The Lawn Care CEO

Hosted by Dan Ralphs and Aaron Suttenfield

Business Entrepreneurship

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Episodes

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

We believe that every college drop out, accidental entrepreneur and lawn mowing maven can become a wildly successful CEO. Every week we will discuss how to increase profitability while simultaneously spending less time and having fewer headaches. Join 7-figure business coach, Dan Ralphs and life long lawn care CEO, Aaron Suttenfield to chart your course to becoming a $1M lawn care CEO.

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60 recent

September 4, 2026Episode 1746 min

Does Your Team Know What Winning Looks Like?

Send us Fan Mail Dan walked into a $5 million lawn care company and asked every leader the same question. "What is winning for you?" Most of them couldn't answer it. They knew their tasks. They knew their responsibilities. But they couldn't define the scoreboard — the clear, unambiguous standard that would tell them at the end of the week whether they won or lost. In this episode, Dan Ralphs draws from the playbooks of the greatest coaches in college football, college basketball, and the NBA to teach the one leadership skill most lawn care executives are missing — the ability to define winning, identify what leads to winning, and hold a team to a standard that actually produces results. This is the executive leadership episode. And it changes the way you run your business. You'll learn: Why most leaders confuse activity with winning — and how to tell the difference How the best coaches in sports history set standards that create winning cultures The three-metric system that predicts 80% of game outcomes — and your lawn care equivalent Why culture and performance are equally important to winning — and how to build both How to define winning at every level of your organization from CEO to ops manager Why your best people quit — and how a clear standard of winning prevents it How to set a standard ambitious enough to grow toward but realistic enough to execute today 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

August 21, 2026Episode 1647 min

Why Small Lawn Care Companies Stay Small — The Brutal Pricing Truth Nobody Wants to Hear

Send us Fan Mail A garage door repairman showed up, fixed the spring, and charged $250. Dan Ralphs paid him — and then told him he should have charged double. Not because Dan wanted to pay more. Because the repairman had no idea how much his customer was actually willing to pay. His ceiling was $1,200. The repairman charged $250 and went home working 60-hour weeks, driving an old truck, and barely keeping the lights on — convinced the other guys were ripping people off. They weren't. He was just undercharging. In this episode, Dan Ralphs teaches the fundamental pricing framework that every lawn care owner needs to understand — not just to stop losing money, but to finally build a business that can grow, scale, and survive the hard seasons. This is the episode that explains why you're probably underpriced right now, how to calculate exactly what one hour of your labor actually costs, and why the 40/40/20 rule is the only pricing model that leads to a profitable, scalable lawn care business. You'll learn: The only three numbers you need to calculate your true cost per budgeted hour What the fully burdened labor rate is and why ignoring it is quietly killing your margin Why labor efficiency is the missing variable in almost every lawn care pricing model The 40/40/20 rule — and why it's the line in the sand every owner needs to draw How one company doubled their rates, sent the letter, and kept 93% of their clients Why charging more doesn't mean ripping people off — and why charging too little does more damage than you think The doom loop that starts when you lose money for one month — and how to break out of it before it's too late 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

August 14, 2026Episode 151 hr 2 min

Why Your Marketing Isn't Working — And It Has Nothing to Do With Facebook, Google, or Your Budget

Send us Fan Mail You don't have a marketing problem. You have a conversion problem. And until you fix it, every dollar you spend on ads is half as effective as it should be. In this episode, Dan Ralphs introduces Jordan Richards — Lawn Care CEO's newest coach and founder of a seven-figure lawn care marketing agency — who breaks down exactly what's standing between your marketing budget and real results. From the four-question website test to response automation to the free strategies that build momentum before paid ads, Jordan gives you the clearest marketing blueprint available for lawn care owners at every stage of growth. If you're ready to stop guessing and start knowing whether your marketing is actually working — this is the episode. 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

