Side Hustle Squad

I'm sharing updates from Coastal Fertilization, our North Jersey expansion, and what's happening at ROPED as Equip Expo gets closer. Then I get into a lesson every business owner learns: each season brings a new challenge. When things are going well, enjoy the momentum, but stay grounded and keep looking ahead. When things go sideways, don't let one tough stretch convince you everything is falling apart. The next season is always c...

Robotic mowing is about more than watching a machine cut grass. Mike shares a ROPED update and talks about choosing the right property, bringing the crew into the process, planning for setup and service, and measuring whether robotics is actually helping the operation. The demo is just the beginning. The real work is making the technology fit the job.

🔗 Important ...

Before you buy that mower, truck, aerator, or new piece of battery equipment, make sure it can earn its place in your business. Mike breaks down how to identify the problem you're solving, calculate the full cost, estimate labor savings and added profit, and compare buying with renting or buying used. A practical solo episode to help you make your next equipment decision with confidence.

Most business owners think slow sales mean they need more advertising, more leads, and a bigger marketing budget. But the real opportunity may already be sitting in your inbox, CRM, open estimates, and customer list. In this episode, Mike explains why follow-up is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the home-service industry. He breaks down response time, follow-up sequences, reactivating past customers, turning one-time job...

In Part Two of the Fall Business Audit, Mike finishes breaking down the areas every business owner should evaluate before the year ends. Are your trucks and equipment making you money or quietly draining it? Do you know which marketing efforts are actually producing quality customers? And most importantly, are you leading the business forward, or have you become its biggest bottleneck?

Mike covers equipment, marketing, leadership, ...

Before you begin planning for next year, you need an honest assessment of how your business performed this year.

In Part 1 of our Fall Business Audit, Mike breaks down four critical areas every business owner should examine: your financial numbers, customer base, services and pricing, and team performance. Which services actually made money? Are your best customers receiving enough attention? Are you charging enough? Who stepped up...

Google reviews can be one of the most powerful—and least expensive—ways to grow a local service business. In this episode, Mike breaks down a practical 30-day strategy for generating 25 new Google reviews without buying reviews, begging customers, or making the process awkward. You'll learn when to ask, exactly what to say, how to involve your employees, and how to create a repeatable system that produces reviews every ...

If you already service lawns but aren't offering aeration and overseeding, you could be leaving significant revenue on the table. In this episode, Mike explains why it's an excellent add-on service, how it strengthens customer relationships, and how it can fill your schedule heading into fall. He also breaks down exactly how to get started, from choosing equipment and pricing jobs to marketing the service and managing customer expe...

Heading to Equip Expo for the first time? Don't walk into one of the industry's biggest trade shows without a plan. Mike shares ten practical tips to help you navigate the show floor, maximize the outdoor demo yard, meet the right people, avoid common mistakes, and turn your trip to Louisville into real value for your business.

🔗 Important Links & Resources

Back-to-school season isn't just for the kids, it's also the perfect time to reset your business. In this episode, Mike shares a few things every business owner should review, from reviewing your financial report card and cleaning up operations to improving your marketing, sharpening your skills, and preparing for the end of the year. If your business has fallen into summer mode, this episode will help you refocus, rebuild momentum...

What should you do when a customer complains, leaves a negative Google review, or disputes a charge after the work was completed? Mike discusses how business owners can respond professionally, document their work, protect their reputations, and determine when to fix the problem, issue a refund, or stand their ground.

🔗 Important Links & Resources

A great meeting, event, or introduction can open the door, but the follow-up is what turns that opportunity into real business. In this episode, Mike discusses the momentum created by the recent ROPED event, Coastal Fertilization's expansion into North Jersey, and the new opportunities developing with landscapers, colleges, public agencies, and industry partners. He also shares practical lessons on staying professionally persistent...

We're recapping an incredible ROPED event that brought together landscaping professionals, business leaders, Kress leadership, and people interested in the future of outdoor power equipment. I share the biggest takeaways from the day, the reaction to Kress commercial battery equipment and robotic mowing technology, and why seeing this equipment operate in person changes the entire conversation. We also discuss what we learned, the ...

Fall is coming, and now is the time to start filling the schedule. In this quick episode, I break down what we're doing to create urgency around aeration and overseeding, reconnect with existing customers, and keep new business flowing in.

I talk about why your current customer list is one of your biggest marketing opportunities, why you need to promote a service more than once, and how simple things like texts, emails, social medi...

A lot is happening right now, so I wanted to jump on for a quick update. I talk about what's going on at Coastal Fertilization & Weed Control, the continued growth of Coastal of North Jersey, and what we're building with ROPED as we continue pushing battery-powered equipment and robotics into the commercial market. I also give a preview of our upcoming live Kress event here in New Jersey, bringing together landscapers and indus...

In this solo episode, I'm answering three of the business questions I get asked all the time: What's the best piece of business advice I've ever received? What would I do differently if I could go back and start over? And what do I believe about business today that I didn't believe 10 years ago?

I get into building a business that doesn't completely depend on you, thinking bigger sooner, investing i...

In this episode, I sit down to talk about what we're building with ROPED and why our upcoming live event is about a lot more than just demonstrating equipment. We're bringing together landscapers, industry leaders, business owners, and the Kress leadership team to see firsthand where robotic mowing, battery-powered equipment, and the future of the green industry are headed. I talk about how the idea for the event came together, why...

Eric Triplett and I sit down with Naylor Taliaferro from PodHouse at the Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference to talk about what he has cooking for Louisville. We get into some upcoming announcements around LCR Summit, what Naylor is planning during Equip Expo, and how he continues to build LCR into something bigger than just another industry event. Louisville is going to be a big week for the lawn and landscape industry, and...

Mike Garvey and Eric Triplett sit down at PodHouse Scottsdale to recap the Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference. We talk about what stood out at the show, some of our biggest takeaways, the technology and conversations that caught our attention, and of course, some of the funny moments that happened along the way. We also get into what we were doing in Scottsdale with PodHouse, the people we connected with, and why getting ou...