressing where I can be... just hands off and it kind of operates itself.”

2. Succession and Exit Strategies

• Employee buyouts and legacy:
  The story of Cherry Valley Nursery’s sale to a long-term employee highlights how business owners can preserve their legacy and maintain the brand rather than sell to outside chains.

  • Eric (14:44): “He sold the business, got it on his terms, kept his name, kept his legacy.”

• Structuring the deal:
  Owners can remain involved, offer seller financing, and retain some control during the transition period.

• Internal promotion and empowerment:
  Developing apprentices and creating a clear path to advancement ensures continuity. Both Eric and Mike stress the importance of training people to be ready for higher responsibility.

3. Brand Identity and Scaling Beyond the Owner

• Transitioning from the ‘face’ to a sustainable brand:
  Eric discusses how his company, “The Pond Digger,” has evolved so the brand is bigger than one person.

  • Eric (15:30): “It's the cool thing—because a lot of people are like, ‘I like your style, Eric,’... but it's evolved into something really cool... I feel really good about it.”

• Empowering teams:
  Both share how highlighting and trusting team members not only helps with business continuity but also prepares for potential sale or succession.

• Quotes on team autonomy:

  • Eric (04:42): “Turning my team members loose to build waterfalls without me and have a chance to screw up... because most guys... end up retiring and just shut the doors.”

4. Systems, Training, and Growth

• Documentation and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs):
  Businesses aspiring to be sellable must have repeatable systems—not just intuition or artistry. Eric and Mike both referenced the need to engineer their companies so any competent professional could run operations.

  • Eric (09:51): “Sometimes I still get caught in that... ‘Why do I have to tell you to get the trucks back in order?’... But, look, for my listeners that know me... I had to rebuild from the ground up.”

• Coaching, Consulting, and Self-Assessment:
  Seeking outside consulting shines a light on blind spots and catalyzes needed structural change.

  • Eric (20:26): “Since I’ve paid for high-level coaching... I had a consultant come in and just kick my ass... now there’s light.”

5. Handling Growth, Turnover, and Company Culture

• Growth pains and letting go:
  Scaling requires trusting others and allowing room for staff’s growth—even if that means mistakes or turnover.

  • Eric (21:14): “I'll be damned if within three weeks someone quit and within six weeks I fired someone... my business is exponentially better.”

• Building a positive, motivated team:
  Both share stories of staff engagement, creating cultures that people want to be part of, and supporting employees’ personal lives and goals.

  • Eric (28:33): "Let me build this business around you so we can do that. And then they want to stay."

• Creating career ladders:
  Modern contractors must offer clear paths for personal growth; otherwise, laborers will see no future and leave for small raises elsewhere.

6. Expansion and Branching (Franchising Mindset)

• Mike on duplicating his model:
  Mike reveals his step-by-step approach to building multiple branches with consistent, proven systems.

  • Mike (33:01): “Coastal Fertilization of North Jersey... I could probably bring it out. It’s a proven model.”

• Capacity and scaling:
  Deliberate about not overextending; understanding when a location hits ~75% capacity before branching out.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If your business can’t run without you, you don’t own a business. You own a job.”
  – Eric Triplett, (05:12)

• “I want to build the business so I was making money while I was making money at my full time job... not absentee, but just hands off and it operates itself.”
  – Mike Garvey, (03:14)

• “I feel like I’m building a business, not just got a job—a stressful job.”
  – Eric, (19:34)

• On letting go and growth:
  “When you raise your standards... someone’s going to quit and you’ll have to fire someone... And dude, my business is exponentially better.”
  – Eric, (21:14)

• On internal succession:
  “He sold the business... kept his name, kept his legacy.”
  – Eric, (14:44)

• On staff engagement:
  “You have to build out a culture to where, on Sunday night, everyone’s excited to crack those doors open and figure out how we’re going to war today.”
  – Eric, (30:30)

• On personal legacy:
  “After he dies, you can do whatever the [expletive] you want with this place—he won’t be here to see it.”
  – Eric (14:59), on the emotional side of selling to an employee

• On expansion and staff loyalty:
  “The guy that said he’s not leaving... he wants to go to Oklahoma so bad...”
  – Eric, (34:48)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• 02:10: Topic Introduction: Building a sellable business vs. just owning a job.
• 05:12 – 07:25: Eric on seeing business owners walk away with nothing; the risks of not systematizing.
• 13:12 – 16:09: Story of Cherry Valley Nursery: Selling to employees for legacy preservation.
• 18:03 – 21:58: The power of coaching, outside consulting, and breaking through growth plateaus.
• 23:35 – 27:05: The danger of the owner stepping into staff roles, importance of advancing apprentices, and SOPs.
• 28:16 – 30:30: Building culture, investing in people's goals, and keeping long-term team members.
• 31:18 – 33:24: Service-business models: The value of recurring revenue and the strategy behind opening new branches.