July 31, 2026Episode 1456 min

His Employees Held a Secret Saturday Meeting

Send us Fan Mail Four employees showed up to a restaurant on a Saturday night — on their own time, without being asked, without getting paid. They identified a problem with underperforming team members, debated solutions over lunch, built a system, and walked into the office Monday morning to present it to the ops manager. Dylan Warner didn't even know there was a problem. That's Troops Mowing. And in this episode, Dylan sits down with Dan Ralphs to break down exactly how a company that started with two guys in a truck and $90,000 in revenue has grown to $1.8 million — with a culture so strong that customers ask if there are job openings, employees turn down $500 to quit, and the crew self-corrects before leadership even notices something's off. If you've ever felt like managing your mowing crew is the hardest part of the business — this episode is the one that changes that. You'll learn: The exact onboarding system that gets new hires to full budgeted hours in two weeks instead of four How performance-based pay creates internal competition that raises everyone's standard without a single angry conversation The contribution score system that publicly ranks employees every week — and why it builds culture instead of breaking it Why leading from the front is the most underrated culture tool in the lawn care industry How to be the boss and the friend — and why being clear about the difference is what makes both work The hiring philosophy that turned Troops into a company people beg to work for Why the employee who runs back to help another crew at the end of the day is the real proof that culture works 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

July 10, 2026Episode 1346 min

The $50 Million Rule

Send us Fan Mail If someone asked you right now — "Are you a person of integrity?" — you'd probably say yes. Most people do. And most people are wrong. In this episode, Dan Ralphs shares the most important leadership principle he's ever learned — a framework he discovered at a week-long academic leadership conference in Bermuda that fundamentally changed the way he runs his business, leads his team, and shows up at home. It's not about being honest. It's not about doing the right thing when nobody's watching. It goes much deeper than that — and by the time this episode is over, you're going to see dozens of places in your life where you're quietly out of integrity without even knowing it. This is the episode Dan teaches to every single leader he coaches. And it's the one principle he believes separates the owners who stay stuck at $1 million from the ones who build $10 million and $50 million companies. You'll learn: The academic definition of integrity that goes far beyond honesty and doing the right thing The 5 dimensions of your word — and why violating even one of them erodes your power as a leader Why you're most likely breaking your word with the person you're closest to — including yourself How unclear expectations are quietly destroying your client relationships before they even start The Southwest Airlines story that reframes what it means to fire a difficult client Why high-integrity leaders attract high-integrity teams — and low-integrity leaders can't figure out why nobody follows them The one phrase that turns a broken commitment into a trust-building moment with any client or employee 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

July 3, 2026Episode 1241 min

How to Not Run Out of Money

Send us Fan Mail You worked all year. You stayed busy. You kept the trucks rolling and the crews moving. And at the end of December, you looked at your bank account — and there was nothing there. This is the episode for that guy. Dan Ralphs breaks down the most common — and most preventable — reason lawn care businesses run out of money. Not slow season. Not bad luck. Not the economy. Two things: pricing and efficiency. And if you don't know your cost of goods number right now, you are almost certainly bleeding money on every single job you run — and you don't even know it. Dan also walks through the seven baby steps that take a cash-strapped lawn care company from survival mode to a war chest that makes every business decision easier, every emergency manageable, and every season something you actually look forward to. This isn't theory. This is the financial framework that changes everything. You'll learn: The only two reasons your cost of goods is too high — and how to fix both Why 35-40% cost of goods is the number that separates struggling companies from scaling ones What "bad money" is and why saying yes to it is slowly killing your profit The hamburger analogy that instantly clarifies why efficiency matters more than most owners think How a company was making $80,000 less per year just by keeping one service they thought was profitable The 7 baby steps to build a cash reserve, pay off debt, pay yourself fairly, and stop running on empty Why the stress of being cash tight kills more businesses than actually running out of money 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

