SECRETS REVEALED... How to run a profitable lawn care business (the AUGUSTA way)

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Zero Turn. Today we're bringing in the Augusta Nation with Eric from DeLand.

Yeah, it's Augusta Nation, but if somebody calls me from Daytona and they need help, I'm gonna go help them.

Here's some inside secrets about how Augusta runs their organization.

So many people do it different ways, so it's like, hey, this is the Augusta way.

I'm sure there's a lot to learn.

On this one little secret for all you landscapers out there.

So check it out. You're not gonna want to miss this episode of ZeroJourner.

Okay, so can you tell me your name?

My name is Eric Thompson. And why did so I joined Augusta because of the culture and really the drive and.

Focus and discipline that the company breeds and has. So it was definitely something I was interested in wanting to be a part of.

Because I think it's a solid business model and the way to run operations throughout the lawn care industry.

I was originally in the military for five years. When I got out, I moved down here to Florida and went to college and got a bachelor's in public administration, and I worked for the state of Florida. I was a supervisor for a few years, and then I took a position here with the county, and I kind of just got tired of the daily grind in an office, and I wanted to have something that I could spend more time with my son on, really. Just kind of looking around on YouTube. And then I came across Mike's videos and pretty much binge watch all those for a couple months, like a year, and then decided I was going to pull the trigger on becoming a franchisee. So, yeah, that's what I did. I finished up grad school and, like, started my franchise the same month. It was a. It was a whirlwind for sure. Definitely a lot going on, but made it happen. And so far, so good. I mean, loving it. Growing every day. So.

So did you have any prior landscaping experience?

So, no, not really. I mean, other than your basic, like, high school, you know, mowing a couple lawns in the neighborhood and then just home ownership, mowing my own lawn. And I've always been pretty good about, you know, wanting min lawn to be yard of the month in whatever subdivision I'm in. So been on YouTube for a long time. YouTube University, you know, just learning, you know, the best ways to edge and, you know, stripe out a lawn and things like that. That's really my basic knowledge of lawn care and landscaping.

Talking about working seven days a week. I mean, you left the nine to Five.

Yes.

To work seven days a week. Can you tell me a little bit about time management? You started this business to get some more time with your son. How do you manage running a business, especially when it's, like, new and growing all the time? It takes a lot of work. How do you kind of manage that?

Yes. So it has been a struggle, but I have found that, like, in the mornings, I try to get up early, go to the gym, do something fun for myself, and then start my day work. And then normally my son and I both do Jiu Jitsu. So shout out to Warrior defense, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but so we both do that. So typically at night, I'll cut my route. Wherever I'm at, at, you know, four or five o', clock, it's like, okay, I'm done. And most of the time I am. And then we'll. We'll go to Jiu jitsu. And then normally on days my son has off of school or weekends, he'll come out and run a route with me, run a blower and, like, goes to work and puts in work. When I first started, I was picking him up from school every day. And then he would just ride around with me while I did estimates and jobs. And he would just, like I said, just run the blower or ride on the mower with me and just kind of just spend time together. Yeah. Because I certainly did give up a pretty sweet schedule with the 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, no weekends, no holidays, you know, but this is, I feel, like, definitely more fulfilling. And I do get to spend at least time outdoors with my son, having a good time, having a blast, making jokes.

So the right stander. This is my 52 inch. I just got this chute blocker on there. So that's like complete game changer as far as being able to mulch up leaves as well as clippings. And then I can close it or open the chute, allow it to discharge. So I went with the right because one reason, yellow trying to stick, which actually, I think it's right, orange, but that's yellow to match the truck. And all of our uniforms and everything, try to keep it standard. But also Wright makes a great product. They're awesome mowers. Let's see the BR200. This is one of my smaller backpack blowers. I actually got that for my son for when he comes out with me when we're doing mowing. He could go around and blow as I'm weeding, weed eating, edging and mowing. And then this Is just one of my string trimmers. The Stihl FS90R was one of my first string trimmers. Now I have two steel. I have a 131 and a 111. The combi systems, which have interchangeable heads. But yeah, I run this every single day. As well as my right 32, I also have the BR800, which is like the biggest backpack blower that steel makes. It's the super daddy. That's the one I'm normally blowing with. But this one's really good for like small little walkways and things like that where you don't. And even around beds where you don't necessarily. You just need to clear. But you don't want to blow everything back out to where it was. So yeah, really awesome little blower for that. Perfect little detail.

All right, let's talk debris. So.

All right.