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Conclusion: Actionable Takeaways

• Aspire to build a business that functions without you.
• Invest in your team: create paths for advancement and cultivate a company culture that is exciting and supportive.
• Systematize everything: processes, training, and admin—this makes the business transferable and scalable.
• Consider succession early: internal buyouts can be just as (or more) rewarding than selling to outsiders.
• Seek outside perspective: coaching and consulting can reveal blind spots and help break through plateaus.
• Celebrate legacy, but don’t let pride prevent positive change: Balance personal attachment with the long-term sustainability of your business.
• Don’t wait too long to start thinking about your exit—start now, no matter what stage you're in.

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This episode is a must-listen for anyone serious about building a lasting enterprise in the green industry—or any field—who wants to ensure their effort becomes a true asset, not just another demanding job.

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Transcript

[A]

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. From personal stories to practical tips, the Soc 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.

[B]

Hey, what's happening? It's Eric Triplett, founder of the Pond Digger, here on the Deep End show and I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona. I love this place. Mike is this place.

[C]

I love this place. I love, I love every everything. I love the people so far. We crossed a guy on a Vespa waving everyone. Another guy stopped to give you directions. They don't honk a at the airport if you.

[B]

Everyone's smiling.

[C]

Everyone's smiling. They're in the sun. If there's no humidity, everything's brown. There's so many rocks.

[B]

We're at the Lawn and Landscape Technology conference and we're actually live on Podro right now, sponsored by LCR Media. And this is another voyage we have going with Pot House and we're, we're sponsored by Permagreen for Pod House, which is going to be fun. We got five podcasters spending the night and just doing a content war room basically in Scottsdale, Arizona. And we're just going to film content and record all night long and have a good time.

[C]

I can't wait. This is our third Pot House.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And yeah, it's exciting and the house looks epic. It looks just like the one that we did in Perconnex. It's like a compound. I know that's what you like. Secured pool, outdoor living areas, all that good stuff. So really, really pumped about it.

[B]

Listen, what we want to talk about today is building a business you can sell versus owning a job. And this is a topic that, you know, I've been saving, saving up for Garvey here because for those of you if you just caught this episode, you haven't heard anything that I've done with. Garvey's a state trooper in New Jersey and 18 years now, or 16, I just hit 17.

[C]

I'm in my 18th.

[B]

Yeah. So 18 years state trooper. And you know, he's still young. Still.

[C]

I'm 40.

[B]

Yeah. Jacked and sexy. You know what's going to happen is like, thank you. You know, in a couple years he's going to be like 42 or 43 years old. Can retire from that. And it's really cool. What Mike's got going is he's been building businesses as an entrepreneur. So that way when he, when he finishes retiring, he's just already has, you know, a booming business at that entrepreneur mindset. And so I think you're in a really cool position to be since you have your real job, your day job. Right. You know, you have to build these businesses to where they can self operate. You can come in and touch it and kiss it and teach people, but you should be able to build these businesses. You can walk away from them.

[C]

That's what I'm hoping. And I mean that was always the goal as to when I build the bit. When I, when I started the business I wanted to get it to a point where I was making money while I was making money at my full time job. And again that's what I want to, for it to keep progressing. That I can be, not absentee by any means, but just hands off and it kind of operates itself. So then when the time is right to be able to package it up and kind of be like, yeah, this is it, cards are on file, these are the guys that work, this is the systems I have in place and, and have at it. It's not like a big thing where I have to be involved.

[B]

This kind of goes on some of our other podcasts that we recently put out where it's like if you're face, if you're the face of the brand, how does that play into that? You know, so it's interesting for me, if I look at my career and the way I've come up, it's like I just wanted to play with fish all day. And so like I never imagined I would sell a business. Why would you sell a business that you love and you could play with fish all day?

[C]

Right, Right.

[B]

But you know, now as I'm approaching 60, I'm like, well, maybe I want to retire one day. Right.

[C]

You never think about it.

[B]

Yeah. So you, your start for business is completely different than mine. I'm an artist, I want to build these waterfalls. You know, I'm shooting content. We're like, hey, I'm the pond digger, you know, check out how good my stuff is. But you know, you know, in the past 10 years I've been more like putting my team members out There.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Turning my team members loose to build waterfalls without me and get. And have a chance to screw up. Because most, most guys in my shoes, they don't want their team to screw up. It's going to cost them too much money. I can do it better than them that those, all those things come through, those guys end up retir with and they, they basically just shut the doors. They just close the business un. Throw away the key and like sell their piece of equipment. And I'm working feverishly to, to not let that happen.

[C]

Right. And you're seeing it, right, you're seeing it in real time. People are like, oh, like all right, you're. They're just kind of walking away from closing the door.

