MDY Business Spotlight | The Gardener

All right, everybody, welcome to our very first Business Spotlight. Million Dollar Year. Business Spotlight. I really wanted to do this interview series so we could get to know people in the million dollar year, their businesses, what they're up to, to support each other, to learn from each other's businesses, and to grow together. So I want to thank you so much, Ryan, Nicole, for like, joining me and being part of this, especially being the first ones to go like that.

Thank you for having us.

Yeah, I'm so glad you're here. So tell me a little bit about your business, like your business name and, you know, how long you've been in business.

So we have been in business. Ryan and I started the business about 13, 14 years ago. We started in 2008. It was just the two of us. We were looking to grow, so we took over the gardener franchise in 2014. So we. Our incorporated name is Quigley Landscaping, but we operate as the Gardeners. That's what everyone knows us as.

I love that. And what made you decide to get into this type of business way back then? Like, what was the prompt that kind of got you there, Ryan?

So Nicole started the business. We both like being outdoors. She was in between jobs and the opportunity came and she took it and ran with it. And I was still working my job for another six or eight months, and then it got busy enough that I quit and came aboard and we've kept going from there.

That's really cool. So how did you know, Nicole, that, like, this was the right kind of fit for you? He mentioned, you know, you wanted to be outdoors, you wanted a few things. What were those kind of things that you were looking for in the industry or in coming into this business stuff?

To be honest, I didn't really have much history in this, in the landscaping. I worked in horse farms for years, so I enjoy being outside with the animals. This business venture kind of came upon us. There was gentleman selling his small business. So we were kind of like, yeah, this sounds like something we could do. And we never, I don't know, back then, we never expected it to be as big as we've gotten it in the 13 years, but exciting. Yeah, I just, you know, we enjoyed every time we, you know, add another service or did something else for, like, you know, just. We enjoy every aspect of it, so just kind of grown with it over the years.

I love it and I love how it just brought Ryan on so organically that it wasn't even planned. It was just like, oh, this. I guess we're growing this together and. And Doing this. And I love how you looked at your lifestyle first and decided, like, I want to grow a business that really supports the kind of lifestyle I want to live. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs miss that piece and then wonder why they're not happy within their business. And. But it is important to look at that aspect of, like, is time, freedom important to you? Is being outside important to you? What. What does that look like? And then fit the business into your. Into your life instead of the other way around. Right. But it sounds like you just instinctively did that from the beginning, so kudos to you. I love that. So what. What kind of services do you do? You said that you've added things as you went on. Did you. What did you start with? And like, where are you now, if you don't mind listing a few things that you guys do?

When Nicole started, it was pretty much just property maintenance, grass cutting, light gardening, driveway snow clearing. Now we do practically everything outside, really.

Okay.

Constructions, decks, fences, commercial snow retaining walls.

Yeah. Interlock drainage.

Yeah.

It goes on and on. Line painting. Yeah. Like, it just goes on and on.

That's amazing. So it has grown that much. And 11 years isn't. 11 years. Correct. That's not a long period of time. So you would have been adding services quite rigorously if that's the case. That's awesome. And have you found that that has kept you content in business? Because I know a lot of us entrepreneurs can get bored within our businesses. It's a real thing. But. But has that kept you guys excited and, like, in the business in the way of passion?

Totally. We have a little joke between us that I'm always the gas for new ideas and new ventures and new equipment, and Nicole's kind of the breaks as far as finances and things like that go. So.

Yes, yes.

It's amazing being an entrepreneur and being able to make those choices and, you know, kind of dictate your future and where things go?

Absolutely. Absolutely. No, I love that. So tell me, what sets you apart from your competitors? If I was to say, like, why you over anybody else? And I would love to hear from both of you on this, because it'd be great to hear both sides of that brain that make this business. But you know what? What do you think that you bring that you're really proud of that really showcases your business as being unique and standing out from the crowd.

One of the biggest things for me is our team. I think we've got an amazing team, and we couldn't do what we do without them. So I think that that's super important. Some of the technologies that we have, we offer things that, as far as I'm aware, nobody else in our town offers. So it sets us apart and just being environmentally minded and some of the items that we're able to reuse in our industry or, you know, being a little bit more green to, you know, protect what I think we all care about.

