Working 14 Hours Per Day at Cutting Edge: ZERO TURN S02/EP1

We're just heading out for the day. Today we are going to be going and visiting Paul west over in Sequim, Washington. So it's like three hours from where.

We'Re at right now.

We got to take a ferry ride, so we'll get some good video for you there. And today this is a smaller business than we did last season of zero Turn. So last year we did Mastercuts, we did Imco. They're more established businesses. Today is going to be a smaller company, just a few employees. I think their revenue is right around a couple hundred thousand dollars annually. So we're going to go over their number, try to help them grow and kind of expand a little bit more. Just a couple years old in terms of how long Paul's been in business. So it'll be interesting to see just a little bit smaller of an operation. So perhaps if this one is closer to your revenue level, it might be a little more helpful than a massive business with lots of employees. So that's kind of the goal for today. It's close to. We don't have to fly anywhere. It's kind of almost in our backyard here. So we'll have you join us for the whole day. We'll kind of take you on the journey over there, trip there and back, and I'll have some calls and emails and like, things like that throughout the day. We're just wrapping up some of the stuff with the franchise, so back and forth with some of the lawyers today as well, so it'll be fun.

So we were filming on Deception Pass bridge and we were walking across and all of a sudden this massive fifth wheeler came across. Well, it's really narrow. And what it looks like happened is a biker was trying to go along the shoulder and then this massive fifth wheeler came through and hit him. And so now traffic has stopped. We're gonna be late for the ferry, but hopefully we can still get there. So we made it to the ferry, but it's gone. Not only did we miss the 10:15, missed the 11 o', clock, so the day has stopped to a real great start.

That would be great for taking photogr.

Homework.

So we're on the ferry now. Right now I am writing out handwritten letters for the spouses of employees in Augusta this Saturday we have a dinner all together and all the spouses are coming. So we got a gift card to a spa place. And then I'm just giving a hammering letter, just saying thank you and yeah, we're on the ferry ride.

How's it going, man? Good to see you, Paul.

Yeah.

Mike.

Hi, Mike.

Great, Good stuff. This is Josh.

Josh.

Don't worry about him. He'll be just filming the whole time.

Wow, you're actually here.

We're here, man. Yeah, it was crazy. We would have been here like probably like the ferry before, but there was. When we came over Deception Pass, there was a biker got hit. Yeah, Like a fifth wheeler hit him on the side, so no fun.

So. Yeah. Well, thanks for.

Oh, my pleasure, man.

Not only for me, but for everybody else.

Yeah. So are the guys out working right now then?

Yeah, I had to leave them on a job and they're making pretty good time. So.

We'Ll. We might go do another job here in a minute. Cuz it's kind of a weird situation where one of my biggest clients ended up not paying me for four and a half months. And so I.

Commercial.

Yeah. And so I suspended service. And then it took him about a month to realize that. Hey, look. What, what's going on? Our grass is this tall. And said, you know, you gotta. You gotta pay me. I can't be the only one paying for your lawn. So basically maintenance.

Was it all maintenance stuff?

Yeah, yeah. And so it's like an emergency type of cleanup type thing. We actually did go there last Friday, but all we had time was tomo. So yeah, hopefully we'll get there today. Cool stuff.

Very cool.

So yeah, do you want to show.

Me around real quick kind of what's going on here?

It's not that glamorous.

Oh, that's fine. So you live here and then this is kind of like a back shop here.

This isn't my house. This is just. I just. This is where my shop is. Oh, cool. You're going to laugh at me when you see the main shop because it was just go. Go ahead and go in there.

Okay, cool.

This one's.

Me and my friends built this like three years ago.

Oh, sweet.

And it's hard to see right now.

Skate park.

But.

So this thing, I'm probably gonna take this to my actual house. This. The whole ramp?

Yeah.

And then. So this will be more room to do, you know, to park equipment. Well, basically it's kind of funny that my biggest shop space is kind of gobbled up by this thing, but it's lot of fun and I'm going to end up taking this thing to my actual house and so it'll. It'll definitely free up some space.

Yeah. So you guys park all in here then?

No. Well, we got the carports and then I usually park one work truck, like off to the side. But usually I try to put that truck's usually over there. Then I got the truck trailer combo usually over here. But so there's a. There's everything has its own space.

Yeah.

Yeah. There's a dump truck right there. Cool. And then we usually have like, a lot of equipment and stuff.

Oh, nice. So it's actually pretty cool.

It's not bad.

I mean, when did you come over here?

I've been in this space for three.

And a half years. Oh, wow.

So very cool. Well, we got enough room for what I'm doing, and that's totally awesome. I'm pretty into dirt biking right now.

So that's very nice.

That thing is cool.

So the employees come here and then like, park and then just head out and for the day?

