The Commercial Landscaper Podcast

The journey of an entrepreneur, replete with the challenges of self-belief, vulnerability, and consistency, can often feel overwhelming. "The Commercial Landscaper Podcast" hosted by Robert Clinkenbeard, is designed to elevate your entrepreneurial mindset. Robert offers a fresh perspective that ensures you never feel isolated in your journey, instilling a firm belief that you not only deserve success but are fully capable of achieving it. Through twenty-minute weekly episodes, his podcast features interviews with global experts to maintain a well-rounded perspective on all aspects of your life, both personal and professional. The content is both highly relatable and motivating, empowering listeners to take decisive steps as emerging business pioneers.

Interview with Lukas Iraola, Principal of Home Keys Landscaping and Home Keys Team of Compass Real Estate 08/06/2025

Interview with Jon Gohl, Director of Client Experience in Aspire Software 07/30/2025

Interview with Sabrina Dunham, Co-Owner of Dunham's Lawn Care LLC 07/23/2025

Interview with Tim Ryan, Executive Director of The Lighthouse Group 07/16/2025

Interview with Paul Fraynd, CEO and Partner of Sun Valley Landscaping 07/09/2025

Interview with Ryan Drake, Vice President of J.F.D. Landscapes, Inc. 07/02/2025

Interview with Chris McTyre, President of Green Ridge Landscaping, Inc. 06/25/2025

Interview with Rich Stockdale, CEO & Founder of Oxygen Conservation 06/18/2025

Interview with Darrell Turman, Vice President at The Patio Experience 06/11/2025

Interview with Andrew Martin, President of Urban Landcare 06/04/2025

Interview with Jerry Schill, President and CEO of Schill Grounds Management 05/28/2025

Interview with Sean Eddy, Account Executive at TOP Green by Turing 05/21/2025

Interview with Tanner Spross (Operating Partner) & Evan Shufflebarger (VP of Corporate Strategy) of Heartland, LLC 05/14/2025

Interview with Tanner Spross (Operating Partner) & Evan Shufflebarger (VP of Corporate Strategy) of Heartland, LLC Evan Shufflebarger Evan is a native of Topeka, KS and a University of Kansas alumni with a diverse background in consulting, investing, and M&A. After starting his career in internal consulting at a Fortune 150 financial services firm, he transitioned to buyside credit investing, where he advanced from data analytics for structured products to managing private equity investments and commercial real estate lending. Evan's next role, his first in M&A, was with a large family-owned logistics company, focusing on acquisitions, joint ventures, and capital projects. Since joining HeartLand in 2020, he has led or supported over 20 acquisitions, driving sourcing, diligence, and integration while shaping the company’s Business Intelligence strategy. Evan is a former Kansas City 20 Under 30 honoree and ACG Corporate Development Professional to Watch. Tanner Spross Tanner started in the landscaping industry at a young age, growing up in his father’s business and working in the summers and weekends on installation crews. In 2012, the family business merged with Santa Rita Landscaping, and upon graduating from the University of Arizona, Tanner became the full time estimator for its Commercial and Public Works Division. Over time Tanner served as the companies Director of Sales and Operations, before ultimately becoming the President and CEO in 2018. In his time as the President and CEO of Santa Rita Landscaping, Tanner was able grow the business over 300%, greenfield operations into the Phoenix Market, lead M&A activity for the business, and lead the sale side of the business twice, most recently in 2023 when the business partnered with HeartLand. Since joining the HeartLand team, Tanner has since become Operating Partner for the Southwest Region, providing leadership for the HeartLand companies throughout the Southwest United States. /episode/index/show/thecommerciallandscaper/id/36507910

Interview with Colin Reader, Founder & CEO of Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows Ltd 05/07/2025

Interview with Colin Reader, Founder & CEO of Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows Ltd Colin grew up in southern England in the countryside spending most of his childhood on a farm with a love of wild flower meadows and nature. His passion led him to employment within conservation organisations but in the late 1990’s when his best friend lost his wife in tragic circumstances he switched jobs to help support him with his woodland consultancy business and out of the blue they landed a fascinating contract advising on and managing wildlife habitat restoration projects for a philanthropic family on a large country estate, many of these projects involved grassland areas which had lost their floral content. This serendipitous event was the start of his wild flower meadow journey. The owner of the estate gave him great support and freedom, allowing him to experiment with different methods for creating and restoring wild flower meadows on her land. At that time there was a lot of different advice being given from various organisations regarding how one should go about creating or restoring these special habitats. Colin trialled various methods, some did not work at all, he sowed the seeds but just grass came up and other methods produced a few wild flowers after a long period of time and others produced a profusion of weeds very quickly! He was convinced that there had to be better ways and quicker ways to create very floristic and diverse meadows. It took time and experimentation but eventually he was able to reliably create colourful and diverse native wild flower grasslands in most situations and had learnt how to deal with the weed issues that dogged some of the earlier attempts. Colin began creating wild flower areas for other people and set up the current ‘Wild Flower Lawns and Meadows’ website originally as a hobby, expanding it with blogs sharing experience and knowledge gained in the field (literally) and the interest it created not only within the UK but internationally took him by surprise and now it is a multi-faceted company selling unique wild flower products and involved with more native wild flower projects than he could ever have imagined when he started. /episode/index/show/thecommerciallandscaper/id/36442580

