217 | From One Business to Three: How Landon Malave is Scaling His Landscape Design Empire

Apr 30

[00:00:00] Chaz Wolfe: What's up everybody? I'm Chaz Wolf, your host Gathering the Kings podcast. Today, I have a super unique guest. They're all unique, but today I got Landon Malave here on the King stage. My
[00:00:14] Landon Malave: brother. How are you? I'm doing well, Chaz. How are you?
[00:00:18] Chaz Wolfe: Dude, I couldn't. Well, I'm sure there's a ways I could be better, but I feel pretty darn good.
I'm appreciative that you're here. This is unique because dude, we know each other man, and I've had a few friends here on the show. I've had some high performers, but we know each other. Through Gathering the Kings, specifically the Mastermind group. And, so we'll get to talk about that here a little bit later.
But dude, it is an absolute pleasure to, to not only know you, be friends with you, to run with you, but to have you here sharing with all the other entrepreneurs today. I wanted just to plug that for the, for the listener because they're gonna get a ton of, of opportunity, of oper,mindset and, and they should be inspired here today as well.
So, Landon, I know you got a couple different businesses, in your, in your process of scaling multiple at the same time. Tell me what kind of business that you're in.
[00:01:02] Landon Malave: so we, we kind of started as a just full landscape construction company. over time it's kind of manifested into this whole nother realm, I guess you could say.
Yeah. I was super fortunate in the fact that I learned how to build waterfalls from my mentor. who's like 78 now, and he kind of taught me the ropes and it really took my business to a whole nother, a whole nother level that I really didn't know I was really capable of. within that came some faux rock stuff that he did in zoos and stuff all over the world, but I already had the landscape side kind of dialed in and so I kind of just expanded on it.
So ultimately what we're doing is we're gonna separate into three entities. Water features and, and, landscape or waterfall construction. Okay. And maintenance. And then, high-end residential landscapes. So patios, pergolas, fire pits, all that kind of stuff. And then start manufacturing faux rocks so we can make, you know, all kinds of different Cool, you know, rock formations and waterfalls and all kinds of cool stuff.
So that's kind of where we.
[00:02:06] Chaz Wolfe: I'm excited to, to dive into those, those three. but specifically the faux rock. we had a, an event back in June. you and I were there. We were in a little pod talking about different business topics, and you and another one of our mastermind members, John, we're talking about this very same thing.
And I remember there being some light bulbs going off for the two of you, of, of what it might take to manufacture these things. And how useful they could be across the country, even not just in your area, but for all different types of, events and, and setups and, and, reasons. And so we'll get into some of that, here in a bit.
But, that's really, really exciting stuff, especially since it, it, I got to see the inner workings of like, how it kind of like, expanded out a little bit from, from the outside being, inside the group. So before we jump into any of that, I want to know your why. Like I know your why, but I want you to tell the people your why.
Why are you doing this? Why are you expanding? Why, why is what you have? Not enough? All
[00:03:00] Landon Malave: of that. That's a great, great question, Chaz. You know, it's kind of funny. I think that why has really changed over the years, but I think inevitably it was always in me, like there was, I always remember my mom telling me the story that when I lost in T-ball, I was kicking the seats and super mad on the way home and Yep.
so I just, I hate losing man. It's not in me. And kind of as I've grown, I started, you know, building a family and started kind of seeing some of the potential that we had in the business and kind of where we could. Yeah. And, something in me, I, I just, it's never good enough. I always want more. I do appreciate what I have and where I've came from and what we've done, but, I just see so much more potential in these, you know, even the three companies.
A lot of people I think would just stick with the one and, and be fine with it, but I'm ready to, to go gangbusters on all three of 'em. I think there's just some amazing opportunities. so to answer your question lightly, I think it's always been in there, but you know, now I have a, a beautiful family, three kids.
they're a huge, huge reason that I get out of bed and do what I do in the morning and work so hard over 10 years to build the businesses. Yeah. so they're a big reason, but something inside me man just says, you can do more. Yeah. I think every
[00:04:12] Chaz Wolfe: entrepreneur relates to that a little bit, whether they've like, you know, reached down deep and like actually scratched that.
well, Maybe like you or I have, you know, that's, that's for them to decide. But what I've always appreciated about you is, you know, there's a lot of people, and I think even me for a long time, who said family was important. And I, I think deep down it was, it just didn't. It just wasn't reflected right?
Like I was, I was doing things calendar wise, that I, I, I thought would reflect back, you know, as benefit to my family. And it has. But the one thing I've appreciated about you is that it's not just verbal. That the actions that you take day in and day out are around your family man, and. Was that from the beginning?
Did you, did you go through like a little period like me where you had to say like, oh geez, like if this is actually important to me, I kind of kinda like switch things around and like start doing the thing that I'm talking about. What, what was your
[00:05:06] Landon Malave: experience there? I can actually relate on that a hundred percent because I mean, ultimately, you know, anybody who has kids know it's completely changed your life.
It's just a, there's an unconditional love that comes with kids and stuff that's really special. when I started having kids, it was right when I started my company. And so, like, I've been in business for 10 years now. My oldest one is, is eight and a half. So I was, I was right in the thick of things, man, and I think it was really easy to kind of put my blinders on and just go a hundred miles per hour as fast as I could and try to get, you know, I was trying to provide for the family at the time.