[B]

No. Yeah. I mean I, when I was speaking at that last conference at Profit Accelerator Live, that's what the whole topic was about. I know two men in my business that I started around the same time as me, but they're older, you know, they shut their businesses down and like they're trying to sell the business to me and like they don't have, they don't have the reoccurring things. They don't have technology, they don't have that. And that's why we're at Landscape Technology Conference, so we can look for stuff like this. It blew my mind. That guy was showing you all his, all his robotic mowers that were live in action needed servicing.

[C]

Oh, in the Hamptons.

[B]

Yeah. How many did he have?

[C]

Like 400.

[B]

He kept scrolling and they were just like, yeah, that technology blew my mind. That's why I love coming to these events, like right when we walk in

[C]

the door and yeah, it's just. You want it to be something that can like again like hand either move on from or it could still. It just doesn't have to just die.

[B]

Yeah. Because the guys I'm talking about, for example, they just, they had a cool career. They made, they made good money. They had a fun business. Of course with all the stress and all the other stuff wrapped up with being an entrepreneur. But, but it's owning a high risk job. The guys that I'm talking about probably could have worked for a different company that had really good operators. They probably could have made the same amount of money with, without all the risk and headache and that comes along with it. Yeah. Look at. I honestly have thought about this. I'll tell you. Probably around 15 years ago, you know, when you do it 25 or 30 years, it's a long time. Right. So around 15 years ago, you'd only been a state trooper for a couple

[C]

of years, three years, so pumping the road.

[B]

Someone came to me and they're like, hey, you know, why don't you just come in and work for us? Because they're a big pond company. They're like, tell us how much money you want and we'll make it happen. We'll take away all the headaches, we'll do all the admin. Because, you know, I was probably. I was consulting with them and talking to them and, you know, running the admin and teaching the crew and like, it was. It's a pain.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And doing the marketing and the KPIs.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And you know.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Paperclip.

[C]

Very enticing. How close were you?

[B]

I was not very close. I put a big number out there and they're like, oh, that's ridiculous. We're not doing it. But, you know, at the same time, as hard as it was. And I, like, had these bigger visions. I haven't hit the number yet. But he's like, how much money do you want? Give me a number. I was like, I don't think you're gonna want to pay it. And he's like, give me a number. And I was like, I'll take a thousand a day. That's 240,000 a year. And so, you know, if you think about. If I'm working, you know, 240, it might not. Yeah, I'm working 240 days a year.

[C]

Right.

[B]

If you were working for someone and taking the. Taking time off, I think I could have brought them that money to the table for sure.

[C]

Plus, because your mind is just going to be in that, in that one. Not that the design build.

[B]

Well, it was running the cruise.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

What I'm really good at.

[C]

But you would have the, like the whole everything. Like the sales, right?

[B]

Yeah, no, they would do sales. They would do everything else and they would just send out and I would run the cruise. Like, I would run. I could probably run three crews, which

[C]

is probably simultaneously, which is how much of your business right now, percentage wise.

[B]

I don't know if I understand the question.

[C]

Okay. Of all the things you do, you. You have to run cruise. You have to run office, you have to market, you have to shoot content. But, like, you have to generate work, you have to go on estimates.

[B]

It's so much. I'm doing. Doing a lot. Yeah.

[C]

It's not even like a percentage. It's just like.

[B]

But how I used to be. I would sell the job. I mean, I haven't done admin in 25 years.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I've always had admin support.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And marketing has always just been like YouTube and I mean. Yeah, for a long time. Not always, but, you know, I would, I would sell a few jobs and then we would go out and work and then fall would come and we'd have our fall pond care campaigns would kick off and then we'd be busy. And then, you know, sometimes I wouldn't have a lot of work in the winter. Sometimes I would. Spring would kick off and the phones would ring. So like it was just. I never just, hey. My job is to just run crews. And if someone was a machine behind me sitting, selling, or if I was just a machine selling and my crews could just run, you know, I still have to like just the other day we got this brand new unit one truck. Everything's super tight. We went to the LA Pet Fair, which was amazing. We had this really great booth, but like we were packed and we were just throwing stuff in. It was like 12 hour days on a Sunday.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

And so we get home and the vans are hammered and they're still hammered a week and a half later. It's like, guys, how come you haven't done this yet? They're like, oh, you know, so sometimes I still get caught in that. Like, why do I have to tell you to just tell me? You need four hours to get the trucks back in order, you know, otherwise they just start driving with their trucks all hammered. Right. So I'm still in that kind of training process. So, you know, but look, you know, for my listeners that know me, you know, in 2015, I had cancer. I took three years off. I didn't even start building business till 2018, almost 2019, I started, you know, I had to re recreate it from the ground up for the. My construction company. I was still in the business, still doing life support and retail and wholesale and stuff. But the construction division, I had to build from the ground up and retrain everybody. And then Covid hits and that was a hiccup. You know, it's only 2026, right?

[C]

Yeah, we were in it five years ago, dude. It's not hard. Yeah, not long ago, that's when it started.

