The GROW! Show

Hosted by Marty Grunder

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Aug 2026

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The GROW! Show is a show that highlights Marty Grunder's annual conference, GROW!. The GROW! show will showcase how anyone in the green industry can grow themselves, their team, and their business.

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August 19, 20269 min

How to Finish 2026 Strong: Access, Awareness, and Action | Vince Torchia

Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH) Join Us for GROW! Snow 2026 (Dayton, OH - September 21-23, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Connect (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #178: In this short, tactical episode of The Grow Show, Vince Torchia shares the three things every landscape leader should be focused on right now: access, awareness, and action. With a month and a quarter left in 2026, Vince gives you a quick filter to run your business through so you can finish the year strong and set yourself up for a great 2027. BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Access: What did you not have access to earlier this year that would have made your life easier now? Missing reports, vendor portals, margin data, or client information. Identify the gaps and put a plan in place to fix them. Leaders Often Lose Access as Companies Grow: As businesses scale and add team members, CEOs and senior leaders sometimes lose access to information they used to have at their fingertips. Get it back. The Thursday Night Test: If you're laying in bed on Thursday night wondering if Mrs. Jones has paid, you should not have to text someone to find out. Access the data yourself in real time. Awareness: Are the key people in your organization aware of everything they need to be aware of? Team members, peers, clients, vendors. If it's a maybe for you, it's a no for them. We All Think We Communicate More Than We Actually Do: Take that as an opportunity to get better, not a criticism. Zoom out. Put things in writing. Make people aware. Good News, Bad News, It's Just News: Do not sit on information because you're worried about how it will land. Get over the hump, have confidence in what you're doing, and make people aware. Action: With a month and a quarter left, there's still time to make real progress. Meetings, emails, texts, huddles. Whatever gets it moving. Action Begets Action: Momentum is real. Crossing something off the list feels good. Building momentum with your team feels even better. Reflection Questions What is one piece of information you wish you had access to right now that would make your job easier? Who on your team is not aware of something important, and what is stopping you from telling them today? What is one action you could take this week that would create momentum going into the final quarter of the year? Additional Resources: BOBYARD Chapters (00:00:00) - BOBYARD AI (00:02:06) - A #1: Access - Where Did You Miss It This Year? (00:03:27) - Why Leaders Lose Visibility As They Grow (00:04:24) - A #2: Awareness - Is Your Team in the Loop? (00:05:19) - Document, Communicate, Repeat (00:06:52) - A #3: Action - The Final Quarter Sprint (00:07:46) - Procrastination Is the Language of the Poor (00:08:28) - Final Takeaway

