August 1, 2024 • 36 mins
What does it take to build a multi-generational landscaping business that stands the test of time? In this compelling episode of Roots of Success, host Tommy Cole interviews Ryan Malone, a second-generation landscape professional who has defied the odds and transformed his family business into a thriving success story. Ryan shares his secrets for building a legacy company, from the importance of early morning rituals to the power of surrounding yourself with a supportive peer group. Discover how Malone has navigated the challenges of family business transitions, prioritized team well-being, and embraced strategic expansion to cultivate a flourishing enterprise. Whether you're looking to take your landscaping business to the next level or seeking inspiration for your entrepreneurial journey, this episode is a must-listen.
THE BIG IDEA:
Communication is key in family business transitions
KEY MOMENTS:
[05:27] New management opportunity in small maintenance division.
[12:11] Communication and transparency key to successful succession.
[16:17] Tracking client touches, closing percentage, and sales.
[21:55] Prioritizing health and fitness is important.
[25:37] Attended growth conference, joined peer group, transformed.
[32:29] Success driven by the quality of people.
QUESTIONS WE ANSWER
1. What are the benefits of joining a peer group for business owners?
2. What strategies can help accelerate the growth and success of a landscaping company?
3. What role does a strong support system play in overcoming entrepreneurial challenges?
4. How can a family-owned landscaping business create a legacy spanning generations?
5. How can diversifying a landscaping company's services help hedge against economic downturns?
6. What are the key factors for successful communication and transition of leadership in a family-owned business?
FOR SHOW NOTES & MORE, GO TO:
https://mcfarlinstanford.com/podcast/ep-034-building-a-legacy-profile-of-a-family-landscape-business/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The Roots of Success podcast is
for the landscape professional
who's looking to up their game.
We've got a brain trust of experts to
help you nurture the roots of a successful
business and grow to the next level.
This is The Roots of Success.
Hey, welcome to another episode
of Roots of Success podcast,
I'm your host, Tommy Cole.
We have a really awesome guest that I've
(00:23):
got to know over the last few years.
His name is Ryan Malone.
How are you, Ryan?
I'm doing great, man.
It's an honor to be here and
be talking to you, Tommy.
That's awesome.
So Ryan's been fun to follow on
social media and see him at all
the events the last few years.
And him and I have connected quite a
bit from time to time, but Ryan is is
part of the team with Malone Landscape
(00:45):
in the, around the Seattle, Washington
area, way up in the Northwest region.
It's highly considered design build
landscape company will also with
maintenance and we'll get into that.
But one of the cool things,
it's a family owned business.
And you guys have grown substantially
over the course of many years.
Very well known brand, very good place
(01:05):
to work for according to your team and
all the social media platforms that
they say that they're a great team.
And but welcome to the show.
It's going to be fun.
Yeah, honor to be here.
Watched so many of the episodes and
had a lot of tremendous people on.
So I'm, I'm honored to share any
information and anything and all
about Malone's and what we've done.
(01:27):
So excited to get it going.
Let's good.
Let's jump right in.
So one of the questions I wanted
to ask is, is I started out by
saying it's a family owned business.
Your mom and dad started it back
in early nineties ish, 91, 92.
Right.
And then here comes little Ryan
and his brother, you know, like
do, do, do, do kind of take over.
So you're technically second generation.
(01:50):
That's correct.
Can you give me some stories and some
background of like how that happened?
Starting out in a crew, starting
out gardening type things, and
then talk about the transition into
eventually becoming, you know, one of
the leaders of the entire business.
Yeah, totally.
So obviously kind of born and
raised in the landscape industry.
(02:11):
Through and through, right?
They've been doing it, you know,
two years before I was even born.
It all started back with a F 250.
You know, my dad doing the installs,
doing the bids, doing everything.
So from ground zero, and really from
there, quick little snippet, funny story.
I was at a, at a vendor.
And a guy was like, I was
your dad's first employee.
(02:32):
And I was like, that is crazy.
And he could remember me sitting, driving
around in the truck and the F two 50
going from job to job with my dad.
So through and through, that's
kind of where it started.
And then we grew up kind of on
a nursery running around me and
my brother, you know, playing
airsoft guns or whatever it may be.
But we're always surrounded by it.
(02:53):
Whether it was picking up plants
with my mom at nurseries, you know,
Or later in the, in the evolution
of getting out on crews and install
crews in the design build side.
So,
So talk about, that's awesome.
I mean, nothing is great than watching
mom and dad work their tail off.
Right.
And you to witness that it was not like,
Hey, let's watch video games every day.
(03:14):
They were.
You guys are pretty much
involved in being two young boys.
The best thing says you get to
get your hands dirty, right?
So talk about like, talk about what you
employed first or how did that work out?
I don't think legitimately until gosh,
probably 15 years ago, you know, in
high school, then we were, getting
a paycheck helping out with the
nursery, running irrigation, things
(03:36):
like that, keeping plants alive.
And then ultimately, as we got older,
I know most both myself and Jake, my
brother worked at Cruz at any different,
different summertime or whatever it may
be to kind of slowly getting through
college, college, both of us played
college baseball and so kind of, you
(03:57):
know, Both of us came on board at
different times after our college career.
So,
Was there any intentions of
like, like early on about the
business working in the business?
Or you're like, listen,
I'm just playing baseball.
I'm going to college.
My parents have a landscape company.
Cool, but not a big deal.
Like, was there any like discussion
between you and your brother?
(04:17):
Like, Ooh, I'm going to
get this or no, you get it.
Or, well, I'm going to work here.
I'm out of this town.
See you later.
Honestly both of us were very
dedicated to baseball from a young age.
So that took up, you know, the very
most of our life in those early days.
So it was pro going, going pro, right.
Going to college and
then going pro baseball.
(04:37):
And obviously that's, that's
a hard, hard thing to do.
So it's a small percentage that get there.
And, and once that kind of started to fade
away and, and, and that wasn't going to
be a reality, I still don't think it was
really set in that, Hey, we were going to
come back and join the family business.
It was.
It was kind of an afterthought.
It was our parents thing and we,
we, we loved every part of it.
(04:57):
But it was certainly wasn't there
till pretty late in my college career.
And then I was actually
going into real estate
okay.
before I got offered a job.
and really thought about
it and, and took it, so,
Yeah.
on full bore.
Yeah.
So what, what did you learn
about the business early on?
(05:17):
So you went through college,
played some ball, got a degree,
started to go in that direction.
But.
What, what brought you
to Malone's landscape?
I think it was mostly, it,
it was a good opportunity.
It was, it was a management position over
our, our very small maintenance division.
It was kind of a second.
(05:39):
Additional company that they started in
2002 and the design build started in 91.
They had a partner that took it to
a point and they ended up buying
that partner out, and then it kind
of floundered for a few years.
You know, 10 years floundering, kind of
not, not really gaining a ton of traction.
But it was there, right?
So, I instantly got in there
(05:59):
and, and knew that, okay, I don't
know much about maintenance.
I know.
the basics of landscape
install and things like that.
But it really, I just treated it like
a baseball team or a sports team.
Right.
I, I did have that aspect of, of
leadership and, and how the camaraderie
of the team needs to go So I kind
(06:21):
of had that base knowledge and some
business knowledge from school.
to kind of to bring
into the, into the play.
So,
Yeah, man, you and I are on the same page.
I think we're cut from the same rug.
Like sports analogy and business
is like the best thing ever.
And you guys know my, my son's
highly active in baseball and.
And it's funny to watch, Ryan on social
(06:43):
media and he watches me on social
media and we're kind of back and forth.
And he's probably reliving some of
his dreams when my, you know, when
he was 12 and now my son's 12 pushing
a teenager in a few weeks, but it's,
I love sports to the most extreme
because it gives you just so many
avenues and experiences in business.
(07:05):
What are some takeaways that you learned
in baseball that now you attribute to you?
Into your full time job.
