January 25, 2025 • 24 mins
At just 19 years old, Xavier Owens is not your average entrepreneur. From mowing lawns at age 12 to founding his own flourishing business, American Spirit Lawn and Landscape, Xavier's journey is both inspiring and insightful. We sit down with this impressive young business owner from Walton, Kentucky, as he shares how the unexpected twists of the COVID pandemic turned into a catalyst for his growth, and how guidance from his mentor, Scott Good, helped shape his entrepreneurial path. Xavier opens up about the vital role his family’s entrepreneurial values have played in his success and the profound mental health benefits he finds in the satisfaction of physical work.
Listeners will be captivated by how Xavier manages the balancing act of business and personal life, drawing inspiration from his mother’s creative career in interior design. Discover his passion for expanding into hardscape projects and learn about the strategies he employs to maintain excellence in customer service. From the art of crafting detailed outdoor living spaces to blending both residential and commercial work, Xavier offers a fresh perspective on innovation and the importance of surrounding himself with a capable team. Join us for an engaging conversation that promises to leave you motivated and informed, with a glimpse into the promising future of American Spirit Lawn and Landscape.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, mike Murphy.
Thank you, charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
Here in Northern Kentucky,specifically Union Kentucky, we
(00:21):
talk to local business ownersand influencers so that you can
get to know them as real people,human beings.
And the human being I have inthe studio today is a local guy
that I met.
It's been probably a coupleyears ago.
He's done some work for melandscape work.
(00:41):
His name is Xavier Owens and heowns a company called American
Spirit Lawn and Landscape.
So, without further ado, Xavier, welcome to the show man.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Hey, Mike, I appreciate it.
It's really a pleasure to be onhere and I'm really blessed to
be able to be around greatpeople like you and be a part of
something like this.
It's pretty sweet.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I love the vision, yeah the pleasure is's all mine,
man.
Um, I've been impressed withyou, by you, um, the good work
you do, um young man that youare, and the professional that
you have become and are becoming.
We're all a work in progress,as you know, and your business,
(01:22):
as young as it is, um, has a lotof growth ahead of it, and so
we're going to talk a little bitabout that today, talk a little
bit about you, how you got intothe business and where you're
headed.
So let's talk about that.
How did you get involved inlawn and landscape?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, so I'm 19 years old and so I started getting
into the lawn care side of itwhen I was about 12, 13 years
old with a friend, kind of justcutting grass in the
neighborhood, utilizing HOApages on Facebook and working,
kind of learning my marketingthrough that.
You know, doing door to doorsales as many people would start
(02:02):
their entrepreneurial journey.
Doing door-to-door sales, asmany people would start their
entrepreneurial journey and wewere pretty successful with it.
We had a pretty good clientele.
But the following year myfriend didn't really want to cut
grass anymore and I loved it.
I love being outside, I loveworking, I love the different
relationships I was forming withdifferent people and customer
relations really, and so I justwent from there.
(02:25):
During COVID I really wasstrived big time in terms of
getting clientele and forminggood customer relations with
people.
My business really took offduring COVID.
I was, you know I say businessbut I was kind of doing it on my
own.
I was like 15 years old I thinkat the time, doing a lot of
grass stuff and then starting toget into mulch and different
(02:48):
maintenance items and stuff likethat.
But I really was interested.
I had a mentor who's helped mealong the way, his name's Scott
Good and he was a landscaper andhe was also my baseball coach,
so I remember when we wereplaying baseball he was always
talking about that and how muchwork there is out there, and so
(03:10):
he was kind of somebody whoreally helped guide me in a few
things that I did to be able toget more clientele and have a
good image out there and makemyself professional.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Very good.
I guess you know you're sayingthat you really got into the
business.
You know started at 12 in termsof experience and yeah, that's
kind of like all of us.
I guess Our first experiencegetting into that type of
business is when we're forced todo it because our parents tell
us get out there and cut thegrass.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Right, yeah, it's.
Uh, it's funny now because mydad cuts the grass at our house,
so I'm not doing that, but uh,no, he loves doing that stuff.
It is good.
Um, I've been really blessed.
My parents have always uh, mymom owns a business and interior
designing business and, um, youknow, they're the real
go-getters and, um, and they'vekind of just carried that to me
(04:05):
as well, that you know, I'm notgoing to sit around all day and
play video games like go out anddo something.
I love doing that and I'veloved going out and earning
stuff and that feels great.
So it feels good foraccountability and just to look
back at the end of the day andsee what you can grow, see what
you can do.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
It's pretty sweet.
Yeah, I think there's somethingthat's good for your mental
health too.
When you're out there workingwith your hands in the dirt,
you're kind of just in that zone.
It's almost Zen-like, I guess.
You're alone with your thoughtswhile you're doing the work.
So that's one thing that Ialways enjoyed about mowing my
own lawn doing the work.
So that's one thing that Ialways enjoyed about, you know,
(04:47):
mowing my own lawn.
Then again, our bodies onlyhave so many miles in us, and so
eventually we all learn to handthe reins over to a trusted
professional.
So that's when we call Xavierand he comes to our rescue.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, it's, it is is awesome.
