As Grunder Landscaping Co. has rapidly grown the last few years, we've had to also make big capital expenditures so that we're prepared. It's expensive to grow: you need additional team members, new trucks, and additional equipment. All of this takes investment back into the business. Here's the approach we've taken:

Team Members
We've hired people before we technically needed them because we found the right fit for a role. This means we're often carrying salaries on overhead before roles are up to their full productive use. This is especially true for our sales team: we know we need salespeople to hit our future goals, but we also know it requires time to train them before they'll be making sales at the level our experienced team members are. 

Trucks and Equipment
We're looking for ways to be more efficient on properties and constantly evaluating other equipment options. There are some new pieces of equipment we've added as we've expanded the types of work we do, and then we of course need new trucks as we add crews to the roll. 

We've financed some of these purchases, paid cash for others, and we have a very small number of pieces that are leased. We're holding on to some of our older trucks and trailers to use as backups, or to keep running in the event we need to add a crew. 

There are situations where you have to spend money to make money, and when you want to grow this is a common struggle companies end up in. My best tip for you if you're struggling to find the money you need - focus on your cash flow and what you can control. My favorite mantra: sell the work, do the work, bill the work, collect the work. Cycle through that process as fast as you can, it'll help. 

My next best tip: have relationships with your bankers. They can help you with loan options and advise you on the best option given your business. 

There will be sessions at GROW! 2025 to address these issues and offer solutions for those of you joining us. Am I seeing you in Columbus at the end of this month? We have only a handful of seats remaining. See you there!