Life hasn’t been easy for Michigan-based Bryan Sallmen. The day Bryan graduated from college, he intended to be a golf professional. But it was on that fateful date in 2001 that he also found out his mother had cancer. While his father was traveling to and from appointments to Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic, the family business struggled. Two years after her diagnosis, Sallmen’s mother passed away.
He didn’t cope well with the pain.
“I went on an 18-month drinking binge, and my dad even kicked me out of the house,” he explained. “I went into a rehab center, and I told God, ‘If you want me to walk backwards for the rest of my life, I will. Whatever it takes to keep me sober.’”
On his path to sobriety, Bryan found himself employed in the lawn care business. He enjoyed the work and the relationships he was able to build, and he worked every chance he could. Soon, he was an assistant manager for a lawn care business and then encountered Lawn Doctor.
“I always wondered why the customers with Lawn Doctor were so happy,” he said. “I asked myself why the lawns they did looked better and why I couldn’t get those customers for my company.”
It was then that he started researching Lawn Doctor and found what it was that made them stand out — the brand uses patented equipment to do better overall applications for customers. Sallmen got in touch with Scott Frith, who was the director of marketing at Lawn Doctor at the time before moving on to become the CEO and now chairman at Happinest, and found himself in New Jersey at the brand’s corporate headquarters for a discovery day.
While Bryan enjoyed the visit and all he learned about Lawn Doctor, he wasn’t fully ready to move forward as a franchisee. He had money saved up, but not quite enough to launch his own franchise in the area of Kalamazoo and Portage, where his wife was living. He worked out a deal with Frith to hold the territory for a year and was able to obtain in-house financing with Lawn Doctor that allowed him to launch his own franchise and become his own boss.
“I started out with zero customers, and my company van was my personal vehicle,” said Bryan. “I started in an unfinished basement and after our first year in 2011, I was able to get 332 customers (after setting a goal of 200 new customers) and achieved $132,000 in revenue.”
Every year since he opened his doors, Bryan has set a goal to get one new vehicle, one new technician and 300-400 new customers in the Kalamazoo area. And in the meantime, he has worked to help other franchisees open their own Lawn Doctor locations and has helped with national training for Lawn Doctor, teaching other owners how to sell lawn care and keep up with customers. The ultimate achievement, though, was when Bryan hit his goal of being a $1 million franchise.
“What I set out to do in 10 years, I was able to accomplish in eight,” he said.
And in 2019, he also helped a fellow franchisee sell Lawn Doctor South Bend after running it for five years.
That’s where Bryan’s brother Mitch came in.
“My brother Mitch then started running sales and estimates for me, and when the opportunity came in South Bend to buy the business, I said, ‘Here’s your opportunity,’” added Bryan.
While Mitch doesn’t own the business just yet, the brothers are working together so that one day, he does.
Today, the Sallmens own a good portion of Southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana with more than 1,500 customers in their territory, and their Lawn Doctor business is worth more than $3 million.
“Now, in two years with my brother working down there and support from Lawn Doctor, we now have 1,500 customers, and the market share has significantly increased as well,” said Bryan.
Bryan credits his brother with the growth of the South Bend Lawn Doctor. “He’s been down there selling and growing, saving cancellations, meeting with customers and doing all the necessary things that we do to grow the business,” Bryan added.
The Sallmen brothers said that they’re able to offer customers something different with Lawn Doctor, and potential franchisees should take that into serious consideration when they’re deciding whether or not to pull the trigger on opening their own business.
“We have our own patented equipment to do fertilizing and weed control,” said Bryan. “Lawn Doctor is at the top of the list when it comes to marketing, social media marketing and SEO value. Sure, other companies are bigger, but if you look at those locations, they have far less reviews and stars than we do, and people look at that.”
In looking to the future of the business, the Sallmen brothers are excited about the growth potential not just as a business, but in their journey as business owners.
“Grass is always going to grow, and people are always going to want to grow nice lawns,” said Mitch. “There’s a high demand for what we do.”
Mitch said that he hopes to one day, when he’s ready, own his own Lawn Doctor franchise, a plan that Bryan is also on board with.
“My brother is 18 years younger than me, and my son is 19 years old, and he also works with the business,” said Bryan. “My sister-in-law works in the business. My dad works for us — it’s truly a family-run business, and it’s nice to be able to employ family. My brother and my son are going to take it over eventually and start taking steps into ownership. If you think the business is big now, wait until they’re in their 30s and 40s — it’s going to be monstrous.”
While many businesses were shuttered or struggled during the COVID pandemic, Lawn Doctor saw significant gains as a company. The brand now has more than 630 locations, with more than 20 locations opened in 2020.
“While more people than ever work from home, they don’t always have the time to give their lawns the care it needs,” said Eric Martin, vice president of franchise development for Lawn Doctor’s parent brand Happinest. “Lawn Doctor is able to take care of this item from customers’ to-do list and give them the satisfaction of knowing the work is done with both quality and care.”
The startup costs for a Lawn Doctor franchise range from $102,015 to $127,065. The franchise fee ranges between $88,950 and $102,000. To learn more about franchising with Lawn Doctor, visit https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/.