I uh, you know I got two guyswho help me now currently and uh
, I'll tell you some of the besttimes I've been out on jobs
just talking about stuff, jokingaround, you know, in a way.
But uh, we're still out thereto we mean business and we're
there to uh to knock somethingout for somebody and make it
look good.
Um, but it's, it's always yougot to have some type of
(05:23):
enjoyment while you're working.
I truly love what I do and thatshows with the work, if you
love what you do, you're goingto care about people's property
and how you treat it and what itlooks like at the end.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
So since you officially started the business.
Just like all businesses,there's, there's always a lot to
learn.
You don't know what you don'tknow.
So what's been the biggestthing you've learned, the the
biggest lesson you've learned,since you started the business?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I started this business officially as an LLC
here October of 23.
So this year will be our twoyear anniversary.
But I would say, surroundingyourself with good people.
You know, in business,unfortunately, there's in any
(06:21):
field there's different peoplewho may act a certain way
towards you and maybe try to getan upper hand on you or
whatever.
I haven't experienced too muchof that, but I've also seen it
firsthand, and so I think thebiggest thing I've just been
blessed with is surroundingmyself with good people.
(06:41):
I don't do this on my own.
I am great friends with manyother landscapers in the area
and my goal is not to, you know,look at another landscaper in
the area and be like, oh, hedoesn't do this, he doesn't do
that.
You know, I want to be friendswith them and surround myself
with them, because we all canbuild on each other, and I think
that's what matters in terms ofany type of business you're
(07:03):
running is building on eachother.
Talking to people, becomingfriends with people that's what
I love.
Love that.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Well, sounds like you have a good head on your
shoulders.
I haven't met your parents, butI can probably tell what kind
of people they are just bytalking to you.
Yeah, business can be cutthroat, but if you keep a humble heart
not just in business but inlife and keep your eyes open,
your ears open, there's alwaysopportunity in front of you and
(07:32):
people willing to help.
You have to just sort of putblinders on in terms of all
those obstacles.
I know that's tough sometimes,but yeah, it's good that you
have learned that at such ayoung age.
It'll serve you well movingforward.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
So you've got an athletic background too, right
yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You were on the baseball team.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
I know that.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, I graduated from Ryle last year and we were
the second team in schoolhistory to win the regional
championship of the ninth region.
So that was pretty sweet.
Some of the best memories withsome of my best friends.
That will be there just forever.
Man, what a great time.
(08:18):
Went down to Lexington, playeddown there in the state
championship or the statetournament, made it to the Elite
eight, which is a hugeaccomplishment.
Um, again, I I don't think thathad been done.
We hadn't got that far inschool history.
So, ultimately, the best teamin school history last year and,
um, just so thankful I was apart of it.
It was uh, wouldn't trade itfor anything, it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Nice Good for you.
Yeah, I followed a lot of thaton social media.
Yeah, Wasn't able to get outand see any games because you
know I'm busy doing what I'mdoing.
Right or it's cold or it's 30degrees.
You know I get it.
I was very proud of you guys asI watched what you were
achieving there, so we talkedabout.
(09:05):
I talked about your parentsearlier, about they must have
done a great job raising you.
They must be good people.
Let's talk about them.
Let's talk about family for abit.
Um, how big is your family?
Who do you call family?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
so, um, I'm the only child in my family.
I got my mom, my dad and wehave a dog named huck corporate
huckleberry uh, he's a basset, abeagle basset, uh, so he likes
to sit around all day.
He's big, he needs to startdieting, but, uh, no, it's.
It's awesome me, uh, yeah,we're just a pretty low-key
(09:36):
family, um, you know, uh, I've Iuh know a lot of families
around the area who are a lotbigger but, um, pretty low-key,
and my parents, uh, again, just,yeah, I appreciate you
mentioned there's great peopleand, uh, yeah, my uh, a little
bit of background.
My dad is a professor at uc andhe teaches, uh, digital media,
(10:00):
um, so he does a lot ofpodcasting, um, radio, um and
different television kind of.
He also works a little bitwithin the business marketing
kind of part of podcasting,whatever.
So it's a lot of stuff that'srelevant to me, so he's been a
very good help on that end.
My mom is an interior designer.
(10:22):
She owns a business, decoraMoore, and she's very talented.
You know, there's some peoplethat you know just have an eye
for things, uh, like I wouldthink I do in landscaping.
She has an eye in interiordesigning, um, it's just
incredible what some of thestuff she does.
Um, and yeah, she's owned herown business for quite a while,
(10:46):
I want to say closer to 20 yearsnow.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
So yeah, but I have some extended family, spent a
lot of time with my grandpa, oneof my biggest supporters, and
he comes to every single one ofmy events anything you know he's
there, and my step-grandma aswell.
My events anything I'm you knowhe's there, and my step-grandma
(11:10):
as well.
My mom's mom just recentlypassed away.
Rest in peace, but I know she'sin a great place and we're
thankful for everybody whosupported us in the time this
year.
So but yeah, that's a littlebit, not a huge family, but I
like to say we're chill.
We're chill and low key.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Yeah, you're surrounded by blessings.
Obviously, I always say beingaware of your blessings is the
biggest blessing in and ofitself.