August 12, 202638 min

Interview Series: Katie Roell of Boss Snow on Preparing for Winter in July

Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH) Join Us for GROW! Snow 2026 (Dayton, OH - September 21-23, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Connect (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #177: In this episode, Marty Grunder sits down with Katie Roell, Senior Marketing Manager at Boss Snowplow, to talk about why the best snow contractors are already preparing for winter right now. Recorded in the middle of August, Katie shares how successful contractors use July and August to optimize their equipment mix, evaluate their data, train their people, and get ready for whatever the winter brings. They cover forecasting, worst-case scenario planning, sidewalk automation, insurance challenges, and why the future of snow depends on people just as much as machines. Plus a preview of what to expect at Grow Snow 2026 in Dayton, OH this September. Resources Mentioned: Boss Snowplow Boss Weekly Snow Forecast Email (sign up through Boss) Spiro's (Iron Mountain, MI - Katie's favorite spot) BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Stop Asking What Winter Will Bring. Start Asking How Prepared You Are: No one truly knows what the winter looks like. Great contractors don't gamble on forecasts. They gamble on preparation. Whether it's a banger year or a light year, the ones who prepare in July and August win. Dealer Schedules Are Filling Up Right Now: You can't wait until October or November to get your truck in for service. Get your preventative maintenance scheduled now. If you can't run because your equipment is down, you lose. Your Data Is Your Playbook: You own the data. You are the coach. Go back and look at where you fell down last year. What lots gave you trouble? What routes need optimization? Where did downtime cost you the most? Buy Equipment for the Contracts You're Winning, Not for the Sake of Buying: Start with one contract you want. Look at the acreage, the services, the ideal equipment mix. Get that tight. Then build the rest of your fleet around that model. Plan for Worst Case, Not Just Best Case: The worst case scenario isn't a 12-inch storm. It's zero snow with equipment payments still coming due. Or a downed truck mid-storm with no backup. Build your plan around the scenarios you can't control. Snow Doesn't Give You Downtime Flexibility: In landscaping, if a mower breaks you can fix it in four hours. In snow, if your equipment breaks, you can't tell a client "we'll be back later." Reliability is not optional. Your Team Is the Biggest Risk in Your Own Head:<... Chapters (00:00:00) - Start (00:01:22) - Meet Katie and Boss Snowplow (00:03:54) - The Real Question About Winter Prep (00:06:05) - Prep Mistakes to Avoid Right Now (00:08:21) - Why You Should Debrief and Look at Your Route Data (00:10:47) - Scenario Planning and Building Backup Plans (00:15:19) - Getting Data Out of Your Head and Into a System (00:18:31) - Buying Equipment for the Contracts You Actually Want (00:21:08) - Cold Front Technology and the Future of Automation (00:26:53) - Labor Shortages, Insurance, and the Industry Shifts Ahead (00:30:33) - Why the Best Contractors Are Constant Learners (00:34:22) - Lightning Round and Final Takeaways

August 5, 202623 min

You Can't Find Great Team Leaders, You Have to Build Them with Marty Grunder | The Grow Show

Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - August 5-6, 2026 and More Dates!) Join Us for GROW! Snow 2026 (Dayton, OH - September 21-23, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Connect (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #176: Finding great team leaders is one of the biggest challenges in the landscaping industry, but what if you're asking the wrong question? In this episode of The Grow Show, Marty Grunder shares why the best team leaders aren't found - they're developed. Drawing from decades of experience at Grunder Landscaping Co., Marty walks through the systems, habits, and leadership principles that have helped build high-performing crews and future leaders from within. Resources Mentioned: Episode 162: Jimmy Hendricks on The First Steps You Should Take on Every Installation Dayton Foodbank Aspire Exmark Bobyard BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Great Team Leaders Are Made, Not Found: Stop asking where to find them. Start asking how to build them. The best crew leaders come from within your own company, developed with intention. Great Days Start the Day Before: The biggest mistake team leaders make is arriving in the morning to start figuring things out. That's 12 to 15 hours too late. Great days start at 3 PM the day before. Ask Where Your Weakest Link Is Tomorrow: Before the day starts, ask what could stop you and where the weakest link is. Then get ready for it. The weather, a missing crew member, a picky client. Anticipate. A Team Leader Should Never Say "Nobody Told Me": The information is there. Read the notes. Study the prints. Know the plan. Ownership starts with reading what's in front of you. Group Leaders Are the Ones Training Team Leaders: Mowing group leaders can handle 10 crews. Construction group leaders max out at 5 because the work is more detailed. Land keeping group leaders handle about 6. The group leader's job is to mentor and empower, not to give every answer. Own the Morning by Prepping the Night Before: Show up at 6:45. Truck is fueled. Trailer is checked. Tools are staged. Notes are reviewed. The morning is about executing, not figuring things out. Every Crew Member Has a Job: The number two (team tech / team leader in training) reads the tablet on the way to the site. The number three loads supplies, fills seed, fills fuel cans. Chaos in the morning means chaos all day. Organization creates profit. Chapters (00:00:00) - Start (00:01:00) - Generosity to Dayton Food Bank (00:03:16) - Why Team Leaders Matter (00:03:58) - Preparation Beats Firefighting (00:06:01) - Point 1: A Great Day Starts the Day Before (00:10:26) - Point 2: Own the Morning (00:14:02) - Point 3: Safety Before Production (00:15:53) - Point 4: Lead People, Not Just Jobs (00:17:00) - Point 5: Think Like an Owner (00:17:58) - Point 6: Finish the Job Professionally (00:19:10) - Jimmy’s Three Habits: Pre-Plan, Coach, Review (00:20:35) - Why Your Crews Are Your Reputation (00:22:07) - Create Your Team Leaders

