This year Grunder Landscaping Co. (GLC) celebrates 40 years in business. It's a big milestone: only 30% of small businesses survive their first 10 years in business according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

 

Owning and running a small business is not an easy career choice. While it's immensely gratifying, it can also be immensely stressful. The highs and lows can be difficult to manage, but I am lucky that early on one of my mentors once told me that the best investment is always in ourselves. That was when I started to surround myself with like-minded peers and I didn't feel so alone anymore. 

That program, in partnership with our friends at McFarlin Stanford, has grown to include 150+ active company members and represent over $1.2B in combined revenue. We had 40 ACEs with us last week in Dayton for an "ACE Peer Group Only" tour of Grunder Landscaping that we host to further onboard our members. I got so much personally out of being around the other 40 owners. Their energy, can-do spirit, and motivation motives me. 

I often remind landscape professionals who visit us that GLC is a 40-year success story. It took us a long time and lots of trial and error to get to where we are today. I can only imagine where we would be if I was in an ACE peer group when I was 25 or 30 years old and really learned to work ON GLC and not just IN it. 

ACE stands for Accountability Creates Excellence, and if you join one of our ACE Peer Groups you’ll discover why. Designed to act as your board of advisors, ACE Peer Groups will help you with the high-level decisions you need to make to control and grow your business and the best practices you need to implement to consistently come out on top.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ACE PEER GROUPS

I hope you take this week to think about how you'll work on your business, even when Spring has sprung.

 

Will you set aside an hour every week to meet with other local businesspeople in your market that you respect? Will you block time on your calendar each week to think? Will you join an ACE Peer Group? What will you commit to? 

 

Whatever it looks like, find a way to invest in yourself this year. It is the best investment you will make. 

 

I'll talk to you next week!

 

 

 

Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.