11/13/2025
After working with hardscaping, landscaping, and pool contractors all across the nation for over 4 years now, here's your BRUTALLY HONEST breakdown of how to grow your firm consistently, predictably, and simply:
1.) Foundation First Approach: Ensure all your online and branding assets are built out and in place. Google Business, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, Social Media (at least Meta, maybe TikTok), Website, and other citation sites like Angi, Nextdoor, Thumbtack, Porch, Bark, etc.
Why Do This: People cannot hire you if they cannot find you. Being an "offline" business in 2025/2026 is going to kill you, fast. The more profiles and accounts you set up, the more likely people on those platforms are to find you... and hire you.
Who Is This For: Every company needs this initial step completed, but if you are new or low-revenue, focus 100% on building these assets first—then have someone manage & optimize them for you so they consistently bring in more and more business. I.e., more fishing poles in the water, so to speak.
2.) Growth Approach: Now you have all the Foundations in place, it's time to dial in systems and double down on what's bringing in the money. Get your sales dialed in, your lead quality dialed in, your team management dialed in, your accounting dialed in, your operations dialed in, and NOW you can really start growing.
Why Do This: Growth can only happen once you have something to grow... right? You can't grow ZERO, and you can't grow negative. You must have leads, calls, and inquiries coming in first - then track the data, and optimize your systems further.
Who Is This For: Companies who have a solid foundation built - work is already pretty consistent, and you are confident in investing more time, money, and energy to get to the next level.
3.) Scaling Approach: For established companies, with all their marketing and internal systems dialed in, this is the final stretch before you're ready to exit, retire, sell, or join with another firm and step down from CEO. This approach boils down to 1 major resource: money. It's time to start investing A LOT more of it now.
Why Do This: Scaling is different from Growing - it can only happen once everything on the backend is perfect. Every channel is optimized, every team member is working at peak performance, margins are solid, mission is established, and market is primed. To scale you look at the channels bringing in the most opportunity, and you invest heavily into it, for as long as it will hold.
Who Is This For: The big guys. Plain and simple. Competition isn't an issue. Price isn't an issue. You provide the most value in your market. People know you, love you, trust you. Now it's time to dominate and take things to the moon.
Ads are the fastest way to scale. You could expand your SEO efforts, open up additional locations or DBAs in your company, hire partners and work alongside other companies, push out more content online, etc.
Every one of these Approaches has it's own challenges, timelines, costs, expectations, and benefits. Get started, keep consistent, and you'll be where you want to be before you know it!