July 29, 202656 min

Interview Series: Lex Mason on Succeeding Your Father, Building a Culture, and the Future of Irrigation

Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - August 5-6, 2026 and More Dates!) Join Us for GROW! Snow 2026 (Dayton, OH - September 21-23, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Connect (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #175: In this episode, Marty Grunder sits down with Lex Mason, the new CEO of Weathermatic, for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about what it actually takes to succeed your father, build a company culture people want to join, and reinvent the irrigation business. Lex opens up about growing up testing sprinklers in a hot Dallas warehouse, dropping out of college for two months to help save the family business, being sent to Houston with an expense card and a quota, and eventually taking over from his father Mike. Along the way, he shares practical wisdom on succession, mentorship, sales, and why the irrigation division might be the last untapped profit center in your landscape company. Resources Mentioned: Weathermatic SmartLink by Weathermatic BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Succession Actually Starts Day One: Lex's dad read him the Wall Street Journal at Starbucks as a baby. The "dinner table MBA" started at 11. Whether you are preparing your kids to succeed you at your company or somewhere else, you are always preparing them to succeed you at something. Bring the Next Leader In Early, With No Voice at First: Mike put Lex in the leadership meetings early, but not as a decision-maker. He had to earn a seat at the table by first earning ears at the table. Then gradually, "What do you think about that?" started getting asked. Give the Dog Enough Rope to Get in Trouble: Mike sent Lex to Houston with an expense card, a quota, and a $2 million product sitting on a shelf. That test built the Partner Program that now has 400+ clients. If you cannot let the leash out, you will never know how they handle no leash. How You Talk About Your Kids in Public Matters: Founders who flippantly say "That's not Johnny's thing" or "He's really struggling with that" destroy their kid's brand equity with the team. If you want the org to accept your successor in five years, start building them up positively today. Fill What You Are Best At, Not What They Were Best At: Mike is the guy who runs through walls once a year. Lex's job is to figure out how to do that 52 times a year at scale. The successor's job is not to be a copy of the founder. It is to bring the next chapter. Have a Strong Leadership Team So It Is Not Just You vs. the Founder: When Mike and Lex disagree, the leadership team steps in. Ben on sales, Bill on technology, Brodie on customer success. That takes the pressure off the family dynamic. ... Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:57) - Meet Lex Mason (00:03:30) - Growing Up in the Test Center (00:04:33) - Choosing the Family Business (00:09:14) - Earning It Beyond the Last Name (00:12:03) - Working With Dad as Chairman (00:15:20) - The Hardest Part of Succession (00:17:43) - Mike Mason's Origin Story (00:21:25) - What Mike Did Right in Succession (00:24:11) - How Founders Destroy Succession (00:27:12) - When Succession Really Starts (00:28:53) - Giving Enough Rope (00:30:52) - Sent to Houston to Figure It Out (00:32:36) - The Vince Torchia Parallel (00:35:25) - What Lex Would Thank Dad For (00:36:44) - Perseverance Stories From Sports (00:38:27) - Bringing EOS to WeatherMatic (00:40:32) - Remembering Brodie Bruner (00:44:14) - Irrigation Is a Profit Center (00:46:41) - Inside the SmartLink System (00:49:51) - How to Build an Irrigation Division (00:51:21) - AI, Labor, and the Next 5 Years (00:53:01) - Lightning Round