Yeah. but then it just turned in and manifested to so much more. I, I realized what I'd missed out on. You know, I always have taken Sundays no matter what. I mean, I, I've worked 120 hour weeks when I started my business. But one thing I will not sacrifice is my Sundays. I spend my Sundays with my family.
But over time I've just kind of realized like I'm not gonna get that time back. And you know, everybody tells you, you know, only one time and it goes by soap quick and whatever. But it really does man. And I think it kind of hit me probably. Four years ago, before my third child and really coming to grasp with like, my winters are pretty slow, so depending on when my kids were born, I gotta spend like either a lot of time with them in the winter.
Interesting. Or it was like, I missed out on the summer, and then they were at a different stage in their life. Right. So I was able to kind of see like these different stages that like maybe I missed out on with the first one. Yeah. And then by the time the third one came in, I was just like, oh, I ain't missing this no more.
You know? And we talked, even some of the first sessions we had, the one-on-ones that we had was like, how can we manifest this into actually doing it, you know? As much as spending time was with my kids on Sundays. You know, half the time I was still working. I had my phone, I was answering emails, taking phone calls, whatever.
Just I realized that even though I was there, I may not have been actually there in the moment. And so, yeah. Yeah, I think, yeah, about four years ago, man, it just hit me where I was like, no, this is a special time. And then we started doing like daddy daughter days where I take just one of the. We go do like top golf and bowling and just let 'em do whatever they want and go crazy for a day.
And yeah, pretty special man. I remember the first time I did that with my oldest and, she on the way home was like already thinking about the next time. And in that moment it just realized like how special that was to her, but then also how special it was to me. I got the chills telling you here, but, it was a special moment man in my life where I just kind of realized.
They're super important, man. This is the reason we, you know, reason we're here. And, like the a hundred percent, but it's easy. It's easy. Sorry to interrupt you. It's easy though. When you're going, you just go because you have to, and I've gotten to this point in my career where it's like I need to take the time and spend the time where it's important rather than just put my blinders on.
And, it was a special time for my life too, when that.
[00:08:16] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I, I think the, the underlying story that you're telling is that the entrepreneur right now who's listening, they're not at seven figures yet. They're wearing a bunch of hats. They're overwhelmed, they're stressed, they're just like, how are we gonna make it through the winter in your example?
Or whatever. And, And the blinders feel easy. It is what's easy, right? Like there, there are seasons, there are times blinders are effective and they need to be right. We have to, we have to be able to know how to dial in for the, for the better of our family, for the better of our situation, the business, whatever.
Generally speaking though, You can do both. You can be obsessed with your family and the business. I think that the permission that most entrepreneurs need of what you're saying is like once you just have that like realization moment, I can think of several of these that I've had where it's like, okay, I l you put the blinders on because you, you like it, you're obsessed with it.
I get a different dopamine hit, if you will, from building a business than I do from coloring with my children who are, you know, eight, six, and three in three. It's, it's just a different le le level of like, Ooh, I really enjoyed this. It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy them. It just means that I get a different level of engagement with this.
So I just had to switch my mind and go, okay, well what do I need to, what am I doing here? You know? So for me it was like I'm building my children. Oh my God. Like what? I'm building them. How they will be with the wealth that I'm creating is literally predicated on these minutes right now. Yeah. And so I think it's just mindset and it's, it's permission.
I can be obsessed with both, which you gave us a, a huge depiction of I was gonna ask you, in that, and this is a little bit more practical and we'll get into some business stuff here, but you know, it's the clients that maybe call Saturday or call Sunday, or the clients that have an issue with you not being available all the time.
Are really the, probably the ones that aren't the best fit anyway. You know, like bigger picture, you know, you want a client, whether it's a, a, a large water feature or across the country faux rock for, for a wedding venue thing that's being built, or it's just a landscape design per, like, you want that client to value family like you do, right.
[00:10:24] Landon Malave: Absolutely. And that's something that kind of over time you, you know, at first you just do what you gotta do. And after I kind of realized how important it was to me, I made sure to reiterate that to my customers and go like, Hey, listen, my family's number one. Like, I'm gonna do whatever I can to make you the best backyard or waterfall or whatever.
But ultimately, if my daughter calls me and she needs me, I'm going. And once I kind of got to that point where it was, You know, at the beginning you think you need every job, right? Right. I mean, you're just, you're just hungry. You're trying to get everything you possibly can. You don't have a bunch of leads.
Once things kind of start moving in and rolling in and you realize, you start getting kind of the rhythm, I, I really started making sure that everybody knew I was on that same page, and once that happened, that respect came from the customers immediately. Like, oh yeah, totally. I totally get that. You know, like, Hey, I'm going to my, my daughter.
Birthday party at school today, so I'm not gonna be available. Oh yeah, no problem. A lot of times you just don't even think about, you know, telling your customers that cuz you feel like they don't care or they don't wanna know. Yeah. But I think just having that open communication and going like, Hey, this is what's important to me.
You know?
[00:11:39] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. Like you said, it's not only just a mutual respect, it's a whole nother level of respect that they look at you as a business owner, a very successful business owner now with multiple companies doing different tasks. It's like, Man, for that guy to, to say that and then to spit actually then to do it.
