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Grounds Guys Franchise

114K views 125 replies 65 participants last post by  SClawnanddesign 
#1 ·
Just wondering if anyone on here has bought into this & what you think about it.
My brother-in-law has been looking into it a little & asked me what I thought.

I know there are alot of guys on here that would never consider a franchise.

I want to hear from those of you that have first hand knowledge of this bunch.
Pros & Cons.
 
#77 ·
Hey guys. I'm the owner of the Grounds Guys of Des Moines. We are located in Des Moines, Iowa. A little background on myself. I'm 32 years old. I started the business in April 2009 after I left the corporate world. I was an investment analyst for 4 years out of college. I started the business from in 2009 with a S10 blazer and a mower with no experience in the lawn care industry. I've grown $75,000 to $100,000 a year in gross sales year after year. We did $482,000 in gross sales in 2014. I joined the Grounds Guys in June of 2013.

You guys need to ask your self why you are in business on your own? Are you doing it as a hobby or are you trying to achieve something much greater and build a business that provides dividends year after year? The reason I own a business and am no longer working for someone else is because my ultimate goal is to build equity and an asset that provides passive cash flow down the road so I can have freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it. Honestly that's the reason I'm self employed. The only way to buy yourself that kind of freedom is through a turn key business and other investments. I started out as a one man operation with a mower. I've been fortunate enough in the last two years to step out of the labor and focus my time on managing the business.

The only way to build a turn key business is with proven systems in place. As an owner operator you have to work a rediculous amount of hours and you cap youself quickly. Yes you are self employeed but you are merely a technician that owns a job that you are tied to on a daily basis. The key to getting off the mower and building a solid business is with great employees and proven systems for managing the company.

I've been able to build a working schedule Monday through Friday 7 to 4 and take weekends off. My mentality is if I can't figure out a way to get all my work done within 45 hours a week I'm doing something wrong.

The Grounds Guys has a great support network in place and is becoming a very reputable national landscape company. We are growing stronger by the day. The Grounds Guys is not for everybody. It takes the right mindset and values to join our company. It hasn't been easy getting to where I'm at and I have a long way to go before I achieve my final goal! I've come to the realization that there is very rarely any gains in life without some pain that comes with it.

The bottom line is this. If you are wanting to build a great business that rewards you down the road with freedom and a return on your time and money I would seriously consider the Grounds Guys as a viable option for your future.

I will be happy to continue this discussion with you guys on this thread or via email, text or on the phone. I've included my contact information below. Best of luck to you all!

Corey Sedrel - President
The Grounds Guys of Des Moines
Office - 515.619.5540
Cell - 515.979.1454
Email - corey@lawntitans.com
Website - http://www.groundsguys.com/des-moines/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheGroundsGuysOfDesMoines
Customer Testimonial Video - http://bit.ly/1FRqOI5
 
#78 ·
Hey guys. I’m the owner of the Grounds Guys of Des Moines. We are located in Des Moines, Iowa. A little background on myself. I’m 32 years old. I started the business in April 2009 after I left the corporate world. I was an investment analyst for 4 years out of college. I started the business from in 2009 with a S10 blazer and a mower with no experience in the lawn care industry. I’ve grown $75,000 to $100,000 a year in gross sales year after year. We did $482,000 in gross sales in 2014. I joined the Grounds Guys in June of 2013.

You guys need to ask your self why you are in business on your own? Are you doing it as a hobby or are you trying to achieve something much greater and build a business that provides dividends year after year? The reason I own a business and am no longer working for someone else is because my ultimate goal is to build equity and an asset that provides passive cash flow down the road so I can have freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it. Honestly that’s the reason I’m self employed. The only way to buy yourself that kind of freedom is through a turn key business and other investments. I started out as a one man operation with a mower. I’ve been fortunate enough in the last two years to step out of the labor and focus my time on managing the business.

The only way to build a turn key business is with proven systems in place. As an owner operator you have to work a rediculous amount of hours and you cap youself quickly. Yes you are self employeed but you are merely a technician that owns a job that you are tied to on a daily basis. The key to getting off the mower and building a solid business is with great employees and proven systems for managing the company.

I’ve been able to build a working schedule Monday through Friday 7 to 4 and take weekends off. My mentality is if I can’t figure out a way to get all my work done within 45 hours a week I’m doing something wrong.