Interview with Robert Murray, CEO & Co-Founder of Intrigue 04/30/2025

Interview with Bradley Hill, Director of Operations at Par 3 Landscape Management 04/23/2025

Interview with Bradley Hill, Director of Operations at Par 3 Landscape Management Brad started his first landscape business at age 8 with his older brother. They started in residential landscape maintenance with a route of 10 homes. After 4 years of building the business, they landed their first commercial accounts maintaining 2 hospital campuses in Denver, CO. He ran his company for a total of 10 years and sold the company at the age of 18. To broaden his life experience and serve people in a foreign country, Brad took two years off from college and work to serve as a missionary for his church in Brazil. During this time, he learned Portuguese and developed his leadership skills overseeing 200 missionaries while managing the mission operations throughout the state of Sao Paulo. He returned to college to pursue a degree in Horticulture with a focus in irrigation and water management where he competed in and won numerous events at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition. Coming out of college, Brad had offers from most of the major landscape players in the country but was looking for a company where he could pursue his interest in smart irrigation and water management. Par 3, located in Las Vegas, was the perfect fit as they were the clear leader in a market that was conserving more water than any place in the country. Par 3 was years ahead of the competition in water management, but Brad saw a need to develop and grow irrigation management alongside their water conservation programs. Brad convinced the owners that he could build a stand-alone irrigation division that would create uniformity and professionalism amongst the scattered group of irrigation techs that already worked for the company. Brad's success in building a new division from the ground up as a recent college graduate put him on an accelerated career path and less than 3 years after joining Par 3 he became the Director of Operations where he oversees nearly 600 employees and over $50 million in annual revenue. /episode/index/show/thecommerciallandscaper/id/36252530

Interview with Jennifer Lemcke, Chief Executive Officer at Weed Man-Mosquito Hero-TurfBot 04/16/2025

Interview with Rick Grimes, VP of Operations at Wire Network 04/09/2025

Interview with Brant Wichman, CEO and Owner of Customer Insight LLC and Cutting Edge Landscapes LLC 04/02/2025

Interview with Autumn Conover, Regional Manager of Southern California Region at Gothic Landscape 03/26/2025

Interview with Michael Ding, Founder & CEO of Bobyard 03/19/2025

Interview with James Lawrence, Owner of Lawrence Landscape Group 03/12/2025

Interview with Norman Ripper, Owner of Helping Hand Lawn Care, LLC 03/05/2025

Interview with Brian Hamilton, Chairman of LiveSwitch | Founder of Sageworks | Founder of Brian Hamilton Foundation and Inmates to Entrepreneurs 02/26/2025

Interview with Chris Ryon (Controller of Landscape Services) and Michael Bingham (VP of Landscape Operations) of The Budd Group 02/19/2025

Interview with Chris Ryon (Controller of Landscape Services) and Michael Bingham (VP of Landscape Operations) of The Budd Group Chris Ryon Chris Ryon has been dedicated to the service industry since the age of 15. Growing up around Publix Supermarkets alongside his father, he developed a deep love for serving people. He graduated from USC Upstate with a degree in Accounting and has been a "numbers guy" ever since. Chris joined The Budd Group in 2019 as a Regional Field Accountant in the janitorial division for the South Carolina region. In 2021, with The Budd Group’s increased investment in the landscape division to support growth, he transitioned to the role of Landscape Accounting Manager. This year, he was promoted to Controller of the landscape division. Chris’s journey in the landscape industry has been incredibly rewarding. He feels privileged to be part of an industry that is relationally close, operationally dynamic, and seasonally intriguing. Over the years, Chris has attended three NALP leadership conference events (Elevate), connected with numerous industry leaders, and played a key role in implementing The Budd Group’s first operational software, Aspire, within the landscaping division. Looking forward, he anticipates many more exciting firsts with The Budd Group and within the landscape industry. Michael Bingham Michael Bingham, a seasoned professional with over 28 years in the service industry, boasts a Magna Cum Laude distinction from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His impressive 21-year tenure at The Budd Group has seen him excel in various management roles, including Branch Manager, Regional Manager, Regional Director, Area Vice President, and Vice President. Michael's leadership has garnered numerous accolades for the company, such as Branch of the Year, Safety Branch of the Year, Account of the Year, and the prestigious President's Award. However, he finds the greatest reward in witnessing the career advancement of his team members and the satisfaction of his clients. Currently spearheading The Budd Group's landscape division, Michael is committed to fostering a culture of excellence and sustainable growth, paving the way for further career development opportunities as the company expands its footprint across the southeastern United States. /episode/index/show/thecommerciallandscaper/id/35337785