July 22, 202652 min

Interview Series: Snowfighting with Phil Harwood, Part 2 | The People & Process Behind Every Great Snow Company

Join Us for GROW! Snow 2026 (Dayton, OH - September 21-23, 2026) Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - Multiple Options in 2026!) Level Up Your Sales Manager at Virtual Sales Manager Bootcamp (July 8-9, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Discovery (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #174: In Part 2 of Marty's conversation with Phil Harwood of Snowfighters Institute, they dig into the people, process, and preparation that separate great snow companies from average ones. Phil shares how to recruit and retain drivers, why subcontractors should be treated more like employees, what a great snow team looks like before the first event, and how to run your operation like a well-trained military unit. Plus more details on GROW! Snow 2026 in Dayton, OH this September. Resources Mentioned: Snowfighters Institute SIMA - Snow and Ice Management Association BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Preparing to Recruit Is Half the Battle: Before you post a single job, scrub your job descriptions, clarify weekend and holiday expectations, and rebuild your compensation and incentive plans. Bring people on before you are ready and you set them up to be disappointed. Job Postings Are Not Classified Ads Anymore: You are not paying per letter. Use the space to talk about mission, culture, and why. Most postings are terrible because they read like a task list. Great postings sell the opportunity. Speed of Response Is a Snow Pro Advantage: When someone answers your ad, get back to them in 15-20 minutes by text. Nobody wants a phone call anymore. Automate this if you can. Build Real Pipelines, Not One-Off Hires: Vocational schools, homeschool networks, sports parent groups, recovery community programs, laid-off seasonal workers from painting or carpentry crews. If you can pluck one or two out of a community, they will bring more. Treat Your Drivers Like Franchise Players: Every event, even a light dusting, give them the hours. Buy them Carhartts and boots. Hook them up. The best contractors treat their drivers like gold because they are. Don't Be Afraid to Train Your Subs: If your sub is a legitimate business with their own EIN, trucks, shop, and insurance, you can absolutely bring them in for onboarding, training, or hot chocolate. The employee-vs-contractor issue is about control, not communication. Meet with Subs in the Off-Season: Walk their shop in July. Ask about their sweet spot, their backup equipment, their quality assurance. Be their consultant. You are investing in a relationship that pays off in a storm. A Great Snow Team I... Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:07) - The Sam's Club Service Lesson (00:05:08) - The Preseason Recruiting Checklist (00:10:00) - Building Real Hiring Pipelines (00:12:53) - Treat Drivers Like Franchise Players (00:13:23) - Getting Your Team Ready for Snow (00:15:16) - Safety Training and Liability (00:17:53) - The Mental Demands of Snow Fighting (00:23:06) - The Subcontractor Myth (00:26:20) - Off-Season Check-Ins With Subs (00:27:42) - Integrated vs Remote Subs (00:28:39) - What a Great Team Looks Like (00:30:40) - Operator Tools and Site Prep (00:34:26) - Tabletop Storm Simulations (00:35:31) - The Weakest Link Question (00:36:48) - What to Expect at GROW! Snow 2026 (00:38:59) - Storm Flow and Documentation (00:41:57) - Debriefs and Recognition Done Right (00:43:44) - Running Snow Like the Military (00:46:58) - The Two Biggest Contractor Mistakes (00:48:06) - 5 Moves to Make Before Labor Day (00:50:55) - Final Takeaway

July 15, 202650 min

Interview Series: Snowfighting with Phil Harwood | Why Snow Should Be Your Most Profitable Service