So, in terms of you know, aswe're recording this, it's the
dead of winter, there's a ton ofsnow on the ground.
You're not out there cuttinggrass because all the grass is
covered up and it's, you know,15 degrees right now, or
(11:50):
something like that.
So, when you're not busy allsummer long, do you get to go
out and enjoy life?
Go on vacation?
Do you and your family go out?
What do you like to do for fun?
What's vacation like for you?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Absolutely.
I think that's a great point.
Um, I think there's manyentrepreneurs and uh people in
businesses that uh, I don'tthink they give themselves
enough time off Um, and I thinkthat could be really negative to
uh your mental health and uhthe success of your business.
Um, and so I've been.
You know good to realize thatyou need rest and you need to
(12:31):
take time off and you're notgoing to be able to go 100%
seven days a week, even thoughyou know you see a paycheck and
you want to chase it.
You know that's great and a lotof people can do that for a
while, but there's only so longthat you can do that for until
you seriously crash out.
But in, in terms of fun, I loveto fish.
I'm just I stay outdoors.
(12:52):
You know if I'm, you know whenI'm outdoors, uh, I stay out
there.
So I love to fish, uh, enjoygoing to different parks, um,
just walking around chilling.
Um.
We have a little boat.
Sometimes I'll go out and fishon that, go boating with a few
of my friends.
Um, I do kickboxing and likesome, uh, some of that stuff.
(13:12):
I recently got into that uhtriple crown athletic here in uh
and walton on 25.
Um, so I've been really uhthankful for a lot of people
who've taught me some of thatstuff.
It's, uh, it's a fun way tostay in shape and, uh, a lot of
people who've taught me some ofthat stuff.
It's uh, it's a fun way to stayin shape and, uh, you know,
learn self-defense I guess so.
So, yeah, um, but we uh, yeah,definitely.
I, I definitely try to take atleast one vacation a year, um,
(13:36):
because throughout the wholeyear it's, you know, through
spring and when it gets reallybusy, it's uh takes a toll on
you.
So it is very good to be ableto go away and let loose um.
Last year me and my friend wentdown to uh Destin, florida, um
just chilling down there uh,with some of his family, um.
(13:57):
But I think this year me and mydad might go take a fishing
trip.
He loves to fish as well, so wemight go down somewhere south
to try to catch some big bass,something like that.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
So yeah, fishing is another activity that's good for
your mental health.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Oh, yeah, definitely Very calming.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
So back to the business part of the podcast.
What is the least favorite partof your landscaping business?
Of the job, the actual jobitself.
What's your least favorite partof it?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I think, um, I think it comes back to part of running
the business.
You know there's a lot of umstuff behind the scenes.
You know it's it's.
It's pretty easy on to go outand do the work and um, but to
plan the work I think is some ofthe toughest part, is, uh, to
try to fit some of these peopleinto your schedule and I think
some people understanding thatyou know I can't do it tomorrow
(14:53):
or whatever, although I dounderstand in some points where
you know you need it done, I getit.
It's just we're going to behonest with you and try to do as
best we can with helping youout.
But I think a lot of thescheduling is one of the tougher
parts.
I've been really good onorganization throughout my
(15:13):
business.
You know I have a software thatkeeps all of my books and
everything, so pretty much atthe stay up to date with it
throughout the week and go overit, look over it so that when
tax season comes it's prettyeasy Send my CPA some stuff and
it's pretty much done.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
That's pretty common.
When you're out there doingyour business, the stuff you're
passionate about, that's theeasy part.
But it's very common forentrepreneurs to kind of
struggle a little bit when itcomes to the scheduling, the
admin stuff, the marketing, thesales stuff, the marketing, the
sales part of it.
So if you can get good peoplearound you to help out with that
(15:54):
, then that's going to help youscale your business and get
where you want to be someday,I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, I would say the balance, too, between enjoying
yourself too.
There's a lot of times whereI'm like, man, I really do need
to just uh, you know, sit downand relax today, but, man, I
want to go work, or man, I wantto go do this and I want to go
help this person out, um, butyou know, at the end of the day,
you gotta realize what's youruh, look back and say, you know,
(16:21):
I do need to take a break andif, uh, if you can realize that
you're going to be a strongentrepreneur, strong person.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
So I've seen some samples of your work, not just
on your website, but I've seenphotos, seen some things in
person.
One thing that I know thatreally interests you a lot in
terms of your future what you'rereally passionate about would
be hardscapes.
Is that right?
Yes, sir.
So when people hear hardscapes,I think first thing that they
(16:55):
might think of would be just aretaining wall.
Well, there's more to it thanthat, I'm sure, but where do you
want to take hardscapes interms of grand master plan, with
your vision moving forward?
What's that look like?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So I mean we're doing a lot of that already.
This year we're going to bebigger, more expanding into that
.
You know we don't do as muchlawn care, which I'm fine with
it's my baby, I started with it,but I'm okay to move on.
And I just love this hardscapestuff, a lot of stone work,
because I'm able to take mydetails that I use in lawn care
(17:32):
and landscaping and put thoseinto a different sector of a
business and it all relates.
Man, you do really good.
If you can rip some really niceedges on a landscape, then
you're going to be able to ripsome really nice inlays on a
paver patio.