I find that it actually connects me with the, the right type of client. And, and I assume that you probably feel the same way. And as you expand, you'll continue to filter, that way. Let's get into your story a little bit. You said you've been in business 10 years. You've been, you know, you were, you were grinding for a while, you were this, that and the other.
But before you even started, I wanna know, like, was there a journey before this? How did this business come about? How did you meet your mentor? Give us a little bit of the. Yeah.
[00:12:20] Landon Malave: So, I was really heavy in sports in school. I loved sports. I wanted to go to college to play college baseball, hence the Rocky's picture behind me.
Yeah. you know, that was my ultimate passion. I played baseball for 22 years, but I think it's just having that winning mentality. I played a lot of different sports. I never liked to lose. I always in. Always given 120%. You know, I've had people from the other teams come up to me after the game and just go, Hey man, we can just tell you're all in.
And, and we love it. And I've just never been any other way. And so, I grew up on a farm. I grew up on a farm and ranch in eastern Colorado, and started working at a really young age trying to, you know, we, we did alfalfa and cattle and all kinds of stuff. So coming from there, I, I worked outside a lot. I enjoyed being outside.
Honestly, I mean, I even took some horticulture classes in, F ffa, which is Future Farmers of America. Yeah. And, I wasn't super intrigued at the time. Okay. And then after I went to college and kind of realized baseball wasn't gonna be the end all, you know, Life plan. It was not the play. I, yeah. I kind of, I kind of reverted and I said, well, you know what interests me?
And I was like, well, I love being outside. You know, I, I've always been one with nature, man. I love trees, I love water. and I, I honestly, I can't even tell you like what that moment was where I just, I decided I wanted to go to horticulture school. Yeah. And so I went to horticulture, for two years and got a design certifi.
Due design, and then I had a job before I even left college. So Wow. My plan was that I would, if I couldn't get a job from my two-year degree, I would just go to, csu, which is one of the, they have a really great horticulture program in architectural program there. And, h Collins. Yeah. And I thought, well, I'll just go there if, if I can't, but I had a job before I even finished school for a local landscape company out of Bright.
And I worked, project manage and design for him for a couple years and then just decided like, I think I can do this on my own. Yeah. And you know, looking back it's kind of funny cuz you really have no clue. and it's easy to judge, you know, the people you're working for and stuff, but until it's yours, it's, it's much different.
Yeah. From there, from starting my own, I actually about three years in, and this is kind of a long story so I'll try to keep it short here, but it was meant to be, I met my mentor from Craigslist. My parents. What? Yes. My parents. I need to like write this in a book. my parents were looking for a Talla hander, which is like the extendable boom tractor that we load alfalfa with.
We always had 'em. Rick had one, which is my mentor. Yeah, my mom had came and met him and at that point I was three years into my business, my landscaping business, and my mom came home and she called me and she's all excited and she goes, Landon, you've gotta meet this guy. We went to look at this tractor that we're gonna buy and the guy's been building waterfalls for like 50 years all over the world and just like on and on and on.
Loved the guy. And she's like, so when we go pick up the machine, you gotta come meet this. And, it's a really funny story because Rick is, is a pretty tough dude. Like he's, he's not your normal, he super creative person, but he is straight to the point business like Yep. Old school. Old school. Yeah. And I remember because at the time I had just.
Me and my, we weren't married yet. Me and my wife Megan weren't married. but she came with me to this property that I now own. I bought the property from him now, but Wow. Yeah, we drove in and he like is in his skidster cuz he can't hardly walk now he is kind of crippled up. He's been working his whole life, drives up to us and is like, basically, who the heck are you and what are you doing on my property?
and we worked it out to where, he did some trading actually with my mother. And said, you know, hey, if you're, if, if he'll help me build this waterfall, we'll do a little trading with some alfalfa cuz he owns horses and the rest is history man. He helped me for about five years. I would sell the jobs cuz he was retired.
Yeah. And so I would sell the jobs to my customers and then he would come in and help me build them and teach me and explain what to look for and how to set the rocks and all the cool things and. It really a game changer. My life, dude, like, like I said, it was meant to be one way or another because he's just, he's a genius when it comes to, I mean, he built waterfalls in, the zoos all over the world.
Puerto Rico, Aruba, wow. The Denver Zoo, San Diego Zoo. and you're just not gonna get that knowledge and experience anywhere else. And so it was a life alter. you know, person that I met, I got really lucky and I was able to work really hard cuz I grew up on the farm, so I knew how to work and I, I had enough, you know, I had enough gumption that I didn't wanna lose.
Yeah. And he was super hard on me. I mean, it took a long time for him to give me that acceptance of, Me building 'em on my own and him approving them and, and liking them without critiquing everything that I did Uhhuh. But it was super special, man, because he taught me a lot. He taught me a lot of the ins and outs of the business and, large scale stuff.
If you look at our work, we, we build a lot of very big, just in your face. Water features, they're big, huge boulders, you know, only setting with heavy equipment. and it sets us apart from other people. But I got that from Rick and so, it was, it was pretty special to meet him and, and kind of even tell you about the journey.
Cuz it's kind of funny, I almost forget now. It's been seven years I've been building. I'm on my own now. He helped me for about three. So yeah,
[00:17:54] Chaz Wolfe: you, you gotta remember those moments. It sounds like you got a design certificate in horticulture, but that you got a degree in.