Join Us for GROW! Snow 2026 (Dayton, OH - September 21-23, 2026) Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - Multiple Options in 2026!) Level Up Your Sales Manager at Virtual Sales Manager Bootcamp (July 8-9, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Discovery (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #173 In this episode, Phil Harwood joins Marty to talk about snow and ice services as a profit center, the challenges snowfighters face, and what resources are available for companies to run better snow operations. They talk about the difference between companies who make money in snow and those that don't, the systems that reduce chaos, and how to plan ahead so that snow operations run well. This is Part 1 of a two-part series with Phil. Resources Mentioned: Snowfighters Institute SIMA - Snow and Ice Management Association Maui Jim Sunglasses (PolarizedPlus2) BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Snow Is a 12-Month Business, Not a Winter Job: The best snow operators start planning for next season the moment this one ends. If you go dark for three months and wake up in September, you are already behind. Snow Should Be Your Most Profitable Service Line: If it is not, something is broken. The leading snow pros have figured out how to be profitable no matter what. Pricing, budgeting, sales, and operations all have to work together. You Are Selling an Intangible: Snow is not encyclopedias. You are not selling a pile of snow or a truck with a plow on it. You are selling peace of mind, risk mitigation, and insurance. That takes a different skill set and different training. Grab the Free 52-Week Visual Timeline from SIMA: This tool maps every month of the year from both the contractor's and the customer's perspective. It shows exactly what should be happening each month and where the danger zone starts. Snowfighting Is Emergency Service, Like Firefighting: Nobody loves fires. Nobody loves being away from their family in a blizzard. But there is a reward that comes with keeping your community open. When you tie the work to purpose, the mindset changes. Order Equipment Now, Not in October: Coming off a good winter, undercapitalized operators are buying up inventory. Lead times are real. Set a drop-dead date, work backward, and meet with your team every week to track progress. You Have a Relationship With Your Equipment: Consistent operators paired with consistent machines learn every nuance. Skid steer, Snowrator, pickup truck, even a $50 spreader. Every piece h... Chapters (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:02) - Why You Should Be Planning Snow in July (00:04:17) - The Two Types of Snow Contractors (00:07:32) - The Free SIMA 52-Week Timeline You Should Be Using (00:09:55) - Snowfighting Is Emergency Service (The Firefighter Analogy) (00:13:12) - The 4 Drivers of Snow Profitability (00:18:45) - Why the Snow Season Never Actually Ends (00:20:26) - Equipment Readiness: Set the Stake, Work Backward (00:23:18) - Why Operators Need a Relationship With Their Equipment (00:26:01) - The Dumb Little Parts That Will Kill You in a Storm (00:27:20) - Salt Shortage Planning and Brine (00:30:07) - Why Every Contract Needs Escalators (00:33:27) - Why the Best Customers Get Taken Care of First (00:35:02) - The Profitability Checkup Every Snow Pro Should Do (00:40:13) - Killing the Trigger Depth Trap (00:43:02) - Scope Creep and Getting Paid for What You Actually Do (00:44:47) - What to Review Before Sending This Year's Contracts (00:46:20) - Announcing GROW! Snow 2026 (00:48:46) - Final Takeaway

July 8, 202649 min

Interview Series: Andrew Bray on how the Temporary Visa Program Works, and Doesn't Work, for Landscaping Companies