So I just really love that partof it being on one job for
(17:53):
possibly, you know, a week or afew days.
It's a lot less stress.
Honestly.
You're on one site, you canfocus on that and you know.
You know what needs to be doneinstead of lawn care.
You're running all over townall day.
You know what needs to be doneinstead of lawn care.
You're running all over townall day, multiple days a week,
which that can be stressful.
So I like that part of being onthat site.
(18:13):
But I love again, I love thedetail stuff.
That's what I'm all about isdetails, and that's where I get
an advantage over a lot ofpeople is the detail stuff and
helping people out.
You know, I'm not a type ofperson that if somebody's like,
hey, could you come back andjust tweak this up a little bit,
I'm not going to charge you forthat.
(18:33):
I'm somebody who's there tohelp.
I'm not somebody who's justseeking a dollar, and I think
that's very important.
There's a lot of businessowners out there who are just
simply seeking a dollar, but Ithink about the common person
and, um, really trying to helpthem out, and you know what that
does in my overall image.
(18:54):
Um, but yeah, I, just I, Ireally enjoy it in the future.
In short terms, um, thehardscape is going to be
somewhere where we're going toexcel and, uh, I would love to
take over the area with that.
Uh, in terms of all the designwork, I love, love that I'm
getting into that.
Yes, there's walls includedwith that, but a lot of the
paver work and really interestedin and over the offseason, all
(19:16):
we do all me and my guys do isstudy, go to different courses
for these hardscapes and we aresolely committed to knowing how
to do these and you know gettingbetter every single year If
you've been in it for 25 years.
I think there's still room toget better, there's new
innovation, and so we reallytake advantage of since we're
(19:39):
not busy right now just goingout and learning, hearing from
people that do it best andreally listening.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Well, you're in a business too, where you you have
a lot of before and afterphotos.
You get to see the fruits ofyour labor.
So when a project is done, youget to stand there and stare at
it and think, dang, there's alot of hard work, but look what
I did, and you're you're, youknow, working with people who
(20:09):
are kind of counting on you tohave that, that vision, and go
the extra mile.
You're working on their castles, you know.
Yeah.
So, speaking of residents, Imean, I don't know this, but do
you do any commercial work too?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yep, yep, we have, we've done some commercial stuff
.
I have one permanent commercialsite that I do for maintenance
and lawn care, um, but yeah, wedo commercial work and we're
licensed for that and, uh,insured and everything.
So, um, yeah, for sure I don'tget as many calls.
I do, like most of theresidential side, because that's
more of the outdoor livingspace I'm looking to accomplish
(20:46):
with um, with my target there.
But you know, there'sdefinitely some commercial walls
and maybe some patio type stuffthat it could be done.
So we do it for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So people want to go to your website and connect with
you and maybe see examples ofwork.
What's the website where theygo?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
American spirit landscapingcom.
So check that out and we have abot on there that, in the
bottom right corner, you canclick on and you can ask any
question.
You put your information inthere and it'll send me a text
immediately.
So I have all of your stuff.
I have your address, I haveeverything beforehand.
(21:26):
So if we end up doing worktogether, I don't have to ask
you for that.
I already your address, I haveeverything beforehand.
So if we end up doing worktogether, I don't have to ask
you for that.
I already have it goes rightinto my system and we're good to
go.
You know you can see all of ourservices on there and we have a
gallery of our work.
We have our social media.
We take advantage of that.
That's where we're reallytrying to work is our Instagram,
some of that, some of thevideos and just some cool stuff
(21:50):
we can do just to elevate ourbusiness to the next level.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Okay, well, very good , I know that when I've reached
out to you, you've been veryresponsive, and occasionally,
when you know that let's sayit's time for aeration, you know
I'll get a text from you verypolitely just asking hey man,
it's that time of year, Do youneed me?
So, and I always appreciatethat too, because we're not able
(22:16):
to always stay on top of thatourselves and we need somebody
to just kind of help us keep ourlife in order and sometimes
that involves our lawn life inorder and sometimes that
involves our lawn.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah Well, and I I love that.
Um, that's one part I reallytry to excel into is the
responsiveness to there's.
You know, um, I think manypeople will understand that you
know we're busy and everythingbut um, you know, their, their
opinion or what they're uhwanting is is important to me
too, too, even if it's a brandnew person.
So I take time to be able totry to respond to everybody,
(22:52):
usually within the first 24hours.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Well, xavier, we've reached the end of our time
together.
It's been fun talking to youtoday, so, before we go, is
there anything you want to sayas a parting, as a parting
thought to listeners out there?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well, again, I appreciate Mike for having me
out, and if you're a businessowner in the area and you want
to get to know me, I'm all aboutit.
I love networking.
Shoot me a text, give me a call, we'll get lunch.
That's what I've been doingthis whole offseason is having
networking with differentbusiness owners around the area,
and I love it.
I can't get enough of thatstuff to reach out, and if you
(23:29):
got any different serviceopportunities that we might be
able to be a part of, hit me up.
I would love to.
We definitely are trying toexcel in the service part of our
business as well, so I wouldlove to be a part of it.
