I started Grunder Landscaping Co. when I was just a kid and my brother, Rich, and I were the only two "employees." As the company grew, we hit milestones along the way where I had to bring on more team members to do work I was doing myself. First it was having crews working without my direct supervision, then having more salespeople out bidding work and interacting with clients, and today we have a whole team that we need to be doing their roles consistently.  

Grunder Landscaping Co.'s original team - my brother, Rich Grunder, and I.

The systems we have in place have allowed us to do this, systems like: 

A Hiring Process to Ask the Right Questions 

The biggest setbacks I've had in my career have come from having people in the wrong roles. I've made every hiring mistake there is: letting destructive heroes stay too long, pigeonholing talented people into the wrong roles, hiring out of desperation. We've learned that staying proactive with recruiting protects the culture we've worked hard to build. 

In 2026, that looks like: 

• Carefully screening all potential new hires for the right attitude 

• Always recruiting, hiring good people ahead of our needs when possible 

• Having our team complete safety and skills training using Greenius 

• Restructuring our sales team to foster more collaboration 

Standardized Bidding & Estimating 

We use Aspire to implement this, but you can do this without that software, too. The important pieces of this system are having standard pricing for the kinds of work you usually do and checklists for details, so you don't make common mistakes. Even an experienced salesperson can make mistakes if they're moving quickly, so documenting and simplifying their process makes everyone's jobs easier.  

A Sales to Production Hand Off 

Our sales and production teams meet ahead of large projects to walk through the clients' requests and the proposal. They make sure they're clear on expectations and important details, ask questions, and look proactively for any potential challenges.  

Building a team that collaborates well and delivers consistent results takes all of these pieces working together: documentation, intentional training, thoughtful structures, and hiring the right people for the roles. It's a lot of little things done well: all of which you can find help with if you join us at GROW! 2026 on Feb. 10-12 in Dallas, TX. I'll be teaching three breakout sessions myself that can help: 

• Bite Size Pieces: The Little Things are the Big Things in your Business 

• From Operator to Owner: Building a Team That Succeeds Without You 

• Owner-Led Sales to Team-Led Sales: How to Let Go Without Losing Revenue 

Plus, there will be plenty of other sessions taught by experts in areas I'm still learning about. I'll be attending when I can and sending members of my Grunder Landscaping Co. team when I can't. 

If you haven't signed up yet, it's not too late! I'd love to see you in Dallas. Whether you're working on sales, team training, cash flow, or just want to stay ahead of the challenges facing our industry, this is the event for you.  

I hope to see you there!

Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.