Love that. Yeah. Just that consciousness, right?

Yeah.

How about for you?

For me, we have grown, and especially the last few years, we've become a fairly, you know, significant business from where we were. So. But it's still keeping that very small business aspect. We were out doing the work for years, so we still having that, quote, quality of work. We expect our team members to do the same and have the same quality that we did and expected. So I think just that, that, you know, we just expect that from our team as well. So.

Yeah. So your. Your owners, but you're active owners, and I think that says a lot to the consumer out there when they know that you can really tell when a business doesn't have an active owner and is asking of people stuff that they would never do or have never done themselves. So I. I do think that would absolutely. In any industry, but especially in your own, when you. When you've done the grunt work, you know what it's all about you, you know, and you're not afraid to roll up your sleeves if you had to get out there and do some stuff, you know, today, you know, obviously enjoy it and it's a passion for you. So that brings me to my next question. What are you most passionate about with the work that you do here?

You.

For me, it's just continuing to learn and sharpen our skill sets.

Yeah.

Some of my happiest days are a hard day in the field. They're few and far between now, but some of those are the best days just to be out with the team and just continuing to be kind of industry leaders with ideas or technology, growing our business, learning personally.

Yeah. Being challenged. Right. It makes you feel alive, you know, like these people who want to kind of skate through life, I feel bad for them because it's really in those challenges and that grit and figuring something out and connecting those dots where we. We definitely grow as people, but also in our businesses, for sure.

Yeah.

Being a business owner, you quickly learn how strong, stubborn you can be because you go through some lows. Like, everyone thinks, oh, you're a business.

Yes, you do, but you go through.

A lot of lows. So you Know the determination you have to have and the strength and the stubbornness to get through something. Yeah. You learn a lot about yourself and the people you're with and team members and staff. Yeah.

I always say that entrepreneurism is like the best personal growth workshop you signed up for that you didn't know you were signing up for and you would never sign yourself up for if you knew the full extent of how it pushes you to grow as a person. Things you learn about yourself, the good, bad, and the ugly, as you mentioned, like, it all comes out, right?

Yeah, totally.

I love that. What are you most passionate about in life? Guys, I know business is one side of us, but what are the hobbies or the things that drives you that keep you kind of rest and restored so you can go back into your business on Monday and feel great about things and like you're doing other things that are enriching your life as well.

Family is a big one.

Yeah.

You know, staying active. I think those are big keys.

Yeah. We have two young kids, so we try to spend as much time with them as we can. On weekends we have a dog, so we get her out and go for runs and swimming and enjoy the outdoors. Like, we're in the office a lot more now, but yeah, we try to be outside if the weather's cooperating. Even in the winter, we try to be outside and get the sunshine, Just enjoy family.

That's amazing now. It's so true. Right? And it's those things that like, absolutely, sometimes we as entrepreneurs can overlook because we get so one sided and so one tracked on like growth of our businesses. But I also find that it's in those rest and restore activities, those other passions we have, whether it's playing the guitar or learning a new skill or just getting out there. I saw a lot of people, like, tapping maple syrup in the last couple of weekends on Facebook. And it's in those things that actually our business grows just as much as staring at our laptop. And because the ideas aren't meant to come just from us sitting looking at laptops all day, it's in the other stuff we do. Right. And even being around your children. So how do you find your children, think about business or. Because I always find entrepreneur children growing up with entrepreneurial parents are just a little bit different in their views. I had to laugh. I took my son to a tutor once and they were reading a book about a man who lost his job and he. She's like, isn't it so sad that he lost his job? And my son Was like, he can just start a new business today. Like, he had no concept of that being a hardship or sitting in that kind of struggle, so to speak. And she's like, I don't think he understood the book. I'm like, oh, yeah, he understood it. He just doesn't understand, you know, why you think it's so sad. So how do you find your kids are learning and growing through your experience? Experience being business owners?

They're still fairly young.

Yeah.

So I'm not sure if they grasp the whole concept. I usually have to pick them up early and some days they know they have to come back to work with me. So they kind of understand.

Yeah.

