I’m Joel from Lafayette, Colorado (outside of Boulder). I started my first Augusta location in Lafayette 3.5 years ago after 10 years as a software developer. I want to get to 3-4 locations and about $4M in revenue in the next 7 years. I really want to be able to spend time with my son as he grows up instead of stuck working for someone else all day. That was my motivation to start and grow this business. My main bottleneck is leadership. I need to learn how to better develop the team members I have, and train and lead GMs to grow the business. A big focus for the past year has been to try to simplify the business.

Two and a half years ago, we converted our previous lawn care brand into two Augusta Lawn Care locations, though we have been in business for 13.5 years in total. We have one location on track to do $750k this year, and another that will do around $350k. Both are run by GMs. I am currently thrilled with my position, but historically, retaining GMs for more than a year or two has been a struggle. On a positive note, one of my current GMs is actively saving to start his own Augusta location in Northern Utah in the next couple of years. I look forward to getting to know and learning from each of you.