Upcoming Events: Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - Multiple Options in 2026!) Level Up Your Sales Manager at Virtual Sales Manager Bootcamp (July 8-9, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Discovery (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #172 In this episode, Marty Grunder is joined by National Association of Landscape Professional's SVP of Government Relations and Membership Andrew Bray to talk about the H-2B program and how it impacts landscaping companies' ability to field a full, skilled team each year. They talk about the history of the program, why it works the way that it does, and what fixes are on the table to allow for a more stable program. H-2B Resources and Advocacy: National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) Join NALP Take Action: Voices for Healthy Green Spaces Sign Up for "The Edge” Weekly Newsletter from NALP BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings H-2B Is Capped at 66,000 Visas Per Year, but Demand Is Double That: This year alone, around 130,000 petitions were filed for the April 1 tranche of 33,000 visas. The lottery system runs through letters A through H, and if you land in D or later, you are likely not getting workers. The Landscape Industry Is the Largest User of H-2B by Far: Landscape pros make up about 40% of all H-2B users. The next closest is hospitality at 12 to 13%. The program is built for seasonal work and the landscape industry is its biggest beneficiary. Each H-2B Worker Supports Roughly Four US Jobs: A GAO study found that communities with more H-2B workers had higher median wages than communities without. This program does not take US jobs. It expands them. The Prevailing Wage Is Set by the Department of Labor, Not the Employer: Grunder's H-2B prevailing wage is $18.75. That means they cannot hire anyone, including their own kids, for less than that. It is a fallacy that this is a capitalistic move to pay workers less. Do Not Try to File H-2B Yourself: This is not the same as immigration law. Use a reputable firm. NALP has a list of strategic providers on its website. One wrong move and you are cooked. H-2B Should Never Be More Than 40% of Your Workforce: If you are over that, yo... Chapters (00:00:00) - Start (00:01:53) - Meet Andrew Bray of NALP (00:04:07) - H-2B 101: How the Program Actually Works (00:04:55) - Why the Cap and the Lottery Are Crushing Demand (00:09:36) - The Biggest Misconceptions About H-2B (00:14:01) - Why You Should Never File H-2B Yourself (00:16:04) - Check Out BobYard! (00:16:42) - Why the Landscape Industry Needs H-2B (00:19:34) - The Real Economic Ripple Effect on US Jobs (00:24:04) - A Quick History of the Cap and Returning Worker Exemption (00:26:38) - The Supplemental Visa Battle and Timing (00:28:29) - The Tug of War Inside the Trump Administration (00:31:55) - How Public Perception Is Starting to Shift (00:35:01) - The Push for Certified Seasonal Employer in FY27 (00:38:33) - How to Advocate for the Program From Your Town (00:41:30) - If Andrew Could Design the Program From Scratch (00:45:02) - Workforce Planning Takeaways for Every Landscape Pro (00:46:28) - Rapid Fire Wrap Up (00:48:44) - Final Takeaway

July 1, 202621 min

Become a Great Place to Work and Watch the Right People Stay | Marty Grunder

Upcoming Events: Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - Multiple Options in 2026!) Level Up Your Sales Manager at Virtual Sales Manager Bootcamp (July 8-9, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Discovery (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #171 Everyone talks about recruiting. But what about retention? In this episode of The Grow Show, Marty Grunder breaks down one of the most critical and often overlooked drivers of success in the landscaping industry: keeping great people. Drawing on 40+ years of experience, Marty shares why the easiest employee to hire is the one you never lose, and how building a strong culture, developing leaders, and creating real opportunities for growth can transform your team. BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Retention Starts with Culture, Not Wages: Ask yourself, would you want your son or daughter to work here? Would you want to work for you? Culture is not what you write on the wall. It is how people feel on Sunday night before they come into work Monday morning. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast: Peter Drucker had it right. Whatever the plan is, culture decides whether it actually happens. Get the culture right and everything else has a chance. Every Manager Owns Retention: HR is not a department. It is a mindset. People quit managers. Every leader has to be able to coach, mentor, train, and address conflict. That is not the HR department's job. It is leadership. Chastise in Private, Praise in Public, and Do It Swiftly: If there is an issue, handle it privately and quickly. If something good happens, call it out specifically in front of everyone. Move fast on both. If It Is Not Written Down, It Did Not Happen: Document every conflict, every conversation, every coaching moment. Jean Seawright has been teaching this for over 25 years. You need it legally, and you need it to see patterns. Hire Slow, Fire Fast, and Get the Bad Apples Out: Every hire is either impressing or depressing. The longer a bad apple stays, the more damage they do. Park a truck if you have to, but get them out and debrief afterward to learn. Give People a Future or Someone Else Will: The best people want more responsibility, opportunity, and growth. Career paths, reviews, promotions, training. The best reason to grow your company is to create opportunities for ambitious people. Be a Lazy River, Not a Raging River or Stagnant Pond: A raging river exhausts everyone. A stagnant pond suffocates them. A lazy river has steady, organized, controlled growth where people are moving but can still catch their breath. Appreciation Does Not Have to Be Expensive: Grunder spent $600 on burgers for the whole team. Marty cooks. Show up at morning stretch. Know their na... Chapters (00:00:00) - Start (00:02:17) - Why Retention Matters More Than Recruiting (00:02:44) - Point 1: Retention Starts With Culture (00:05:38) - Point 2: Every Manager Owns Retention (00:09:11) - HR Is a Mindset, Not a Department (00:11:17) - Point 3: Give Your People a Future (00:13:49) - Meet the Homegrown All-Stars (And Come See Them at a Field Trip) (00:15:06) - Point 4: Appreciation Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive (00:17:31) - Point 5: Do What You Said You Would Do (00:18:48) - Come See It Live at a Field Trip (00:19:35) - Final Takeaway