And our hours sometimes are off, especially in the winter. They understand when Ryan has to get up at 1am and go snowplow all day. So they kind of get that. But I haven't. I don't know if they've got the concept of, you know, what you exactly.

Do or what exactly do what, you.

Know, if they would want to take over in our footsteps and just the work that goes in behind it yet. I'm not sure if we're there yet, but yeah, I hope one day is that. Yeah, definitely that. They kind of learn and have the work ethic and they get excited over.

Equipment and stuff like that. Like our little guy to come and go for rides and trucks or tractors and stuff like that.

So, yeah, I will say I still enjoy cutting grass. So I cut the grass at our house. So he's usually out with me and he'll help me cut the grass and helps me move things around. So, yeah, I love it.

And that's how it's done. Right. I remember my dad taking me out in the backhoe as a kid and he used to rent backhoes back then. That was his big thing and so he'd always bring them home. And that was just like the coolest thing, like coolest toy in the world to get out in that. So it is a different childhood when you see like the different hours and what it takes and, you know, you guys learning from your work ethic. Like, you know, dad gets up at one in the morning and is out there servicing people, so it's interesting to see as they grow, kind of the thought patterns that happen there. That's so cool. I know that question wasn't in our list, so thanks for rolling with that. But I was really curious, so I wanted to ask you, like, how you guys heard of the Million Dollar Year program. You're one of our awesome clients inside there. And I want to thank you guys because you are so part of the community and you participate so, so much. And I really feel Million Dollar Year program is as much as you make of it. You can kind of join and do nothing, but then you're missing out on so much of the community piece and. And that. So, you know. How did you hear about the Million Dollar Year program? We can start there.

So we actually joined Bob's firm for our accounting.

Okay.

Four years ago.

Four or five years ago. So he was our accountant. We quickly jumped on to them being our bookkeeper as well, and then payroll. So we kind of knew Bob anyway. And I think we saw something on Facebook about it. So we were part of the summit last year, and then we were part of the summit this year, and Ryan actually was out doing snow during the summit this year, so I was pretty much solely on it myself. And you guys brought up the Million Dollar Year Club. And I basically, like, text him. And I was like, hey, this is what they're doing. Like, we have to get in on this. And he's like, I'm usually the break. So he's like, if you're saying, go ahead, I'm like, okay, I'm doing it. So, yeah. So I was very excited to join and be part of this group when I heard about it.

I love it. I love it. So what kinds of wins have you experienced from being part of the group or, like, since joining that you've kind of noticed and you're like, okay, I don't know if I would have done that on my own unless I was part of this community or anything like that. What's kind of the wins that have come your way?

For me, it's helped me understand our numbers a little bit better.

Okay.

It's nice to be able to set some goals out and forecast for it.

Absolutely.

And have some structure to it. Being part of the group in the community is nice for holding us accountable, to make sure that we're there, we're available, we're engaged in all the communication that goes on, you know, not only on Tuesdays, but during the course of the week. And it's nice for the networking. You know, the type of work that we do is. Is very broad, but there's people in different. Different industries that we can get feedback from in a different. Different perspective on our business perspective on the way to do things.

And I've really learned in marketing, that's where it's at. Like when you. If you're only talking to people within your own industry, you'll only go so far. It's from that interruption, from taking ideas from different industries and then disrupting your industry with something new. I've seen like healthcare has done this a lot with the automotive industry, which is. Industry is interesting. They looked at some of their policies, procedures they had in the automotive industry and started taking those KPIs and things into health care, which is fascinating. But it's that interruption of just hearing what you've heard before or just the same perspectives over and over again. So I'm glad you brought that up.

Yeah.

And the different presenters are awesome, you know, to help us with, you know, bookkeeping, accounting, marketing, just, you know, things that we wouldn't focus on. It just, it opens our eyes or it gives us another resource to go in and reach out to somebody for that professional help.

Love that. Yeah, we have like the best coaches in there. I really do feel, from investment advice to, to marketing advice, to mindset, Toot my own horn here. And then of course, Bob Gover with like his massive, vast knowledge, especially for entrepreneurs, I find like in, in what he does and knows how to structure things and, and I got intimidated by numbers myself. So the way he explains it is so good for me because he just kind of brings it down to a level I can understand and then empowers me in my business to know that, yeah, I can know these numbers, I can know what to look for. I don't have to hire people outside of myself to do that. Like, I can have those people doing my bookkeeping and doing other things. But I know what I can now go in and check and be on top of things all the time, which I think is so important in business where you, you are in your personal power within it.