So thanks again, guys, and lookforward to hearing from some of
you guys.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Perfect, I'll make sure that all of your contact
information is noted when we putthis podcast up, which will be
very soon.
So, and I hope to see you againthis summer, for sure, out
there working on my back patio,it needs some.
It needs some attention.
So, that being said, everybody,thanks for listening to the
(24:12):
Good Neighbor podcast today.
Until next time, everybody, begood to your neighbor.
See you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thanks for listening to theGood Neighbor podcast Union.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, Go to GNPUnioncom.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
That's GNPUnioncom, or call us at 859-651-8330.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, mike Murphy.
Thank you, charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
Here in Northern Kentucky,specifically Union Kentucky, we
(00:21):
talk to local business ownersand influencers so that you can
get to know them as real people,human beings.
And the human being I have inthe studio today is a local guy
that I met.
It's been probably a coupleyears ago.
He's done some work for melandscape work.
(00:41):
His name is Xavier Owens and heowns a company called American
Spirit Lawn and Landscape.
So, without further ado, Xavier, welcome to the show man.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Hey, Mike, I appreciate it.
It's really a pleasure to be onhere and I'm really blessed to
be able to be around greatpeople like you and be a part of
something like this.
It's pretty sweet.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
I love the vision, yeah the pleasure is's all mine,
man.
Um, I've been impressed withyou, by you, um, the good work
you do, um young man that youare, and the professional that
you have become and are becoming.
We're all a work in progress,as you know, and your business,
(01:22):
as young as it is, um, has a lotof growth ahead of it, and so
we're going to talk a little bitabout that today, talk a little
bit about you, how you got intothe business and where you're
headed.
So let's talk about that.
How did you get involved inlawn and landscape?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Yeah, so I'm 19 years old and so I started getting
into the lawn care side of itwhen I was about 12, 13 years
old with a friend, kind of justcutting grass in the
neighborhood, utilizing HOApages on Facebook and working,
kind of learning my marketingthrough that.
You know, doing door to doorsales as many people would start
(02:02):
their entrepreneurial journey.
Doing door-to-door sales, asmany people would start their
entrepreneurial journey and wewere pretty successful with it.
We had a pretty good clientele.
But the following year myfriend didn't really want to cut
grass anymore and I loved it.
I love being outside, I loveworking, I love the different
relationships I was forming withdifferent people and customer
relations really, and so I justwent from there.
(02:25):
During COVID I really wasstrived big time in terms of
getting clientele and forminggood customer relations with
people.
My business really took offduring COVID.
I was, you know I say businessbut I was kind of doing it on my
own.
I was like 15 years old I thinkat the time, doing a lot of
grass stuff and then starting toget into mulch and different
(02:48):
maintenance items and stuff likethat.
But I really was interested.
I had a mentor who's helped mealong the way, his name's Scott
Good and he was a landscaper andhe was also my baseball coach,
so I remember when we wereplaying baseball he was always
talking about that and how muchwork there is out there, and so
(03:10):
he was kind of somebody whoreally helped guide me in a few
things that I did to be able toget more clientele and have a
good image out there and makemyself professional.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Very good.
I guess you know you're sayingthat you really got into the
business.
You know started at 12 in termsof experience and yeah, that's
kind of like all of us.
I guess Our first experiencegetting into that type of
business is when we're forced todo it because our parents tell
us get out there and cut thegrass.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Right, yeah, it's.
Uh, it's funny now because mydad cuts the grass at our house,
so I'm not doing that, but uh,no, he loves doing that stuff.
It is good.
Um, I've been really blessed.
My parents have always uh, mymom owns a business and interior
designing business and, um, youknow, they're the real
go-getters and, um, and they'vekind of just carried that to me
(04:05):
as well, that you know, I'm notgoing to sit around all day and
play video games like go out anddo something.
I love doing that and I'veloved going out and earning
stuff and that feels great.
So it feels good foraccountability and just to look
back at the end of the day andsee what you can grow, see what
you can do.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
It's pretty sweet.
Yeah, I think there's somethingthat's good for your mental
health too.
When you're out there workingwith your hands in the dirt,
you're kind of just in that zone.
It's almost Zen-like, I guess.
You're alone with your thoughtswhile you're doing the work.
So that's one thing that Ialways enjoyed about mowing my
own lawn doing the work.
So that's one thing that Ialways enjoyed about, you know,
(04:47):
mowing my own lawn.
Then again, our bodies onlyhave so many miles in us, and so
eventually we all learn to handthe reins over to a trusted
professional.
So that's when we call Xavierand he comes to our rescue.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, it's, it is is awesome.
I uh, you know I got two guyswho help me now currently and uh
, I'll tell you some of the besttimes I've been out on jobs
just talking about stuff, jokingaround, you know, in a way.
But uh, we're still out thereto we mean business and we're
there to uh to knock somethingout for somebody and make it
look good.
Um, but it's, it's always yougot to have some type of
(05:23):
enjoyment while you're working.
I truly love what I do and thatshows with the work, if you
love what you do, you're goingto care about people's property
and how you treat it and what itlooks like at the end.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
So since you officially started the business.
Just like all businesses,there's, there's always a lot to
learn.
You don't know what you don'tknow.
