Yard Guard: Six Lessons in Innovation From a Lawn Company on the Forefront

Based in Montana, Yard Guard specializes in lawn and tree care services, holiday light installation and sprinkler blowouts – serving Belgrade, Bozeman and Livingston. Yard Guard was founded in 1993; current owner Colin Engstrom purchased the company and became a RealGreen customer in 2020. RealGreen recently had the opportunity to spend some time on-site with Yard Guard and talk to Engstrom and Office Manager Sidne Gardner about the company’s dedication to innovation and how that informs every aspect of their business, from growth to company culture to hiring and retention, and even sharing best practices across the industry and more.

1. Growth Through Innovation

Yard Guard has experienced significant growth since Engstrom took over, and his goal is to continue that growth. In 2020, Yard Guard was a one-person operation. In the four years since, it’s grown to a staff of 18, including 12 technicians, with revenue of $2.5 million. Engstrom says his goal is to reach $3 million in revenue next year. “This is our fifth season in business, and it’s been a lot of fun along the way. Our plan is to acquire other locations in our area and expand from there,” he notes, adding that as the average age of lawn business owners is in the mid-60s, there’s great opportunity out there to acquire businesses as those owners start eying retirement. 

“If you keep growing, it’s always fun — because there are new problems to solve, new jobs for people to grow into. It makes the whole thing interesting.”

2. Innovation in Hiring and Retention

Office Manager Sidne Gardner agrees that Yard Guard’s innovative spirit extends to their approach to hiring, which has resulted in great success in an industry known for its perennial labor shortages: “One thing we have figured out how to do pretty well is hire technicians and customer service reps. We have a good plan and a great staff.” With a structured hiring process backed by strong employer marketing, they have no shortage of qualified applicants; Gardner estimates that Yard Gard has received up to a thousand applicants for five vacancies. Gardner and Engstrom noted that despite their efforts and much professional energy spent on it, hiring remains a challenge — one that they remain committed to improving.

3. Innovation Through Vision and Motivation

However, hiring is just the first step. Yard Guard is committed to creating and maintaining a company culture that encourages community, promotes excellent customer service, and fosters personal and professional growth. Displayed on the office wall, visitors and employees can see Yard Guard’s one-, five- and ten-year goals. This is more than just decor; to Engstrom, it’s more of a communal mission statement, a visual so the entire company knows where they are headed and what needs to happen in order to get there. “We know what we’re doing and planning, so by laying it out on the wall, [employees] can see a future. They know, ‘Here’s a job I can grow into.’ Now it’s tangible — they can say, ‘Oh, I want to be there in five years.’”

Yard Guard also works to motivate its team through incentivized programs and rewards for performance. “We have a group chat,” explains Engstrom, “It’s a way to thank your peers for doing little things and help each other out. Everyone likes to be appreciated. Everyone’s working hard.” The company instituted a token system where team members can earn rewards for various things: presenting an interesting book or article to the team, getting a good review from a customer, making a sale out in the field, etc. Team members can also nominate each other for tokens. Tokens can then be exchanged for personal rewards like Yeti coolers or an extra vacation day, or an individual can use them to reward the whole team with a bowling outing or special lunch. 

“We always make burgers for the staff when they’re coming back from their routes on Fridays. [With tokens] they could switch that to steak if they wanted to,” says Engstrom. “You’re building rapport on the team, and everyone’s excited about that — and we’re seeing retention due to some of these programs.”

4. Day-to-Day Innovation

The company has also brought that forward-thinking philosophy to their day-to-day operations.  They’ve installed an onsite fuel tank to streamline operations, reducing downtime and increasing productivity. Yard Guard also optimizes roles for maximum efficiency, including an employee who works as a liaison between the office and field staff. “She comes in a little later than the technicians. She routes everything, makes sure they have the products they need for the day,” in addition to managing customer issues and end-of-day checkouts, freeing up the field manager’s time. Yard Guard also highly values cleanliness and organization and has a dedicated staff member to maintain the shop so that everything is well-maintained. “You want people to treat things how they are. If we take care of it, they also take care of it.”

This commitment extends to their branding efforts, something that is very important to Gardner. 

“I’m a stickler for branding. I want you to see our logo. I want you to go for Yard Guard immediately. I never want there to be a question. And it needs to be clean and organized. I think it goes back to the cleanliness of the shop. If you’re proud of your brand, if you have a nice, clean, succinct brand, you’re going to be proud to wear the brand.”

5. Innovation Through Peer Collaboration

Engstrom and Gardner are both firm believers that sharing industry information and best practices among industry peers is key to their and others’ success. Both note the value of visiting other businesses to learn and improve their own operations. “I think half the reason this place exists is because we went and visited other people. There are so many people who have helped us and helped grow this, and it’s also nice to hopefully help them grow something, too.”

Yard Guard is part of an industry peer group that meets regularly to share best practices and help solve common problems. The peer group includes members from various regions of the U.S., each bringing unique perspectives and experiences. 

“We don’t mind sharing information because we believe it elevates the industry as a whole,” explains Engstrom. It’s a sentiment echoed by Gardner, who adds that being able to go to peers and ask, “How do you deal with this problem?” helps them think outside the box and help one another.

6. Innovation for the Future

Keeping their eyes firmly on the future, Yard Guard is pioneering innovative strategies for growth with a strong focus on sustainability and employee engagement.

“One of our values is Find a Better Way,” Engstrom says. 

They’re at the forefront of organic lawn care; the company is currently running a hybrid program that is 75% organic, using organic fertilizer and spot-spraying weeds. A 100% natural weed control program is currently in the testing phase. This initiative aims to offer superior services with environmental benefits while improving soil health. “After a year or two, the lawns that are getting organic fertilizer — they look better than the traditional lawns. The customer’s happy, lawn is greener, it’s healthier, lusher. And so we started pouring more energy into that.” Based on the success of these trials, they plan to move from having a blended organic program to a full organic program next year. The company also has an acre test plot where they test natural weed controls. Working with the city, they are testing micronutrients and other natural treatments that make the soil inhospitable to weeds without resorting to harsh chemical herbicides. 

Simultaneously, Yard Guard recognizes the crucial role of its workforce in achieving long-term success. They’re implementing strategies to align staff with company goals, fostering ownership thinking and providing employees with a stake in the outcomes. This approach motivates the team and ensures everyone is invested in the company’s future. By constantly seeking new ways to innovate and elevate their business, this company is positioning itself as a forward-thinking leader in the industry, balancing ecological responsibility with employee empowerment.

Learn more about Yard Guard, their path to success and how they grew 10 times in three years with RealGreen – read the full case study here!

Schedule a free demo today to see how RealGreen
can help you grow your business!