The Grounds Guys has a great support network in place and is becoming a very reputable national landscape company. We are growing stronger by the day. The Grounds Guys is not for everybody. It takes the right mindset and values to join our company. It hasn’t been easy getting to where I’m at and I have a long way to go before I achieve my final goal! I’ve come to the realization that there is very rarely any gains in life without some pain that comes with it.

The bottom line is this. If you are wanting to build a great business that rewards you down the road with freedom and a return on your time and money I would seriously consider the Grounds Guys as a viable option for your future.

I will be happy to continue this discussion with you guys on this thread or via email, text or on the phone. I’ve included my contact information below. Best of luck to you all!

Corey Sedrel - President
The Grounds Guys of Des Moines
Office - 515.619.5540
Cell - 515.979.1454
Email - corey@lawntitans.com
Website - http://www.groundsguys.com/des-moines/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheGroundsGuysOfDesMoines
Customer Testimonial Video - http://bit.ly/1FRqOI5
So, just looked at your FB page quickly and see your cover pics and coupons are geared towards residential services.

Any franchise that doesn't keep you out of residential mowing is just playing you for... Besides, what systems do you need that you have to pay for to perform residential services? If you're trying to build a long term successful management business, it won't be done doing residential accounts. Any franchise that tells you otherwise isn't in your corner.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#79 ·
We are currently a 50/50 company when it comes to the balance of residential vs. commercial accounts. I started the business with a walk behind mower and have transitioned into more commercial work as the business has grown. I would have gone broke had I tried to go after only commercial work in the beginning. I didn't have any experience with lawn care or owning a business before I started the business. We are picking up more and more commercial work every year as the business grows and we develop solid relationships with commercial owners and property managers.

It's really up to each franchise owner to determine the right mix of residential vs. commercial accounts. It is also up to each owner to determine what gross margins are acceptable for their particular business.

Do you want to run a small operation built around residential accounts and achieve higher gross margins or become a commercial business with higher sales and lower gross margins. It's up to each owner to determine the mix that works best for them in their particular market.

We will become more and more weighted on the commercials side as the business matures. It will just take time. You have to be careful with commercial and know how to bid the work to be profitable (where the Grounds Guys helps their franchisees). If you make a mistake on a residential account you can recover easily. If you bid a $60,000 maintenance account (mowing, bed maintenance, snow removal, chemicals, etc.) wrong you can dig yourself a hole that can possibly cripple your business.

It also takes experience to be able to bid multiple services to achieve the right overall gross margin you need to be profitable. This is where the Grounds Guys expertise and support network shines and comes into play.
 
#81 ·
So, just looked at your FB page quickly and see your cover pics and coupons are geared towards residential services.

Any franchise that doesn't keep you out of residential mowing is just playing you for... Besides, what systems do you need that you have to pay for to perform residential services? If you're trying to build a long term successful management business, it won't be done doing residential accounts. Any franchise that tells you otherwise isn't in your corner.
Posted via Mobile Device
Hey Efficiency,

Not trying to "come against you" as I constantly look through threads to read what you have posted.

But...and this might be an "off" comparison being it's snow...but Neige on Plowsite owns a snow removal business where they were, I believe, initially a snow only business for just residential driveways. More recently they moved into commercial; but it served the company well for a lot of years! He took it over from his father...but residential is where they have been the most consistent. I think his residential base gross's over 800K in snow removal.

So yes; we're talking lawns vs snow...very different, still the same model, residential.

For my business; our residentials have been more consistent. But I'll defer to you sir; you've been in business longer than I...and again, I value your input.
 
#82 ·
Hey Efficiency,

Not trying to "come against you" as I constantly look through threads to read what you have posted.

But...and this might be an "off" comparison being it's snow...but Neige on Plowsite owns a snow removal business where they were, I believe, initially a snow only business for just residential driveways. More recently they moved into commercial; but it served the company well for a lot of years! He took it over from his father...but residential is where they have been the most consistent. I think his residential base gross's over 800K in snow removal.

So yes; we're talking lawns vs snow...very different, still the same model, residential.

For my business; our residentials have been more consistent. But I'll defer to you sir; you've been in business longer than I...and again, I value your input.
Believe it or not, Paul was at my shop 2 or 3 weeks ago. We talked and laughed over dinner too. Pretty sure we are going to be a dealer for him and Metal Plessis.

We do large snow numbers too.

But there are HUGE differences between the management of snow vs summer mowing work on a large scale for small accounts.

For Paul and driveway snow, the guys do their route and it's very binary - the work was done or not.