So what's been the biggestthing you've learned, the the
biggest lesson you've learned,since you started the business?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I started this business officially as an LLC
here October of 23.
So this year will be our twoyear anniversary.
But I would say, surroundingyourself with good people.
You know, in business,unfortunately, there's in any
(06:21):
field there's different peoplewho may act a certain way
towards you and maybe try to getan upper hand on you or
whatever.
I haven't experienced too muchof that, but I've also seen it
firsthand, and so I think thebiggest thing I've just been
blessed with is surroundingmyself with good people.
(06:41):
I don't do this on my own.
I am great friends with manyother landscapers in the area
and my goal is not to, you know,look at another landscaper in
the area and be like, oh, hedoesn't do this, he doesn't do
that.
You know, I want to be friendswith them and surround myself
with them, because we all canbuild on each other, and I think
that's what matters in terms ofany type of business you're
(07:03):
running is building on eachother.
Talking to people, becomingfriends with people that's what
I love.
Love that.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Well, sounds like you have a good head on your
shoulders.
I haven't met your parents, butI can probably tell what kind
of people they are just bytalking to you.
Yeah, business can be cutthroat, but if you keep a humble heart
not just in business but inlife and keep your eyes open,
your ears open, there's alwaysopportunity in front of you and
(07:32):
people willing to help.
You have to just sort of putblinders on in terms of all
those obstacles.
I know that's tough sometimes,but yeah, it's good that you
have learned that at such ayoung age.
It'll serve you well movingforward.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
So you've got an athletic background too, right
yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
You were on the baseball team.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
I know that.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Yeah, I graduated from Ryle last year and we were
the second team in schoolhistory to win the regional
championship of the ninth region.
So that was pretty sweet.
Some of the best memories withsome of my best friends.
That will be there just forever.
Man, what a great time.
(08:18):
Went down to Lexington, playeddown there in the state
championship or the statetournament, made it to the Elite
eight, which is a hugeaccomplishment.
Um, again, I I don't think thathad been done.
We hadn't got that far inschool history.
So, ultimately, the best teamin school history last year and,
um, just so thankful I was apart of it.
It was uh, wouldn't trade itfor anything, it was awesome.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Nice Good for you.
Yeah, I followed a lot of thaton social media.
Yeah, Wasn't able to get outand see any games because you
know I'm busy doing what I'mdoing.
Right or it's cold or it's 30degrees.
You know I get it.
I was very proud of you guys asI watched what you were
achieving there, so we talkedabout.
(09:05):
I talked about your parentsearlier, about they must have
done a great job raising you.
They must be good people.
Let's talk about them.
Let's talk about family for abit.
Um, how big is your family?
Who do you call family?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
so, um, I'm the only child in my family.
I got my mom, my dad and wehave a dog named huck corporate
huckleberry uh, he's a basset, abeagle basset, uh, so he likes
to sit around all day.
He's big, he needs to startdieting, but, uh, no, it's.
It's awesome me, uh, yeah,we're just a pretty low-key
(09:36):
family, um, you know, uh, I've Iuh know a lot of families
around the area who are a lotbigger but, um, pretty low-key,
and my parents, uh, again, just,yeah, I appreciate you
mentioned there's great peopleand, uh, yeah, my uh, a little
bit of background.
My dad is a professor at uc andhe teaches, uh, digital media,
(10:00):
um, so he does a lot ofpodcasting, um, radio, um and
different television kind of.
He also works a little bitwithin the business marketing
kind of part of podcasting,whatever.
So it's a lot of stuff that'srelevant to me, so he's been a
very good help on that end.
My mom is an interior designer.
(10:22):
She owns a business, decoraMoore, and she's very talented.
You know, there's some peoplethat you know just have an eye
for things, uh, like I wouldthink I do in landscaping.
She has an eye in interiordesigning, um, it's just
incredible what some of thestuff she does.
Um, and yeah, she's owned herown business for quite a while,
(10:46):
I want to say closer to 20 yearsnow.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
So yeah, but I have some extended family, spent a
lot of time with my grandpa, oneof my biggest supporters, and
he comes to every single one ofmy events anything you know he's
there, and my step-grandma aswell.
My events anything I'm you knowhe's there, and my step-grandma
(11:10):
as well.
My mom's mom just recentlypassed away.
Rest in peace, but I know she'sin a great place and we're
thankful for everybody whosupported us in the time this
year.
So but yeah, that's a littlebit, not a huge family, but I
like to say we're chill.
We're chill and low key.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Yeah, you're surrounded by blessings.
Obviously, I always say beingaware of your blessings is the
biggest blessing in and ofitself.
So, in terms of you know, aswe're recording this, it's the
dead of winter, there's a ton ofsnow on the ground.
You're not out there cuttinggrass because all the grass is
covered up and it's, you know,15 degrees right now, or
(11:50):
something like that.
So, when you're not busy allsummer long, do you get to go
out and enjoy life?
Go on vacation?
Do you and your family go out?
What do you like to do for fun?
What's vacation like for you?
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Absolutely.
I think that's a great point.
Um, I think there's manyentrepreneurs and uh people in
businesses that uh, I don'tthink they give themselves
enough time off Um, and I thinkthat could be really negative to
uh your mental health and uhthe success of your business.