I I'd say the first one was just
the work ethic piece and, and really
transferring that, that work ethic
we had to have in, in baseball to get
to the college level, you know, and
(07:25):
Saturday, Sundays of 14 hour days at
the ballpark and just long, long days.
Balancing your, your classes and your,
your, your workouts and, and practice.
So I really wasn't shying away from
those 12, 14, 15 hour days in the
early stages of joining Malone's
and taking that division over.
(07:48):
So that was a big one, right?
Just, you gotta work hard, you
gotta work long hours, you gotta
get it to where you need to go.
And then secondly, is just, like
I said, that team camaraderie.
When I came in, I think the
previous manager just, there was,
there was a disconnect between the
field and, and, and management.
And so there, there wasn't a
good culture going on there.
It was, it was pretty sour when I came in.
(08:10):
So my, my biggest thing was, Hey, I
need to get them the tools and the
resources and the support to be able
to do good quality work first and
foremost, before meeting any clients.
That, that was my main focus.
It's just like baseball, you gotta
have the right stuff to get it
done, and you gotta feel good.
So,
(08:30):
I love that.
are my biggest two.
Yeah.
You know, I totally agree.
When I started out as a project
manager early in my career, my, one
of my first steps was to get to know
the field team, like they were my,
eventually become my best friends.
There's a sense of trust.
There's a sense of camaraderie
with those, those men and
women out there in the field.
(08:51):
That literally make it all happen.
And they're there because you have a
job and if they're not there, forget it.
So my, one of my first steps
was to get to know those people,
understand their strengths and
weaknesses, understand what they need.
My motivation was they will have
work every single day and they
will have every single material
and every single tool on the job.
(09:11):
To form at the highest quality.
Done.
That's it, right?
That's like your job
to make sure to happen.
It's it's nothing's more depressing
than showing up and there's no work
and you say you need to go home, right?
. Yeah.
Love it.
Love it.
So, so talk about how the transition of
second generation ownership working with
(09:32):
mom and dad, I'm sure they've got their
ideas and vision, but here comes Ryan and
Jake, you know, with their sort of thing.
How, how has that transition been?
it, it's, it's still in, in full swing
I, you know, it, it's probably one of
the hardest things I would say that,
that transitionary period or even
succession planning and, and anything
(09:52):
in a, in a multi generational business.
And it's something that we still don't
have quite our finger on totally yet,
but our families really worked well
together from inception of when all of
us were working there at the same time.
And part of that being we're,
we're in different areas, right?
And so we're not totally
seeing each other every day.
We're not totally in each
other's ear every single moment.
(10:14):
And so I think the separation
and, and kind of the, the spread
approach of tackling different
areas is, has been crucial.
And I would say just.
All in all, it's been really good for us.
Obviously we, we, we have our banter
and our, and our times that are
harder than others, but I don't know
if I don't know if it comes with the
territory or not to not have that.
(10:35):
Yeah.
I'd say it's been really
good as opposed to some.
Some family businesses that
I know can be really tough.
So
Yeah.
Is mom and dad still around?
Are they still involved?
yeah.
Yeah My my pops is still doing Quite a
bit with the design build side, but he's
certainly we are starting to really work
(10:55):
on that phase plan They want to enjoy
the fruits of their labor For you know
many many years, you know, they've had
Malone's just for about 34 years now and,
and my mom has really started to work
out of the day to day office as we've
really set up that support team, gotten
a controller in there because she was
(11:17):
doing a tremendous amount of work with us.
With that So um, we are getting there.
What's your role now?
And what's Jake's role now?
So right now i'm the general
manager of the maintenance company
they are two different entities.
They were started at different times.
For for different reasons but I am
the general manager for for that side
(11:38):
right now And then jake he's bounced
around in a lot of different positions
and it's been awesome for him because
he's gotten to learn Both maintenance
and construction design builds.
So but he's in a new role as of pretty
recently this year, and he's just
been crushing it in the more of the
bid build and, and doing quite a bit
of design build estimating and sales.
(12:00):
So he's been crushing it there.
So it's awesome to see.
Love that.
Love that.
You know, I think one of the things that
you mentioned that is key to your success
in this whole long term succession change,
change of command is communication.
I feel like that's one of your biggest
things and, and you guys are open and
(12:22):
honest and transparent with everything.
You're probably working through feelings.
You know, I can only imagine how mom
and dad feel like this is their baby and
this is what put you through school and
baseball and diapers and you name it.
But they want the best
for you to you two boys.
And there's going to be a little bit
(12:43):
of, you know, some, some, some bumps
in the road along the way of, of
right.
and execution, but communication
is probably the single biggest
important things of how you
guys are feeling and how you.
implement new things.
Is that correct?
Yeah.
100%, 100%.
I totally agree with that.
Love it.
So you, you hit on it for a second.
(13:04):
This new, this, this maintenance thing
your, your dad is through and through
one of the best sort of architect
people that can do design build.
And I think that's his passion.
He's always had it for 34 years.
But you also understand though, that
you've learned, you know, over the course
of years of how important maintenance is.
And that's your task.
(13:25):
So tell me about why you guys started
maintenance, even though your dad was
heavy DB and then what it is today and
what, what are the benefits of that,
Right.
Right.
So I think it probably was a year or two
in that we really started to see, Hey,
we really need to, to grow this thing.
Right.
And that was more for a,
you know, opportunity.
(13:47):
Was there and then also to kind of
hedge that second department, right?
When the economy rolls up and down
we've, we've already seen it, right?
They were doing design build and,
and a lot of plat work and things
like that before the 0 7 0 8 crash.
And, and that got, you
know, cut us almost in half.
And so the hedge was, Hey, let's
(14:08):
build up the maintenance side.
You know, as best we can and continue to.
Continue to, you know, operate our,
our highly touted design build side.
But, but add that auxiliary service
lines so that we got to hedge against
things that, you know, if things do
get rocky, if things get a little
bit slower, softer market we still
(14:29):
have that recurring revenue coming in
that can kind of help us get through
those rougher patches at times.
right?
So how did you gain clients and
maintenance when you didn't really
have anything maintenance going on?
Was it mostly becoming from DB
clients over to maintenance?
Was that sort of the low hanging fruit?
(14:50):
So we, I would say they're a
DB clients were coming over.
And then we really brought on
actually the year before I came
on they hired, my dad hired.
One of my biggest mentors and,
and probably one of our best sales
guys ever on the maintenance side.
(15:11):
And that's Jeff Jacobson.
He's still with us now.
But he was a heavy hand in just
beating the pavement, getting indoors
and getting our name out there.
Once he had the support of the staff
and picking up the quality of the work
and actually producing what we need
to produce out there for our clients.
And providing the good service.
(15:31):
He just went gangbusters on
sales in those early days, right?
We've built a tremendous team since then.
But I would say that was our catapult.
And then myself on the back end was just
more helping with account management.
And, and keeping operations
flowing in a good manner.
So, and, and supporting
that, that field first team.
(15:52):
So.
So was Jeff commercial sales?
Gordon, business development salesperson.
Tell me about that.
What is, what is banging down doors,
hitting the pavement mean to you?
So we, we, we tracked you know, how
many touches is, is he getting on
clients, you know, and then that
equated to a closing percentage, right.
(16:14):
And whatever that closing percentage
was, Hey, we knew if we've got to
talk to 600 people to get 20, you
know, just an example that was kind
of the, the, the formula to that.
And we could see when those
touches dipped, right.
Sales debt, right?
And so that was a big proponent.
(16:34):
And, and really it was just showing up
and saying, Hey, how could, you know,
we'd love to help in any way possible.
You know, do you need anything?
And if not, when can we come
back in and say hi, right?
It wasn't hard sales or anything.
It was just seeing who needs
who needs our help at that time.
Love it that I, I love,
it's almost like grassroots.
(16:55):
Right.