With mowing, you've got no prayer keeping thousands of mowing accounts happy. How many account managers would you need to maintain relationships with all mowing clients and do quality control on a monthly basis? Again, all of that isn't necessary for his snow accounts.

Why you need commercial accounts for maintenance? We picked up ~$200k of maintenance for one property manager last fall. One friend to keep, one point of contact, one boss to report to. Sure, if you can't meet expectations, you've got bug problems but if that's the case, you shouldnt be chasing this work.

Again, all this applied to employee ran crews. An owner on site changes all this.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#83 ·
First to hear you say they are joke makes me wonder if you tried to become one and got turned down. unfortunately not everyone can become a Grounds Guys franchise owner. There is certain criteria you have to meet. i went to Waco with my wife to check them out. Class act bunch of people who also own and sale 6 other franchises in the service industry. The one i recognized right off was The Glass Doctor.Anyway we stayed in touch and went over our business plans and decided to buy a franchise. Me being a firefighter I got a pretty good discount off the price of my franchise. We were somewhere around #82 franchise. There are around 165 franchises now. We started April 1st 2013 as The Grounds Guys of the tri-cities. We grew our business with the Grounds Guys help to more than double. So far in 2014 we have doubled that number already. Someone asked do they get you customers? Yep. Do they help you grow your business? Yep. They have systems and they have people with knowledge of the industry guiding and helping you in every way possible to help you succeed. Is it guaranteed your going to make it and not fail? NOPE! You have to do your part too. Is it stress full? HELL YES! but owning any business is stressful at times. Are you going to see eye to eye with your franchise consultant all the time ? NOPE. Its not for everyone but it has helped me with many different aspects of the business. There are so many people out there not making a dime doing this business. The Grounds Guys have taught me about setting goals, getting my numbers where they need to be, profit and loss statements, advertising for results, etc,etc,. I have a legit business now that is growing very fast and I am learning something new just about daily about this business. I have access to 165 other business owners just like me who have a wealth of business and field knowledge. I get national pricing on John deere,Exmark,Redmax, etc. that comes to about 45% off mowing equipment. A lot more that fleet pricing. I have access to vendors who offer services like payroll, workman's comp, ALOT cheaper than I could ever get it by myself. There are so many vendors that offer me discounts just because I am a Grounds Guy franchise owner. Great gig cant wait to get out in the field tomorrow!
I can say this, last year, or a couple of years ago I saw a big giant enclosed trailerand decent truck decked out in "grounds guys" logo and thought to myself "oh no" because I've been on the site, and heard about these big giant franchises like grounds guys – Breckman – US lawns etc.… Taking over areas.

for a short period of time I saw them around and then all of a sudden I didn't see them anymore.
The other day I gave an estimate to a lady with a real PITA place with everything dead, overgrown blackberries- bamboo- etc....
I figured it would take 3 guys a full day plus hauling.
She said the "Grounds guys" did it last time for $240! ( no wonder they're no longer around)

I found out it was a Latino family- just a guy his wife etc..

I wonder what assistance the corp. gives on pricing, advertising, etc....
 
#85 ·
LMAO :laugh: Yeah by looking at your previous posts and threads on here you seem to be a very positive guy who knows everything about the business:laugh:. With all those years of experience you have you might think about writing a book about how to start and run a sccessful lawncare company. :dizzy::dizzy::dizzy:
 
#87 ·
Its a joke.. They called me for years. At the time i said no cause they don't offer any national advertising. Whats the point of a franchise. Now years later Grounds Guys showed up here. So i find out a 2nd franchise was sold in the same town. WTF? They sold franchises within 15 miles of each other.
Last season i hired 3 different employees from the Grounds Guys,
Its crazy over there. They talked a young guy into buying their franchise, no real business experience. The guy is falling apart. He hires sales guys, these guys go out and land huge grounds contracts at underbided prices so he makes his commission. They don't have the equipment or the capital. The owner keeps getting lines of credit for cash to throw back into the business..
Were is the national Help??
I gave up on those big contracts when Brickman came to town.
I like my Landscape/Hardscape installs keeping profits high, down payments on job..
 
#89 ·
The grounds guys around here contacted me to sub their lawn treatments to. I gave them pricing and all was fine. He sent me some accounts and said we had them for xx per app. It was literally half price. I said good luck finding someone for that. They were clueless.
 
#90 ·
That has nothing to do with the franchise, it's the cheap franchisee. The local grounds guys subs out several accounts to us and we're far from cheap.