Yeah, yeah, we usually get here. We show up 10 minutes early, you know, eat, you know, eat breakfast or whatever. And then I'm usually screw. I usually get here at like 7:30. And then I'm always like, dumping the truck or getting material or whatever it is. You got to go, you know, do stuff in the morning. So I get here like 7:30 and then. And then like. So we usually meet up and then hopefully out the door, like 9:15.

Got it.

So 9 to 5 type of thing. Because we do a lot of mixed residential with commercial, so I don't really want to be making noise.

Right. And then do you mostly landscaping or is it also like a. Mostly, like half.

It's like 80 maintenance.

Oh, really?

Yeah. So it's. I actually. My first name was Paul's Lawn Care.

Okay.

And then it was cutting edge lawn care. And then we started getting kind of a lot of landscaping jobs. And that's when I changed it to like, landscaping. Right. It's actually LLC now.

Yeah.

So I changed the. It was just sold for proprietor.

And you changed to llc.

Yeah.

Very cool. Very cool. It was a nice place, actually. Nice shop. All right. And then is that like an office area then inside the portable?

Yeah, that's the. That's going to be. I did live here for like six months, but then I moved in with my wife and we're, you know, got a different house.

Yeah.

Oh, you go on in.

I got a little.

A little thing set up for you.

Starter pack.

Nice.

Oh, how did you know? I like salsa.

I watch the thing, man. What?

Oh, that's hilarious. That's awesome. Thank you, man. I appreciate it. And kombucha. That's awesome. Very cool. So you guys come in here for like, Team meetings and stuff.

You know, it's gonna be a thing, but so far hasn't happened. I actually have had a little bit of trouble with. I don't know, the employee situation is tough around. I think this market is maybe a little harder than yours because if somebody's only good people are taken.

Right.

And so it's a very, like it's.

More retirees around here, right? Yeah.

Okay.

And what's is an industry out here? Like is there some sort of a fat like factory or oil out here or anything like that? Nothing.

No, we got lavender. If you were here last weekend, it would have been. It's lavender festival.

Okay.

Lavender city. Yeah.

Really? Well, we passed that one farm on the way here.

Oh, there's tons.

But I meant I mentioned my office manager right away, she's like, oh yeah, like that's a lavender place. Okay.

Yeah, so. So yeah, that's what I mean, we got that and then we got the irrigation festival and stuff. But like it's good for those businesses. But I mean there's nothing else. Like this is a retirement community.

Right.

And so like the employee thing, like for instance, I have two new hires. One guy's been on three, like two weeks. Another guy's been one week. Another guy's been with me two years. And then so I had another guy, but he's no show, no call, like six times last 10 days.

So that's kind of like three guys right now then. Okay.

And I got another guy when I get water. You guys want anything? Water, Gatorade. I got another guy that I'm hiring August 1st and he's worked with me in the past. He's really. He's gonna be good. And he, he's an older guy. He's really good with like pruning and that sort of thing.

Yeah, cool. That's good. How long? So the one guy he's missed did two years then.

Yeah.

So that was when cuz you started what, like three, four years ago?

9Ish. But it's more almost like a handyman type of thing.

Got it doing that on the side. Yeah.

And then so just kind of migrated to like only outdoor work. And then it migrated to like, you know, just natural progression of like just doing stuff outside and then like landscaping, you know, you know how it is.

Yeah, that's cool.

It's awesome. So very cool.

So do. What do you want to do? Do you want to go to the job side or do you want to do some numbers or what do you want?

Probably some numbers at first because, to be honest, Thursdays are it's, like, our junkiest. And, like, their irrigation systems haven't been working properly at all. So these guys are actually wrapping that up. There's no reason to watch them blow off junkie zone. But I did write out a couple little things, maybe some stuff to talk about. But basically, yeah, this is. You know, the guys can come in here and eat or whatever.

It's nice, though.

But it's not bad. But, yeah, so I'll sit here and, you know, I don't have, like, computer set up. I have a laptop. But, yeah, this is. This is basically it.

Yep.

Like, and I've got years of this schedule, but it's. It's. You know, it could be better. Right. And it's not, like, the best thing in the world, but it works. I just write down what we did for the day, and it also shows me, like, okay, well, Mrs. Jones, she was back there, and now we're over here, so we got to get to her place. But I do have, like, a lot of my stuff is, like, we're there every Tuesday at 9.

Yeah.

And we're there. So a lot of it's like that. But a lot of the residential stuff, it's like, squeeze in when you can.

Right, right, right.

Whatever. Anyways, I wrote out a couple things that I thought you might be wanting to know. I don't know if you want to, like.

Do you want to go over some of it or just more about you?

Some of it is.

I don't know. You can just.

Okay, cool. All right. So is your goal, like, I saw the goals page.

Yeah.

What is.