[00:18:00] Landon Malave: I did a hundred percent man. And, and like I said, it was not, it was no easy road.
I think a lot of kids would've been like, eh, I don't think so. Skirt, I'm out. But I think, you know, from where I grew up and the work ethic that I learned growing up on the farm, I wasn't afraid to work, man. I was not afraid to get in there and get dirty and, and make it happen. And, once we built that one, he, I think he knew immediately like what the, you know, opportunity was.
We, we built probably 30 in those three years, and then I've built probably a hundred cents.
[00:18:31] Chaz Wolfe: So, yeah, I think, I think what you just said, top tops us, tops the story off. I wanna point it out to the listener. You, Rick knew from the beginning whether he said it or not. He's obviously was super hard on you throughout the time.
He didn't, definitely didn't give you approval right away, but the reality of it is that he probably knew because you were. You were coachable. All these things that you probably learned from baseball, you probably learned from the farm that you're backdrop. But I want, I want the listener to pick this up because if you look back at your history and what got you to seven figures, water features is a huge part of that.
And so if you hadn't have met Rick, if you hadn't, even if you had met Rick, but you. Arrogant and, and thought you had it all together and you weren't coachable and you weren't hungry, and you didn't wanna learn the new thing, and you just thought he was just an old, old, you know, dirty. You know, just tied up and just, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna mess with it, you know, he's just old and, and frumpy, you know, is what I'm trying to say.
But you didn't, you, you, you personally kind of persevered through maybe the, the, the beating, if you will, and, and, and it worked out. And so I guess I, I'm, I'm encouraging the listener, and I'll give you a chance here to chime in here, but I'm encouraging listener to not only make themselves coachable, they're obviously looking for answers.
They're listening right here, right now, but it's like, what have you done at the level? Like this where you, where you go and you meet someone or you join a group or you, you meet someone in your industry or at a conference or wherever, and you then you, then you take it to the next level. You press in, you go, okay, how can I actually grow myself by getting to know this person or this networking group or this, you know, individual who's a expert in my field, whatever it.
That that's part of the growth of the next level to get to some figures is like pressing into that individual person, whether they're an a mentor or not. it's the level of you being coachable and changing yourself. Would you like to add anything to that,
[00:20:22] Landon Malave: Landon? Yeah, man, because I mean, really, there's only two times in my life that I actually experienced this, like life, life-changing moment.
And it was like after I was doing seven figures and I just kind of felt like I wasn't going anywhere else. Like I was just in a kind of a. Which is why I joined these groups and I'm in this group, which has been fantastic. And another one for sales training and stuff. And ultimately, you gotta, you gotta want it enough.
And I think, you know, I, I had an ego, I ain't afraid to say it, I had plenty of an ego. I thought I learned from the best guy in the world and I was the best. I think it just took that moment of realization of like, Hey, you can always be better. You know, you can always do better, you can be more efficient, you.
You know, make the customer experience better. There's just so many different aspects of what we do that's not just, and I, I reiterated this to my guys this morning. You know, there's just, it's a 360 degree view. You know, you gotta look at all those aspects and you gotta want it, you know, at that one, you know, in the middle of my life, I was like, I don't need anybody else to help me.
I don't need you. You know, you need. And, once I kind of flipped that mindset with Rick one because I had to really taking a beating is saying it. I mean, it was tough. I mean, he's screaming at me. That's just how he learned. So. Yep. You know, I, I love him for it. But, it was that other moment, like when I joined these groups where I realized like, there's so much power in you actually understanding and, and taking a step back and going like, Hey, is that your ego aside a little bit?
We can always get better. And as long as you have that mindset, it changes everything. I mean, it truly does. I, I was at the point in my career where I was like, I'm done. Like this is it. This is, this is as far as I can go. I've just pushed myself to the max. There's no way in heck that I could go any further on my own.
And then I had to take another step back and join these groups and learn from other people and other experiences and go, it is possible. It's. Changing your mindset again. So from going from a doer and doing all this work, and if the guy said, I can't do it, I just step in and do it for him, right? To being a teacher, which is what I've really become over the last year and a half, two years, trying to get it from, you know, seven figures to eight going like, Hey, this is the only way to go.
And why try to do it on your own and fight yourself and, you know, not take other people's experiences to heart and try to learn and grow. I think it's super important, man, but there's a point in your life where you just have to realize, like, doing it alone is not, it's not gonna get you where you want to go.
Yeah. And it sucks. It's not, it's lonely.
[00:23:08] Chaz Wolfe: It's real like with someone or by myself. Now granted, I am an introvert. I do like my time in the tree stand. I. But man, why would you, why would you wanna go to a party by yourself? Nope. It, there's a, there's a time and a place. okay, so let's get practical here.
Let's go early on first, like 2, 3, 4 years in your business. I want to know of a good decision that you made that you can look back on and go, boom. If I would, if I had a chance, I'd do it over and over and over again. What was it?