I love that term grassroots is like,
you're not going to get a whole
lot of sales by sending one email.
right
You're going to get a whole lot on, you
know, a marketing thing that you sent out
a few email blasts or, or social media.
Exactly.
get a lot of is the person to
person contact touches, right?
(17:15):
And the consistency, if you guys went
out one time and nothing happened.
Well, then the expectation should be zero,
Yeah,
right
fact that it's just the pavement and get
out there and get your face out there
Mm hmm,
of clients, potential clients.
Love
right, right and then from there
it just built off organic, right?
(17:36):
So once we started getting a lot
more clients in the door and and
really taking good care of them and
and being responsive That was kind
of the special mix there, right?
And that organically took us
to just a whole nother level of
growth, that didn't necessarily
need as much pavement beaten, so.
Yeah.
Love it.
(17:57):
Love it.
So what was it when you started and what
is maintenance to this day as far as
crews and trucks, that sort of thing?
Yeah, when I came on, we probably
had right around three to four
crews, maintenance crews running out
and about a, I would call it a 0.
5 to one truck doing enhancement work.
And then we had one irrigation guy.
(18:18):
So, so pretty humble, small beginnings.
Better than most.
So I was, I was very fortunate to walk
into something that was kind of, you know,
had the bones there to, to work with.
And then from there you know,
looking at us today, we've got
just, just around 1920 maintenance
crews running out on any given day.
Three enhancement crews and just
(18:40):
about six irrigation technicians
running at any given moment.
I,
you mentioned something
that was interesting, the 0.
5 to 1 ratio on enhancements.
That was back in the day.
What is it now?
I would say, depending on the business
mix you know, what, whatever clients
(19:00):
we're kind of touching on we've, we've
diversified tremendously, but we're,
we're, we've seen anywhere from that 33
percent of, of contract value enhancement.
You know, up work upwards of 50
percent on in some circumstances.
So obviously it differs, but
but in between that sweet
spot is is what we aim for.
So,
I love that.
(19:21):
At least you were tracking enhancement
sales on maintenance contracted revenue.
That's a very enticing deal because it
should be about that range on commercial.
Right.
That's sort of 30 to 40 to
half of the contract value.
I love that.
And when things start to dip down, you got
(19:42):
to go, okay, what do we do to get back up?
Right.
right, right.
For
Love it.
Love it.
So interesting couple of things.
You, you had you had a baby your, your
very first one, a little baby boy.
Future Malone, future
baseball player type deal.
I know where this is going.
(20:02):
I know where this is going.
And, and.
First off, let's give the
congratulations to the baby.
All right.
Second thing, you did something incredible
that I watched all over social media
rooting for you, praying for you,
but this a hundred miles and 30 hours
was, dude, I'm telling you not to get
(20:23):
all weird Ryan, but I got slightly a
tiny bit emotional reading your post
on the pain that you went through
and the team that you congratulated.
To get you through this, the amazing wife
that puts you through this journey and
supported you family, friends, et cetera.
(20:43):
That's all awesome.
But like, how did you do this?
Also run into business.
We talk about the work life balance
and tell me about this and everybody
know that these kinds of things can be
accomplished during your crazy business.
Yeah, you know, hearing you talk about
it gets me a little bit emotional.
I cracked up a little bit because it was
(21:04):
such a tremendous feat for me, personally.
But I couldn't do that without
an amazing spouse and support
system behind me and my family.
And Like I said, you can do a lot of
things while running a business and, and
you have to make time for those things.
A lot of people say we
don't have the time.
(21:25):
You have to make that time.
Yep.
and over the course of the last two
years, you know I did the full Ironman
last year as my wife was pregnant, I
kinda think I felt like I had to do
something really hard and painful.
to kind of experience that with my wife.
Although maybe selfish,
maybe I don't know.
(21:46):
But that was kind of my first step
into kind of these ultra athletic.
But, but it is, it is so key to keep your
body in shape and, and your mind sharp.
And I think that's one of the biggest
things that, that we forget about as,
as business owners or entrepreneurs
or even management staff is, Hey, we
(22:08):
lose sight of taking care of ourselves.
I don't know how I would run this
business if I did not exercise.
And, and keep that mental edge because I
think I would just self indulge or, you
know, be eating too much and drinking too
much, and then you just feel like crap.
So, That is a huge thing for me and,
(22:29):
and I wish I could help more people
figure out how to make time for
themselves to do these types of things.
You don't have to go run a hundred miles.
You don't have to go do any of that stuff.
That's for me.
But it helps me know that, hey, if I can,
if I can accomplish this, getting through
the business cycle and the business
life and the, and the grit and the
hardship that you're going to go through.
(22:50):
And the ebbs and flows and ups
and downs of this business.
It's helped me tremendously with,
with the mental side of things.
Yeah, that's good.
That's good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, make time.
I will a hundred percent agree with you.
I would say, you know, a little bit
of advice to you, Ryan is keep doing
what you're doing, in my opinion,
and, and things will shine for others.
(23:13):
Because keep posting the stuff
of the insane ice baths that
you're doing, you know, breaking
the ice and keep that going.
Because if you stop that stuff, then
it goes away for everybody else.
And I had someone recently, you
know, tell me they love to follow
the journey of whatever I'm doing.
(23:33):
And I'm like, well, that's weird.
All I'm doing is posting things
about my life that I enjoy.
And I want to look back on it and go,
man, look at all the fun things that you
did with you, yourself and your family.
Like.
Right.
I'm doing, but people love that.
It's motivating.
So I a hundred percent
agree with you, Ryan.
Like take care of your damn body at
the end of the day as a business owner.
I can't express that everywhere I travel
(23:55):
for peer groups and speaking engagements.
You can always find me in the gym.
Always.
Always every
You'll always find me and I'm always
like, I'll see you in the gym, 5 a.
m.
I'll be there.
There might be one or two at best, but
I want to, you know, have that ingrained
in everyone's head that it can be done,
even when we travel and have these crazy
(24:16):
lives, but I feel like that's the backbone
to stay sharp mentally and physically.
So keep it going, Ryan.
That's, it's,
Yeah, no, I appreciate it, man.
It's, it's, it's a lifestyle for
sure, but I think it's, it's very
conducive to, to good results.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Good things will come in at it.
If that's the hardest thing is
getting up early and working out,
(24:36):
I'm telling you that the rest of the
day is, is a cakewalk at the day.
Right.
Good stuff.
Hey, so moving on, let's
switch gears slightly.
So peer groups, you got in
this thing called peer groups.
Like what the heck?
You guys have changed a lot.
100%.
fun to see talking to your coaches and
(24:57):
seeing you update and then seeing you
at the summit, you know, each year, but
like, tell me about some of the things
that's made an impact on, on your life
and your business and with your family.
Yeah, 100%.
The, I can still remember the day I
walked into my dad's office and I had
the magazine, the landscape management
magazine, and there's a guy I kept seeing
(25:18):
on there, Marty Grunder, kept coming up
and coming up, coming up, and I was like,
there's
Hey, pops, we got to go, we got to go to
this, this, this growth conference, right?
It's like the second year they
did it or something like that.
And we just got to go see
what this is all about.
I, you know, worse comes to worse.
We learn a bit, a little
bit and we go home.
Right.
So, that was kind of the jumping off
(25:39):
point of, hey, let's go to a conference.
We hadn't done anything kind of like that.
So went there and then we ended up meeting
Jim and Jason and the whole team with
McFarland, Stanford and the grow group.
And that kind of introduced us
to the, the peer group concept.
I'd kind of heard about them and you
hear about masterminds and things like
(26:00):
that, but I never really crossed my mind.
And gosh, I, I don't know where we
would be if I hadn't gotten my dad
to sign, like, let's, let's sign up
for this peer group and let's do it.
Let's just go all in and, and, and
get around a group of, of owners
and like minded individuals.
(26:21):
Facilitated by, by great
consultants like yourself.