Yes. Yeah. And in the group celebrating the little wins, we forget to do that sometimes. So having, you know, what are your wins this week, you know, and it's something small or something big and it's forgetting to celebrate those wins, that's something pretty big as entrepreneurs that we forget to do. We forget to take the time, celebrate the wins and truth.

Yeah. So I find, in fact we like, like moving. We as soon as we get close to the goal being a win, we actually pick up the goal post and move it back. I don't know what that is about us, but we're like, oh, well, we're almost there. Can we do another 5k or. Yeah, it's so silly the way our brains work. So being forced to like, no, I'm going to celebrate what's happened so far I'm going to celebrate what's happened today and then having a safe place to celebrate that with, with entrepreneurs. Not everybody understands us. Maybe some people in our families or close friends are more nine to five corporate mentality. And that's all they've known. So they don't even know how to celebrate with us. But when you're with a group of like minded individuals, it's kind of nice to have that support and celebrate each other. Yeah, I love that. So that leads me to my last question. Would you recommend Billion Dollar Year to others? And if so, why?

Absolutely. Yeah.

100. And for a lot of the reasons that we just discussed. The, the networking, the helping with personal growth, business growth.

It's that one little thing sometimes, like Brian said, like, you know, everyone's part of a different industry here, but what someone does in their business, that's a different industry, might totally work for us. And it's just learning. Like we never stopped learning. So just picking up one thing, you know, Bob's always like, don't be afraid to like go in debt or don't be afraid not pay your mortgage down because you have the money invested. Other places, like, it's things like that that we've been talking about that we have some extra cash flow, so let's invest it and you know, not worry about paying down this little debt that we have. And just changing your mindset that way.

Has been huge because we've been programmed one way for so long. And I find I'm constantly battling that and learning to keep cash flow in the business when you just want to slam it down on other things too. It's like a different way of thinking. And I really do think that one of the biggest benefits though is our frequently asked Fridays where you can ask Bob anything really that is so powerful to have him right in your back pocket. And have those Fridays where you can flip up any business question, whether mindset for myself or questions to Bob about anything financial or accounting, tax questions, that kind of thing. I think that that is worth the payment time and time again just to have that access, right?

Yes.

And it's nice to get feedback from the community as well.

Yes.

Everybody goes through different situations, so it's nice to get somebody else's experience and maybe it saves us a mistake along the way.

And it's also nice to support someone else too. Like it's nice when, when someone asks a question and you're able to say, hey, we went through that last year. This is how we got to the other side of it. So it's kind of nice to work both sides of those coins for sure. Any finishing things you'd like to tell us about your business, any promotions you have running right now or anything that you would like us to know about you and your business before we sign off? I just want to give you the stage. One last kind of talk about what you do or what you love or things that you're up to. We're.

We're busy right now. We just came out of our snow season, so actually tomorrow is the end of our snow contracts for most of our clients. So we're just in that transition period of getting all the winter stuff put away, getting all the spring stuff out. So all our crews just started spring cleanups this week, and everyone's busy flipping.

That coin right from winter to spring. Now, we're not in Winnipeg, so we can do that today. Right.

It's a hard transition because you don't want to take things out too soon. But. So, yeah, we're just transitioning right now. But yeah, we don't have any promotions at the moment, but I'm sure we'll have something out soon. And.

Well, I'll be sure to drop the link to your website, too, as I. I push this out to all of our social feeds and, and to our email list so that if people are looking for you, that they're definitely going to be able to find you.

Perfect.

Thank you. Awesome. Well, I so appreciate your time today. You guys are rock stars. I know you're very, very busy, so taking the time to meet with me today and do this, it's greatly appreciated and we love having you in this community. So keep communicating in the Facebook group and keep showing up because you really add a lot of value.

We love being part of it.

Awesome. Well, have a great day, guys. Thanks. Take care. Bye now.