Executive summary: I acquired and operate a low-seven-figure commercial landscaping business, leading an 18-person team (including a General Manager, an Estimator, and four Foremen). I rebuilt the business around job costing, tighter estimating, and field execution, then supported it with better systems.
Results snapshot
- Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE): ~$330K
- Gross margin: 21% → 40%
- EBITDA margin: -9% → 15%
- Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE) margin: 5% → 23%
- Labor hours: ~30% reduction
- Win rate: 25% → 35%
- Recurring commercial NRR: ~105% (Year 1) · ~110% (Year 2)
What I walked into
The business wasn’t short on effort. It lacked standards and visibility. Crews had too much latitude in where they went, how long they stayed, and what “done” meant. Scope creep was constant and customer expectations weren’t aligned. Overtime was routine. Because job-level numbers weren’t clear, issues only appeared at month-end, after the money had been spent.
First steps
I started with job costing and labor tracking to see labor hours versus what the contract paid for. If you can’t see it at the job level, you can’t manage it. I also spent time in the field with crews to understand the work and ensure new processes made sense in real-world conditions. If a process didn’t work in practice, it didn’t belong in the business.
Pricing discipline
One of the biggest changes was the installation estimating process. Before, we used an Excel sheet that didn’t reveal much about profitability. Pricing was mostly gut feel plus an old materials list. I rebuilt estimating around labor hours and overhead recovery. In a commoditized business, that meant cost-plus with discipline: a target price per labor hour, overhead markup, and discount gates.
Align reality with contracts
Recurring work had a different issue: we didn’t have consistent expectations for time on site, and crew size didn’t consistently affect the time spent on the property. That’s a margin leak you can’t outwork. Within ~90 days, I implemented a route optimizer that determined routes, time on site, crew sizes, and service times, and used it to inform headcount planning throughout the year.
Once we set service-time expectations and tied them to job costing, we could manage routes and stop paying for inefficiency through overtime.
Systemize
To make changes stick, I cleaned up the basics. We replaced paper time sheets with an NFC clock-in/clock-out solution. We implemented new estimating software so scope and pricing inputs were consistent. I also built stronger subcontractor and vendor partnerships—mostly specialists by service vertical—so we could lower job costs where it made sense and improve delivery reliability.
I handled bookkeeping and equipment purchases as part of operations, not as an afterthought, because cash timing and equipment reliability show up everywhere.
Sustainable leadership
A lot of the work was people and cadence. The business was top-heavy and focused on pulling cash out instead of building a healthy operation. I put the business first in decisions and rebuilt around long-term execution. I formed a real partnership with the General Manager that I hired in my first 30 days, setting priorities together, running the week together, and making changes stick in the field. I trained him from a field-level role into managing the team, customer relationships, and sales, so the operation could run without depending on me day to day. Since October 2025 he has been fully leading the company with my oversight.