Do you guys have to bag clippings here in Florida?

We do not. So I do bag clippings from time to time. When it's an overgrown property or like a cleanup, what I'll do is I will go in and knock it down and then run over it a few times with the mower to try to mulch it up as. As best as possible. And then I'll usually run it over with a bagger to bag everything up and make cleanup just a little bit easier. But for the most part, we just mulch into the lawn and then mow and go.

And for property cleanups, do you guys have to haul that off to the dump then?

So. Yes. So for property cleanups or any sort of debris cleanup, what we do is we take it to the dump. And the dump has two. Two different sections typically. And there's a. What's called a transfer station here locally, which is primarily where we go yard waste and then everything else. So construction debris and things like that are sectioned off in a different area with the ramp rack. The ramp rack has been super helpful, but definitely looking to get something dump capable here soon, before too long. Because it's easy to get in a lot of times, but not so easy to get out once you get to the dump. So. So.

Oh yeah. And cuz you're lifting that up and over the sides or hauling it out the back.

Yes. Yeah. So getting it in is super easy. Just go right up the ramp and dump whatever you need. And then it gets all packed in there and everything's down. And then to get it out, it's got to go over the sides or out the back. And it can be A bear.

This is one of your commercial properties that you manage?

Yes. So Delta by Marriott, Daytona Beach Shores, one of my first commercial properties that I got. I have two more with the same ownership. They've been great. But this, as you guys can see, lovely view right on the beach, nice palm trees. So we service a lot of their shrubs and things like that here at the main hotel. And then they have an overflow parking lot with a little bit of mowing that we mow, edge, blow, and then some of their shrubs over there, and then the palm trees, we keep them trimmed up. So, yeah, this is one of the lovely benefits of living here in the great Sunshine State. Yeah, we can try to get business so that we come to work with a view every single day. And it's not like working. It's just like having a very fun hobby and something very enjoyable.

So when you're working on a resort like this, you're obviously not coming in in the dead of night, and there's guests here hanging out. What sort of things do you need to take into consideration when working a property like this?

Typically, we try to work with the hotels, as I previously mentioned. It's great because we can get them on their lowest occupancy days a lot of times, so we can come in when they're not busy and a lot of people are checking out, a lot of guests are checking out. And then normally we'll try to either hit it in between breakfast and lunch or after l. That way. This hotel specifically, they have a restaurant with outside seating, so we try to get in between those hours. That way we're not bothering any guests with any of our equipment or like the compost tea and things like that that we use to treat their. Their shrubs and bushes. And then, yeah, that's really like, our biggest goals with a lot of these. And fortunately, they're very close together as well, so we can kind of hit them bang, bang, bang and make it make it look really nice for them without disturbing the guests. We're very fortunate that the properties, too, don't require a lot of equipment to be used. So even if we're here early in the morning or something like that and guests are still sleeping in, we're not making a whole lot of noise. And then sometimes with resorts like these, especially with the palms in the pool area, they will ask that the palms be trimmed at night. So in those cases, like, the arborist will come in, and they'll typically use, like, a handsaw and a ladder, so no equipment, or like electric chainsaws. And things like that to keep the noise down. And that way we're not disturbing guests and not bothering them or having to close off the pool area during high season or things like that, and causing, you know, issues with the hotel and for them to get bad reviews. So that's one reason I really like to work with these hotels on the beach side because, you know, it's kind of a good symbiotic relationship. We're trying to show, like, our value and our efficiency and that we have this high standard and so is the hotel. So it kind of meets, you know, our goals and mission statement kind of meet together. And it's like, hey, they want a nice place for their guests to come and enjoy their vacation or their stay, and we want to provide that for them. So it's easy to work with them and say, hey, like, this is what we need to do to provide a better experience for the guests. And we can do that by doing.

This, this and this, and that's building that value add for exactly. Sorts of clients.

Exactly. And then for our brand, too.

Yeah.

You know, hey, here's our portfolio here, the properties that we service, and here's what they look like, and here's the work that we do that's worked out very well for us here in Deland so far. So we're going to keep trying to get more business over on the beach because certainly it's, like I said, it's beautiful, especially coming in early in the morning with the sunrise and we get to see, like, right over the beach, sunrise and just lovely ocean.

How do you think that being part of that larger community has helped you grow, especially coming in with no experience in the industry?

