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108 109 SPRING-GREEN LAWN CARE territories. “This year we will exceed $60 million in revenue, with about one quarter of that revenue under our companymanagement.Our company-owned fran- chises service the Greater Chicago area with mul- tiple branches, and we also operate a stand-alone franchise in Green Bay,Wisconsin. Everything else is franchised through our strategic partners.” Young explains that Spring-Green is positioned in the market as the local professional, occupying the middle ground between the largest company in the lawn care business,TruGreen,which recently acquired its number two competitor, Scott’s Lawn Service, to create a combined company with an annual revenue of $1 billion, and the small, local, mom-and-pop businesses that may offer mowing, landscaping, and other types of lawn maintenance services. Most recently Spring-Green has found success in adding new franchise owners by appealing to those local, existing “green industry”business owners look- ing to expand their business through diversification. “Whether you are a commercial mowing and main- tenance company, a landscaper, or an existing lawn Whether you are a commercial mowing and maintenance company, a landscaper, or an existing lawn care or pest control company, running a Spring-Green franchise in con- junction with your existing business creates the opportunity to combine your knowl- edge and experience with a proven platform to propel your business further and faster, creating greater financial security and options. JAMES YOUNG PRESIDENT care or pest control company, running a Spring- Green franchise in conjunction with your existing business creates the opportunity to combine your knowledge and experience with a proven platform to propel your business further and faster, creating greater financial security and options,”Young states. “Our model is beneficial to an existing business owner because it allows them to diversify into a business that is leveraging their experience but is not purely relationship-based as many green indus- try businesses are. Spring-Green allows the owner to be removed and the relationship is established between the customer and the brand.This makes succession planning for the next generation, or a future sale of the business, very attractive because the customers are easily transferrable.” “40 years ago we sold a lot of part-time business- es to firemen and police officers because theywould work a swing shift and do lawns on the side and it was a one-truck operation,”Young continues.“Now we’re building ten and twenty truck operations and we’re starting with an existing business owner that understands why they are building the business and what they want the business to look like when they are done. Once they understand the value in the marketing support, the call center, purchasing pow- er, and operational support that we bring, there is an ‘Aha moment’. Also,when a green industry business owner realizes that they do not have to convert their existing business and that, together,we can accelerate the growth and profitability of their com- pany helping them to achieve their goals faster than they can do independently, the focus quickly turns to strategic planning for the next generation and/or their retirement. Diversification with Spring-Green just makes sense.” “Our business model has evolved, but we remain focused on our core service”,Young asserts.“Fertil-