"'Once I turned 16 and got my license, my mom didn't have to drive me around to jobs,' Grunder said."
As Grunder Landscaping Co. celebrates its 40th year in business, my team dug into the archives for old news coverage of the company, both for nostalgia and to see if we could find something that highlighted just how far the company has come. With that quote from a 1989 article written by the Dayton Daily News, we struck gold.
I'm not sure I could sum up how far we've come better than the picture that paints: my company started out with my brother, Rich, and I mowing lawns when we could convince our mom to drop us off in a neighborhood near our house. It was my first lesson in route density since we had to walk between properties until she picked us up.
The O.G. Grunder Landscaping Team - my brother, Rich, and I.
Five years later, when this article was written, I was 21 and a student at the University of Dayton. The company had four trucks, three trailers, a bobcat, and a tractor. We had nine team members, three of them part-time.
Today, I would bore you if I listed all the trucks and equipment we have. We have 90+ team members, most of them full-time. That's quite the growth, but it took a lot of time and a lot of hard work to get there.
I had big dreams for the company then, although my idea of what those big dreams should be was a little skewed: I wanted to own my own nursery and stone quarry so I could vertically integrate. Instead, we've done the opposite: focus on what we do really well and let our subcontractors and suppliers specialize in what they do well. It's allowed us to play to our strengths and grow more rapidly.
Looking back on our 40 years in business, the secret to our success hasn't been a single silver bullet. It's been doing the hard work day in and day out, having a clear vision of what success looks like, and staying focused on what we do well. I wish I could go back in time and tell 21-year-old Marty that. It would've saved us from some mistakes.
We're a 40-year-overnight-success story here in Dayton, Ohio. I never want our subscribers reading this to think that you can't do what we've done, or that it's always been smooth sailing for us. It hasn't been: there were weeks we barely made payroll, jobs we messed up and had to redo, leadership mistakes I've made, and so much more. But all those hard days have been more than worth it for all the great people we've met, the families we've provided for, and the beautiful ideas we've brought to life.
Two weeks ago we hosted our first Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trip of the year. This is one of my favorite events we do because it allows people to see what we've built with their own eyes, and I'm so proud to show my team off. Come join us later this year. You'll see the building we've operated out of and adapted to our needs as we've grown for 30+ of our years in business. Our August Field Trip sold out; claim your spot to join us in September, October, November or December before those events are full, too.
Will I see you there?
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.