I think it has helped me tremendously. Joel from Paradise Arbor and Outdoors, who I share the lot with, used to work for a commercial landscaping company. So he has helped me a tremendous amount along the way, too, just as far as, like, community and contacts and just different advice and ways to do things, especially Florida specific. But, I mean, I've met some great people. Like, even at Landscape Summit, I met a couple that owns. They own All Seasons Lawn and Landscaping over in Daytona Beach. They're just great people. And so we stay in contact. It's always just like this great thing to just be surrounded by good people that want to do good things for the community and just, like, make this industry so much better. So that's been the biggest thing for me, is, like, surrounding myself with just, like, good, positive people that want to do good and then, like, make the industry Better for everyone and just see everyone succeed, you know, like here at Augusta Nation. Yeah, we're very proud of Augusta Nation, but we help the industry or try to help the industry as much as we can. And that's one thing I've really taken in. And because I'm a very helpful person anyway, or at least try to be. So it's great to be a part of a guest nation where it's like, yeah, it's a guestination, but if somebody calls me from Daytona and they need help, I'm gonna go help them, you know, and same thing, they would come help me. And it's just that landscaper, lawn care community, it can be very competitive and like cutthroat, where people are like, oh, I'll do that lawn for $20. You know, like, just try to get the business. But it's also, there's a lot of great people that would do anything and you know, oh, hey, you need help in Ohio? Okay, well, I'm going to come up and help, you know, kind of thing. So.

What sort of overhead expenses do you have? How much does it cost just to keep this thing alive?

Certainly, I mean, budgets and things like that I'm familiar with. But it's seems like with anything that's mechanical, there always seems to be an expense that you don't think of. For example, like, this lot right here, I share with an arborist friend of mine, so him and I share the lot. We, I pay half the rent, so it's about 300 is my portion of it. And then I pay another 167 for the ConX for the shipping container. So let's just call it 500. And then I'm usually running 1200 bucks, 1000amonth in fuel. So we're at what, 1500 already? And we haven't even started just hanging out, so. And then maintenance, usually I usually spend around 500 in maintenance just on different things. Like trimmers go down and they have to be fixed or, you know, blades need to be sharpened, things like that, buying edger blades and things of that nature. So I'd say, yeah, probably about another 500. So I'm probably $2,000. Definitely an overhead. Just, just equipment and rent. And then one employee base pay is 16 an hour. So I mean, we're looking, looking at that every single month too. So that's, that's, that's been pretty interesting too. Like, that's one thing that's made me notice. I really need to pay attention to, like, what's coming in, what's going out, things like that is like, before, it was like, okay, I just won't get paid this week or what, you know, whatever it is. And now it's like, oh, well, I have to pay somebody this week, so I better make sure the money's in there. Following up with people that are, you know, outstanding invoices and things like that, like, hey, we need to get that paid, or just getting with Command center to make sure. Oh, yeah. And then Command center expense, that's another. Usually another thousand. So talking 3,000amonth in overhead.

So you mentioned Command Center. You're not alone in this. You have Augusta on your side. What is kind of your relationship as the business owner to the brand, to Command Center?

Command center has been awesome. There were definitely some learning curves, and there still are, but they take so much off of my plate. So much. They do so much for me at Command center, so it's been great. Like I said, just learning curves, like, little particular things. I mean, there's so many people there, and Command center is doing huge hiring, so they have new people and things like that. And I can't speak highly enough of the Command center staff and all the things they do for me because they call all the clients, follow up on estimates. They do all the billing. They do everything. They do my bookkeeping. I mean, absolutely everything for me. And very rarely do I have to, like, end up calling somebody and dealing with something. It's just like, hey, no, this is what it is. Okay, perfect. They deal with a lot of my difficult clients, too, so a lot of my difficult customers. So I've been very, very thankful for that. But they've been awesome. I mean, it's just. It makes it so much easier on me to focus on the field aspect of it that I don't necessarily have to worry about. Oh, you know, let me answer this phone call real quick while I'm trying to weed, eat, and mow and run a crew. So that aspect of it has been great. The support I've gotten from, you know, just Mike and, you know, all the other franchisees, Augusta, you know, as a whole, as a brand, Augusta Nation, I mean, it truly is Augusta Nation and, like, one big giant family. Like, everyone's super nice, super helpful, like, just wants to help. Everyone just throws out their knowledge or information or equipment, you know, for sale. It's like, hey, I'm getting rid of this. Who wants it? You know? So that's been pretty cool. And just different things, too. Like a mentioned earlier as well, like, us in Florida, like, we Deal with just kind of unique things to Florida. We're typically mowing year round and things like that. Mainly 42 weeks out of the year we're mowing and just the high level of competition and just like the lower prices here. So we try to get together and just brainstorm and talk about things and then that way we can bring it to Mike or Lee or Command center as a collective and say, okay, hey, we're all noticing this in, in Florida as a whole. You know, it's not just the land, it's not just Venice or Jacksonville, Merit island, those other locations. Like this is a Florida thing that we're noticing. It's not just these specific areas. So that's been great too because I mean, Mike's been super helpful and lead too with like feedback like, okay, yep, this is what, this is what we're going to do. This is what Command center is going to do. And with the new over the phone pricing and things like that, that's going to be an estimates that's going to be just great and a game changer for us for sure.

