After 11 years of ownership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and more than 20 years with the brand, Todd and Janis Rucker have exited their Lawn Doctor franchise. In January, the pair officially closed a seven-figure deal as the business was acquired by their former general manager, Russ Dunning, and his wife, Kalin, who will lead the next era of growth in the community.
“When I hired Russ about six and a half years ago, I hired him with the intention of replacing me,” Todd said. “I feel like the transition with Russ was great because he’s been involved in a lot of the day-to-day decisions, and again, ultimately, we both knew that he and Kalin were going to acquire it.”
While the Ruckers have spent the last few years actively preparing for a healthy exit from the Hot Springs territory, their journey with Lawn Doctor goes back much further.
The Ruckers’ first introduction to Lawn Doctor was over 20 years ago when they purchased a territory in another part of Arkansas, which they built from the ground up.
“We had that up and running for about five or six years before we moved to Hot Springs,” Todd said. “After about a year there, I went to work for the local Hot Springs franchise and worked there for about five years. I was just thinking, ‘Let me get my kids through school, and we’ll see what happens.’ Then we ended up having an opportunity to buy it. We purchased that in 2015 and had it until early this year. It’s kind of a roundabout way of getting here, but had we not had the experience of learning and making a few mistakes [with our first territory], I don’t think this one would have gone quite as well.”
When Todd learned of the opportunity to acquire the Hot Springs territory, he was confident that, using his prior experience as an owner and time spent as a team member in Hot Springs, he would be able to not just successfully acquire but continue to grow the business.
A few years into leading the Hot Springs territory, Todd began looking to hire his eventual replacement, knowing the business would eventually change hands.
“Our philosophy is that we don’t really own anything in this world anyway. We’re just a steward over it for a period of time,” he said. “So, when we took this business over, even though our names were on everything and we were the ‘owners’ of it, I knew we were a steward of it for a period of time. We did not know how long that was going to be. It’s a good mentality to realize that you’re not going to own anything forever. That’s freeing, in my opinion.”
Though he never dodged the responsibility or accountability associated with business ownership, Todd knew that something would change down the line.
“You manage it well and take care of it, but also think, down the line, what happens if I had a stroke? I want someone in there so that the business would continue on,” he said. “To make sure Janis would be alright until she could sell it, but also for everybody else that’s involved. There were 19 other families that were dependent on me being a responsible business owner. So I felt an obligation to have, at a minimum, somebody in there who would keep the day-to-day going. If we can find someone that could do the day-to-day but also transition to ownership one day — that’s even better.”
When Russ joined the team, Todd took this approach. He knew that Russ would eventually take over, and he worked diligently to ensure Russ had the experience and expertise necessary to facilitate a seamless transition whenever that time came.
While Todd had been working with Russ consistently to prepare him for the eventual transition, he embraced a more structured approach in early 2025.
“I knew the energy had gone out of me,” he said. “I could have continued on for a couple more years with Russ running things day-to-day, but I didn’t think that was healthy for the business. I knew it was time to transition; I thought it was the fairest thing to do for everybody involved. I didn’t want the business to decline because my energy had waned.”
After making the decision, though, Todd stayed engaged with Russ. He let Russ know in early 2025 that it would be their last year together, and they took on the next 12 months with intention.
“That was leading into our spring season,” Todd said. “At that point, we both had to get over the shock. So we just went back to work, and throughout the year, I tried to show him the things that we did each time of the year — sales, advertising and things of that nature. He was already deeply involved, but we got him a little more involved with things like ‘Here’s who I talk to about the advertising,’ or ‘Here’s what’s going on in my mind.’”
Ensuring Russ had the experience necessary and taking a step back to truly let him lead, the Ruckers set the stage for a smooth transition. While the existing team didn’t know exactly what was going on behind the scenes, Todd says they were getting accustomed to Russ being the leader and Todd and Janis popping in on occasion rather than being there all the time.
Earlier this year, Todd and Janis officially exited the business, and Russ and Kalin took it over.
Now in their early 60s, the Ruckers are taking time to travel, focus on their bucket list and take a bit of a breather.
“Janis is happy to be a full-time grandmother. I intend to work at least part-time in the future, but I’m not sure what that will look like,” Todd said. “The immediate future is to travel and then see… I’m using this as my gap year.”
As for the future of the business, the Ruckers are proud of what they’ve built and optimistic about what’s to come in Hot Springs.
“Over the years, Russ has helped vet people, so they’re as much his team members as they were ours. And the fact that he was involved in the day-to-day decisions for several years was also good. It has worked out wonderfully,” Todd said. “I think Lawn Doctor of Hot Springs is in better hands now than it was when we had it. I hate to say that, but they’re very qualified. They’re great. And that’s what you want to do! You want it to get better.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor.
