IM Landscape Growth Podcast

00:31 Intro and welcome 01:06 Nina's background and the 44 Group story: Pro Landscaper's 15th anniversary, Futurescape, Saudi Arabia expansion 02:21 Pro Landscaper International and the awards program 03:14 The number one growth constraint across every market Nina covers: recognition and perception 05:34 Why culture, not perks, is what actually retains talent 06:49 The "train them and they'll leav...

00:31 – Intro: Rob welcomes Shai Egosi, whose meeting in El Salvador led to this episode 01:47 – How Shai went from software career to pool company owner through a loan gone sideways 04:01 – The six-year scale from $3M to $12M in sales, exit completed July 2025 04:34 – What Shai is building now: Workflow Perfection, a management platform for construction companies 05:19 – The real growth constrain...

00:31 – Welcome and intro to Kevin Scott, president of Muskoka Landscapers and founder of The Wealthy Landscaper 01:33 – Kevin's path: golf course construction, a horticulture degree, growing Gateville Malloy from 80 to 500 employees, then starting Muskoka Landscapers 18 years ago 04:42 – The core question: what's holding landscape entrepreneurs back 07:05 – The symptoms of being under-skilled as...

00:00 Intro: Vanessa welcomes Dana Groh from MSC (Minnesota Sod Company), 30+ years in the business 00:49 What MSC does: two divisions, commercial (sod, turf seed, prairie seed, blanket and hydro mulch) and maintenance (athletic field renovations, fertilizing through full turf renovations) 01:35 National reach: projects as far as Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan 02:07 The niching story: in the earl...

[00:46] Nicole shares her origin story - literature major turned 30-year landscape veteran who has worn every hat in the business. [02:02] Downer Brothers is at $7M. The real target is $10M at 18% profit. Revenue without margin is "an amplifier of chaos." [03:43] Culture is the primary growth constraint - not because bad cultures are hard to scale, but because great ones are. [05:44] The rum line...

[00:01] - Introduction: Why This Conversation Matters Rob sets the stage: private equity is flooding the green industry, but the noise around buying and selling landscape businesses is full of misconceptions. Ori Eldarov - founder of OffDeal and former Wall Street investment banker - is here to cut through it. [01:11] - Ori's Origin Story: From Wall Street to Main Street Ori spent nearly a decade...

[00:00] — Welcome Back & Jeffrey Scott's Legacy in the Industry Rob introduces Jeffrey as a return guest, recognizing his decades in the green industry, his coaching practice, and the impact of his peer groups on raising professionalism industry-wide. [01:05] — Customer Obsession + The Power of Pivoting Jeffrey opens with a foundational principle: wake up every day asking how you can help your cli...

00:00 — Introduction to Joe Salemi Joe shares his 23+ year journey in the landscape industry Experience with CNLA, Dynascape, private equity acquisition, and Landscape Ontario Discussion around industry-wide perspective and patterns across businesses 03:06 — What’s Holding Landscape Companies Back Rising cost of living squeezing business owners and employees Small and mid-market companies competin...

00:00 – Intro & Guest Background John Dalton shares his 30-year marketing journey and transition into landscaping. 02:00 – Why Marketing Fails for Most Landscapers Marketing is treated as disconnected tactics (social, ads, etc.) instead of a system. 03:30 – The Role of a Fractional CMO Strategy aligns all marketing efforts to attract the right customers, not just more. 04:30 – The Power of Niching...

00:02 – Intro + Background Steve’s 28-year journey in the green industry Started with zero experience, learned by doing 02:18 – Early Business Failures First companies were “hobby businesses” No marketing, no systems, no scalability Guerrilla marketing tactics (literally stuffing mailboxes at 3am) 03:41 – Turning Point Injury + becoming a father forced change Left industry → learned value-based sa...

00:01 – Intro + Background Steve’s 35+ years in the landscape industry Built and exited multiple businesses, scaled to $104M 01:36 – The Origin Story Started in 1989 with a vision to professionalize landscaping Grew to $31M before private equity acquisition 03:00 – Scaling Through M&A Returned as CEO, acquired 5 companies Scaled to $104M in 5 years 06:55 – The Core Growth Constraints Complexity in...

00:31 – Intro + why Brad’s perspective matters Brad’s lived experience + coaching across many companies brings “outside-in” clarity. 01:18 – Apprentice to CEO (the 20-year climb) Started at ~$600K revenue / ~8 employees, grew into leadership and ownership opportunities. 02:15 – Ownership timeline: minority in 2014, partner retired in 2018 Treated the company like he owned it before he did—took on...

00:31–01:20 — Intro + why Willow River Company “means more than people think”   01:20–03:34 — Origin story: family landscaping business → three brothers take over (2006)   03:34–04:45 — Diversification: why “all eggs in one basket” eventually breaks you   04:45–06:03 — Today’s scale: $16.5M sales goal, $15.3M production goal, and the 8% rule   06:03–08:43 — Biggest growth constraint: people (right...