Interview with Jenny Girard, Implementation Specialist of BOSS Software at The Integra Group, Inc. 02/12/2025

Interview with Matt Bradbury, Founder and Managing Principal of Business Acquisition & Merger Associates 02/05/2025

Interview with Brett Stoehr, Vice President of Unity Partners 01/29/2025

Interview with David Koehn, Founder & President of Koehn Outdoor, and Kurt Bland, President, CEO & Board Member of Bland Landscaping 01/22/2025

Interview with David Koehn, Founder & President of Koehn Outdoor, and Kurt Bland, President, CEO & Board Member of Bland Landscaping David Koehn David Koehn is the founder and president of Koehn Outdoor, formerly DM Koehn Landscaping, Inc. David learned the construction and green industry at an early age by working with his father Douglas W. Koehn at his Class A Contracting business in Franklin, VA. After receiving a 2-year degree in industrial technology from a local community college, David moved from Franklin, VA to Jacksonville, FL in 2001 and started DM Koehn Landscaping in 2004, when he was only 24 years old. In its humble beginnings, David’s business was a one-man residential mowing operation. With the company’s success, David added more employees, equipment, and trucks and began focusing growing the business commercially. Early in life, David was taught that, “when you do something, you do it right and with integrity” — a life lesson that has become one of the Koehn Outdoor’s core values. Over time, Koehn Outdoor has developed into a market-leading commercial landscape management company with over 120 full-time employees. The company has developed award-winning hardscapes and beautiful amenity centers throughout the state of Florida. Having adapted a culture of continuous learning, training, and strategic planning, David and the Koehn Outdoor leadership team hold many green industry certifications and licenses and are involved in many industry professional associations. In 2018, Koehn Outdoor engaged with green industry specialist Envisor Consulting. The Envisor team holds leadership accountable for achieving goals and maintaining a level of customer service that is unmatched in Northeast Florida — which coincides with David’s personal promise to his clients that Koehn Outdoor provides the most customer value for the most competitive price possible. When not working, David enjoys spending time with his two younger children Leah and Lucas. They enjoy traveling, going to the beach, church services at Eleven 22 church, and being involved in the local Jacksonville Beach community events. Kurt Bland Kurt Bland grew up in Apex, NC as an avid outdoorsman, working a variety of jobs in his family’s landscaping business. He attended North Carolina State University and earned bachelor’s degrees in Agri-Business Management and Horticulture Science. He began his management career with Del Conte Landscaping in Northern California. Since returning to Bland Landscaping Company (BLC) 23 years ago, Kurt has led BLC’s southeastern expansion in partnership with his brother Matt Bland and their executive team. The two brothers recapitalized their 49-year-old family-owned business with Prospect Partners in 2017 and have built one of the country’s most well respected commercial exterior service platforms, focused on landscape grounds management and aquatic services. As a platform, BLC has acquired and successfully integrated 6 landscape add-on acquisitions along with 2 aquatic add-on acquisitions under the DBA Foster Lake and Pond Management. These investments have provided liquidity to fund the retirement of ten previous owners who were ready to retire. In 2024, Prospect Partners exited their investment in BLC, allowing Kurt and his team to join the private equity portfolio of Comvest Partners. With more than $13B of assets under management, Comvest Partners will enable BLC to fulfill its vision of building the most successful landscape and aquatic services platform in the Southeastern United States. An engaged and forward-thinking industry leader, Kurt speaks on a variety of business-related topics at universities and industry events. He is respected as an authority in leading a multi-generation family business, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and entrepreneurial business strategy. Kurt volunteers as Vice Chair of the North Carolina Irrigation Contractors Licensing Board and is a major supporter of The Frankie Lemmon School. In his down time, you will find Kurt and his wife Meredith on, under, or near the water, traveling abroad, going to a concert, or sharing laughs around a table with their friends and 3 black labrador retrievers. /episode/index/show/thecommerciallandscaper/id/34939480

Interview with Jeff Domenick, CEO of KeyServ 01/15/2025

The Commercial Landscaper Podcast

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