[00:23:35] Landon Malave: that's another good question. I think ultimately that's gotta be the time where I decided to, go out on my.
own And I just realized like, you gotta take that step. You, you gotta take that step. A lot of people I think look at it and go like, man, should I really do this? They way overthink it. They overanalyze some of the things and sometimes, I mean, yeah, you wanna be thoughtful about your decision and stuff, but I think taking those leaps of faith to try to get to that next level and joining a group like this and right doing those little things is.
key 🔑 And if I wouldn't have done those, there's no way I would be where I'm at today. There's just, it's not, it's not possible. So
[00:24:15] Chaz Wolfe: initially it was starting the business, eventually, like you're saying that same mindset of making a decision, even when it feels a little scary. Taking a chance, taking a leap, which is like starting a business, right?
That, that mindset really probably in multiple decisions has served you well. I'm, I'm. You know, bitch you a couple times. I think it all, it has for all of us, if you take, you take enough risks, one of them's not, not gonna work out. but I, what I'm hearing you say, the underlying is, for the listener is like, when you get a little uncomfortable, it's probably actually a good
[00:24:43] Landon Malave: thing.
A hundred percent makes you grow, makes you learn, makes you a little bit vulnerable. Makes you a little hungrier. It gives you a reason. And my grandpa always said, I'd call him and I'd go, grandpa or Pappy, I need, I need this machine. What do you think? And he'd go, you gonna use it? And I'm like, yep. And he goes, well, it gives you a reason to get outta bed.
And I think everybody needs that reason. And unless you take a few risks here and there, There's been multiple, not one really stands out to me. Tes, I didn't answer your question real great there, but that was good. There's been multiple times where I've just kind of been at that point going like, man, should I do this, should I not?
And if you don't take some of those risks, you're, you're not gonna progress, you're not gonna push yourself. You know, you, you've gotta keep, gotta have that progression. You gotta keep pushing the limits and figure out where you can.
[00:25:29] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, you, you bring up,the wisdom from, from your Pappy, my grandpa, on the wolf side who I didn't meet until 11 years ago.
You know, the backdrop story of me not knowing my dad, but the listener may not, didn't know my grandfather until obviously I met my dad. And, I was in a conversation with him, I don't know, maybe six, seven years ago. And, you know, he's in his eighties now, but really didn't start his farming career until he was.
Into his fifties. The kids were graduated, my dad and, and my uncle and my, and my, aunt, they were already out of the house and, and basically at that point, he felt. Now I feel like I can take the risk because before he wasn't willing to take the risk because kids and wife and just, you know, came from a very, very, humble, wouldn't even say poor upbringing, and he just wasn't willing to take the risk.
But when he did, he's been, he's been uber successful in farming since, and we were talking about some land and a couple business decisions, and it was just, we were just catching up. And what he was given to me was the same thing that your Papi just told you, which is like, if. Knowing what I know now, I just would've done it sooner.
The risk that the chance that I was taking that I thought was too great early, it wasn't, I would've been just fine. He's like, you wanna buy a piece of property? You wanna buy a business? You want to like go do it. Go do it. Because when I look back, I wish I would've done it more.
[00:26:45] Landon Malave: Yeah. Well, my grandpa was very similar, man.
I mean, he, he started from nothing. I mean, he, his family didn't own property or anything. He started a propane business and then decided he wanted a farm. And he's grown an incredible amount of property and land and, set up some of his kids. And, it's been really special to watch. And he's been my, he's my inspiration for.
Yeah,
[00:27:08] Chaz Wolfe: I love it. We gotta have that picture of what that looks like for us, you know? Cuz otherwise who are we emulating, you know, a guru of some kind, you know, it's just like, yeah. You know? Yep. alright, let's flip the, let's flip the coin. what was the bad choice that you made that, didn't turn out so well, but, but I'm sure you learned a bunch.
[00:27:21] Landon Malave: This one's actually super easy. This one's real easy. about three or four, it was probably about four, four years in when I got into the business and I was. You know, seeing a lot of growth and I was going crazy and I thought I was making a bunch of money and I really scaled really fast. I went from like three guys to like 15 guys, with over like a year and a half span.
Yeah. Bought a couple trucks, like just went all in. You were
[00:27:50] Chaz Wolfe: over here beating on your chest a little bit.
[00:27:52] Landon Malave: Oh, I was, I was, that was back when I had that big ego too, so that, that didn't help at all. But it really bit me in the butt. I had to, after about a year and a half of doing it two years, looked back the year and went like, where'd the money go?
Like, what happens? You know? I thought we were doing all this work. I thought we were making a bunch of money. You know, we scaled quickly in our gross, but at the time, you know, that was all I was really concerned with was like, how much work are we doing when I should have been looking at the bottom? Of our net and what we were actually making.
and I had to really take a step back. I got, I went back down to about five guys or six guys maybe. Wow. from the 15, and it kind of worked out. There were some guys from the oil rigs that lost their jobs and then had to go back. So it worked out for me where I got rid of, you know, a handful of guys really started dialing in, you know, our, our margins.
Being more thoughtful about my growth after learning my lesson there, going like, I don't wanna do that again. I've worked really hard that year and, didn't have a lot to show for it. So that one was an easy one that, that one hurt.
[00:29:01] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, there growth is, expensive. so anytime you wanna grow it's gonna cost, but what you were, what you're given to the listener right now is pretty, pretty spot on.
I think that every entrepreneur, including myself, can look back at that moment and go, I don't even know how to. I can look at the paper, I can look at the sales, I can look at the, the teams, the businesses for me across the country. Where did it all go? And, you're right. Follow side of the moment. Yeah.