[B]

Yeah. And in the meantime, I'm training guys under all that chaos and just.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And demand. We were in demand too. But you know, now I'm just like, way I'm building it today is, you know, I want to be able to either sell it to a couple of team members that have been with me For a decade.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And be like, hey, you're going to take it over, I'm going to oversee it for you.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

We almost bought a nursery down the street from us. I'll show it to you next week when you come out.

[C]

Oh, I can't wait.

[B]

There was a nursery we were going to buy. They wanted 3 million for it and they were going to. They would carry some of the papers and they owned the property. And, like, we were pretty close to working it out. And he ended up going with one of his employees that worked with him for 18 years.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

You know, he was, he was nervous about that employee. Like, I don't know if he can pull it off. Maybe I can just cash out with pond digger and a couple investors and maybe we'll do it that way. And then I think he made a good decision.

[C]

Yeah, that's a very cool.

[B]

I, I like what they did.

[C]

I like that.

[B]

Yeah. I still work with that nursery, Cherry Valley Nursery.

[C]

Do you think a lot of people are looking. Oh, and we're talking about the topic of building a business to sell. You could necessarily. Why are you always looking outward? You should be looking. You could be looking inward to the people that you have. Right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Like, I never really. Yes, I did.

[B]

I have thought about it, but not good exit strategy.

[C]

It's a great exit strategy.

[B]

Well, let me, let me talk about this.

[C]

Yeah, please.

[B]

Let's talk about Jim that. That owned Cherry Valley Nursery. He's been doing it there. He's been there 30, 40 years. Like how he started the business.

[C]

Right.

[B]

You know, he's in his late 70s right now. He's got plenty of money, drives a nice car. His wife wanted to, like, get a nice house. Like, we're getting old. That's like, we want the grandkids and all. Like, so he put it out there for sale and all. It's a great nursery news. Awesome location. They've been there a long time. Everyone talks about him. He had a bunch of big nurseries. There's one nursery out by us that's bought up pretty much the whole Southern California. They're from San Diego all the way out through Riverside up into Victorville. Like, they're all over the place.

[C]

One name.

[B]

One name.

[C]

Who is it?

[B]

I don't remember off the top of my head. Yeah, but, but you know when you see like. Yeah, but when you see the name, you're like, oh, God, they, they own all the nurseries. It's embarrassing.

[C]

Like a chain of nurseries.

[B]

Chain of nurseries. You know, you can Come in and you buy the plant and they'll come and plant it for you. That's. It's pretty cool.

[C]

That's really cool.

[B]

I mean, that's a pretty cool value proposition where the Home Depot doesn't do that. Right. So that's. They have a cool value proposition. They have plenty of nurseries. They have a lot of capital investors. All stuff. They came in and offered him to buy him out, like, to get go, but he chose not to do it. Now, this is really interesting because he built a business that he could flip and he could sell. It wasn't just a job. Right. He's in a position to sell it for a good exit. But he. He wanted to keep the name. He wanted to, like, this is my legacy. I don't want them to. Oh, it's Moon Nurseries. I don't want Moon Nursery to come in here and put their big Moon thing up.

[C]

They would disgust it.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't want Moon to take me over. Like, it's like this pride thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And he's like, you know, like, his kids couldn't do it. His kids are in the industry. But it wasn't a good fit. And so he sells it to one of his employees. Been there for 17 years. Gonna keep the name as part of the thing. And you're not going to divide the

[C]

property up because, like, the business and the property. Yeah, everything.

[B]

Yeah. Because the. There's a house and the business on. It's a pretty cool setup.

[C]

Sick.

[B]

So you could live on the property and you could run a dividing line. Really. And you could sell the house and still have your business.

[C]

Right.

[B]

But he's like, no, you're going to owe me for 10 years. You don't have enough cash to buy me out.

[C]

Yeah, you're going to pay me for 10 years.

[B]

You're going to pay me for 10 years, and I'm going to be able to come in, oversee it. If you default on it, I'll just repo the ship from you and the property's mine until this. So, like, he has a little bit of control.

[C]

Yeah. Very cool.

[B]

But I never see him.

[C]

Yeah, he's not.

[B]

Yeah, he sold the business. He got it on his terms. Kept his name, kept his legacy.

[C]

He's happy as long as he can live with it.

[B]

You know what? After he dies, you can do whatever the I you want with this place.

[C]

Whatever. He won't be here to see it.

[B]

Yeah. In the meantime. Yeah, he won't. In the meantime. Every time he drives by it, he's Gonna go like, there's. That's what I built. I built that 50 years ago. When I built that, there was no houses around here. When I bowed here, it was just.

[C]

Yeah, he's telling his grandkids and their grandkids, and you know what I mean? Like, yeah, that's cool.

[B]

That's something to be proud of. And so it was interesting as the Pond Digger, that name. I am the Pond Digger. My truck, you know, my 4x4, was a pond Digger. My team's the Pond Diggers, Our water treatment lines. The Pond Digger.

