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Chris Strempek and Gene Freeman have been partners at Complete Landsculpture in Dallas, Texas for 34 years. In this conversation, they reveal why they would've hired consultants and learned their numbers much earlier, how treating team members like owners transformed their culture, and what makes their partnership work after more than three decades together—essential lessons whether you're building a partnership, scaling your business, or just trying to figure out your next hire.

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Episode Chapters:

01:52 - Chris’s Journey: 40 Years from College Job to Company President

04:06 - Gene’s Story: 34 Years of Partnership

05:58 - Roles and Responsibilities for Gene & Chris

06:55 - Business Development at Complete Landsculpture

07:52 - Company Structure and Services

08:55 - Unique Value Proposition & Customer Service

11:31 - The 5-10 Rule

13:55 - Growth and Challenges for 2025

19:06 - What to Expect at Grow 2026

25:26 - The Opportunity to Challenge Our Team

26:20 - Labor Situation & H-2B Program

28:37 - Challenges in Staffing & Growth Opportunities

31:21 - Celebrating Team Success & Culture

34:47 - Time Management Tips

38:02 - Community Involvement and Giving Back

41:46 - Relationships Matter At All Levels

43:18 - Chris’ Leadership Style Over the Years

46:44 - Thoughts on Private Equity

52:11 - Advice to Younger Self

58:41 - Please Subscribe!

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips

The Grow Group

Grunder Landscaping

Marty Grunder LinkedIn

Stihl

Key Learnings:

The 25-Year-Old Me Needed a Consultant Yesterday – I would seek the advice of consultants and get help developing a real, executable, goal-oriented business plan. The biggest tendency for operators starting out is spending all your time as a technician, virtually no time in the entrepreneurial or visionary role. You can't articulate to team members what you don't know yourself.

We Didn't Know Our Numbers—Top Line Blinded Us – We just looked at top line. God, if we get to $4 million, we're gonna be on high cotton. We thought we'd be sitting pretty, wondering where we'd spend all the money. Not knowing your numbers, not knowing what you don't know, that held us back. Labor costs, material costs, ratios, overtime, indirect time—these KPIs are transcendent whether you're in Washington or Texas.

Treat Team Members Like Owners and Challenge Them – We empower our team to make decisions and think like owners. We've learned over the years that there are things we suck at, but we have rock stars in our organization who can take those areas well beyond what we ever could. We gotta get out of their way.

Don't Let Pride Get in the Way of Your Success – You've got to be willing to own your mistakes. We're far from perfect and we're seeing cracks right now. We try to acknowledge them, bring them forward, make them public, and learn from them. Make sure...