Um, and so I've been.
You know good to realize thatyou need rest and you need to
(12:31):
take time off and you're notgoing to be able to go 100%
seven days a week, even thoughyou know you see a paycheck and
you want to chase it.
You know that's great and a lotof people can do that for a
while, but there's only so longthat you can do that for until
you seriously crash out.
But in, in terms of fun, I loveto fish.
I'm just I stay outdoors.
(12:52):
You know if I'm, you know whenI'm outdoors, uh, I stay out
there.
So I love to fish, uh, enjoygoing to different parks, um,
just walking around chilling.
Um.
We have a little boat.
Sometimes I'll go out and fishon that, go boating with a few
of my friends.
Um, I do kickboxing and likesome, uh, some of that stuff.
(13:12):
I recently got into that uhtriple crown athletic here in uh
and walton on 25.
Um, so I've been really uhthankful for a lot of people
who've taught me some of thatstuff.
It's, uh, it's a fun way tostay in shape and, uh, a lot of
people who've taught me some ofthat stuff.
It's uh, it's a fun way to stayin shape and, uh, you know,
learn self-defense I guess so.
So, yeah, um, but we uh, yeah,definitely.
I, I definitely try to take atleast one vacation a year, um,
(13:36):
because throughout the wholeyear it's, you know, through
spring and when it gets reallybusy, it's uh takes a toll on
you.
So it is very good to be ableto go away and let loose um.
Last year me and my friend wentdown to uh Destin, florida, um
just chilling down there uh,with some of his family, um.
(13:57):
But I think this year me and mydad might go take a fishing
trip.
He loves to fish as well, so wemight go down somewhere south
to try to catch some big bass,something like that.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
So yeah, fishing is another activity that's good for
your mental health.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Oh, yeah, definitely Very calming.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
So back to the business part of the podcast.
What is the least favorite partof your landscaping business?
Of the job, the actual jobitself.
What's your least favorite partof it?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I think, um, I think it comes back to part of running
the business.
You know there's a lot of umstuff behind the scenes.
You know it's it's.
It's pretty easy on to go outand do the work and um, but to
plan the work I think is some ofthe toughest part, is, uh, to
try to fit some of these peopleinto your schedule and I think
some people understanding thatyou know I can't do it tomorrow
(14:53):
or whatever, although I dounderstand in some points where
you know you need it done, I getit.
It's just we're going to behonest with you and try to do as
best we can with helping youout.
But I think a lot of thescheduling is one of the tougher
parts.
I've been really good onorganization throughout my
(15:13):
business.
You know I have a software thatkeeps all of my books and
everything, so pretty much atthe stay up to date with it
throughout the week and go overit, look over it so that when
tax season comes it's prettyeasy Send my CPA some stuff and
it's pretty much done.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
That's pretty common.
When you're out there doingyour business, the stuff you're
passionate about, that's theeasy part.
But it's very common forentrepreneurs to kind of
struggle a little bit when itcomes to the scheduling, the
admin stuff, the marketing, thesales stuff, the marketing, the
sales part of it.
So if you can get good peoplearound you to help out with that
(15:54):
, then that's going to help youscale your business and get
where you want to be someday,I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, I would say the balance, too, between enjoying
yourself too.
There's a lot of times whereI'm like, man, I really do need
to just uh, you know, sit downand relax today, but, man, I
want to go work, or man, I wantto go do this and I want to go
help this person out, um, butyou know, at the end of the day,
you gotta realize what's youruh, look back and say, you know,
(16:21):
I do need to take a break andif, uh, if you can realize that
you're going to be a strongentrepreneur, strong person.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
So I've seen some samples of your work, not just
on your website, but I've seenphotos, seen some things in
person.
One thing that I know thatreally interests you a lot in
terms of your future what you'rereally passionate about would
be hardscapes.
Is that right?
Yes, sir.
So when people hear hardscapes,I think first thing that they
(16:55):
might think of would be just aretaining wall.
Well, there's more to it thanthat, I'm sure, but where do you
want to take hardscapes interms of grand master plan, with
your vision moving forward?
What's that look like?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So I mean we're doing a lot of that already.
This year we're going to bebigger, more expanding into that
.
You know we don't do as muchlawn care, which I'm fine with
it's my baby, I started with it,but I'm okay to move on.
And I just love this hardscapestuff, a lot of stone work,
because I'm able to take mydetails that I use in lawn care
(17:32):
and landscaping and put thoseinto a different sector of a
business and it all relates.
Man, you do really good.
If you can rip some really niceedges on a landscape, then
you're going to be able to ripsome really nice inlays on a
paver patio.
So I just really love that partof it being on one job for
(17:53):
possibly, you know, a week or afew days.
It's a lot less stress.
Honestly.
You're on one site, you canfocus on that and you know.
You know what needs to be doneinstead of lawn care.
You're running all over townall day.
You know what needs to be doneinstead of lawn care.
You're running all over townall day, multiple days a week,
which that can be stressful.
So I like that part of being onthat site.
(18:13):
But I love again, I love thedetail stuff.