June 19, 2026Episode 1158 min

He Has Grown By $1M a Year and Only Lost 1 Client - A True Story

Send us Fan Mail Every company in Kansas City said HOAs were a nightmare. Too many homeowners. Too many opinions. Too much headache for too little money. Justin Simpson heard all of it — and built a $5 million company anyway. In this episode, Justin sits down with Dan Ralphs to break down exactly how he grew Lifestyle Outdoor from zero to $5 million in five years by doing the one thing everyone else refused to do — specializing in high-end HOAs and refusing to apologize for it. But that's just the beginning. Justin also walks through the performance-based pay system that shaved 12 full percentage points off his labor costs while simultaneously raising his employees' effective hourly rate to $40 an hour. He talks about his 100% client retention rate across five years of business. And he explains the concept he calls "systemship" — the framework his leadership team uses to make every single decision in the company. This is one of the most tactically dense episodes we've ever recorded — and one of the most inspiring. You'll learn: How Justin identified and dominated a niche every other company avoided The HOA sales process that flips the script — interviewing the client before they interview you Why performance-based pay created a 12% labor cost reduction in year one The 18-24 month implementation roadmap for P4P — and why you can't rush it How to build a white glove service culture with 50 employees The "systemship" framework — three questions every decision must answer before it gets implemented Why 100% client retention is possible even in the notoriously fickle HOA world How to build a leadership team that runs the business without you 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

June 8, 2026Episode 101 hr 8 min

The CEO Whisperer Who Makes Million-Dollar Leaders Cry — In the Best Way Possible

Send us Fan Mail There's a ceiling that stops almost every lawn care company somewhere between $3 million and $4 million. Most owners blame the market. They blame their team. They blame their leads or their pricing or the economy. Stephanie Hitchins has sat across from hundreds of CEOs at that exact ceiling — and she'll tell you the same thing every time. The ceiling isn't out there. It's in here. Stephanie is the kind of coach that serious leaders find by referral only. No website. No social media. Just a quiet reputation among the CEOs who've worked with her that she is the person you call when you've run out of excuses and you're finally ready to do the real work. In this episode, she sits down with Dan Ralphs to talk about the one thing that almost nobody in the lawn care industry is willing to talk about — the beliefs, the stories, and the old wounds that are quietly running your business from the inside out. This isn't fluffy. This isn't therapy. This is the most practical conversation you'll hear all year about what it actually takes to become the kind of leader who can build a $10 million company — because that leader has to be a different person than the one who built the $3 million one. Dan even gets vulnerable live on the podcast and surfaces one of his own hidden beliefs. If the head coach of Lawn Care CEO is willing to go there, you can too. You'll learn: Why every business problem is ultimately a leadership problem — and what to do about it The community of voices inside your head and how to stop letting the negative ones make your decisions What the Stockdale Paradox teaches us about the mindset that actually survives and scales How self-limiting beliefs disguise themselves as reality — and the one question that exposes them Why the victim mindset makes you powerless and the exact shift that gives you control back How to identify the one recurring thought that's been quietly capping your growth What it looks like when a leader finally confronts the belief that's been running everything Why vulnerability isn't weakness — it's the most powerful leadership tool you're not using 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

June 1, 2026Episode 952 min

Leadership and College Football

Send us Fan Mail Dan Ralphs has spent 35 years studying leadership. Coaching businesses. Watching companies scale and stall and scale again. And after all of it, he keeps coming back to one framework — five tiers of leadership modeled after college football — that explains almost everything about why some lawn care companies grow to $10 million and beyond while others get stuck at $1 million and can't figure out why. In this episode, he teaches the whole thing from scratch. The athletic director who sets the vision. The head coach who sets the standard. The coordinator who builds the system. The position coach who develops the people. And the team member who executes with excellence. Five tiers. Five skill sets. Five reasons your business is either growing or stuck right now. If you've ever wondered what it would actually take to build a $10 million or $50 million lawn care company, this is the episode that answers that question with total clarity. 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube

May 21, 2026Episode 853 min

He Bought a $400K Business for $45K, Doubled His Profit, and Never Ran a Single Ad

Send us Fan Mail 23% growth. Net profit doubled. $1.5 million in revenue. No advertising budget. Jason James of Turf 212 in Greenville, South Carolina is doing something most lawn care owners think is impossible — scaling fast while keeping the bottom line healthy, and doing it almost entirely on word of mouth and relationships. In this episode, Jason sits down with Dan Ralphs and fractional CEO coach Miranda to walk through exactly how he got here — the business purchase that changed everything, the cash flow moves that unlocked his profit, and the mindset shifts that turned a guy who just wanted to work hard into a CEO with a real vision for the next decade. If you're grinding to hit your next milestone and wondering why the numbers aren't reflecting the work you're putting in, this episode is for you. 🔗 Follow Us! Facebook Instagram Tiktok Youtube