Lawn Doctor
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Drawing on lessons from their first stage of ownership, Todd and Janis Rucker built a sustainable Lawn Doctor model that ultimately led to a seven-figure sale to their longtime general manager.
After 11 years of ownership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and more than 20 years with the brand, Todd and Janis Rucker have exited their Lawn Doctor franchise. In January, the pair officially closed a seven-figure deal as the business was acquired by their former general manager, Russ Dunning, and his wife, Kalin, who will lead the next era of growth in the community.
“When I hired Russ about six and a half years ago, I hired him with the intention of replacing me,” Todd said. “I feel like the transition with Russ was great because he’s been involved in a lot of the day-to-day decisions, and again, ultimately, we both knew that he and Kalin were going to acquire it.”
While the Ruckers have spent the last few years actively preparing for a healthy exit from the Hot Springs territory, their journey with Lawn Doctor goes back much further.
The Ruckers’ first introduction to Lawn Doctor was over 20 years ago when they purchased a territory in another part of Arkansas, which they built from the ground up.
“We had that up and running for about five or six years before we moved to Hot Springs,” Todd said. “After about a year there, I went to work for the local Hot Springs franchise and worked there for about five years. I was just thinking, ‘Let me get my kids through school, and we’ll see what happens.’ Then we ended up having an opportunity to buy it. We purchased that in 2015 and had it until early this year. It’s kind of a roundabout way of getting here, but had we not had the experience of learning and making a few mistakes [with our first territory], I don’t think this one would have gone quite as well.”
When Todd learned of the opportunity to acquire the Hot Springs territory, he was confident that, using his prior experience as an owner and time spent as a team member in Hot Springs, he would be able to not just successfully acquire but continue to grow the business.
A few years into leading the Hot Springs territory, Todd began looking to hire his eventual replacement, knowing the business would eventually change hands.
“Our philosophy is that we don’t really own anything in this world anyway. We’re just a steward over it for a period of time,” he said. “So, when we took this business over, even though our names were on everything and we were the ‘owners’ of it, I knew we were a steward of it for a period of time. We did not know how long that was going to be. It’s a good mentality to realize that you’re not going to own anything forever. That’s freeing, in my opinion.”
Though he never dodged the responsibility or accountability associated with business ownership, Todd knew that something would change down the line.
“You manage it well and take care of it, but also think, down the line, what happens if I had a stroke? I want someone in there so that the business would continue on,” he said. “To make sure Janis would be alright until she could sell it, but also for everybody else that’s involved. There were 19 other families that were dependent on me being a responsible business owner. So I felt an obligation to have, at a minimum, somebody in there who would keep the day-to-day going. If we can find someone that could do the day-to-day but also transition to ownership one day — that’s even better.”
When Russ joined the team, Todd took this approach. He knew that Russ would eventually take over, and he worked diligently to ensure Russ had the experience and expertise necessary to facilitate a seamless transition whenever that time came.
While Todd had been working with Russ consistently to prepare him for the eventual transition, he embraced a more structured approach in early 2025.
“I knew the energy had gone out of me,” he said. “I could have continued on for a couple more years with Russ running things day-to-day, but I didn’t think that was healthy for the business. I knew it was time to transition; I thought it was the fairest thing to do for everybody involved. I didn’t want the business to decline because my energy had waned.”
After making the decision, though, Todd stayed engaged with Russ. He let Russ know in early 2025 that it would be their last year together, and they took on the next 12 months with intention.
“That was leading into our spring season,” Todd said. “At that point, we both had to get over the shock. So we just went back to work, and throughout the year, I tried to show him the things that we did each time of the year — sales, advertising and things of that nature. He was already deeply involved, but we got him a little more involved with things like ‘Here’s who I talk to about the advertising,’ or ‘Here’s what’s going on in my mind.’”
Ensuring Russ had the experience necessary and taking a step back to truly let him lead, the Ruckers set the stage for a smooth transition. While the existing team didn’t know exactly what was going on behind the scenes, Todd says they were getting accustomed to Russ being the leader and Todd and Janis popping in on occasion rather than being there all the time.
Earlier this year, Todd and Janis officially exited the business, and Russ and Kalin took it over.
Now in their early 60s, the Ruckers are taking time to travel, focus on their bucket list and take a bit of a breather.
“Janis is happy to be a full-time grandmother. I intend to work at least part-time in the future, but I’m not sure what that will look like,” Todd said. “The immediate future is to travel and then see… I’m using this as my gap year.”
As for the future of the business, the Ruckers are proud of what they’ve built and optimistic about what’s to come in Hot Springs.
“Over the years, Russ has helped vet people, so they’re as much his team members as they were ours. And the fact that he was involved in the day-to-day decisions for several years was also good. It has worked out wonderfully,” Todd said. “I think Lawn Doctor of Hot Springs is in better hands now than it was when we had it. I hate to say that, but they’re very qualified. They’re great. And that’s what you want to do! You want it to get better.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor.
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