Holy crap, that, that can speed up your,
your, your success and your growth of your
company and where you're trying to go,
So
big proponent.
your dad like, what are you smoking, Ryan?
Like, is this?
gotta be.
Yeah.
I've been doing this for 30 years.
Why do we need that?
(26:42):
Yeah.
What are they going to tell me
that I don't always already know.
Right.
So, but you know, how, how many
times do you get to, go, go kind of
rifle through the underwear drawer
of another company in another state
doing the same things you're doing.
Right.
And whether it's just a little tweak here
or a little idea that you can kind of
put your own spin on it, man, it, it, it
(27:03):
means the world to, to, to be able to be
around these guys in our group and really
grow together with them and, and then talk
to other guys in other groups as well.
And, and gosh, I've, I think Jim and
Jason have broke me of all my bad habits
Yeah,
broke me of all my bad
yeah,
how I speak and how I talk
(27:26):
and, and it taught me.
Unvaluable amount of information.
So
yeah.
I would agree.
You know, it's interesting.
You can learn a bunch of things.
You know, going to conferences
and being the peer group.
But one of the things that I'm impressed
with you with you and your team the most
is you actually go back and do something.
right,
Go try it.
(27:46):
You go do it.
And like, and then we
asked, how's it going?
You're like, well, it's going,
but I don't, you know, not sure.
So that's been great.
The second thing that's also been
good is your group's been together for
a really long time and that's good.
You've got some unbelievable
that is going to last.
I mean, literally forever.
Talk about the friendships that you
(28:07):
guys had over the years that you could
probably pick up the phone at any point.
Any given day or night to anyone in your
group and go, I'm sucking wind right now.
Help me out.
Right.
100%.
That's, we, we kind of call it almost
like it's like a brotherhood, right?
It's like you, you get so close with these
(28:27):
guys over dinners and, and over the, you
know, breaking down problems and, and
coming up with solutions for each other.
And I am, gosh, so thankful for our group.
And, and, and for all of the, the
future success of the, that group.
And it's, there's nothing
really like it, right?
You can compare it to, to maybe a
(28:48):
baseball team or a college team,
you know, things like that, where
you're really meeting with these
guys and seeing them all the time.
But that bond you create over the
hardship of entrepreneurship is,
you know, It's something just so
strong because it is so hard and
it can be incredibly lonely, right?
And so you get this group of guys
that you can really share like,
(29:09):
hey, everyone comes to you with the
problems or the issues or the things.
But you really don't have anyone
to go to with those, right?
And so the peer group allows
you to have, you know, a phone
line to call and say, hey.
am struggling with this thing, man.
Is it, do you, how do you guys,
you know, handle this, you
know, any, any food for thought.
(29:31):
So that's been crucial.
That's good.
That's really good.
You know, it's interesting to see
these, these people go through
this group and understand, you
know, that it's awesome because.
When you think you're the only one on
the island screwing everything up and
you meet 10 other owners, you're like,
God, I'm not so crazy or stupid myself.
(29:51):
Like I, everyone has the same problem.
And and, and you can work as a,
as a group and, and move forward.
That's great.
Yeah, totally.
Another question I got, what does the
future look like from alone landscaping?
Like what, what is here on out?
What does it look like?
Tell me what you, what you guys
are, Hoping to get done and some
(30:13):
big dreams that you got going on
Yeah.
I think our biggest dream right now is
just continuing to build off and, and,
and really grow a legacy company, right.
Where, where we've got generations
and generations of, of management
field staff And and ownership, right?
And so we, we see a lot of private
equity, private equity movement and
(30:34):
things like that coming into our industry.
And, and, and one of our biggest drivers
right now is, is to keep and hold the line
on the family owned and operated front
because, you know, what we provide and,
and what we're trying to produce with our
culture and how we treat our people and
how that transcends down to our clients
(30:54):
and, and, and providing great service.
is the true mission, right?
So obviously we've got big
growth potential and goals.
I think the future is, is, is very bright.
It's, it's certainly gonna be hard
and it's got a rocky road ahead.
But I think right now are we're kind of
focusing on really tightening up our,
(31:17):
our current, current focus and then
you know, expanding north and south.
So we're, we're definitely being pulled
in both directions by clients and we want
to be able to provide really good service
and, and it gets really hard in our market
without auxiliary locations and branch
type type locations to, to service far and
(31:38):
wide because of the traffic and things.
So.
Definitely see that on the horizon for us.
that I could, I could totally see
that to expand expansion slightly,
just make sure you get, you get the
mothership perfectly ready to go, right?
Right.
is the one that provides everything
and then you'll be going from there.
Exactly.
one last question, Ryan.
(31:59):
Okay.
And our audience is always get looking
for a good little takeaway or advice.
Anyone that's out there,
like, what do you stand by?
What's one piece of advice that
you would leave that is, is a
staple for, for Ryan Malone?
My biggest one, and it's, it's
probably pretty cliche, but
(32:19):
it, your people are everything.
And the, the, the quality of, of
those people that you're able to, to
get on your team and on your side.
And under that big big BHAG goal
and mission is what's going to
drive the success of the company.
Right.
And so we've always been a, a people
first and client second type culture,
(32:41):
because we know if our people are
taken care of and we've got great
individuals on our team, those clients
are going to benefit the most from that.
If we go client before our people,
it's, it's a little bit backwards.
Right.
And so that doesn't always transfer.
So we've got a huge focus on our people
and providing a great place to work in a,
(33:02):
in a destination place to work and, you
know, it's probably said in every, Every
single podcast, but I think that's the
biggest thing that you have to focus on
is really creating a, a great atmosphere
for, for good work to transpire.
I 100 percent agree with you, Ryan.
That's a great one.
I believe it.
I've said it a hundred times, but
I'm gonna say it 101 times because
that's just what I believe in.
(33:23):
The people are your biggest asset.
The number one asset in your organization.
And as long as you are taking care
of them, accountability, structure,
training, education, all on the board,
everything else falls into place.
100%, 100%,
percent agree.
And if you don't believe me, go watch
(33:44):
Bologna on, on social media, because
they are posting all kinds of stuff.
about how they truly treat their team
from the very top to the very bottom
in, in East and West, because I see it.
I saw the swag chain not too
long ago that was posted.
Like I love all the culture building
items that you guys are doing.
(34:06):
So 100 percent keep that going.
A hundred percent and it'll pay dividends.
Sometimes you don't see it
for a little bit, but, but it
starts to really pay off and.
Man, it, it's, you can't do it alone.
You just can't.
And so you need, you need very good people
and you need to take good care of them.
Yeah.
Love it.
That's great.
Well, Ryan, keep up the hard work.
(34:27):
I'm going to watch your stories.
all the time.
I'm sure a lot of people are
going to jump on, so you might
have a few more followers.
So,
so yeah, you got to keep
your accountability going.
So, and I'll keep mine going
and we'll watch each other's
journey along the way, but.
It's been a pleasure having you, Ryan.
(34:47):
Thank you for the the feedback, but let
me, let me actually get through this
real fast before I get off, because
I want to make sure this is right.
Second generation owner.
One of the things that we learned out
that you're going through that means
the most important is communication.
Between mom, dad, brother, and even
the team for that matter is an open,
(35:08):
honest and transparent communication
with everybody, what's going on,
the changes, that sort of thing.
Every time you come back from a peer
group meeting, I don't need to vomit
all over my parents and say, this is
the 72 things that we need to learn.
Right.
Kind of take it all
Right.
Building a maintenance team
basically from scratch, right?
One of the biggest things I learned
(35:28):
was get your sales men out there
and hit the ground hard as you can.
Pedal the metal, knock down
some doors, build brand.
And be after it.
Otherwise, no one's just going to show
up at your doorstep and want services.
Exactly.
No one's walking in the door on their own.
Yeah.
Work life balance.
It can be done because
(35:49):
this guy has shown it.
I have seen it and
witnessed it, his journeys.