[C]

But they're. But you are the pond Digger. But there's.

[B]

It's bigger than me.

[C]

It's other. There's other Pond Diggers in your company?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

That.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Assist. Yeah, it's a brand.

[B]

Yeah. And, you know, it's the cool thing, because a lot of people are like, oh, well, I want. I like your style, Eric. Or, like, I don't lift rocks all day anymore. Like, I used to see this gray in the beard, bro. Like, I'm gonna design it. I've trained my team. I've done all logistics. I'll come in and do the inspections. I'll make sure it's perfect. And they're like, cool. So it's. It's like it's evolved into something really cool. And in the next five, ten years, it's just. I can just. I feel really good about it.

[C]

That's awesome.

[B]

So I think it's interesting. I think I read the E Myth, but I didn't really get it. You know, I read it 12, 15 years ago. Build the business so you can sell it. I'm like, I'm not selling this. I'm not.

[C]

I'm never. I'm own this forever.

[B]

Yeah, but, you know, I almost sold Helix two years ago. I got an offer at a decent number, and it came down to timelines, and I pulled out at the last second. I'm like, I'd rather just keep it. I'll grow it one of these days.

[C]

Right, Right.

[B]

And now. Now's the time. Y. I feel good about growing Helix.

[C]

Right? Yeah.

[B]

Getting it out there and under. Under our terms. You know, my legacy.

[C]

Yeah. No, that's awesome. And. And, like. And the shift, like, how you've shifted over the past six months, it's been pretty cool to see.

[D]

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[C]

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[B]

That's when you, like, really lock in on, on your vision and your mission. You know, if you lose clarity on why you're doing what you're doing, it's easy to get kind of to wander a little bit and then three, four

[C]

years disappear because you're doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that and a little bit of that and a little bit of that. But nothing's really.

[B]

But, you know, coaching was I. That we're talking about me giving up the coaching six months ago. But like, coaching was really cool in, in the time frame of coming out of COVID you know, people were still confused and they had to re, you know, readjust the way they ran business. And you know, when you, when you can teach something, you get better at it. So I feel like I helped a ton of contractors and in doing so, I help myself.

[C]

Oh, because you're looking at, from, you're looking at other people's businesses from the outside in, which probably changes your perspective on your own business for sure. Even though you're in it every day, but you're, you're like the teacher of all this stuff.

[B]

But sometimes when you are, when you're only on an island, you're at your own business, you, you know there's problems and you kind of just like, you sweep them under the rug, like, keep moving and then all this time disappears. But as soon as you hire a coach, you and you know, they're coming to your, you know, knock on your door and then they're going to be like walking through the front door and they're going to start pointing stuff out to you that they want you to change. You already know. You already know. You're like, oh, he's not going to like this. He's not going to like that she's going to say this, she's going to say that she's going to want to do this. Then just do it, you know, do the things you know, and then when they Come in. They show you things that you had to. Total blind spot. That's when the big win comes.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And so I find myself doing that to myself every day. And that's why I feel like I'm building business more than. More than just got a job. Stressful job.

[C]

Do you feel. You said to me years ago, you're like stuck in this one purgatory of net of gross under 3 million sucks.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Do you feel like you're climbing out of purgatory?

[B]

I do.

[C]

That's awesome.

[B]

I do feel like that.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, because, you know, when you get stuck there, you don't. There's like no light at the end of the tunnel.

[C]

That's the job.

[B]

Just darkness, you know.

[C]

That's the job.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

All right.

[B]

Yeah. And. But you know, since, you know, since I've paid for high level coaching that they show me the blind spots I don't see because, like, yeah, fixed. All the things I feel like I know needed fixed. And then I had a consultant come in and just kick my ass. I was like, how would I know? I didn't know I needed to do that.

[C]

Geez, you know, I know.

[B]

And then it makes the adjustments and it's cool. You know, I'll tell you this. I don't know I've ever talked about it on the podcast, but like, when I decided to work with Brandon Dawson and his wife Natalie, I got. I took some content from him. He said, when you do. When you do what we say, when we show you the way, you know, show you the blueprint, as soon as you raise your standards and start doing things the way that will get you past out of purgatory and hit you that 3 million mark. Someone's gonna quit and you'll have to fire someone. And this will probably happen within two months of you coming in and doing the work. And I actually put it off for a little bit. Like, I was like, ah, that's gonna suck, man. Who's gonna leave? Who do I have to fire? I'm like trying to plot this out.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Predict. And it went differently than I thought it would. Not terribly different, but definitely different than I thought it would. But I'll be damned if within. Within three weeks someone quit. And within six weeks I fired someone. And dude, my. My business is exponentially better. The whole team is happier. Like, it's really, really cool. And so now there's like this, there's light. It's like, okay, now I can just build business. I don't just gonna go out and sell a Pond and then go work on it for a while. Although I am gonna work on a pond for about three weeks, which is kind of rare. It's up in. Up in San Francisco area. And Atherton.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I'm doing that next week, so. But that. That's invigorating and fun. Like.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

To go out and get dirty sometimes.

