You can mow 97 lawns or do 1 pond install in 4 hours....

[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] All right, guys. You probably know Tim from a couple videos, but Tim actually owns GT Lawns with me. One of the most frustrating things about lawnmowing every Tom, Dick, and Harry that can buy up go out and buy a pushmore, we're competing against, and they keep driving the prices down. Does that sound familiar? Does that sound familiar to you guys? Cuz that's exactly what And instead of these guys going in and trying to improve their services and do a better job, they just go in and try to cut prices so they can get their foot in the door because they don't even understand the business model of how to price out a lawnmowing project, right? And it's happening across the entire nation. And so today, what I'm doing is I'm actually working with Greg from Aquacape on a pond uh video because ponds are a niche that have insane levels of profit. Like I when I went out to Chicago, so I went out to Aqualand and he taught us that if you can dig a hole and it's about a 5 by8 hole about 20 in deep, you put a big plastic black box in it and then you stick a fountain on top of it. You can charge a customer $3,400 and he can do he does his crews do two every single day. Wow. Yeah. And so what you're going to see today, guys, is I'm going to take you to Aquacape. We're going to show you that he doesn't say that in this video. And I don't know why he doesn't say that in this video, but if if you he does he does trainings there. So if you guys are really interested in doing it, you can you're welcome to go out to Aquacape. But if you can't get out to Aquacape, we're going to put together a guide. I think it's like five step. Cali and Phil put together this five-step PDF guide so that these guys could download it for free and it'll walk you step by step how to at least get started, what materials to order, and what to do. That's all I wanted you for. All right. I'm glad you were so I feel like I feel like I settled out here. Good. Yeah. All right. You know what? Screw it. Let's get back into this video. Always something. Fire drill. Remember uh high school filing. So, this dude talking in the background, his name is Greg, and he started out with just a pickup truck digging holes in people's backyards and now owns a $30 million pond. Smiles all around. You ready to do this? All right. Welcome to Aqualand. [Music] Welcome, guys. So, every year they hold multiple training sessions to help new guys figure out how to get into the pond business, and this is one of them. Now, this is a contest. Who likes to win contest? We're going to have awards. So, what we're going to do is you're going to follow Robin and I arm in arm like this. And by the time we get back in this room, you're going to find the most common thing that you have together. Robin, do you have kids? Yeah. Okay. I have kids, too. Robin, were you born May 23rd, 1970? Okay. [Music] So, we were both going to school for something else while doing businesses on the side and then said screw school and stuck with our business. So, you were both in college and said we just want to do what we were doing that makes money and makes you happy. That's a good one. All right. Who else? Come on. There's got to be somebody that has the same birth character here. Me and Valerie and I both have religious tattoos. Hair says pray and I got the devil over here. All right, I'll give it back the winner. Tanner came in. April, why did you come to the academy? I've been watching your videos on YouTube and was always intrigued with building farms just as a hobby. Started hearing some of the numbers you were spouting out, but these guys were making and I was just like, man, if these guys are making that money, I know I can make that kind of money. So, even in Cleveland, Tennessee, I hit him up. He responded back by the end of the day. And I told my wife, I said, "If this guy's uh really about what he's saying, I'm going to go check all this out." As of right now, we're getting close to six figures we've done in water features. And I never even considered him in my life. [Applause] Of course, every time I turn the camera off, then there it is. Tim comes in and says something that's actually pretty applicable. What were you saying? I was just saying eventually the lowballers don't make it in their business because they they they don't make enough money to support themselves. So they get phased out unless you start raising your prices. Okay. But what happens to the established guys is now they're competing against these low ballers and they've got to incrementally drop their price down or get choked out. That's the problem. It's almost like the lowest common. problem is there's always a new new company coming into the into the business to to keep lowballing. Yeah. I mean, if you can buy a push mower and you got a pickup or even a minivan, dude, you're in We drove up to a site and there was a dude with a minivan who had