So there is literally no excuses for
you to have the balance of taking
care of your mind and, your body.
I love it.
Peer groups is where it's at.
Tons of information.
My audience and our audience
knows that well, all too well.
(36:09):
And people first in your organization.
Right.
Right.
Ryan, it's been a pleasure, buddy.
Keep it running and keep it going.
Likewise.
You too, man.
Inspiration.
Appreciate it, Tommy.
All right, buddy.
Ready to take the next step?
Download our free Profitability Scorecard
(36:29):
to quickly create your own baseline
financial assessment and uncover the
fastest ways to improve your business.
Just go to McFarlinStanford.com/scorecard
to get yours today To learn more about
McFarlin Stanford our best in class
peer groups and other services go to
our website at McFarlinStanford.com
And don't forget to follow us on
(36:50):
LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
See you next time on the Roots of Success.
The Roots of Success podcast is
for the landscape professional
who's looking to up their game.
We've got a brain trust of experts to
help you nurture the roots of a successful
business and grow to the next level.
This is The Roots of Success.
Hey, welcome to another episode
of Roots of Success podcast,
I'm your host, Tommy Cole.
We have a really awesome guest that I've
(00:23):
got to know over the last few years.
His name is Ryan Malone.
How are you, Ryan?
I'm doing great, man.
It's an honor to be here and
be talking to you, Tommy.
That's awesome.
So Ryan's been fun to follow on
social media and see him at all
the events the last few years.
And him and I have connected quite a
bit from time to time, but Ryan is is
part of the team with Malone Landscape
(00:45):
in the, around the Seattle, Washington
area, way up in the Northwest region.
It's highly considered design build
landscape company will also with
maintenance and we'll get into that.
But one of the cool things,
it's a family owned business.
And you guys have grown substantially
over the course of many years.
Very well known brand, very good place
(01:05):
to work for according to your team and
all the social media platforms that
they say that they're a great team.
And but welcome to the show.
It's going to be fun.
Yeah, honor to be here.
Watched so many of the episodes and
had a lot of tremendous people on.
So I'm, I'm honored to share any
information and anything and all
about Malone's and what we've done.
(01:27):
So excited to get it going.
Let's good.
Let's jump right in.
So one of the questions I wanted
to ask is, is I started out by
saying it's a family owned business.
Your mom and dad started it back
in early nineties ish, 91, 92.
Right.
And then here comes little Ryan
and his brother, you know, like
do, do, do, do kind of take over.
So you're technically second generation.
(01:50):
That's correct.
Can you give me some stories and some
background of like how that happened?
Starting out in a crew, starting
out gardening type things, and
then talk about the transition into
eventually becoming, you know, one of
the leaders of the entire business.
Yeah, totally.
So obviously kind of born and
raised in the landscape industry.
(02:11):
Through and through, right?
They've been doing it, you know,
two years before I was even born.
It all started back with a F 250.
You know, my dad doing the installs,
doing the bids, doing everything.
So from ground zero, and really from
there, quick little snippet, funny story.
I was at a, at a vendor.
And a guy was like, I was
your dad's first employee.
(02:32):
And I was like, that is crazy.
And he could remember me sitting, driving
around in the truck and the F two 50
going from job to job with my dad.
So through and through, that's
kind of where it started.
And then we grew up kind of on
a nursery running around me and
my brother, you know, playing
airsoft guns or whatever it may be.
But we're always surrounded by it.
(02:53):
Whether it was picking up plants
with my mom at nurseries, you know,
Or later in the, in the evolution
of getting out on crews and install
crews in the design build side.
So,
So talk about, that's awesome.
I mean, nothing is great than watching
mom and dad work their tail off.
Right.
And you to witness that it was not like,
Hey, let's watch video games every day.
(03:14):
They were.
You guys are pretty much
involved in being two young boys.
The best thing says you get to
get your hands dirty, right?
So talk about like, talk about what you
employed first or how did that work out?
I don't think legitimately until gosh,
probably 15 years ago, you know, in
high school, then we were, getting
a paycheck helping out with the
nursery, running irrigation, things
(03:36):
like that, keeping plants alive.
And then ultimately, as we got older,
I know most both myself and Jake, my
brother worked at Cruz at any different,
different summertime or whatever it may
be to kind of slowly getting through
college, college, both of us played
college baseball and so kind of, you
(03:57):
know, Both of us came on board at
different times after our college career.
So,
Was there any intentions of
like, like early on about the
business working in the business?
Or you're like, listen,
I'm just playing baseball.
I'm going to college.
My parents have a landscape company.
Cool, but not a big deal.
Like, was there any like discussion
between you and your brother?
(04:17):
Like, Ooh, I'm going to
get this or no, you get it.
Or, well, I'm going to work here.
I'm out of this town.
See you later.
Honestly both of us were very
dedicated to baseball from a young age.
So that took up, you know, the very
most of our life in those early days.
So it was pro going, going pro, right.
Going to college and
then going pro baseball.
(04:37):
And obviously that's, that's
a hard, hard thing to do.
So it's a small percentage that get there.
And, and once that kind of started to fade
away and, and, and that wasn't going to
be a reality, I still don't think it was
really set in that, Hey, we were going to
come back and join the family business.
It was.
It was kind of an afterthought.
It was our parents thing and we,
we, we loved every part of it.
(04:57):
But it was certainly wasn't there
till pretty late in my college career.
And then I was actually
going into real estate
okay.
before I got offered a job.
and really thought about
it and, and took it, so,
Yeah.
on full bore.
Yeah.
So what, what did you learn
about the business early on?
(05:17):
So you went through college,
played some ball, got a degree,
started to go in that direction.
But.
What, what brought you
to Malone's landscape?
I think it was mostly, it,
it was a good opportunity.
It was, it was a management position over
our, our very small maintenance division.
It was kind of a second.
(05:39):
Additional company that they started in
2002 and the design build started in 91.
They had a partner that took it to
a point and they ended up buying
that partner out, and then it kind
of floundered for a few years.
You know, 10 years floundering, kind of
not, not really gaining a ton of traction.
But it was there, right?
So, I instantly got in there
(05:59):
and, and knew that, okay, I don't
know much about maintenance.
I know.
the basics of landscape
install and things like that.
But it really, I just treated it like
a baseball team or a sports team.
Right.
I, I did have that aspect of, of
leadership and, and how the camaraderie
of the team needs to go So I kind
(06:21):
of had that base knowledge and some
business knowledge from school.
to kind of to bring
into the, into the play.
So,
Yeah, man, you and I are on the same page.
I think we're cut from the same rug.
Like sports analogy and business
is like the best thing ever.
And you guys know my, my son's
highly active in baseball and.
And it's funny to watch, Ryan on social
(06:43):
media and he watches me on social
media and we're kind of back and forth.
And he's probably reliving some of
his dreams when my, you know, when
he was 12 and now my son's 12 pushing
a teenager in a few weeks, but it's,
I love sports to the most extreme
because it gives you just so many
avenues and experiences in business.
(07:05):
What are some takeaways that you learned
in baseball that now you attribute to you?
Into your full time job.
I I'd say the first one was just
the work ethic piece and, and really
transferring that, that work ethic
we had to have in, in baseball to get
to the college level, you know, and
(07:25):
Saturday, Sundays of 14 hour days at
the ballpark and just long, long days.
Balancing your, your classes and your,
your, your workouts and, and practice.
So I really wasn't shying away from
those 12, 14, 15 hour days in the
early stages of joining Malone's
and taking that division over.
(07:48):
So that was a big one, right?
Just, you gotta work hard, you
gotta work long hours, you gotta
get it to where you need to go.
And then secondly, is just, like
I said, that team camaraderie.
When I came in, I think the
previous manager just, there was,
there was a disconnect between the
field and, and, and management.
And so there, there wasn't a
good culture going on there.
It was, it was pretty sour when I came in.