Well, and, and so from out of that, you, you're, you're talking about dialing in process, dialing in margin, dialing in probably your pricing, your sales process a little bit, the execution and efficiency on the backend. Anything you want to add there as far as what kind of came out of that?
[00:29:43] Landon Malave: basically everything you just said, just really kind of dialing in, making sure my numbers were good when I was bidding and estimating and selling the projects all the way to project management and making sure the guys were being efficient, making sure they had the right equipment to be efficient.
setting them up for success. You know, there's a lot of that when you're growing that kind of just gets, whoops. Sorry about that. it gets pushed to the side because you're just too busy with other. things And, so I would, I would just say for anybody listening, just take that time, think it through, take those leaps of faith, but also dial in everything that you're doing.
Cuz as you grow, so does your, your overhead. And, that was, that was the thing that I overlooked was that, yeah, we were doing a bunch of work, but our overhead was also growing and I wasn't finding the middle ground and making sure we were making our margins. So it's a lot of different stuff. It was a multitude.
Everything that we did, I had to really dial in and get more precise. Yeah,
[00:30:38] Chaz Wolfe: a hundred percent. I think that's, that's it's super solid advice. But the listener, I mean, they probably, if they've heard multiple shows, they've heard me talk about the Four Steps really, or the four stages of, of, their business right now, or the four sections of their business, you know, marketing, sales, client experience, and then finance.
And this finance piece eludes people because it just, it's, it's kind of difficult. The, there's moving numbers. Like I, like even today, you and I both, we could sit down with our pnl. And there, it, there's gray in areas and you're like, well, I don't know. Fully understand how that got to be that number and it's hard to track back and where did it come from?
And so I think that what that does is it makes, it makes this big unknown. And so then people go, eh, I'll just stay away from it. Which is like, ah, like, like the worst thing that you could do. So I think you've given 'em plenty to think about, practically inside the business, thinking efficiencies and sales process and pricing, whether you're dialing into the numbers or not, if you can get those things right, the numbers will probably work out.
eventually you gotta, you gotta meet, you gotta meet your maker. You know that, that's the finance, that's the p and l, that's your, that's your balance sheet. So
[00:31:37] Landon Malave: yeah, it can be, go ahead. Sorry. Yeah. And it can be overwhelming because, you know, you're looking at it and you're like, wait a sec. And it's just, it never ends.
That's something that you need to realize as you're growing a business that, that overhead is, is constantly changing. You know, whether it's up, down, whatever you're paying off stuff, you're getting new stuff. That's, it's just a neverending thing, so don't ever think that it's going to stay where, stay where it's at.
It's a constant change, and I think that's part of owning a business that's a little bit tough to swallow at first. Yeah, it's never gonna, it's never gonna stay here if you're trying to grow. It's never gonna, never gonna stay. So yeah,
[00:32:15] Chaz Wolfe: it makes me think of something. I've never really put two and two together on.
I've always been a huge fan of getting around, whether it be people or certain parts of the world, that where, where money is just obviously abundant. you know, money, neither here nor there, it's just a tool. you know, I don't necessarily fancy, expensive things, although we all do to a degree.
But for me, when I, when I can think about either people that I've gotten around or places in the country where we're. Geez, there is so much money here, and you start calculating in your brain as an entrepreneur if you don't intentionally do that, or even just a, a simple vision board, like a board on your wall and you got a car that you want and you got the number or whatever, whatever is your thing.
I don't have a car on mine, but it's a piece of, piece of property or it's a, it's a something for your family. I don't, I don't know, but knowing the number makes you then realize on the back end, like we were saying, when the, when those expenses are growing, You don't fumble on that. Like you can see the sales growing and it's okay that, that your expenses are growing because you're thinking of something so much bigger that you're after.
It's just not a big deal. We know that this is where we're going. because otherwise we get stuck and on, you know, one more zero, two more zeros. Three more zeros. It's like a lot until
[00:33:24] Landon Malave: it's not. Doesn't really matter. It's the bottom line. Man. That's a, and my mentor told me that a lot and it changed my perspective as I started grinding cuz I realized like he wasn't just full of crap.
Like, right. It's, it's what you put in your pocket that really matters. And doesn't matter if you're doing a hundred million dollars, if you're only making 1% on a hundred million. it's a lot of work for nothing, man. Yeah.
[00:33:47] Chaz Wolfe: Well, let's fast forward. Let's talk about 2023. You've, you've mentioned, briefly at the beginning, you've, you've had these three sections of a business and you've really grown it to where it's like, almost like a springboard for you to really, you know, now you've got kind of three actual real thriving businesses, 20, 20 threes around the corner.
What does it look like for you?
[00:34:06] Landon Malave: It's exciting, Chaz. It's super exciting cuz I. They've all been kind of one and they've all been culminating on their own, like the faux rock I've done for a lot of home and garden shows. And, you know, we've been doing landscaping from the very beginning and the waterfalls kind of came in when Rick came.
And so they've all kind of just gradually worked together in their, in their self. But now I wanna really separate them and go. Hey, I think we could be doing 1.5 million just in the landscape business, in, in high end construction as we're doing these, you know, 150, $200,000 projects, pretty regularly.