[C]

I, I. And I equate it to not building the stuff that you do, but, like, I get out there and I go do a route for a day and I do 30 houses. I'm like, yeah. I'm like, man, like, walking in these yards. Like, I'm. Yeah, like, we're keeping this up. We're keeping this nice. And, like. And it's originally what I. I started doing, like, doing these lawns and doing. That's what I love to do. I didn't necessarily love to not be in it and just be, like, running, like, admin stuff all day. And I think a lot of people fall into that same thing. But going back into it, it's, like, invigorating and, like, rejuvenating.

[B]

It's interesting because you. You'll get a. Sometimes if it's done well. Your team members are proud of that. They're like, oh, my. My boss still has it. My boss knows what it's like.

[C]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[B]

And then if you do it, you know, every now and again now, the team can't be like, you're out of touch.

[C]

Yeah. You don't know.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You don't even know what you've been dealing with. Yeah. Right.

[B]

So I think there's.

[C]

It's good to do it, to be in, to do a check in, and for sure, your hands dirty.

[B]

I was gonna say. Getting in and doing it, it does keep you relevant, I think. And that's a great way to shoot content as well. And every time I have these opportunities to do that, it's training day for me. I'm not like, if. Look at. If I owned a restaurant and the. The chef died or quit or I fired him, me, to save that business. Wouldn't have me run in and be the chef, you know, I'd have to hire another chef to do it. Right.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I think about that all the time. Heard that from Dan Martell. So it's like, if my foreman quit or died or got sick or I fired him or whatever. Like, me filling that position, even though I can. It doesn't save the business. It actually would potentially ruin.

[C]

Ruin the business, you know?

[B]

So it's like, I think about this Constantly. My apprentices are always in a position to level up. My apprentices are always ready to go from apprentice 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to crew chief, you know?

[C]

Right. Everyone's ready.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Just like in state police, right? It's like, so everyone's ready to. The troopers are ready to go to trooper ones or trooper twos and trooper ones, sergeants and up the line. Right. And like, you saying that to me looks like, too, like, okay, my technician quits me, save me. Jumping in that role makes no sense. I have to have a backup. So with the sister company, with my partner, and we have other people that we could pluck from, hopefully, and be like, okay, we'll train you, but me running that operation is not going to save anything.

[B]

Yeah, dude. Right now I have two men on vacation. I have a woman who just got back from vacation, and I have one of my technicians. He's leaving me tomorrow. Tomorrow's his last day. Like, all that's happening while we're here at Podro. Sponsored by LCR Media and. Do I look that stressed?

[C]

No, no.

[B]

I mean, it's just like, we've built it in a fashion where it can still function as well. You know, we're constantly tr. Where my. My crew is incredibly versatile to go back and forth. You know, when guys go on vacation, I have enough time to, like, forecast and. And plot and plan.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, and then we're. We're headed up to San Francisco next week. You know, I'm gonna get home on, you know, Saturday and then be like, oh, I got to be ready for Monday because I'm going out of town again, so. But I'm not stressed about it because I think everything's in line because we're building the business in a fashion where I'm not just owning a job. I'm building it to where. Here's the thing, like, a lot of the contractors in the way I ran my business for 20 years is like, oh, I need another laborer. And when you hire a laborer, there's not a. There's not a sense of, hey, I can grow with the company.

[C]

No, they'll leave you for. I'm sure they'll leave you for a dollar raise somewhere else.

[B]

They might leave for a dollar raise because they don't even see that there's a future.

[C]

Yeah, there's no vision, you know, but when I.

[B]

Because if you're hiring as apprentice 1, 1, 2, 3, journeyman, crew chief, second in command, whatever you want to call it, you know, an aquatic technician, you Know, a service provider like these kind of things, right. If they don't, if they, if you see a bigger organization with lots of, lots of job opportunities, you can see the scale. They can ascend up the ladder of working for you. Most of the contractors in the way I ran it for a long time, I'd be like, you know, you hired a laborer, you hired another laborer, you know, and you push rock for two years, then maybe you can drive your own truck for a little bit. But like, you know, just that, like when I was speaking at Profit seller at Profit Accelerator Live, these guys are so concerned about every single job. I'm like, bro, you're having a guy run out and cut a lawn for $60 and you're micromanaging him because one of the lines was done wrong. Like, I'm sending guys for 175 bucks to someone's backyard, their million dollar backyard with $20,000 of koi fish swimming around in the box, you know, like, and we just took time to do, you know, some training.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Make sure they have a standard operating procedure and they do stuff right. And like, like, yeah, it's. You have to build it in a fashion. Those guys that we're talking about, unless they break out of that, they will just own a job forever.