(08:10):
So my, my biggest thing was, Hey, I
need to get them the tools and the
resources and the support to be able
to do good quality work first and
foremost, before meeting any clients.
That, that was my main focus.
It's just like baseball, you gotta
have the right stuff to get it
done, and you gotta feel good.
So,
(08:30):
I love that.
are my biggest two.
Yeah.
You know, I totally agree.
When I started out as a project
manager early in my career, my, one
of my first steps was to get to know
the field team, like they were my,
eventually become my best friends.
There's a sense of trust.
There's a sense of camaraderie
with those, those men and
women out there in the field.
(08:51):
That literally make it all happen.
And they're there because you have a
job and if they're not there, forget it.
So my, one of my first steps
was to get to know those people,
understand their strengths and
weaknesses, understand what they need.
My motivation was they will have
work every single day and they
will have every single material
and every single tool on the job.
(09:11):
To form at the highest quality.
Done.
That's it, right?
That's like your job
to make sure to happen.
It's it's nothing's more depressing
than showing up and there's no work
and you say you need to go home, right?
. Yeah.
Love it.
Love it.
So, so talk about how the transition of
second generation ownership working with
(09:32):
mom and dad, I'm sure they've got their
ideas and vision, but here comes Ryan and
Jake, you know, with their sort of thing.
How, how has that transition been?
it, it's, it's still in, in full swing
I, you know, it, it's probably one of
the hardest things I would say that,
that transitionary period or even
succession planning and, and anything
(09:52):
in a, in a multi generational business.
And it's something that we still don't
have quite our finger on totally yet,
but our families really worked well
together from inception of when all of
us were working there at the same time.
And part of that being we're,
we're in different areas, right?
And so we're not totally
seeing each other every day.
We're not totally in each
other's ear every single moment.
(10:14):
And so I think the separation
and, and kind of the, the spread
approach of tackling different
areas is, has been crucial.
And I would say just.
All in all, it's been really good for us.
Obviously we, we, we have our banter
and our, and our times that are
harder than others, but I don't know
if I don't know if it comes with the
territory or not to not have that.
(10:35):
Yeah.
I'd say it's been really
good as opposed to some.
Some family businesses that
I know can be really tough.
So
Yeah.
Is mom and dad still around?
Are they still involved?
yeah.
Yeah My my pops is still doing Quite a
bit with the design build side, but he's
certainly we are starting to really work
(10:55):
on that phase plan They want to enjoy
the fruits of their labor For you know
many many years, you know, they've had
Malone's just for about 34 years now and,
and my mom has really started to work
out of the day to day office as we've
really set up that support team, gotten
a controller in there because she was
(11:17):
doing a tremendous amount of work with us.
With that So um, we are getting there.
What's your role now?
And what's Jake's role now?
So right now i'm the general
manager of the maintenance company
they are two different entities.
They were started at different times.
For for different reasons but I am
the general manager for for that side
(11:38):
right now And then jake he's bounced
around in a lot of different positions
and it's been awesome for him because
he's gotten to learn Both maintenance
and construction design builds.
So but he's in a new role as of pretty
recently this year, and he's just
been crushing it in the more of the
bid build and, and doing quite a bit
of design build estimating and sales.
(12:00):
So he's been crushing it there.
So it's awesome to see.
Love that.
Love that.
You know, I think one of the things that
you mentioned that is key to your success
in this whole long term succession change,
change of command is communication.
I feel like that's one of your biggest
things and, and you guys are open and
(12:22):
honest and transparent with everything.
You're probably working through feelings.
You know, I can only imagine how mom
and dad feel like this is their baby and
this is what put you through school and
baseball and diapers and you name it.
But they want the best
for you to you two boys.
And there's going to be a little bit
(12:43):
of, you know, some, some, some bumps
in the road along the way of, of
right.
and execution, but communication
is probably the single biggest
important things of how you
guys are feeling and how you.
implement new things.
Is that correct?
Yeah.
100%, 100%.
I totally agree with that.
Love it.
So you, you hit on it for a second.
(13:04):
This new, this, this maintenance thing
your, your dad is through and through
one of the best sort of architect
people that can do design build.
And I think that's his passion.
He's always had it for 34 years.
But you also understand though, that
you've learned, you know, over the course
of years of how important maintenance is.
And that's your task.
(13:25):
So tell me about why you guys started
maintenance, even though your dad was
heavy DB and then what it is today and
what, what are the benefits of that,
Right.
Right.
So I think it probably was a year or two
in that we really started to see, Hey,
we really need to, to grow this thing.
Right.
And that was more for a,
you know, opportunity.
(13:47):
Was there and then also to kind of
hedge that second department, right?
When the economy rolls up and down
we've, we've already seen it, right?
They were doing design build and,
and a lot of plat work and things
like that before the 0 7 0 8 crash.
And, and that got, you
know, cut us almost in half.
And so the hedge was, Hey, let's
(14:08):
build up the maintenance side.
You know, as best we can and continue to.
Continue to, you know, operate our,
our highly touted design build side.
But, but add that auxiliary service
lines so that we got to hedge against
things that, you know, if things do
get rocky, if things get a little
bit slower, softer market we still
(14:29):
have that recurring revenue coming in
that can kind of help us get through
those rougher patches at times.
right?
So how did you gain clients and
maintenance when you didn't really
have anything maintenance going on?
Was it mostly becoming from DB
clients over to maintenance?
Was that sort of the low hanging fruit?
(14:50):
So we, I would say they're a
DB clients were coming over.
And then we really brought on
actually the year before I came
on they hired, my dad hired.
One of my biggest mentors and,
and probably one of our best sales
guys ever on the maintenance side.
(15:11):
And that's Jeff Jacobson.
He's still with us now.
But he was a heavy hand in just
beating the pavement, getting indoors
and getting our name out there.
Once he had the support of the staff
and picking up the quality of the work
and actually producing what we need
to produce out there for our clients.
And providing the good service.
(15:31):
He just went gangbusters on
sales in those early days, right?
We've built a tremendous team since then.
But I would say that was our catapult.
And then myself on the back end was just
more helping with account management.
And, and keeping operations
flowing in a good manner.
So, and, and supporting
that, that field first team.
(15:52):
So.
So was Jeff commercial sales?
Gordon, business development salesperson.
Tell me about that.
What is, what is banging down doors,
hitting the pavement mean to you?
So we, we, we tracked you know, how
many touches is, is he getting on
clients, you know, and then that
equated to a closing percentage, right.
(16:14):
And whatever that closing percentage
was, Hey, we knew if we've got to
talk to 600 people to get 20, you
know, just an example that was kind
of the, the, the formula to that.
And we could see when those
touches dipped, right.
Sales debt, right?
And so that was a big proponent.
(16:34):
And, and really it was just showing up
and saying, Hey, how could, you know,
we'd love to help in any way possible.
You know, do you need anything?
And if not, when can we come
back in and say hi, right?
It wasn't hard sales or anything.
It was just seeing who needs
who needs our help at that time.
Love it that I, I love,
it's almost like grassroots.
(16:55):
Right.
I love that term grassroots is like,
you're not going to get a whole
lot of sales by sending one email.
right
You're going to get a whole lot on, you
know, a marketing thing that you sent out
a few email blasts or, or social media.
Exactly.
get a lot of is the person to
person contact touches, right?
(17:15):
And the consistency, if you guys went
out one time and nothing happened.
Well, then the expectation should be zero,
Yeah,
right
fact that it's just the pavement and get
out there and get your face out there
Mm hmm,
of clients, potential clients.
Love
right, right and then from there
it just built off organic, right?
(17:36):
So once we started getting a lot
more clients in the door and and
really taking good care of them and
and being responsive That was kind
of the special mix there, right?
And that organically took us
to just a whole nother level of
growth, that didn't necessarily
need as much pavement beaten, so.
Yeah.
Love it.
(17:57):
Love it.