It's not outta reach, and I've realized that in my mind and went, okay, I think I could actually do this with all three of them. Have all three of them be a, you know, seven figure business pretty easily just by putting the people in the right place. I mentioned the Home and Garden show. We're actually feature gardener at the the Denver Home and Garden Show, which is pretty big.
And actually this year, that's incredible. We are the entry garden, so we're literally the first one that comes in. We build this. Incredible display with waterfalls and pavers and blocks and just build a, you know, $300,000 backyard inside the Colorado Convention Center with equipment, with boulders and everything.
Wow. And, that has allowed me to learn the capabilities of the flow rock. So, like I said, they've all kind of worked together in itself, and they've all kind of grown to this point, but now I think it's time to take 'em to the next level. You know, like you said, we've had calls, we've rented them for commercials.
we're gonna be building a, a massive wedding venue that we've talked about, setting up temporary displays for weddings. I mean, there's just so many opportunities and capabilities of the faux rock that it could totally be its own entity. And so now I'm just working through all the marketing, all the websites, logos, branding, all that stuff to really decipher them all on their.
And it's a completely different way of thinking that I have been, but I'm super excited for what the future holds. Cause I think it's the, the sky's the limit. It's just gonna be a matter of, how much I can push and, and how quickly we can do it. Not too quickly.
[00:36:12] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. No, you're a hundred percent right.
It's, it's all in the strategy. Right. I'll give, I'll give the listeners a chance on how they can connect with you in a little bit. But, you know, the, the faux rock, I mean, you're building boulders like they look real. You know, size of me and you, you're, you've built actual water features with these already.
If this is not an idea, this is not a concept. You've done this already. This is just now you taking it to a mass scale. I know that that wedding venue is in, in another state. didn't you rented 'em recently for like a TV shoot? ad ad or something that was set up? So you built like this rock, rock feature for this TV ad or something, right?
[00:36:45] Landon Malave: Yeah. Yeah. So some, some media production company called me and, and wanted to use 'em for a commercial. so we took 'em down there, set 'em up for 'em, and then, let 'em rent 'em for two days and then went, picked them back up. So, yeah, and I honestly, I didn't even think that was, you know, a possibility.
And so as I've kind of grown and things are kind of progressing, I've realized even knowing the opportunity there was now I, I just think there's just so much that can be done. And so many different avenues and places we can utilize 'em and indoors, restaurants, hotels, all kinds of places. So it's exciting.
Yeah, a hundred
percent. Don't let my wife know she might want a water feature in the house. that I know guy.
[00:37:24] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. You know a guy. Yeah, exactly. well this, this has been incredible. I want to, I want to go to their speed round here. We, we've talked a lot about education, over the course of just me and you getting to know each other inside of the group, but what book, or maybe source of education would you recommend, to a listener, six figure business owner, they're wanting to scale like you did.
What would you,
[00:37:42] Landon Malave: what book would you recommend? that's another good question. I, I'm super motivational, so I, I just recently, probably about a month ago, read, can't Hurt Me by David, go. But another one that, that was just super inspirational. But I think, extreme ownership was incredible and it put it in a different perspective because realistically, at the end of the day, you gotta take ownership for everything that you do.
You know, I explained to my guys like, Hey, you're on the job. But at the end of the day, the homeowner calls me. And so I think just knowing that, you know, you're gonna have to take responsibility and. changed, changed my whole outlook on life and business and everything.
[00:38:20] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. And, and in order to scale.
Cuz really what scaling, quote unquote means is that you're helping more clients, you have more people on your team. you have to have a better experience, a better sales process, better finances. Like all of this stuff matters and you can't do that if. You don't have ownership. Like if you're not, if you're not the one saying, okay, if it's up to anybody, if it's up to me, it'll be, that, that, that level of thinking is, is required.
What, what would you say, I mean, obviously this is a little bit of a play on words here since you're already a part of our mastermind group, but what do you, what do you think about intentionally networking and or, masterminding, maybe even your thoughts around gathering the kings specifically?
[00:38:56] Landon Malave: Yeah, man.
I can straight up tell you I would've never. Thought about paying for some sort of being in a group or getting coaching. Cause you know, when I was younger, like I said, I had a pretty good ego. I didn't think there was a lot to learn and whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. and I'm okay with that. I hit that point in my life where I realized in order to grow I had to surround myself with other people who either had been there, could support me along the way, maybe have advice.
so I can't say enough. I. mean You're on here. We're in gathering the kings, but the relationships that we've already made within gathering the Kings is incredible. I mean, I'm gonna be traveling halfway across the country to build a crazy water feature at a wedding venue from it already. anybody who business knows not what you know, I mean, it's partly what you know, but surrounding yourself with the types of people that are think the same as you I mentioned earlier, it gets pretty dang lonely.
You know, growing a company. We don't think like everybody else thinks, and it's easy to kind of hide in the corner and go just keep going. And, allowing yourself to be around other people that think like you, that are willing to support you. you can't put a dollar amount on it. It's just not possible.
I mean, it's, it's incredible the relationships that we've made, in the groups and what we've learned and the advice and from other people's experiences. Like I said, there's not a number you can put on it.