That's what I'm all about isdetails, and that's where I get
an advantage over a lot ofpeople is the detail stuff and
helping people out.
You know, I'm not a type ofperson that if somebody's like,
hey, could you come back andjust tweak this up a little bit,
I'm not going to charge you forthat.
(18:33):
I'm somebody who's there tohelp.
I'm not somebody who's justseeking a dollar, and I think
that's very important.
There's a lot of businessowners out there who are just
simply seeking a dollar, but Ithink about the common person
and, um, really trying to helpthem out, and you know what that
does in my overall image.
(18:54):
Um, but yeah, I, just I, Ireally enjoy it in the future.
In short terms, um, thehardscape is going to be
somewhere where we're going toexcel and, uh, I would love to
take over the area with that.
Uh, in terms of all the designwork, I love, love that I'm
getting into that.
Yes, there's walls includedwith that, but a lot of the
paver work and really interestedin and over the offseason, all
(19:16):
we do all me and my guys do isstudy, go to different courses
for these hardscapes and we aresolely committed to knowing how
to do these and you know gettingbetter every single year If
you've been in it for 25 years.
I think there's still room toget better, there's new
innovation, and so we reallytake advantage of since we're
(19:39):
not busy right now just goingout and learning, hearing from
people that do it best andreally listening.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Well, you're in a business too, where you you have
a lot of before and afterphotos.
You get to see the fruits ofyour labor.
So when a project is done, youget to stand there and stare at
it and think, dang, there's alot of hard work, but look what
I did, and you're you're, youknow, working with people who
(20:09):
are kind of counting on you tohave that, that vision, and go
the extra mile.
You're working on their castles, you know.
Yeah.
So, speaking of residents, Imean, I don't know this, but do
you do any commercial work too?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Yep, yep, we have, we've done some commercial stuff
.
I have one permanent commercialsite that I do for maintenance
and lawn care, um, but yeah, wedo commercial work and we're
licensed for that and, uh,insured and everything.
So, um, yeah, for sure I don'tget as many calls.
I do, like most of theresidential side, because that's
more of the outdoor livingspace I'm looking to accomplish
(20:46):
with um, with my target there.
But you know, there'sdefinitely some commercial walls
and maybe some patio type stuffthat it could be done.
So we do it for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So people want to go to your website and connect with
you and maybe see examples ofwork.
What's the website where theygo?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
American spirit landscapingcom.
So check that out and we have abot on there that, in the
bottom right corner, you canclick on and you can ask any
question.
You put your information inthere and it'll send me a text
immediately.
So I have all of your stuff.
I have your address, I haveeverything beforehand.
(21:26):
So if we end up doing worktogether, I don't have to ask
you for that.
I already your address, I haveeverything beforehand.
So if we end up doing worktogether, I don't have to ask
you for that.
I already have it goes rightinto my system and we're good to
go.
You know you can see all of ourservices on there and we have a
gallery of our work.
We have our social media.
We take advantage of that.
That's where we're reallytrying to work is our Instagram,
some of that, some of thevideos and just some cool stuff
(21:50):
we can do just to elevate ourbusiness to the next level.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Okay, well, very good , I know that when I've reached
out to you, you've been veryresponsive, and occasionally,
when you know that let's sayit's time for aeration, you know
I'll get a text from you verypolitely just asking hey man,
it's that time of year, Do youneed me?
So, and I always appreciatethat too, because we're not able
(22:16):
to always stay on top of thatourselves and we need somebody
to just kind of help us keep ourlife in order and sometimes
that involves our lawn life inorder and sometimes that
involves our lawn.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah Well, and I I love that.
Um, that's one part I reallytry to excel into is the
responsiveness to there's.
You know, um, I think manypeople will understand that you
know we're busy and everythingbut um, you know, their, their
opinion or what they're uhwanting is is important to me
too, too, even if it's a brandnew person.
So I take time to be able totry to respond to everybody,
(22:52):
usually within the first 24hours.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Well, xavier, we've reached the end of our time
together.
It's been fun talking to youtoday, so, before we go, is
there anything you want to sayas a parting, as a parting
thought to listeners out there?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well, again, I appreciate Mike for having me
out, and if you're a businessowner in the area and you want
to get to know me, I'm all aboutit.
I love networking.
Shoot me a text, give me a call, we'll get lunch.
That's what I've been doingthis whole offseason is having
networking with differentbusiness owners around the area,
and I love it.
I can't get enough of thatstuff to reach out, and if you
(23:29):
got any different serviceopportunities that we might be
able to be a part of, hit me up.
I would love to.
We definitely are trying toexcel in the service part of our
business as well, so I wouldlove to be a part of it.
So thanks again, guys, and lookforward to hearing from some of
you guys.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Perfect, I'll make sure that all of your contact
information is noted when we putthis podcast up, which will be
very soon.
So, and I hope to see you againthis summer, for sure, out
there working on my back patio,it needs some.
It needs some attention.
So, that being said, everybody,thanks for listening to the
(24:12):
Good Neighbor podcast today.
Until next time, everybody, begood to your neighbor.
See you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thanks for listening to theGood Neighbor podcast Union.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, Go to GNPUnioncom.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
That's GNPUnioncom, or call us at 859-651-8330.
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