So what was it when you started and what
is maintenance to this day as far as
crews and trucks, that sort of thing?
Yeah, when I came on, we probably
had right around three to four
crews, maintenance crews running out
and about a, I would call it a 0.
5 to one truck doing enhancement work.
And then we had one irrigation guy.
(18:18):
So, so pretty humble, small beginnings.
Better than most.
So I was, I was very fortunate to walk
into something that was kind of, you know,
had the bones there to, to work with.
And then from there you know,
looking at us today, we've got
just, just around 1920 maintenance
crews running out on any given day.
Three enhancement crews and just
(18:40):
about six irrigation technicians
running at any given moment.
I,
you mentioned something
that was interesting, the 0.
5 to 1 ratio on enhancements.
That was back in the day.
What is it now?
I would say, depending on the business
mix you know, what, whatever clients
(19:00):
we're kind of touching on we've, we've
diversified tremendously, but we're,
we're, we've seen anywhere from that 33
percent of, of contract value enhancement.
You know, up work upwards of 50
percent on in some circumstances.
So obviously it differs, but
but in between that sweet
spot is is what we aim for.
So,
I love that.
(19:21):
At least you were tracking enhancement
sales on maintenance contracted revenue.
That's a very enticing deal because it
should be about that range on commercial.
Right.
That's sort of 30 to 40 to
half of the contract value.
I love that.
And when things start to dip down, you got
(19:42):
to go, okay, what do we do to get back up?
Right.
right, right.
For
Love it.
Love it.
So interesting couple of things.
You, you had you had a baby your, your
very first one, a little baby boy.
Future Malone, future
baseball player type deal.
I know where this is going.
(20:02):
I know where this is going.
And, and.
First off, let's give the
congratulations to the baby.
All right.
Second thing, you did something incredible
that I watched all over social media
rooting for you, praying for you,
but this a hundred miles and 30 hours
was, dude, I'm telling you not to get
(20:23):
all weird Ryan, but I got slightly a
tiny bit emotional reading your post
on the pain that you went through
and the team that you congratulated.
To get you through this, the amazing wife
that puts you through this journey and
supported you family, friends, et cetera.
(20:43):
That's all awesome.
But like, how did you do this?
Also run into business.
We talk about the work life balance
and tell me about this and everybody
know that these kinds of things can be
accomplished during your crazy business.
Yeah, you know, hearing you talk about
it gets me a little bit emotional.
I cracked up a little bit because it was
(21:04):
such a tremendous feat for me, personally.
But I couldn't do that without
an amazing spouse and support
system behind me and my family.
And Like I said, you can do a lot of
things while running a business and, and
you have to make time for those things.
A lot of people say we
don't have the time.
(21:25):
You have to make that time.
Yep.
and over the course of the last two
years, you know I did the full Ironman
last year as my wife was pregnant, I
kinda think I felt like I had to do
something really hard and painful.
to kind of experience that with my wife.
Although maybe selfish,
maybe I don't know.
(21:46):
But that was kind of my first step
into kind of these ultra athletic.
But, but it is, it is so key to keep your
body in shape and, and your mind sharp.
And I think that's one of the biggest
things that, that we forget about as,
as business owners or entrepreneurs
or even management staff is, Hey, we
(22:08):
lose sight of taking care of ourselves.
I don't know how I would run this
business if I did not exercise.
And, and keep that mental edge because I
think I would just self indulge or, you
know, be eating too much and drinking too
much, and then you just feel like crap.
So, That is a huge thing for me and,
(22:29):
and I wish I could help more people
figure out how to make time for
themselves to do these types of things.
You don't have to go run a hundred miles.
You don't have to go do any of that stuff.
That's for me.
But it helps me know that, hey, if I can,
if I can accomplish this, getting through
the business cycle and the business
life and the, and the grit and the
hardship that you're going to go through.
(22:50):
And the ebbs and flows and ups
and downs of this business.
It's helped me tremendously with,
with the mental side of things.
Yeah, that's good.
That's good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, make time.
I will a hundred percent agree with you.
I would say, you know, a little bit
of advice to you, Ryan is keep doing
what you're doing, in my opinion,
and, and things will shine for others.
(23:13):
Because keep posting the stuff
of the insane ice baths that
you're doing, you know, breaking
the ice and keep that going.
Because if you stop that stuff, then
it goes away for everybody else.
And I had someone recently, you
know, tell me they love to follow
the journey of whatever I'm doing.
(23:33):
And I'm like, well, that's weird.
All I'm doing is posting things
about my life that I enjoy.
And I want to look back on it and go,
man, look at all the fun things that you
did with you, yourself and your family.
Like.
Right.
I'm doing, but people love that.
It's motivating.
So I a hundred percent
agree with you, Ryan.
Like take care of your damn body at
the end of the day as a business owner.
I can't express that everywhere I travel
(23:55):
for peer groups and speaking engagements.
You can always find me in the gym.
Always.
Always every
You'll always find me and I'm always
like, I'll see you in the gym, 5 a.
m.
I'll be there.
There might be one or two at best, but
I want to, you know, have that ingrained
in everyone's head that it can be done,
even when we travel and have these crazy
(24:16):
lives, but I feel like that's the backbone
to stay sharp mentally and physically.
So keep it going, Ryan.
That's, it's,
Yeah, no, I appreciate it, man.
It's, it's, it's a lifestyle for
sure, but I think it's, it's very
conducive to, to good results.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Good things will come in at it.
If that's the hardest thing is
getting up early and working out,
(24:36):
I'm telling you that the rest of the
day is, is a cakewalk at the day.
Right.
Good stuff.
Hey, so moving on, let's
switch gears slightly.
So peer groups, you got in
this thing called peer groups.
Like what the heck?
You guys have changed a lot.
100%.
fun to see talking to your coaches and
(24:57):
seeing you update and then seeing you
at the summit, you know, each year, but
like, tell me about some of the things
that's made an impact on, on your life
and your business and with your family.
Yeah, 100%.
The, I can still remember the day I
walked into my dad's office and I had
the magazine, the landscape management
magazine, and there's a guy I kept seeing
(25:18):
on there, Marty Grunder, kept coming up
and coming up, coming up, and I was like,
there's
Hey, pops, we got to go, we got to go to
this, this, this growth conference, right?
It's like the second year they
did it or something like that.
And we just got to go see
what this is all about.
I, you know, worse comes to worse.
We learn a bit, a little
bit and we go home.
Right.
So, that was kind of the jumping off
(25:39):
point of, hey, let's go to a conference.
We hadn't done anything kind of like that.
So went there and then we ended up meeting
Jim and Jason and the whole team with
McFarland, Stanford and the grow group.
And that kind of introduced us
to the, the peer group concept.
I'd kind of heard about them and you
hear about masterminds and things like
(26:00):
that, but I never really crossed my mind.
And gosh, I, I don't know where we
would be if I hadn't gotten my dad
to sign, like, let's, let's sign up
for this peer group and let's do it.
Let's just go all in and, and, and
get around a group of, of owners
and like minded individuals.
(26:21):
Facilitated by, by great
consultants like yourself.
Holy crap, that, that can speed up your,
your, your success and your growth of your
company and where you're trying to go,
So
big proponent.
your dad like, what are you smoking, Ryan?
Like, is this?
gotta be.
Yeah.
I've been doing this for 30 years.
Why do we need that?
(26:42):
Yeah.
What are they going to tell me
that I don't always already know.
Right.
So, but you know, how, how many
times do you get to, go, go kind of
rifle through the underwear drawer
of another company in another state
doing the same things you're doing.
Right.
And whether it's just a little tweak here
or a little idea that you can kind of
put your own spin on it, man, it, it, it
(27:03):
means the world to, to, to be able to be
around these guys in our group and really
grow together with them and, and then talk
to other guys in other groups as well.
And, and gosh, I've, I think Jim and
Jason have broke me of all my bad habits
Yeah,
broke me of all my bad
yeah,
how I speak and how I talk
(27:26):
and, and it taught me.