[C]

Yeah. And I think that so many business owners have based off of personality type and we know all that, but they can't get hands off, they can't delegate. No one can do it better than them. I know these people. Yeah.

[B]

Real well.

[C]

And, and they go, yeah. And it's like, it's painful to me to watch because I like putting people in the right positions, like, and just letting them like run with it. Like, oh man, like, if I'm in my state police job and I get a project for some. Somebody that says, hey, Mike, can you take care of this for me? I'm done. Whatever you need, you won't hear about it again until it's done. And like, that's how I want other people to be. Like, in my business. Like, hey, can you. I need. You're my guy. Like, I want you to see the vision. I want you to be with me for a long time. I want to know and from you, are you sitting down with your employees and like, what is your 1, 3, 5 year goals? Like, I want to know them. Like, I know that we're helping you and I want you to stay long term.

[B]

Yeah. When you have someone that's been with you for a decade, they you, especially if you're Hiring young guys, they don't have kids yet. And in, in that 10 year time frame, all sudden they have kids and married. Like, hey, I don't really want as much overtime. I can't work every weekend. You know, I really want to play.

[C]

I see it.

[B]

Baseball with the kids and it's like, cool. Let me build. Let me build this business around you so we can do that. And then they want to stay. You know, in the beginning, I. I would run guys up the ladder and then I would lose them because I wasn't growing the business enough, you know, because I was, I was, I was owning the job. I had to go out and do this, you know, I had to help. I had to drive the machine or whatever.

[C]

Right, right.

[B]

And so it. I don't see that happening. In fact, there's a standing joke with one of my guys. He's a crew chief. And it's like from that. Whatever that, whatever that DiCaprio show, he's like, I'm not leaving. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

Wolf of Wall Street.

[B]

Yeah. So that. No, he, he says that. Oh, yeah, because. Because one time I fired a crew chief. This was before I got the high level coaching, but I fired this crew chief. And he's like, everyone's gonna leave you because you, because of me. You know, I'm the only reason they're staying here. I'm like, man, who. How many guys are gonna quit? Oh, crap, you know, what's the fallout? Maybe he's right. And then I had to go and talk to guys, you know, And I told this one guy, he's like, I'm not leaving.

[C]

I'm not leaving.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That was him.

[B]

Yes, that was him. My guy. My guy's on my team.

[C]

I have to say, like, looking at your videos and stuff, like, it's cool to see everyone in the pondager shirts, the orange. And everyone looks like. Everyone looks genuinely happy to be. I mean, like, everyone looks like it's a cool team dynamic. I'm not there, but I can. I could see it through.

[B]

Well, you're seeing, you're seeing it from the last six months. I mean, it's always been kind of fun. I mean, yeah, I'm a pretty cool guy. I'm pretty fun to work for, right? It's getting better.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And in the last six months, it's gotten really good.

[C]

That's awesome.

[B]

And so you'll see it, you'll see it in the team. When we're talking and doing stuff like everyone wanted to work for free at the fair. I Wouldn't allow it. I paid everyone. We don't even have to pay us. Just. We want to be at the fair and talk to people about Ponds. And it was really, really cool.

[C]

That's awesome. That's so cool.

[B]

It was quite a lot of fun. So I think one important thing that I think listeners can think about, if they're thinking about growing their business or just owning a job, is you have to build. You have to build out a culture to where on Sunday night, everyone's excited to freaking crack those doors open and figure out how, what, where. How are we going to war today? What are we going to do? How are we going to, you know, ascend? How are we going to get to the next level? How can we achieve all of our goals together? Like, if you don't have. If you don't have that happening, like, you're just gonna be owning a job forever. You're never going to be able to sell it out and scale it and just gonna.

[C]

Yeah, it's gonna die.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's cool. So as far as your businesses go, do you. How do you see that? So, like, Coastal is pest control, right?

[C]

Yeah. A fertilization, weed control, mosquito control. Yeah.

[B]

So that business, for example, it's got a great reoccurring model. Reoccurring money model. I mean, that's a really great business.

[C]

I've had some customers. I'm in my eighth year. I've had people from since the beginning. It's automatic, really, at this point.

[B]

10 years, you. You were sage trooper in 10 years in, you're like, I'm gonna start a business with a friend. Is that what happened?

[C]

Yeah. Nine years. Yeah, it was like 20. 2017.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. I was like, oh, my. I was like, oh, you know what? I want to do something on my days off. It's pretty cool foresight because I. I saw it in my first nine years. I would see these guys retiring in, like, 24, and they're. I'm like, hey, what are you gonna go do, sir? Like, I don't know. And I'm like, what the Is wrong with you? Yeah, how do you not know? Even if it's nothing.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You're just gonna figure it out in the last six months. Yeah, I'm like that. Like, I want to, like, do some. I want to build something now. So then I just. All right, I'm gonna retire from the state police and, like, I'm good. Get my pension, and I already have a good business. That's art. Not trying to. I'M not gonna go do. Go. It would be tough to go do lawns at 48 in the heat in the July. I was like, but no, I'm young now. I don't have kids yet. I was like, let me do this now and kind of get the ball rolling. Yeah. And then I duplicated it this year to another branch. You know, we don't have a lot. We have 15 customers. But, like, it. That's all.