a tailgate that wouldn't even close and he had filled up with lawnmowers. And that's fine. And I mean, I admire his abil ability and willingness to work, but also he doesn't he hasn't gone through the steps to figure out how to price out that work. So, he's killing the market for everybody else that's taking the time that's got their insurance, got your truck, your new truck, your trailer, and your your high-end mowing equipment to do a good job with. You can't compete with that guy. Nope. And so, that's why I'm encouraging these guys to look at other services. And so we do a lot of hardcaping. I mean that's what that's ours because we have the big excavators, the skid loaders, we got everything and that's works for us for for keeping that working. But for a guy that has maybe a truck, some shovels, you don't need any other equipment. You need nothing. That's the beautiful thing. You don't need equipment. You can literally get started with a pickup truck and some shovels and start installing fountains and waterless um waterless waterfalls. Pondless waterfalls. And those are $3,400 to $6,800 and they're one day jobs. One single freaking day. These guys can go out and make as much in one day as they can work in two weeks mowing lawns. I love this thing. That's why I'm doing this video for these guys. And one thing that I'm going to add in here, guys, if this is something that interests you, I'll head to Aquacape. I'll actually install one of these projects and take you step by step by step through the entire process so you can see exactly how easy these things are. Maybe I'll bring you with. Yeah, I'm going to bring him with. Screw it. He's got to go with that way. I'll get firsthand experience installing. Yeah, let's do it. Good to do. We're going to bring you guys with, too. But remember, we put together that guide just for you guys, cuz not everybody can make it. You're going to actually hear a story in this video. There was a guy that sold his car to buy an airplane ticket to get there so he could understand what to do. Wow. Yeah, that's that's crazy. It's dedication, dude. But then there was a guy I was there last year. There was a guy named Carl. He actually became a friend of mine. He told me that he went he he figured out how to get there. He had no money left to his name. He basically ran his business into the ground and he was sitting at the table and he got a call from the state of California that he had $9 left in his account and he didn't know what to do. And Greg sat down, taught him how to sell these ponds and waterfalls and waterless pondless water features or whatever. And in one year, the very next year, he had made him a million dollars. He had sold a million dollars worth of jobs and his profit margins were like 60% or some insane thing. If this dude could turn it around in one single year, anybody else can turn it around. Anybody else can do it. There was This guy isn't magic. He just did it because he was like, I don't I don't want to be like this anymore. I don't want to live like this. You got nothing to lose. Just go all out. Yep. Just do it. Yeah. Do it. We're going to show you what happens at Aquacape. So, let's go and do that. [Music] So you'll put in the quantity that you're needing for the job and it will completely calculate for you the complete cost of the job. [Music] how you can help them help you. And if it's not the right person, then you may have to switch gears. Why did you come to this one? What did you want to get out of it? I was interested in building a team, trying to figure out a way to get through the interviews to get to know the real person behind there to see if they'll fit with what you're trying to do. And this has been helpful for that. Yeah. [Music] So, you guys are going to see some guys wearing some 10X baseball caps. And this is one of the few things that I would say is perfect for 10xing because you're not 10xing the size of your business. You're literally 10xing your profits in your business while decreasing your overhead. And what I mean is this is probably the only niche inside of our industry that I can even fathomably possibly imagine that you can actually use less tools and make more money because like I said earlier, you can get started with a pickup truck and some shovels and you're in business. Guys, I honestly can tell you that it's it's the learning curve is like this. And here's the thing, a lot of people are really afraid to do ponds. And I get it. I get it. water leaks, right? But get over that stupid learning curve. Just go out and install a half a dozen of them for free. Install the same one a half a dozen places. I don't care what you do. Buy one kit and just go out and practice, practice, practice with that one single kit. Put it in, take it out, put it in, take it out. Do whatever you got to do. Because once you get over that weird learning curve, guys, you can go out and start to do it for other people over and over and over again, and you're going to make a ton