You should never buy any franchise that has more than one franchisee in any market. This is why McDonalds limits every city to just one location.
There's at least 8 McDonalds here in town and they're not all owned by the same franchisee. I think you're a little mistaken on your info.
 
#98 ·
Hi
I went to Waco to look at GG Franchise which is owned by the Dwyer Group and they seemed to offer quite a lot of support and different discounts with machinery and trucks etc but of course want commission on every job and want to see your accounts every month.

The only thing I found about them was I was very interested in a certain territory and I came to look and spent a lot of money getting there and they knew that.

And they knew I had to get a Visa so the process would be slower but as soon as someone else came in with a interest for the same territory the Dollar was the only thing they were after and played me off against the other party so they would sign quicker.

There was no consideration or loyalty even though I had expressed and had been discussing these areas for several months and paid a lot of money to go to Waco.

Left a bad taste in my mouth.
 
#100 ·
They've been around 8 or so years and don't even have national accounts. This franchise will siphon your money slowly all for great "systems" which honestly are nothing great or "secret." They take people who would eventually be successful anyways and help them get there faster, all while taking 10%. The majority they slowly bleed until they have no money and no options, and are forced to sell for far less than they paid and forced to go get a regular job. More qualified people on this site to get advice from then those they employ. They are essentially a collection company that knows a little about landscape. Go US lawns if you HAVE to franchise. They suck too but atleast have national accounts and charge you less money.
 
#101 · (Edited)
Grounds guys wasn't a fit for us. I had a guy named Joseph that contacted me to come check them out. It was a fun trip to visit a new part of the US but that's about all I got out of it. I got down there and it is cool to listen to the future they say you can have that's unrealistic as hell. I started my company 11 years ago and last year I got to a point where I was fed up and wanted to throw it away. I felt like the hand I was delt was the worst ever. I felt alone and then they called and I felt a ray of hope. Honestly just going listening to a bunch of idiots that had no past experience with landscaping made me realize that I was doing ok. It was sort of a reality check for me. While I was in Waco I met a good guy named Sam. His wife was pregnant and he was a ft fireman and he wanted to brand his company and blah blah. I told him he better think good and hard because it's a life decision if you work for the money you have. It may be different if someone gave you money and was like here's a franchise go run it. Life simply isn't that easy. So Sam and I kept in touch. He bought a franchise.. and I didn't. I would call him to see what his systems were about that they talked about that were so secretive. Nothing to special. If you know your company worth and if you know how to break down what YOU need to make to survive and make a profit you can make it. I think people think there is a magic recipe and they have only been misled. This guy named Joseph was my franchise consultant. You could tell he needed to sell franchises because he was worse then a car salesman. I got back home and he blew me up everyday. They got my financials and seen that my company actually made good money so of course they preyed on me. They were like vulchers. Sam called me down in the dumps and he said he was 88,000 dollars in credit card debt for the franchise and other fees to go along. They never once spoke of those numbers when I went. I was blew away. He had equipment and he had a business.., so that much money in debt blew me away. I haven't spoke with him in a while but last year at this time he was hurting and he had a new born baby. I couldn't imagine. I've got debt but i pay on that debt and that **** is mine. No one makes money off my company except myself and my workers. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I caught them lying to me when I asked about the fees and they gave me a few franchisees to call. I called them and obviously the GG owner Dwyer group gives these people money to fill people full of ****. I call the list and those people were telling me how great it was and then I called about 30 Franchisees across the US and every damn one of them said don't do it. So that's my two cents. I say give it a try on your own because you sell your lively hood to a bunch of clowns in Texas that have no clue about landscaping. They hire people that have not one damn clue about what a day in the life of a landscaper is about. So take it for what it's worth but I wouldn't and I didn't.
 