Lawn Doctor
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This once-aspiring golf professional had a rocky journey through early adulthood until he found a passion for helping others get the lawn of their dreams. Now Bryan Sallmen and his brother Mitch are on a mission to grow as business owners.
Life hasn’t been easy for Michigan-based Bryan Sallmen. The day Bryan graduated from college, he intended to be a golf professional. But it was on that fateful date in 2001 that he also found out his mother had cancer. While his father was traveling to and from appointments to Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic, the family business struggled. Two years after her diagnosis, Sallmen’s mother passed away.
He didn’t cope well with the pain.
“I went on an 18-month drinking binge, and my dad even kicked me out of the house,” he explained. “I went into a rehab center, and I told God, ‘If you want me to walk backwards for the rest of my life, I will. Whatever it takes to keep me sober.’”
On his path to sobriety, Bryan found himself employed in the lawn care business. He enjoyed the work and the relationships he was able to build, and he worked every chance he could. Soon, he was an assistant manager for a lawn care business and then encountered Lawn Doctor.
“I always wondered why the customers with Lawn Doctor were so happy,” he said. “I asked myself why the lawns they did looked better and why I couldn’t get those customers for my company.”
It was then that he started researching Lawn Doctor and found what it was that made them stand out — the brand uses patented equipment to do better overall applications for customers. Sallmen got in touch with Scott Frith, who was the director of marketing at Lawn Doctor at the time before moving on to become the CEO and now chairman at Happinest, and found himself in New Jersey at the brand’s corporate headquarters for a discovery day.
While Bryan enjoyed the visit and all he learned about Lawn Doctor, he wasn’t fully ready to move forward as a franchisee. He had money saved up, but not quite enough to launch his own franchise in the area of Kalamazoo and Portage, where his wife was living. He worked out a deal with Frith to hold the territory for a year and was able to obtain in-house financing with Lawn Doctor that allowed him to launch his own franchise and become his own boss.
“I started out with zero customers, and my company van was my personal vehicle,” said Bryan. “I started in an unfinished basement and after our first year in 2011, I was able to get 332 customers (after setting a goal of 200 new customers) and achieved $132,000 in revenue.”
Every year since he opened his doors, Bryan has set a goal to get one new vehicle, one new technician and 300-400 new customers in the Kalamazoo area. And in the meantime, he has worked to help other franchisees open their own Lawn Doctor locations and has helped with national training for Lawn Doctor, teaching other owners how to sell lawn care and keep up with customers. The ultimate achievement, though, was when Bryan hit his goal of being a $1 million franchise.
“What I set out to do in 10 years, I was able to accomplish in eight,” he said.
And in 2019, he also helped a fellow franchisee sell Lawn Doctor South Bend after running it for five years.
That’s where Bryan’s brother Mitch came in.
“My brother Mitch then started running sales and estimates for me, and when the opportunity came in South Bend to buy the business, I said, ‘Here’s your opportunity,’” added Bryan.
While Mitch doesn’t own the business just yet, the brothers are working together so that one day, he does.
Today, the Sallmens own a good portion of Southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana with more than 1,500 customers in their territory, and their Lawn Doctor business is worth more than $3 million.
“Now, in two years with my brother working down there and support from Lawn Doctor, we now have 1,500 customers, and the market share has significantly increased as well,” said Bryan.
Bryan credits his brother with the growth of the South Bend Lawn Doctor. “He’s been down there selling and growing, saving cancellations, meeting with customers and doing all the necessary things that we do to grow the business,” Bryan added.
The Sallmen brothers said that they’re able to offer customers something different with Lawn Doctor, and potential franchisees should take that into serious consideration when they’re deciding whether or not to pull the trigger on opening their own business.
“We have our own patented equipment to do fertilizing and weed control,” said Bryan. “Lawn Doctor is at the top of the list when it comes to marketing, social media marketing and SEO value. Sure, other companies are bigger, but if you look at those locations, they have far less reviews and stars than we do, and people look at that.”
In looking to the future of the business, the Sallmen brothers are excited about the growth potential not just as a business, but in their journey as business owners.
“Grass is always going to grow, and people are always going to want to grow nice lawns,” said Mitch. “There’s a high demand for what we do.”
Mitch said that he hopes to one day, when he’s ready, own his own Lawn Doctor franchise, a plan that Bryan is also on board with.
“My brother is 18 years younger than me, and my son is 19 years old, and he also works with the business,” said Bryan. “My sister-in-law works in the business. My dad works for us — it’s truly a family-run business, and it’s nice to be able to employ family. My brother and my son are going to take it over eventually and start taking steps into ownership. If you think the business is big now, wait until they’re in their 30s and 40s — it’s going to be monstrous.”
While many businesses were shuttered or struggled during the COVID pandemic, Lawn Doctor saw significant gains as a company. The brand now has more than 630 locations, with more than 20 locations opened in 2020.
“While more people than ever work from home, they don’t always have the time to give their lawns the care it needs,” said Eric Martin, vice president of franchise development for Lawn Doctor’s parent brand Happinest. “Lawn Doctor is able to take care of this item from customers’ to-do list and give them the satisfaction of knowing the work is done with both quality and care.”
The startup costs for a Lawn Doctor franchise range from $102,015 to $127,065. The franchise fee ranges between $88,950 and $102,000. To learn more about franchising with Lawn Doctor, visit https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/.
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