Jim and Tina Cook Opened a Second Location in Texas in 2023
The Grounds Guys’ high standards sealed the deal for Jim and Tina Cook, who now own two of the landscape service franchises. “I checked into a lot of franchises and most have one criterion, which is money. I was impressed with The Grounds Guys customer-centric focus, and my wife agreed. You have to meet The Grounds Guys franchise’s criteria to be awarded the franchise. That was key for me,” says Jim.
Tina, who is marketing manager for their businesses, was involved in the decision to invest, too. “She spoke with the franchise development team and liked what she heard,” Jim says. “It has been a roller-coaster ever since, but it’s good 99% of the time. Every business has its ups and downs. It doesn’t matter whether you own a business or have a job, you’ll have good and bad days. But the best part of being a franchise owner is that you get to make the final decisions.”
That was a change for Jim. Before The Grounds Guys, he worked in IT for a large tech company, and he’d spent eight years in the Navy, including serving in Desert Storm. After that, he joined the National Guard and deployed to Bosnia. “Military service gave me drive, discipline and tenacity to get the job done. If attention to detail hadn’t been instilled in me, I wouldn’t be successful.”
Making a Change
After those gigs, though, “I wanted to do something different,” Jim says. “No one —whether they own a home or a business — wants to mow their own lawn anymore.” Secure in the assurance of steady demand, the Cooks opened their first unit in Pflugerville, Texas, near Austin, in 2019. “After Covid, the business took off like gangbusters. People wanted to beautify properties after staying home so long.
“We purchased our second territory in Cedar Park, Texas, in May of 2023,” Jim says, “and we’ve already hit last year’s revenue before we were halfway through this year. The secret was getting the right people. My sales manager is great.” He adds that the biggest business challenge as a The Grounds Guys franchisee has been the “ebb and flow of employees. We always have the work. It’s getting the right employees that can be hard.”
A Great Move
Jim and Tina Cook see The Ground Guys as a key to their financial independence, which Jim defines as “running a business efficiently, smartly, and being able to pay employees, have profit and be able to retire successfully.” It’s his ideal career niche and he “would never go back to corporate America.”
The Grounds Guys’ key residential and commercial landscape services consist of mowing; weed control; fertilizing; shrub, tree and garden bed maintenance; and pest control. Additional revenue streams are holiday lighting installation, snow and ice removal, artificial turf installation and concrete powerwashing.
Franchisee support includes A-to-Z business and systems training, development of a local website, email campaigns, local marketing, online advertising, social media management, customer feedback, client retention tactics, and more than 40 training opportunities per year. Each franchisee has a dedicated Sure Start Consultant for the first year and a business coach for year two and afterward.
Founded in 1987 and now 200-plus units strong, The Grounds Guys has been part of the Neighborly family of home services franchises since 2010. Many territories are available.
About The Grounds Guys
- Job pricing is transparent, with free estimates.
- Uniformed workers arrive punctually in branded vehicles that hold all of the tools necessary to complete the job.
- Equipment is maintained daily to keep business running smoothly. For example, mower blades are regularly sharpened and snowplows and lawn aerators are always project-ready.
- Timely status reports support customer satisfaction and repeat business.
- Trained employees know each client’s soil and climate, so they can customize services as appropriate.
- The franchise is a member of the National Association of Landscape Professionals and the Snow & Ice Management Association.
For more information, visit https://franchise.neighborly.com/grounds-guys.