00:01 – Intro + why Bob stands out: Rob tees up Bob as a rare “actually differentiated” operator.   00:49 – What Fire by Design does: Custom fire features + components; specialty is automated fire and outdoor-ready ignition.   01:10 – Origin story + aviation background: Military F-16s, then United Airlines; post-9/11 dissatisfaction drives career shift.   02:20 – First custom fireplace: One job tu...

00:31 - Intro: Justin White joins the show 01:08 - “Born into it”: early days in landscaping + discovering the sales side 02:52 - 2015 turning point: family divorce forces a leadership shift 03:03 - Growth story: $1M → $10M in ~5 years; COVID turbulence; $10M → $20M (2022–2024) 03:59 - Why JW Group exists + The Disruptors community (peer-based membership) 05:03 - “The answers in the room”: peer gr...

00:01 – Intro + guest setup Rob welcomes Scot Eckley and frames Scot as a standout example of strong positioning in landscaping. 00:41 – What SEI does (and who it’s for) Scot explains SEI: a Seattle design-build company focused on helping clients unlock small, urban outdoor spaces; team size ~22 (designers/architects, PMs, builders). 01:33 – Why Scot’s positioning stands out Rob highlights Scot’s...

00:31 – Introduction Mike McCarron, owner of ImageWorks Landscaping, joins the show and shares his background in an ultra-competitive DC-area market. 02:48 – The Real Growth Constraint Mike challenges the “labor shortage” narrative and argues most companies don’t truly know their numbers. 03:37 – Busy vs. Profitable Why being busy doesn’t equal growth and why fewer employees with higher profit win...

00:00–01:30 – Introduction to Karol Wyman and the concept behind Outdoor Coffee Shop 01:30–04:45 – What Outdoor Coffee Shop is and how it connects fragmented industries 04:45–06:50 – The biggest growth constraint for contractors: not prioritizing marketing 06:50–09:30 – Why “we’ve never needed marketing” works… until it doesn’t 09:30–11:45 – The real issue: no planning, knee-jerk promotions, and b...

00:00–01:55 — James Hatfield’s Background Blue-collar upbringing, early entrepreneurship in painting and power washing Struggles with bookkeeping led him to business school Co-founded Sageworks, scaled it to Inc. 500 and eventual sale to KKR 01:55–03:27 — From Sageworks to LiveSwitch Transition back into tech with a focus on practical tools for the trades Philosophy: technology must be usable, not...

00:31 — Intro Rob welcomes Mark Sedgley and tees up his multi-decade journey leading software companies. 01:35 — Mark’s Origin Story From helping build MemberClicks to steering SingleOps and acquiring LMN—how Mark ended up leading Granum. 03:05 — Lessons from Early Exits & Integrations Why Mark realized he wasn’t built to work for someone else, and what he learned rolling up companies across indus...

00:00 The core problem: obsession with outputs over inputs. Richard opens with the danger of short-term financial pressure and how it erodes learning and long-term thinking. 00:52 Welcome to the show plus technology hiccups. Rob introduces Richard with jokes, sports banter, and podcast foibles. 02:23 Richard's origin story: ValleyCrest to Sperber. How he grew up in the business, scaled ValleyCrest...

00:00 – Welcome & intro Rob introduces the IM Landscape Growth Podcast and guest Martin Tirado, CEO & Executive Director of the Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA). 01:09 – What is SIMA and who do they serve? Martin explains SIMA’s role: education, certification, best practices, legislative work, and the annual Snow & Ice Symposium that many just call “SIMA.” 02:33 – The unsung heroes of wi...

00:00 – Intro Welcome and introduction to Dominick Mondi. 01:25 – Early Lessons in Growth Dominick shares experiences that shaped his approach to scaling teams. 06:05 – Building Repeatable Systems Why documenting processes is key to consistent results. 11:30 – Leadership Habits That Work Communication and alignment strategies that keep teams performing. 17:10 – Reducing Friction in Workflows Opera...

00:31 – Intro. Why Chris Dyer’s lifelong pursuit is improving the human experience at work.   01:17 – Origin story. Entrepreneur, “accidental author/speaker,” and the belief that humans are the greatest asset when work isn’t broken.   03:24 – The constraint today. Convergence of Apple‑level UX expectations + AI‑era overwhelm = buyers freeze; existing clients expect better while prospects can’t dec...

(00:00) – Welcome back: Rob introduces Frank Bourque, business coach and former landscape company owner. (01:00) – Why mindset matters more than systems in long-term growth. (03:00) – The biggest bottleneck in most businesses: the owner’s thinking. (04:50) – The 5 mindset shifts that change everything: In vs. On the business   Scarcity vs. Abundance   Perfection vs. Progress   Control vs. Empowerm...