[00:40:24] Chaz Wolfe: It's not who, or it's, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
and it's, and it's even another layer. It's who they know, right? So like you just said, like obviously the, the, the jobs that you've won, fine. Like that, that's an easy measurable, right? Like quantifiable money. You paid money, you're gonna like easy 10 x, but the, all the other things that matter. more, but it's so difficult as a six figure business owner or even an early seven figure business owner to really go, do I pay for something like this?
Do I like it? It's, it's a di it's a difficult pill to swallow. I remember swallowing it myself, going to a conference for 2,500 bucks. I was like, I have never paid this type of money to, for this, for a two day deal. I was just like, this is crazy. Now I'm like, oh, it's only 2,500. Like, who's like, who's gonna be there?
Okay. What am I? Okay. B boom. Oh, that's it. Oh, because of the power of what you just said. Not only just the relationships, but all the things that are, are unmeasurable.
[00:41:20] Landon Malave: yeah. Well, relationships are key. I mean, in business and life and everything, but a lot of times those relationships that you really need aren't As close as you would hope they would be.
They're not as easily attainable. Like the relationships you build in your business just happens naturally. Whereas, you know, building relationships with somebody you don't know halfway across the country that thinks like you. Wants to help push you, help you grow, help you learn, right? It's really special, man.
And with the opportunity we have with social media and, and all these ways like we're Zoom calling now across the states, it's really incredible, the connection. You know, and I was even skeptical at the beginning with us being, you know, halfway across the country with other, other people going like, how much can we really connect?
But because we all really think alike, It was so quick that it just, it blew my mind. And then, you know, when we get together, we're gonna meet up in Kansas City. I am stoked, man. Like I, I'm so excited to see everybody get together, go have fun, learn and grow, right? I mean, that's a, that's what it's about. So it's very special and I, I would highly encourage anybody who's on the fence, just do it.
My wife looked at me like I was nuts when I told her. I love that. But you know, it's, it's another one of those, making those decisions. You put yourself out there on a limb. Yeah. And gotta
[00:42:48] Chaz Wolfe: get better. No. You know, it's funny too, I, you didn't tell me that at the beginning about, about Megan, but what I do know about Megan is obviously I've met her.
And we've, we've chatted a couple times since, but the feedback that she's told me since of like, oh my gosh, he's a different, he's a different guy. Like, thank you for providing a, an opportunity for this guy to be crazy with other crazies. It actually helps us, you know? Yeah. Is generally the feedback. And it's like, man, for, for even a wife to have that type of transformation through, you know, you having the transformation that you've had, that's pretty, pretty powerful.
when you really think about it. Landon, we're coming close here to the end. I, I got, I got one last question for you. Mm-hmm. If you could whisper in the younger Landon's ear, what would you say?
[00:43:34] Landon Malave: Oh, man, I gotta go back to the ego thing, man. set your ego aside. Realize that there's always room for improvement.
There's always somebody who has been there. Don't get, don't let your ego get in front of you and hold you back. Yeah. Get a little vulnerable. Put yourself out there, meet new people. you have nothing to
[00:43:58] Chaz Wolfe: lose. What's the worst case scenario? Right?
[00:44:00] Landon Malave: A hundred percent. Love
[00:44:02] Chaz Wolfe: that you've been, sensational. I don't say that obviously because, you're my buddy at this point.
But dude, if, if the listener was listening today, I know that they, they can't stay the same. They, they're either gonna choose to stay the same or they listen to you and they're gonna grow. How can the listener connect with you? They, they wanna connect with you as an entrepreneur. they want to, they want to test you to actually make sure that you're an actual member of gathering the Kings and make sure this is real.
maybe, maybe they need, they have an event coming up, or they're part of a business where they need faux rock and they need to rent and or buy your product. How can
[00:44:31] Landon Malave: they find you? so we are all over social media. You can find us at LCM landscape, lcm landscape.com. We're kind of in the middle.
Refining all that right now. But if you just search our company name, you're gonna see all the water feature stuff and all that. We're on TikTok, Instagram. LinkedIn, Facebook. We're everywhere. YouTube. So if you just search our company, L C M, landscape and Design, you'll find us.
[00:44:55] Chaz Wolfe: Dude, I, I, I obviously appreciate you and your willingness to serve and give, but, but dude, you, you, you gave more than the listener bargain for today here.
And so thank you for that. of course, I wish you nothing but blessing on your family and, and your business is, and, man, 2023 is gonna be big for you, the three categories that you're pressing into. can't wait to see what, see what you do with it. Thanks for being here.
[00:45:17] Landon Malave: I appreciate it, man. I think thank you for having me.
It was a pleasure.

Host Chaz Wolfe brings on Landon Malave, a 7+ figure king in the landscape design industry. Landon has been the owner and designer of LCM Landscape and Design for 10 years out of Peyton, CO. Landon’s now splitting his company into 3, focused entities which he plans on growing separately. Through networking, an open mind, and a strong focus on family, this king is set up for success. In this episode, Chaz and Landon talk about the importance of prioritizing family, putting ego aside, maintaining a winning mentality, and a very important mentor that helped Landon get where he is today. Tune in and soak up Landon’s experiences to equip you to build and see growth in your own business now.

Landon Malave:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landon-malave-a6631799/

Website: http://www.lcmlandscape.com/ (Currently Upgrading October 2022)

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lcmlandscape

Chaz's favorite morning drink to fuel him for his day

10% off Code: GATHERINGKINGS10