The Ultimate Landscape CEO - Jeffrey Scott

In this 2nd episode with Dr. Charlie Hall, you will learn more about the economics of landscaping, with both global and national issues impacting the industry. Dr. Hall grew up working on a nursery in Western North Carolina. He is currently is a professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at Texas A&M University. Dr. Hall has degrees in landscape design, economics and horticulture, and is the single most influential economist in our industry. In this episode, Jeffrey and Dr. Charlie Hall tackle 4 key economic drivers: the supply chain constraints, pricing & inflation pressures, spiking demand, and the tight labor outlook. The post Episode 178 – Four Economic Drivers Impacting the Landscape Industry with Economist Dr. Charlie Hall appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Lisa Fiore is Founder & CEO of LandscapeHub, a B2B online marketplace she created and launched in July 2017. A fourth-generation nursery professional, Ms. Fiore realized there was an opportunity to digitize the entire procurement process for the green industry.  Ms. Fiore was previously President of Fiore Landscape and Nursery Supply (FLNS), a century-old nursery company. During her sixteen-year tenure, she was responsible for identifying new business opportunities and in leading the company forward during the recession. FNLS significantly grew in revenue and expanded to multiple locations under her leadership.  Jeffrey and Lisa explore the history of the grower supply chain and where it is headed for the B2B consumer, and how she is leading the charge. The post Episode 177 – Reinventing the Green Goods Supply Chain with Lisa Fiore appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Heather Dirksen is President of the $35M Arbor Masters, with 9 branches in five states. Heather is driven, with many careers: First in the military, then as a civilian air traffic controller, then at the age of 29 she started a flight school to subsidize the cost of flying and earn her commercial rating. After flying professionally, she joined her husband to grow his landscape maintenance company from 250K to 1M in two years before selling it to a local company. Heather joined Arbor Masters in 2017, became President three years later and now spends her time developing people and growing the business. Jeffrey and Heather discuss a large variety of topics including hiring from the military, how to grow a 35M business, how to manage branch managers, her varied career that led up to her current role as President, and her love for adrenaline. The post Episode #176 – From Military to President of Arbor Masters with Heather Dirksen appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Mike Haynes founded The Loving Companies and has a unique niche in growing sod and landscaping for builder homes. He has 9 branches in the south east. Mike’s simple and humble start as a middle schooler with a dream and a push-mower in the early 2000’s has led to what has become one of the fastest growing and largest landscaping and sod farming organizations in the US. Jeffrey and Mike discuss what’s unique about super-fast-growing firms, his passion for giving back profits to his employees and communities, his “loose-tight” approach to building branches, and so much more. The post Episode #175 – 0-80M in 18 Years with Mike Haynes appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

John Puryear, President of Puryear Farms, a commercial and residential landscape firm with over seventy full time employees servicing the Nashville Metropolitan Area since 1991. Their base is a 100-acre nursery located on the banks of the Cumberland River. Jeffrey and John discuss his courageous change of company culture from paternalistic to leadership team, and how it gave him much more profit and free time to travel and focus on rain making. Topics of discussion also include open book management, profit sharing, and managing a combined immigrant/non-immigrant culture. The post Episode # 174 – Transforming a Paternalistic Culture and Gaining Freedom with John Puryear appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Jeff Rossen is the majority owner of Rossen Landscape, an $8 million firm specializing in high-end residential design, construction and maintenance. It is 100% focused on developing a culture and processes that result in loyal clients in the affluent Great Falls, Virginia, market, a short drive from Washington D.C. Jeff Rossen, President, and CEO, drives the long-term vision and business development efforts. He runs the company with longtime friend and partner Jason Navon. Together with their team, they are leveraging innovative processes and a passion for employee and client delight to help them achieve their goal of $20M and a stellar reputation. Jeffrey Scott, no stranger to the high end, discusses with Rossen his journey and passions including sustainability and culture. The post Episode #173 – The Triple Threat of Process, Culture and Client Focus with Jeff Rossen appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Strong business values and ethics have enabled Enviroscapes to grow from its first $5.00 per week mowing client into a multi-million dollar landscape company that ranks in the top 2% of all landscape companies nationwide. At fourteen, owner Todd E. Pugh began mowing lawns to earn spending money and begin saving for college. After graduating from Ohio State University in 1996, he incorporated his growing business and renamed Todd’s Lawncare to Enviroscapes. He is also an inventor and founded The Mulch Mule with many patents to his name. Jeffrey and Todd discuss how he grows his branches, his unique culture, and the science of recruiting. Ultimately, they discuss their passion for giving back to the community. The post Episode #172 – Building Branches and Culture, Recruiting Science, and Giving Back with Todd Pugh appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Mike Hommel (President) of Designs By Sundown.  Under his leadership, Designs By Sundown in Denver Colorado has grown from 2 employees in 1985 to reach revenues of $31,000,000. To this day, Michael is still the driving force behind the day to day operations of the company; he has built a leadership team from the brightest landscape minds across the country. His leadership team is poised to grow his company to the next level. Jeffrey and Michael discuss how he built the business with world-class talent, his role in leading the business, maintaining a competitive advantage, and succession planning,  The post Episode #171 – From One Crew to $31M with Michael Hommel appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

Making high profit requires more than achieving solid gross profit margins, it means gaining the most profit you can from each hour of your production staff’s labor. Jeffrey has been a student of this concept for years and has brought together two high-performing clients to discuss this approach: Doug Taylor (Owner of Frontiers Design & Build, Ontario) and Chris DiStefano (Owner of DiStefano Landscaping, Vermont.) They share their experiences and successes growing their bottom line by focusing on Throughput. Also joining this conversation is a third guest, Jon Bowman, VP Operations of Coastal Source, who shares his company’s unique approach to selling audio and lighting products that are both high quality and highly efficient to install (thus high throughput.) This conversation is a master class on how to steer your company to better profits and growth using throughput as a guiding metric. The post Episode #170 – Using Throughput To Drive Profitability, with 3 Special Guests appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.

As President and CEO of Bland Landscaping Company in Apex, NC. Kurt Bland has seen and experienced many sides of the landscape Industry since he first joined his family business at 15years old. Kurt and I discuss what it means running a Private Equity backed company and how he and his brother Matt stay involved and engaged as second-generation owners and leaders of a private-equity platformed landscape business. We also discuss trends in the industry, mutual mentors, and how the younger generation of leaders differs from the older generation. The post Episode #169 – Selling Your Business to Private Equity with Kurt Bland appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.