What is kind of those profit margins that you're trying to see when you're out on a job?

So typically what I'm looking at, I'm looking to hit a target of about 20% profit. So. And then obviously with the budgeted hours model, we want to beat those budgeted hours so that our employees can maintain P4P and above base pay. So when we're pricing things out, I look at it like, okay, how long would this take me if I was brand new, just starting out? And it's like, okay, well it may take half an hour, let's say. So then from there I'd say, okay, half an hour. We'll price it out at the half hour point or whatever it may be. And most of the time our employees are hitting P4P so they're getting those performance sellers and they're able to beat budgeted hours on most jobs every once in a while there's always something that happens. You know, maybe there's a really soft area and it's really muddy and we have to take our time or we can't mow at all. So we have to like weed eat like a whole section of the yard because it's too soft. Those types of things happen. I try to factor that in, which again is why I kind of look at it when I'm pricing things. We do look at and consider square footage, smaller yards. We have a minimum set price here in Deland for our business. So smaller yards are getting our minimum price, which is still a really good deal for the most part. And our employees are able to provide that great service, great detail and then still meet or exceed budgeted hours so that they can get those performance dollars.

How are you finding these new customers? What is your marketing strategy?

So marketing for me in this area, the best marketing I've had so far as far as success with marketing goes is Google. So that has been like my go to a lot. I've put a lot of marketing dollars and things like that into online marketing and sort of I will test things out and if I don't see like an improvement within a month, then I'm like, okay, I'm going to different direction because I've noticed like especially in this market there's so much competition. If somebody already has something bogged down like a social media site or something like that and I can't break through, I go, okay, Look, I spent $50 this month on next door ads. They didn't work for me. I got no clients or whatever it is. Then I'm like, all right, let's focus somewhere else. How can I get more clients? So latest strategy again with Google, which has been great with Google look services and kind of integrating all of my social media accounts and everything in there to boost the website. I've now also little secret for all you landscapers out there ways. So every time they drive past my location, an ad pops up for my location. So when they get close to where I'm at, boom, it pops up and at least they're seeing it. They may not be clicking on it, they may not be calling. But the response I've been getting because my where my location is, it's close to a very busy road. So people are driving by all day and once they get in that vicinity, boom, the ad pops up and they're seeing it. And then they're seeing the truck out on the road and then they're seeing the crews out working with our uniforms and everything like that. So I'm just really trying to get constantly when people think lawn care and landscaping in the land, they're thinking Augusta. Oh, Augusta. You know, I mean, and they may drive past my location three, four or five times a day and every single time they're seeing, boom, Augusta, Augusta, Augusta. And then to reach our clientele, my biggest thing is, as I previously stated, education. I want to educate the customers. When they call in, when I go to an estimate, when I'm at their house, even after they've accepted, hey, this is what I'm doing. This is why I'm doing it. So I try to expand their knowledge for that aspect. And also then it cuts down. It makes it more efficient. It cuts down on the questions that they ask after I leave or anything like that. And they're not calling saying, hey, I need the crew to come back out. I don't know why they didn't cut my grass this time, why they only edged. Why'd they do that? So I found that with education, there's less questions and less waste and they're not coming out, asking me when I'm on the property and stopping me and talking to me for an hour. And, you know, really, I'm trying to get to five other jobs that day. And then I sponsor a local baseball team, youth baseball team. So that's been another little trick. I'm big on community and want to give back to the community. So I'll be on their jerseys and their shirts and things like that. And then they also have a huge. It's a traveling baseball team. So they have a huge banner and I'm on the banner. And then they hang that up every time they travel so people will see Augusta, Augusta, Augusta. And then also they give their sponsors at my level trophies every time they win a tournament. Yeah. So they give away their trophies. So again, that'll help me too, because then I can. That's something tangible I can have. And then post like, hey, this team won. Like, take a picture with the team. Here's the trophy.

