Mike Andes is stepping back from his lawn-care business six months before moving, handing full control to his general manager. The GM has bought equipment like a Gravely ProStance 32-inch mower and hired the team. Mike says giving the GM budget and authority makes them own the $1 million goal, even after he leaves.
I moved across the country to build a $1 million lawn care business in 1 year. The thing is, I'm not making any decisions. This mower, it's a Gravely ProStance 32-inch. This was purchased by my general manager. These racks for the trimmers, also purchased by the general manager, as well as all the racking inside of the van. The reason I do this is because he's the one that's gonna be hiring, training, and making sure that this location is successful when I have to move back across the country in 6 months. For us to hit our goal, he needs to know everything that's going on and take full ownership of all the equipment and all the decisions that have been made. In my opinion, when you allow someone to be able to take ownership of a decision in the business, you give them the budget, the authority, and the power to make decisions, they take extreme ownership and they deploy discretionary effort. This is stuff that's not in their job description, but when they're washing their hair in the shower, they're thinking about the business and making sure it's successful because they made the decision themselves.