[A]

I really.

[C]

I don't care. Like, I do. Literally took coastal fertilization, which is down in New Jersey, in central part of New Jersey, and I just duplicated it in. In. In North Jersey, and just same exact everything.

[B]

That's coastal, right?

[C]

Yeah. Coastal fertilization of North Jersey.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And I could probably bring it out.

[B]

It's a proven model.

[C]

It's a proven, proven model. I could probably. I have someone that wants to maybe possibly do an outside of Philly, and then, who knows? Like, so it's a little bit of, like, a learning thing right now, but it's. I know it's gonna. It's gonna pay off just like it did here, because it's just. It works.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But I think. But, like, looking at, like, say, Coastal does ever sell. I would love to have, like, three. Three reoccurring branches that, you know, are established. I think having a couple branches might. I don't know, maybe it makes it makes it look better or. But they all need to be, like, thriving and doing well and established and stuff like that.

[B]

That's cool. I think one thing I'm trying to figure out, and I'm curious if you have this play out, but, like, do you feel. I feel like I need to hit 75% of my capacity in one location. Then I'll go to two. And what's been. What's been a little tricky for me is to figure out what. What is my capacity? What's max capacity where I'm at? Right. Because you can only park so many vehicles in the spot before you have to move. And so.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Or branch to another location. So, like, what is max capacity there? And you're looking at all the things like, can. How many plants can I grow? How many fish can I sell? You know, how many crews can I run out? How many service and repair teams can I have? Like. Like, do I just run more service repair teams out of this location and then do a small construction team here and then get a new building with more construction? And it's.

[C]

It's tons of different ways to do it, but ultimately, you're going to empower, Right. You're going to empower somebody within your company right now and be like, you're running. You're going to run that branch, dude.

[B]

My God.

[C]

Oh, and here's. Here's some ownership. Yeah, here's a piece.

[B]

Exactly. The guy that said he's not leaving, I've taken him around a little bit. He's been traveling. Yeah, yeah, he's been traveling with me. We, you know, gosh, we went to Oklahoma. We've been to Arizona. We've been to. Yeah, I don't even know where I've taken it. We've done work in Las Vegas. Like, we've been around a little bit, and he's already said he's. That he wants to go to Oklahoma so bad. He's like, you need to open something up in Oklahoma. I love it there. Every. Every time you turn around, there's a lake I can just throw a fishing pole in anytime I want to. He just loved. He loved the vibe of it all. Yeah, he's a redneck. Him, himself.

[C]

Right.

[B]

He's ready to go.

[C]

He's ready.

[B]

Hey, if we want to open a branch in Temecula, let's go. You want to branch in. You like, you know Temecula, right?

[C]

I love. I love Southern California.

[B]

So, I mean, these. These guys are excited about that. And when I talk about stuff like that, it's exciting. It. It makes them. On Sunday night, they're like, dude, I can't wait to go into work tomorrow because I have no idea. He might be wanting to. We're going to San Francisco.

[C]

Are you kidding me?

[B]

No way. Really? When?

[C]

That's huge.

[B]

How long are we gonna go for? You know? And, like, it's cool and so. But the ponds have given him so much. Like, he just went on a fishing trip as part of his vacation. He went out, he brought him a bunch of bluefin. I'm going to go home to some sushi. Oh, my God. So. But, you know, him being on my team, took him there because one of my customers took him like, hey, do you want to roll with me? And so, like, it's just given him a really cool, fun look.

[C]

Yeah, that's awesome. And it's going to be fun to watch and see where it goes.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You got anything else?

[C]

No, this was awesome.

[B]

Yeah, let's.

[C]

Yeah, let's sp this one up.

[B]

We.

[C]

We're here at the Lawn Landscape Tech Conference in Scottsdale, sponsored by on pod Ro. Sponsored by lcr.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Summit or LCR Media. Sorry, but.

[B]

Well, LCR Summit's coming up.

[C]

Summit is coming up. Yeah.

[B]

You're going for sure, right?

[C]

Yes, absolutely.

[B]

I got the commitment.

[C]

You got the commitment.

[B]

You acted like you didn't want to.

[C]

I know, I know. It's a long week. It's a.

[B]

It backs up to Equip.

[C]

It backs up to Pod House and Pod House Kentucky. But we're going to be doing some really cool stuff.

[B]

And again, a big shout out to Permagreen for the sponsorship for Pot House out here in Scottsdale, Arizona. Let's wrap it up.

[C]

All right, we'll leave it there. Catch you on the next one.

[A]

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 Mike 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.