Like, that's fantastic.

Just boosting our presence in the community and that we're doing good things in the community and we're not just another company out there. Fly by night mowing mo edge blow on our way. We. We want to make our community better and we want to support the other businesses, lawn care, landscaping, and just youth teams. Anything we can do to make our community better and improve it, even if it's our competition.

Has there been anything that you've had to learn and kind of adjust bringing on more people to your team?

Yes. So I've managed team members and stuff like that before, been in supervisory leadership roles. But in lawn care, everything, your time has to be so managed because you're trying to fit in so many mowing customers in a day. And then the weather plays a factor. It's been a huge learning curve trying to manage my time and their time. It's like, okay, hey, show up at 7. Me at the shop will do this. I'm the type of Person, like, I'll just keep working and not take a lunch, and I'll just eat in the truck or something like that. So with my new team member, Alejandro, you know, like, the first day, we were just going, going, going, and I looked over and he was, like, famished, ready to, like, die. And I was like, what's wrong? Little hungry boss. I'm like, dude, why didn't you say what time? Oh, man, it's three o'. Clock. Why didn't you say anything? Like, we could have. So things like that, you know, I don't want to work them too late or too long or too many days. So I'm always constantly checking in with them, like, hey, is the schedule okay? Like, do you want to start later? Last. Last couple weeks, we've had some days where it's been really cold. It's been below freezing here, which is fairly unusual for the sunshine.

Hoodies and a long sleeve.

Yeah, exactly. So, but it got down to the 20s, so it's like, hey, I'm thinking about a late start. I think we should start at 9. You okay with that? Oh, yeah, absolutely. Hey, we may have to work Saturday and Sunday, but we're going to take, like, Tuesday, Wednesday off. Okay. Hey, perfect. You know, so those are the considerations that I look at when trying to manage not only my time, because as the owner, operator, obviously I'm being pulled in, like, a million different directions. So a lot of times I have to slow down and go, okay, hey, are you good? Like, what's the time? Like, are you okay? You know, do we need to cut it short? You know, are you overworked for this week? Like, you want to take a day off, things like that? Just to make sure that I'm not burning out the team or myself.

Is there anywhere, like, any other businesses that you are trying to, like, take tie in and, like, building that community outside of just landscaping?

Yes. So I'd say, like, irrigation. And again, that's where Joel comes in, because he has all those contacts, so there's like a ton of. Ton of guys out there that I can subcontract, like irrigation and things like that. Right now, I'd love to eventually have, like, an irrigation guy on staff, because irrigation here in Florida is everywhere, and you can just make a killing. I mean, you're talking, like, you know, $100 an hour, you know, labor and just. I mean, people make a killing in irrigation. And then another difficult thing, too, that I. I eventually want to work on is getting, like, a lawn care tech, like, spraying for Lawn, weeds and pests and things like that. Because here in Florida, it's a. It's a completely separate license that you have to have, and you have to have experience within that industry or college education and, like, horticulture and things like that to get the license. So. But that's another big thing, because people want. Don't want weeds in their lawn and things like that. So I try to build a good relationship with a couple, like, local, smaller, like, pest control, lawn. Like, that way I can at least give them a referral in hopes to try to get a referral back when they show up. And somebody's like, you're here to cut my grass? And they're like, no. But I know a guy, you know, so I'm. I'm big on networking and kind of trying to, like, help out and be helpful where I can. And if I can refer somebody again, I mean, like, Joel, he has a couple of my commercial properties as far as, like, palm trimming and stuff like that. Okay. The guys who did this last time that were unlicensed and, you know, not insured, they did a horrible job. And I'm tired of coming here and running over, you know, like, boots from your palm tree and fronds and stuff that have, like, were half cut, and now they're just falling. So that again, yeah, that's been really great, far as that goes. Yeah.

And if you guys want to check out an episode with Joel, we actually talked to him on another zero turn. So check that out with Joel in paradise, Aubrey and outdoors.

So building that relationship, obviously, you guys are sharing a lot. So is there any shenanigans you guys get into here in your roommate bunking situation?

