This past week on The Grow Show powered by STIHL I was joined by Grunder Landscaping Co.'s (GLC) Employee #2, my brother Rich Grunder. Rich worked for me before we were even able to drive, helping me mow the lawns I sold services for.
Rich and I reminisced on the early days of the business in the episode, and I know I'm biased but I think this one was one of our best. It's why we saved his interview for our 100th episode. Him and I told a lot of funny stories from the early days, reflected on how far we've each come since, and what we've learned in the years since.
You can watch the interview on our YouTube channel here, or subscribe to The Grow Show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This conversation reminded me of a few important lessons that I think are especially relevant this time of year for landscape pros:
We All Start Somewhere
GLC came from humble beginnings, and I know many of you reading this can relate. We made a lot of mistakes early on, and we still make mistakes today. The key to moving forward and growing is learning from mistakes, and laughing about them when you can, too.
Find Your Motivation
In the early years, Rich and I were mowing lawns so that we could go buy baseball cards. That was effective motivation at the time. Today our motivation's a little more "grown-up": I want to support my family and all the families of our team members. Whatever motivates you: find it and define it.
Find Funny Stories
Being able to laugh at ourselves is something Rich and I learned from our mom, who was the queen of self-deprecating humor. I think we learn best (and can best teach our teams) with the funny stories: saying "double check your trailer hitch in the morning" is less memorable than "one time we didn't check our trailer hitch, and then we looked out the window and the trailer was passing us going down the hill" (true story - listen to the podcast for the full play-by-play).
I'm so grateful looking back that my brother and I were able to spend all the time together that we did in the early days of GLC, and grateful he joined me on this episode to share some of the stories from those early years. After 41 years in business a lot has changed, but the basics still work. Let's not forget this as we double down and work hard this spring!
Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.