June 24, 202644 min

Interview Series: Loren McIrvin of Allied Landscape on Commercial Landscape Maintenance

Upcoming Events: Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - Multiple Options in 2026!) Level Up Your Sales Manager at Virtual Sales Manager Bootcamp (July 8-9, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Discovery (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #170 In this episode, Loren talks about his background in the industry and his approach to commercial landscaping. He believes landscapes should be treated as managed assets and that we should be focused on how we add value for customers. This interview is full of great insight for landscaping companies who want to focus on enhancement sales. BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings Stop Selling Maintenance, Start Managing Assets: Property managers already think about HVAC, paving, and building envelopes as assets. The landscape industry's messaging on this is weak. Reframe landscapes as managed assets and you change the entire conversation. Messaging Has to Hit the Team Before the Client: If your team is not bought into the concept of building meaningful landscapes and great partnerships, the message will not land with clients. Culture has to be simplified around adding value, not selling. Property Managers Hire You for Three Things: Reduce risk, identify opportunity, and make their job easy. That's it. Everything else is secondary. The mention of slip and falls, compliance issues, and operating expense matters more than aesthetics. Use a One, Three, and Five Year Roadmap: Long-range plans help clients budget, help them justify spending to stakeholders, and stop you from chasing reactive proposals. Combine that with annual sales campaigns and your year sells itself. Three Calendars Have to Overlap: Operational calendar (when you have capacity), horticultural calendar (when the work should happen), and customer mindset calendar (when they're thinking about it). Miss any one and the campaign falls flat. Humble First, Trusted Second, Advisor Third: Most companies skip straight to advisor and end up with commission breath. Humble means turning down the blower when someone walks by and listening more than talking. Trusted means doing what you say. Advisor comes last and takes years. Start Every Meeting with Maintenance, Not Enhancements: Arrive an hour early, walk the property with the production manager, and open the meeting with the work orders you have already created. Once you've earned the right, then talk enhancements. Skip this and you have commission breath. Protect the Quarterback: Operations exists to clear the field so account managers can run plays. Site walks should be prepped in advance so the conversation can move to value, not chase complaints. Enhancement sales is a team sport. If We See It, They Pay. If They See It, We Pay: The job is to notice issues before the... Chapters (00:00:00) - Start (00:01:59) - Meet Loren McIrvin (00:04:15) - Becoming a Trusted Asset Manager (00:05:11) - Why Landscapes Should Be Treated As Assets (00:07:17) - Inside Allied: 22M, 5 Locations, 225 Employees (00:09:01) - Why Most Companies Stall on Enhancement Sales (00:11:08) - The 3 Calendars That Have to Align (00:14:32) - What Property Managers Are Really Hiring You For (00:16:37) - Reduce Risk, Identify Opportunity, Make It Easy (00:19:04) - How to Turn Account Managers Into Advisors (00:19:31) - Humble, Trusted, Advisor in That Order (00:22:39) - Onboarding New Account Managers the Right Way (00:26:00) - BobYard Partnership (00:26:50) - The Allied Road Map in Action (00:29:36) - How to Screen New Clients (00:32:16) - Hire Slow, Fire Fast (Clients Too!) (00:33:23) - Killing Commission Breath in Account Meetings (00:40:12) - Why Enhancement Sales Is a Team Sport (00:41:58) - The Future of Landscape Maintenance is Landscape Management (00:43:50) - Please Share & Subscribe!