Unvaluable amount of information.
So
yeah.
I would agree.
You know, it's interesting.
You can learn a bunch of things.
You know, going to conferences
and being the peer group.
But one of the things that I'm impressed
with you with you and your team the most
is you actually go back and do something.
right,
Go try it.
(27:46):
You go do it.
And like, and then we
asked, how's it going?
You're like, well, it's going,
but I don't, you know, not sure.
So that's been great.
The second thing that's also been
good is your group's been together for
a really long time and that's good.
You've got some unbelievable
that is going to last.
I mean, literally forever.
Talk about the friendships that you
(28:07):
guys had over the years that you could
probably pick up the phone at any point.
Any given day or night to anyone in your
group and go, I'm sucking wind right now.
Help me out.
Right.
100%.
That's, we, we kind of call it almost
like it's like a brotherhood, right?
It's like you, you get so close with these
(28:27):
guys over dinners and, and over the, you
know, breaking down problems and, and
coming up with solutions for each other.
And I am, gosh, so thankful for our group.
And, and, and for all of the, the
future success of the, that group.
And it's, there's nothing
really like it, right?
You can compare it to, to maybe a
(28:48):
baseball team or a college team,
you know, things like that, where
you're really meeting with these
guys and seeing them all the time.
But that bond you create over the
hardship of entrepreneurship is,
you know, It's something just so
strong because it is so hard and
it can be incredibly lonely, right?
And so you get this group of guys
that you can really share like,
(29:09):
hey, everyone comes to you with the
problems or the issues or the things.
But you really don't have anyone
to go to with those, right?
And so the peer group allows
you to have, you know, a phone
line to call and say, hey.
am struggling with this thing, man.
Is it, do you, how do you guys,
you know, handle this, you
know, any, any food for thought.
(29:31):
So that's been crucial.
That's good.
That's really good.
You know, it's interesting to see
these, these people go through
this group and understand, you
know, that it's awesome because.
When you think you're the only one on
the island screwing everything up and
you meet 10 other owners, you're like,
God, I'm not so crazy or stupid myself.
(29:51):
Like I, everyone has the same problem.
And and, and you can work as a,
as a group and, and move forward.
That's great.
Yeah, totally.
Another question I got, what does the
future look like from alone landscaping?
Like what, what is here on out?
What does it look like?
Tell me what you, what you guys
are, Hoping to get done and some
(30:13):
big dreams that you got going on
Yeah.
I think our biggest dream right now is
just continuing to build off and, and,
and really grow a legacy company, right.
Where, where we've got generations
and generations of, of management
field staff And and ownership, right?
And so we, we see a lot of private
equity, private equity movement and
(30:34):
things like that coming into our industry.
And, and, and one of our biggest drivers
right now is, is to keep and hold the line
on the family owned and operated front
because, you know, what we provide and,
and what we're trying to produce with our
culture and how we treat our people and
how that transcends down to our clients
(30:54):
and, and, and providing great service.
is the true mission, right?
So obviously we've got big
growth potential and goals.
I think the future is, is, is very bright.
It's, it's certainly gonna be hard
and it's got a rocky road ahead.
But I think right now are we're kind of
focusing on really tightening up our,
(31:17):
our current, current focus and then
you know, expanding north and south.
So we're, we're definitely being pulled
in both directions by clients and we want
to be able to provide really good service
and, and it gets really hard in our market
without auxiliary locations and branch
type type locations to, to service far and
(31:38):
wide because of the traffic and things.
So.
Definitely see that on the horizon for us.
that I could, I could totally see
that to expand expansion slightly,
just make sure you get, you get the
mothership perfectly ready to go, right?
Right.
is the one that provides everything
and then you'll be going from there.
Exactly.
one last question, Ryan.
(31:59):
Okay.
And our audience is always get looking
for a good little takeaway or advice.
Anyone that's out there,
like, what do you stand by?
What's one piece of advice that
you would leave that is, is a
staple for, for Ryan Malone?
My biggest one, and it's, it's
probably pretty cliche, but
(32:19):
it, your people are everything.
And the, the, the quality of, of
those people that you're able to, to
get on your team and on your side.
And under that big big BHAG goal
and mission is what's going to
drive the success of the company.
Right.
And so we've always been a, a people
first and client second type culture,
(32:41):
because we know if our people are
taken care of and we've got great
individuals on our team, those clients
are going to benefit the most from that.
If we go client before our people,
it's, it's a little bit backwards.
Right.
And so that doesn't always transfer.
So we've got a huge focus on our people
and providing a great place to work in a,
(33:02):
in a destination place to work and, you
know, it's probably said in every, Every
single podcast, but I think that's the
biggest thing that you have to focus on
is really creating a, a great atmosphere
for, for good work to transpire.
I 100 percent agree with you, Ryan.
That's a great one.
I believe it.
I've said it a hundred times, but
I'm gonna say it 101 times because
that's just what I believe in.
(33:23):
The people are your biggest asset.
The number one asset in your organization.
And as long as you are taking care
of them, accountability, structure,
training, education, all on the board,
everything else falls into place.
100%, 100%,
percent agree.
And if you don't believe me, go watch
(33:44):
Bologna on, on social media, because
they are posting all kinds of stuff.
about how they truly treat their team
from the very top to the very bottom
in, in East and West, because I see it.
I saw the swag chain not too
long ago that was posted.
Like I love all the culture building
items that you guys are doing.
(34:06):
So 100 percent keep that going.
A hundred percent and it'll pay dividends.
Sometimes you don't see it
for a little bit, but, but it
starts to really pay off and.
Man, it, it's, you can't do it alone.
You just can't.
And so you need, you need very good people
and you need to take good care of them.
Yeah.
Love it.
That's great.
Well, Ryan, keep up the hard work.
(34:27):
I'm going to watch your stories.
all the time.
I'm sure a lot of people are
going to jump on, so you might
have a few more followers.
So,
so yeah, you got to keep
your accountability going.
So, and I'll keep mine going
and we'll watch each other's
journey along the way, but.
It's been a pleasure having you, Ryan.
(34:47):
Thank you for the the feedback, but let
me, let me actually get through this
real fast before I get off, because
I want to make sure this is right.
Second generation owner.
One of the things that we learned out
that you're going through that means
the most important is communication.
Between mom, dad, brother, and even
the team for that matter is an open,
(35:08):
honest and transparent communication
with everybody, what's going on,
the changes, that sort of thing.
Every time you come back from a peer
group meeting, I don't need to vomit
all over my parents and say, this is
the 72 things that we need to learn.
Right.
Kind of take it all
Right.
Building a maintenance team
basically from scratch, right?
One of the biggest things I learned
(35:28):
was get your sales men out there
and hit the ground hard as you can.
Pedal the metal, knock down
some doors, build brand.
And be after it.
Otherwise, no one's just going to show
up at your doorstep and want services.
Exactly.
No one's walking in the door on their own.
Yeah.
Work life balance.
It can be done because
(35:49):
this guy has shown it.
I have seen it and
witnessed it, his journeys.
So there is literally no excuses for
you to have the balance of taking
care of your mind and, your body.
I love it.
Peer groups is where it's at.
Tons of information.
My audience and our audience
knows that well, all too well.
(36:09):
And people first in your organization.
Right.
Right.
Ryan, it's been a pleasure, buddy.
Keep it running and keep it going.
Likewise.
You too, man.
Inspiration.
Appreciate it, Tommy.
All right, buddy.
Ready to take the next step?
Download our free Profitability Scorecard
(36:29):
to quickly create your own baseline
financial assessment and uncover the
fastest ways to improve your business.
Just go to McFarlinStanford.com/scorecard
to get yours today To learn more about
McFarlin Stanford our best in class
peer groups and other services go to
our website at McFarlinStanford.com
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(36:50):
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See you next time on the Roots of Success.
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