of money. It's the only thing that I can think of that is easy to get into that makes that much money. I So, I don't know, man. I'm excited about this thing just because I'm excited for you guys. I did the calculations and $3,400 equals 97 lawns at $35 a crack. You can do that one fountain in one afternoon. Not many guys can mow 97 lawns in one afternoon. I whatever. I just want the best for you guys. It's up to you guys. If you want the best for yourself, great. If you don't, Ah. How's it going? What do you think? It's great. Yeah. Yeah. Why? Why is it great? put our hands on the products. Uhhuh. Is telling us exactly what to do and this is the first time I've ever done it. And it's not intimidating, is it? No, it's not. It's very simple and keep it simple stupid. Exactly. [Music] So, what you thinking? I can't wait. Can you envision it running? Oh, yeah. Amen. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hey, how long ago did it start? 45 minutes ago. So, talk to me about the process. What' you think? It was good. Easy. It was Was it easier than you thought? Yeah, it was. I think that's probably one of the best things that you can do for your company doing small installs, upsells, and whatnot. How simple it is. So far so good. So far, really good. We only had five guys. You didn't even need five guys. So, you could easily see a crew of two guys putting one of these in a half a day. One of the things I learned from this, I only crew of two guys, which is good. Yeah, cuz we had five guys and I was standing around, right? Watching two guys work and putting this in. Looks like money to me. Hey, I like that. I'll give you a knuckles for that one. We took a boat and this is the best one. Oh, you did, huh? That's good. these guys literally in an hour and 15 minutes. Got three different water features done and everyone said the same thing. We only needed two people to do this. Yes, they're digging in sand, but uh we say a 4 to 5 manhour installation is typical. And where can you get 3,000 to 3 3500 bucks with a twoman crew in uh 2 hours? Nowhere else. Water features are the most profitable form of landscape installation. And you know what? If you're not out here with the hands-on, then you're in the marketing class. If you're not in the marketing class, you're in the HR. If you're not in the HR, then you're in the operations. If you're not in the operations, you're in the accounting. There's something for everybody at the Aquacape Academy. Whoa. What is this crap? Why are we watching full-g grown adults play dodgeball in a video? This is kind of different, but it's actually part of the strategy. They use team building exercises to create a cohesive bond between members because when two guys work good together, they get way more done than three guys working separately apart, right? And so inside the academy, it's hands-on and it's actual demonstrations. You don't have to sit back and just study and take notes. You actually do things. And the things you do stick [Music] I had to pull you guys out from walking away. Was it a good decision to come back? Nice to get a little sweaty once in a while. Today a good day. Oh, yeah. Great day. A lot of knowledge. A lot of good stuff going on. All right. You guys have been sitting with Beth for like 2 hours. So, you guys were geeked at the accounting section here today or what? Here's Aquacapes, multi-million dollar company, and Jeff lets the cat out of the bag. But only what, three or four years ago, you guys just started job costing. Imagine that. Aquacape isn't perfect. If you don't measure, you don't know how you're really. So, you have to start measuring to see results, right? And that's been good. That's right. That water is 52°. This water is 104. How do you boys feel after doing the hot tub cold plunge combo? Amazing. Insane. Yeah, this is mind-blowing. You love to do this at home, don't you? Just go into cold plunges in the I know. So, it is 10:45 at night. This is an event that started at 8:00 a.m. this morning and the last group is there and Buckeye and I are going home. Great first day. Great group. had a lot of fun playing games tonight and uh this is why I love my job. The first step to building a pond in the day was to have everything on site before we began construction. And if you're missing that one 2-in bulkhead fitting, you're now driving to Home Depot and that Home Depot normally has them in stock, but now they are out of stock that day. So now you got to go across town to the Lowe's and all of a sudden that one day job becomes a day and a half. When I think water features, I think cookie cutter assembly line. Now, of course, they're all unique work of art, one of a kind custom creations because every water feature is different. Every setting is different. When I'm done with that water feature, it's got to say, not only Mrs. Jones is fine, it's got to say that's an aqua state. Do not give customers what they ask for with water features. Give them what they want. You guys are great. I love it. Now, without a doubt, the first one is going to be scary. Plain and simple. If you've never done it before, there's always some trepidation about diving in and giving the first one a go. So do it at your own house. Do it at your neighbor's house. Do it for cost for your very first one or two customers. Let them buy the kits or no, you buy the kits. Sell it to them at cost and you practice where it doesn't count. But what Greg failed to say is once you get good at it, that pond that you install for Mr. and Mrs. Jones is going to sell multiple ponds. That one pond leads to two ponds which leads to blah blah blah. You get the idea. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Always [Applause] something. Fire drill. Remember uh high school? Filing out. Filing out. [Applause] [Music] Another day of the job. Right. [Music] I don't hear any water flowing. All right. So, tell me, how's it going? How's this team doing over here? Pretty well. I mean, for four guys, you know, different ideas. I think we're working pretty well together. Did you dress like this on purpose to get out of uh digging today? So, I started dressing this way so that I would not be on my hands and knees working in the field with my guys cuz I wasn't doing the service to them. That's right. You got to work on the business, not in it. Uh, but we cut the tube a little early. basing it our teacher is just not angled right. Simple things that we can fix, but we just know not to do it next time. Sure. And that's why it's good to get your hands dirty to learn something. You said you're a kind of hands-on learner, right? Well, that's why we're here. Good. And we got some extra pipe somewhere out there. Now, have you ever used a foam gun before? No. Let me ask you this. Is it easier than an arc welder? Not even close. Welding is so much easier. I don't think so. You had a pretty awesome story, Bill, and that was how did you end up coming here? I saw your videos on YouTube. I just got hooked. I mean, force feeding my fiance pond videos. Come home from work and you I turn on YouTube when we're laying in bed. She's like, "Oh, another pond video." When I was a kid, you know, I've always built aquariums. And Amen. same as me. Very natural for me. And I decided to take a leap and I sold my car and plane ticket out here. You literally sold your car to pay for the academy and your plane ticket out here. That is a man of commitment. And so, so far, how has it been? It's awesome. That's awesome, buddy. All right, get back. Get back there. Build that waterfalls. How incredible is that? That dude literally sold his car to buy his plane ticket and to pay for his academy. I got an idea. Stay tuned. So, this is what 30 hours more jam-packed or less jam-packed than we thought it would be? That's a good thing. Well, you're in for a real treat. The real treat is my better half. How about a hand for my wife, the president of the She started the foundation in 2008. That's been to Africa four times. Been to Columbia, South America. We've been to Dominican Republic, and we're hoping to head back to Africa in 2020. Great opportunity to use our products in the field and bring clean water to people that don't have clean water. You can't describe what it's like. And if you even think like, "Wow, I'd like to experience that someday." Then start making a plan because we're making a plan. How about a hand for my wife? [Applause] And you said that you your husband brought you here kicking and screaming. I hadn't really grasped the depth of what you wanted to get into and what it was and the community and the just the tools that you get here. So if you're having them drag me here, it was it was pretty mind-blowing. like even trying to download everything from the last 2 days. That was mindblowing how much our lives have the potential to change if we follow the steps you've given us. You guys have given us worksheets and spreadsheets that I don't have to try to spend time in Excel to figure out. And it's beautiful just to look at it and be like, he's never going to touch it probably. But in order for our business to be successful, one of us is going to have to figure that out. And you guys have already done it for us. And it's amazing. Thank you. 22 years you've known of Aquacape and this is your very first experience. This year we decided I got a good employee and let's uh let's get on board. And what's great is that you invested in your teammate because you see this as your future. You will lose 50% of the people that you invest in. You will lose 100% of the people you don't invest in. Your people are your future. The only way to grow your business is to grow your team. It's business in the box. And usually for a franchise you pay a fortune, right? And this is this is what you guys can go back home and take this and and start your own business. So you guys see opportunity for landscapers, cars, guys in maintenance, guys who are just interested in building a successful business. So when I…