Meet Ted Ross of Statement Lawn and Landscape

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ted Ross.

Hi Ted, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We started in the spring of 18. I had a business partner that provided startup capital and did backend business work. He believed in me, helped me understand business, and showed me what was possible. I bought him out at the beginning of this year. We are still friends and I will always be grateful for the opportunity that he gave me.

In the first year, I worked with another company part-time and on our own properties part-time. In the second year, I went full-time with one part-time employee. We now have 7 full-time employees running 3 trucks. I bought my partner out at the beginning of this year.

As I started this journey, I realized how little Financial Education and misinformation I had about money in general. With the employees we bring on, we try to educate them for a better future. I really encourage employees to listen to audiobooks, that we provide, while they work. I am trying to give them (in a smaller way, right now) a version of the opportunity I was afforded. I believe most people have no idea of their potential because they have never really been exposed to anything other than becoming an employee and fitting in the box.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
If anyone says it’s a smooth road, they are probably lying lol. The first roadblock to growing this business was being willing and able to work enough hours to get it off of the ground. I had an 8-week stretch of working 100+ hours weeks to complete a project. If you have a family or even just a significant other, that is very difficult. I have gotten better at managing home time over the last couple of years, but I believe working that much is necessary for the beginning.

With the labor market the way it is, it was difficult to find employees in the beginning. I started by recruiting people that I already knew and paying way more than what the role was traditionally paid. I expected that as the company grew, so would their roles. Thankfully, they are doing a great job and are doing that very well. I have a great team in place and none of this would be possible without them.

Recently, the biggest issues have been managing cash flow because of our growth. I have had some sleepless nights, for sure. I had always been busier than I could handle; but with adding so many people so fast, I also underestimated how much they could (and should) get done. I definitely mismanaged my pipeline of work at the beginning of the year. That obviously feeds into the cashflow struggles. I added an admin that took the invoicing/scheduling and social media roles. She is doing a great job of bringing in more work through social media. This allows me to have time to do more selling, keeping the pipeline full and a better feel for the pulse of the business.

As you know, we’re big fans of Statement Lawn and Landscape, Inc. . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We started as a strictly mowing business. As the years have gone on, so has our offering. We offer full service now (mowing, fertilization, irrigation, hardscaping, and landscaping) I have grown my network throughout the industry; so when something comes up that we do not offer, I have great subcontractors for that work.

Unfortunately, the industry as a whole has a tainted reputation. That being said, it provides a great opportunity for a growing company. We pride ourselves (from top to bottom) as great communicators and thrive on the relationships that we build with our clients. We are not perfect, but when we mess something up we fix it. 95 percent of our growth has been strictly word of mouth. I have recently started running ads because as we added employees, we are needing to bring in work at a faster pace.

Another way that we are separating ourselves from some other companies is coming from the challenge of the labor market. We have been able to attract (through current employees) and keep great employees because we respect and appreciate them. The industry as a whole is going to need to come to the realization that employees no longer need the employer. It is on the leadership of the company to provide a place to work that they will not want to leave. I also really try to push self-education and get my employees’ to open their eyes to the opportunity all around them. My biggest goal is to try to give back some value. I am truly happy if an employee leaves because they found a better opportunity or is chasing a dream. If their lives are continuing to get better, I have done my part.

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Patience and empathy. I think that if you can have that as a foundation, there really is no limit to success. Personal relationships, employees, and customers have their own lives and perspectives to deal with. It is easy to look at something that someone does or says and get frustrated.

I have learned that if I take a step back and try to understand (rather than react), the results are much better. I am not saying that I allow myself to be run over or not hold people accountable, but if you default to trying to understand or help, you get much more respect. Business is easy, people are hard.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.statementlawncare.com
• Instagram: @statementlawn
• Facebook: @statementlawn