So there are lots of shenanigans. There's always jokes and things like that. That. Practical jokes that we're playing. Probably my most favorite is we have a large piece of concrete that has kind of been here for a while. Joel has been at this lot for a while, and it's just been a random piece of concrete that he's used for different things over the years. So he needed a block one day for a tire. So I offered up the piece of concrete, and when I came back, the concrete was put in front of my Conex blocking where I could get in. So I. After I closed up that night, I put the concept concrete right up against their Conex door and left it. And then they came in the next day. We all went to work, and then when I came back, they had ratchet, strapped it to my Conex front Doors. So I then took it the next day, and while I tried to put it in a work truck, they were all locked. So I ended up putting it in the toolbox, on. In Joel's private truck, his personal truck, and let him drive around and do estimates with it all day. And then I didn't hear anything. So I called him later that night and I said, hey, buddy, how's it going? He's like, good. I said, I gave you a present and you didn't even say thank you. Wow. I said, I think that's kind of rude. And he said, oh, goodness, what'd you do? And I said, nothing. There's just a little something in your toolbox. And they said of my personal truck, I said, yeah, go and check it out. So that has been like the biggest running joke. And the concrete will probably stay around even if we outgrow this lot, just so we can have fun and keep things light. I mean, because we both work long hours, long days, we try to keep it light and fun. So the concrete is here to stay. And when Joel watches this, I hope he knows that there's going to be more shenanigans with it and he should just be on the lookout for the next location of the concrete block. So this is the concrete. It's so great.

I'll have to lift it.

I should be good. Oh, yeah, it's. I mean, it's heavy for sure.

This has been really been going to the gym every morning. This will be the test.

See if they can lift that.

Tell people like, oh, yeah, I'll give them my business partner. And same thing. Like, people are like, oh, do you do trees? Or like when I go, especially commercial properties. Commercial. You try to get like all in one. You try to get their trees, you try to get their irrigation. You try to get everything. So I just go, oh, yeah, my business partner, or hey, I'll have the, the tree division manager come out and take a look or whatever it is. So we try to help each other out business wise too. And like, even employees, like, if I'm slow or I'm rained out or something and they're going to work, I'll let him take my employees and pay them, you know, and same thing. Like, he took Christmas off. So I had Mac with me for a week during Christmas and we just went around and did landscaping stuff and I tried to like get some tree removals and tree stuff, just because one, it was going to be added money for me, which would help pay for him and it would give him some Tree stuff that. I mean, nothing. Big, tiny little trees. I'm like, yeah, cut down the soak. He's like, it's not an oak, you idiot. I'm like, it's either a poem or it's an oak. Like, that's it. That's all I got in my brain, man. So that's been great. Like, and I get again, like, we're super supportive of each other. We always try to help each other out and it's like, oh, hey, like, if I need to borrow the dump truck or whatever, you know, know, Joel's like, yeah, you can borrow my. Just dump trailer, whatever. Dump truck. Like you need a chainsaw, whatever it is. So we try to do that just to help each other out and again, just be good people.

And do you have any goals for your new franchise?

As of right now, my goal is to grow and at a steady pace in order to allow for further opportunities for future employees and things of that nature.

I'm looking to purchase, as far as the business goes, two more trucks so that I can have two mowing crews and then a project crew. And our team member, Alejandro, right now, looking at him to be like the project crew leader because he really enjoys those property cleanups and like, the hard, gritty work and how tall he is. He's like, does not enjoy edging and weed eating. So looking to get a dump capable vehicle so that we can ramp up our projects and our cleanups and then hopefully run two mowing crews during the busy season. So that would mean hiring at least two more employees. And that's sort of the goal. And then that second mowing crew would also be flexible to work on the projects. If, you know, there's a lull or it's raining or something like that. We can't mow, but we can still do projects, be able to flex some. Some crew members there. And then we're trying to grow our business, but keep our route density a bit little, a little bit closer together, especially on the days that we're in certain areas. So, like when we're over here, we want to get as many properties as we can over here. That way, on that day, route density is super tight and we can hit more properties in a shorter amount of time and cut down on that drive time.

If somebody's interested in joining the team, joining Gusta Nation, do you want to tell them where they could find you?

Yeah. So if you go on to augustalongcare services.com you can fill out the application process there. My website is augustalongcare services.com deland you can shoot me an email. Delandgustalawncareservices.com and I usually try to get back to people really quick when they have questions about joining Augusta Nation or just even starting a lawn care and landscaping business. Even if they choose not to join us, I'll try to get back to those people pretty quick. Best way is if you email me, just leave me your telephone number and I will shoot you a text or give you a call and I will go through everything and I open book. I try to be an open book and tell everybody the good, the bad and the ugly and sort of what my experience has been. Just starting a brand new business with like no lawn care landscaping experience and just the trials and troubles and things like that. Sam.