#105 ·
Grounds guys wasn't a fit for us. I had a guy named Joseph that contacted me to come check them out. It was a fun trip to visit a new part of the US but that's about all I got out of it. I got down there and it is cool to listen to the future they say you can have that's unrealistic as hell. I started my company 11 years ago and last year I got to a point where I was fed up and wanted to throw it away. I felt like the hand I was delt was the worst ever. I felt alone and then they called and I felt a ray of hope. Honestly just going listening to a bunch of idiots that had no past experience with landscaping made me realize that I was doing ok. It was sort of a reality check for me. While I was in Waco I met a good guy named Sam. His wife was pregnant and he was a ft fireman and he wanted to brand his company and blah blah. I told him he better think good and hard because it's a life decision if you work for the money you have. It may be different if someone gave you money and was like here's a franchise go run it. Life simply isn't that easy. So Sam and I kept in touch. He bought a franchise.. and I didn't. I would call him to see what his systems were about that they talked about that were so secretive. Nothing to special. If you know your company worth and if you know how to break down what YOU need to make to survive and make a profit you can make it. I think people think there is a magic recipe and they have only been misled. This guy named Joseph was my franchise consultant. You could tell he needed to sell franchises because he was worse then a car salesman. I got back home and he blew me up everyday. They got my financials and seen that my company actually made good money so of course they preyed on me. They were like vulchers. Sam called me down in the dumps and he said he was 88,000 dollars in credit card debt for the franchise and other fees to go along. They never once spoke of those numbers when I went. I was blew away. He had equipment and he had a business.., so that much money in debt blew me away. I haven't spoke with him in a while but last year at this time he was hurting and he had a new born baby. I couldn't imagine. I've got debt but i pay on that debt and that **** is mine. No one makes money off my company except myself and my workers. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I caught them lying to me when I asked about the fees and they gave me a few franchisees to call. I called them and obviously the GG owner Dwyer group gives these people money to fill people full of ****. I call the list and those people were telling me how great it was and then I called about 30 Franchisees across the US and every damn one of them said don't do it. So that's my two cents. I say give it a try on your own because you sell your lively hood to a bunch of clowns in Texas that have no clue about landscaping. They hire people that have not one damn clue about what a day in the life of a landscaper is about. So take it for what it's worth but I wouldn't and I didn't.
Dave, (I presume that's your name) you are right.

You need to think really hard about this decision because it is a one way door. Right now, when your accountant is sloppy, you can get a new one. When your dealer doesn't work with you, you can find another dealer. When your software doesn't meet your needs, you can upgrade. But what happens when you can't? What if the software doesn't work properly but you can't fix it and you are stuck paying a premium for it? What if that great advertising campaign doesn't bring in leads but you have to continue to pay for it anyways? What if you give away some of the control of your business but you still have the same problems as before? If you are not absolutely sure that you are getting what you are paying for, you are probably buying nothing more than the dreams in your own head.

Here is an idea. Hire a business consultant. They are far cheaper and you still maintain control of the business and the profits as well.

Yes, I did it. Yes, I regret it.
 
#103 ·
No one will work harder, more hours, act with more care to your equipmemt and customers than the owner of the business themself. A franchise doesnt care about any of that as long as you are sending them their cut of the profit. No successful person wakes up one day amd decides to give up not only equity in their business but also the quality of professionalism that and dedicatiom that got them there in the first place. Dont let scumbag middle men take from you. Arent you disgusted enough with the telemarketers that call you to tell you that youre qualified for a business loan//subscriber to a company that will find you clients? Its the same dmn thing with these franchises. Just tell em to get bent.
 
#104 ·
They were calling me atleast once a week for the last 2 years...even after I told the guy I didn't need help, I can grow as fast as I want or need to, and that I didn't have any desire to do business with or even hear from them again. They kept calling until they caught me on a bad day and I really chewed his @$$ lol...For the life of me I will never understand why people even listen to their pitch! I make plenty of money, and I have no desire to share it with some people who call here telling me how much I need them. I mean really, if I needed you, I would have called YOU, not the other way around. If you bought a vacuum from the door to door guy you'd be getting a better deal...because you're guaranteed to need one eventually LMAO!
 
#106 ·
I don't have any first hand advice to give you, but I can give you some second hand advice. I bidded against Brickman for a long time, and now I'm in a new state where "US Lawns" just started up. They started with one truck and went to four trucks.I pass by their shop daily, 3 trucks sit parked outside, one working. I continue to laugh at the guy that paid 100k to a franchise, every time I pass his truck I can't help myself, but laughing at the dork. I'd rather not pay someone for a name. Apparently, they did land him some jobs because of the "name." He got one of the biggest contracts in town, next year he will be out-bidded and won't be able to compete with the bid, because of his franchise fee.
 
#107 ·
That is very true. I am not in that position myself but I have known of other guys who put it all on the line to make the business work and then it didn't. When you finance your franchise territory, finance new equipment, finance a new truck, but then you can't get the jobs that you were expecting or you can't find/keep the labor you need or that big contract gets canceled, that's pretty much it for you.

Why do people do that? They have dreams in their head that don't necessarily coincide with reality. They think that the franchise is a kind of fool proof method to build a business but it's not - especially in this business. Yes, franchises are statistically more successful than other startups but when you do fail, it hurts twice as bad.
 
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