In this episode of The Business Turnaround Show, host and turnaround consultant Mike Andes visits Dylan, the owner of Urban Roots Landscaping, to diagnose why the company’s financial health is deteriorating despite rapid revenue growth. Dylan’s business has risen from $200k to $800k and now $1.4 million in annual revenue, yet profit margins sit at only about 7.5 %. The discussion reveals multiple compounding problems: Dylan works 10‑15 hours a day, his general managers are unreliable and not yet solidified, the Augusta location was forced to close due to Dylan’s divorce, and personal stress (depression, family strain) is affecting decision‑making. Mike frames the visit as a six‑week turnaround intervention, emphasizing that small, high‑impact tweaks and better management structures are needed before expanding to a third location. The episode blends candid personal storytelling with practical business‑diagnostic insights, illustrating how revenue alone can mask deeper operational and personal issues that threaten long‑term viability.
Chapters
Where's the money? We're really scratching our heads at this point. Like, why is it not coming in?
Knowing that you can rely on that person, building confidence, and over time it becomes more of a personal relationship.
But he's just the least professional dude I've ever met.
Today we're in Washington visiting Dylan with Urban Roots Landscaping.
Right now he's that very hybrid position. I'm working 10 to 15 hours a day. What's going on here?
Now I'm interrupting the GM 4 times and now the GM's annoyed that he should just jump in there and do it himself. That's not happening.
You say something like that, like, that's what you're getting now.
Wow, congratulations. With a 7.5% profit margin in our main location, that's not something I'm super proud of.
Now, if Dylan looks familiar, several years ago we interviewed him when he hit $200,000 in annual revenue.
You can't keep doing what you're doing from where you're currently at. You can't double in size.
A couple years ago, we met back up with Dylan when he was doing about $800,000 in annual revenue. This last year and a half or so, off in terms of the family dynamic. I think even if you looked at it like that, it's like, hey, if we just kept doing what we're doing, we're gonna get to a million. What kills me is when my daughter comes up to me and says, "Daddy, why are you so busy?" Now, today, doing $1.4 million in revenue.
Offering to have you guys back is just because it's been so valuable, for sure.
He hasn't solidified his general managers yet at his first two locations. He's going through divorce. I am struggling, probably a little bit depressed. So I don't think it's a good time to be starting a third location. One of the number one reasons why Augusta location's closed down is divorce. The problem is the trajectory of this business is really bad.
I guess entrepreneurship for everybody, the clear answer is no. We got too much going on, we got too much to fix.
This is the business Turnaround Show.
My name is Mike Andes. I'm the founder of Augusta Lawn Care and HomeWorks software. I travel the country fixing struggling businesses.
These are all very small tweaks. Very small. Somebody just comes in, is like, hey, here's this thing that's going to solve a bunch of your problems that you had no clue existed. It's a relief.
In order for that to work, it has to be clean. Our goal is to give Dylan a strategy to turn around the company in the next 6 weeks.
