STEALING EMPLOYEE (confidential meeting)

And just like that, we are signed and ready to roll.

So this morning was just a whole bunch of meetings. Now, I don't go to all the meetings. Liz is sort of my eyes and ears at a lot of the different management meetings as well as hr. So, for example, her, Lonnie and Lee will have weekly meetings and talk about struggling locations, which ones need help, which ones might need to be kind of drawn up short. And ones that are doing really well, they kind of get a really good diagnosis because Lee does a lot of coaching. And so they have their weekly meeting that was earlier this morning. And then Liz comes to me and sort of synthesizes what they talked about as well as things that they need my feedback on, because most of it they can handle themselves. But there are some things that she wants to run by me or that she just needs to keep me in the loop on certain things. So it's very important for her and I to stay very well connected. So we don't really have a regular meeting cadence. We just meet whenever there are things to talk about, which is every day, every few hours, we're gonna have some sort of a.

Mostly just a bunch of meetings this morning. GMs, regional GMs, internal meetings with Liz. The whole point of the Bellingham shop is to have the capacity to build that location and continue growing. And now that we simplify it so much, there's really nothing holding us back from continuing to scale it, assuming that you have a GM that's capable enough because it can happen. This year, we cut out so many projects and our revenue will just barely be going down, like maybe 5, 5%. And, yeah, we're trying to find and solidify a GM for the Bellingham shop because Marcus is going to be moving out in a couple months. So some meetings about that this morning, too.

There are several things that we talked about. First of all, we are rolling out an internal software package inside of a destination that is going to require quite a bit of training. And so literally, we are going over the training rhythm in terms of when Lonnie is going to train live on a live stream. Some of the franchisees that are struggling with certain parts of and are just needing extra coaching. Although we don't actually build software for the franchisees, we do feel responsible to make sure that whatever package command center is using and we are servicing the customers through that, we are all on the same page and that we are creating systems inside of that software that the franchisees can be successful in. So if they're struggling with certain Aspects of that, we try to help them as much as we possibly can. Now, like 90% of that conversation with Liz, I can't share, but we talk a lot about these type of meetings that are just confidential because it's most about hiring and firing. We were talking a lot about bringing some new talent into the organization and hiring specific key roles. And there's actually one employee that used to work for an Augusta lawn care had to move along because there was just not any opportunity to become a general manager or make more money at that location. But he stayed in touch with the owner, stayed in touch with Augusta Nation. I might hire him as a general manager in the future. And so I'm actually setting up a zoom call with him. So that's the type of stuff we talked about on that call. And when we're talking about firing and things, I'm just not comfortable enough talking about their names. I'm not like the barstool sports of the lawn care industry, where we talk about every piece of drama and firing people in the organization. So we're not there. I don't think I'll ever get there, honestly.

So even though you can't hear me in this call because it's somewhat confidential, I'm actually calling somebody who used to work for me about four years ago, and I'm trying to actually talent poach them. They currently have a position they're wanting to leave. I've known that. And so this morning in a manager's meeting, Liz Lee and Lonnie kind of had this idea. They pitched it to me and I was like, you know what? We're going to go for it.

Like, what we got now is great. Like, whoever would come in, the guys are good, but they're. They're all hungry young guys that want to grow. And what's going to happen, the GM position, they go like, they don't need the extra 10, 20 grand they need. They want to go start their own. Right? And that's great. There's nothing more fulfilling for me, but for the business and for the local shop, like, it's just going to stay around 1.5 to 1.7 unless someone digs their teeth into it.

I literally called him out of the blue and I'm pitching him on coming back to the company and becoming a general manager. Now, when you're doing this, you've got to realize that you're trying to take Grade A talent and sometimes you don't have all the compensation and perks and benefits that they would otherwise get from a Massive company. You actually have to sell them on the dream, the idea, the vision, and specifically, verbatim what I said on this call was, do you wanna be selling artificial turf and putting greens for the rest of your life in Washington state, or do you want to come build a multinational, international, multi billion dollar business that will change the lawn care and landscaping industry?

But, but part of it too is. Part of it too is like, I've always sworn to the guys that I wouldn't hire someone that was outside the company that had been in the field. You know, you have the perspective, you know what it's like to work when it's raining, when it's hot, when a job's going south and you're way behind, like that sort of thing, Right. And so you have the feeling and the heart for the guys too, which is a big piece for me. Like, I would not go offer this to someone that just like, work another. Another business. I'd be like, sorry, you have to go start in the field. Because I just can't have it where the guys, especially on P4P when they're working so hard on pay for performance, I can't have someone have no feeling for the guys when the climate is horrible and stuff like that.

And so, yes, do I lean into the vision and the goal? Yes, because that's the only unique advantage that I have over every other employer that probably could offer better benefits, better compensation, etc.

Well, the thing is, the thing is like, you know, you know how it is. Even when, when you were with me, like there'd be once in a blue moon, I'd hop on there and it's like, it's not even about needing the work, it's needing the work done. It's about just showing the guys like, hey, I can do this. And I'm not, I'm not the guy in the ivory tower that just drives around an AC car all day long. Right. Like, I know what I'm doing here and I can work hard too.

I think he'd be a great addition to the team and I really hope that he comes on board.

We're now headed to the title company to sign on the Mount Vernon property. This is the property. We are where we are going to have the shop location. There's also a house on it. So I'm going to get some rental income and I'm going to get an RV on the property and get some airbnb rental income coming in as well. So that'll more than cover the mortgage and make this an actual investment. And again, the main reason why I'm getting this property is to solidify this location and be a vote of confidence for the general manager down there. That's Caleb. They didn't know that this is a long term commitment, this area. And I really like this location for myself because it's right next to the Bellingham and the first location of Augusta Lawn Care. And we really found that the locations that are close together actually get a lot of brand awareness and a lot of synergies between the two locations because they can help each other out with labor or trucks or equipment and things like that. So really looking forward to it. And now we got a sign on the property.

And just like that, we are signed and ready to roll. So stay tuned for next week when I actually show you the property, give you a full tour, and then you'll see kind of before and after, because over the course of the next two weeks, gravel goes in, fencing goes in. We're going to redo the garage that we have a shop space. It's going to be great.

See, it's a new video series.

It's called 50 Shades of Yellow.

Yellow shirt, yellow watch, yellow shoes. Somehow they just don't match.

No, man. Dude.

Yeah?

You're making me mad.