June 17, 202619 min

Plan Now for 2027, Your Success Depends Upon It! with Marty Grunder

Upcoming Events: Join Us for a GLC Field Trip (Dayton, OH - Multiple Options in 2026!) Level Up Your Sales Manager at Virtual Sales Manager Bootcamp (July 8-9, 2026) Connect with Fellow ACE Members at ACE Discovery (Tucson, AZ - November 17-20, 2026) Master Aspire Software at the GLC Aspire Workshop (Dayton, OH - August TBD & December 2-3, 2026) Register for GROW! 2027 Annual Conference (Savannah, GA - February 17-19, 2027) Episode #169 While we can't stop executing for 2026, we also need to be doing some strategic planning for 2027 and beyond NOW. In this episode, Marty shares the 3-step process they've used when trying to launch a new service or expand to a new area. He details what the Grunder Landscaping Co. team did to ease into big changes, and what you can do if you're planning to do anything differently next year. BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Leave a Review for the Grow Show! ️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel! Key Learnings If You Are Only Working on This Year, You Are Already Behind: The companies that keep growing are constantly asking what's next. The ones that plateau are heads-down on this season. By the time January hits, the planning window is closed. Learn First, Test Second, Invest Third: Most owners flip this order. They buy the trucks, hire the people, and lease the building, then try to figure out how to run the new service. Reverse the order and the risk drops dramatically. Step One Is Buying Information, Not Profit: Visit other companies. Bring in consultants. Attend conferences. Partner with experts. Send your people to training. The goal at this stage is to learn, not to make money. This is the cheapest part of the entire process. Step Two Is a Pilot, Not a Launch: Run it on 10 maintenance clients. Rent the equipment before you buy it. Assign one crew. Sell some work in the new market before you open the branch. GLC sold 1.5 million in Cincinnati before opening the office there. One Successful Project Proves Nothing: Twenty projects start to tell a story. Look for patterns. Can you consistently sell it? Will clients pay? Can you perform it at the quality standard you want? What operational problems keep showing up? Step Three Is Invest, but Only After Proof: Once the concept is proven and you know clients will write checks for it, commit fully. Buy the equipment, hire the team, lease the building, launch marketing. The risk has not disappeared, but assumptions have been replaced with data. Most Expansions Fail for Three Reasons: The owner moves too fast. The owner falls in love with their own idea. The business has not earned the expansion yet. GLC waited until they were doing 15 million in Dayton before opening Cincinnati. Expansion Doesn't Happen Because Equipment Shows Up, It Happens Because Leadership Shows Up: Who owns that new division? Who is accountable? Who wakes up thinking about its success? If you cannot answer that question, you are not ready. Mistakes Are Tuition, but Keep the Tuition Affordable: Marty has tried a Christmas tree stand (... Chapters (00:00:00) - Episode Intro (00:01:59) - Why You Need to Plan for 2027 Right Now (00:03:07) - The 3-Step Growth Process (00:03:34) - Step 1: Low-Risk Experiments and Learning (00:06:01) - Step 2: Test on a Smaller Scale (00:09:33) - Christmas Trees, Power Washing, and Other Lessons (00:11:55) - Step 3: Expand and Invest (00:13:49) - The 3 Reasons Most Expansions Fail (00:15:39) - Questions to Ask Yourself About 2027 (00:16:39) - Why Smarter Bets Beat Bigger Bets (00:17:29) - The Real Reason to Grow: Your People (00:18:17) - Come See Us at a Field Trip (00:18:55) - Please Share & Subscribe!