Lawn Doctor Celebrates 55 Successful Years in Business at Annual Conference

Lawn Doctor, the 600-plus unit lawn care franchise under the Happinest Brands umbrella, is celebrating 55 years in business. The brand has seen major growth in recent years as the home services segment continues to boom, and to celebrate, Lawn Doctor recently gathered with its owners in Naples, Florida, for the Lawn Doctor Conference. 

“The Lawn Doctor conference was a huge success,” said Eric Martin, Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. “We had an incredible turnout. It was great to be able to gather with our owners and spend time face-to-face. We are already looking forward to next year’s event and can’t wait to see what we learned during the conference in action.” 

During the conference, attendees got to hear from speakers on educational panels with topics such as: Building a Great Team - Recruiting, Hiring, Training and Retaining Roundtables; Growing Your Business - Increasing Value and Retaining More Customers Roundtables; When and How to Hire a Salesperson; When and How to Hire a General Manager; and Growing Your Business to the Next Level. These roundtables were a great chance for interaction and one-on-one time among owners. 

Recruiting was a featured topic at the event. “We are leveraging cutting-edge tools to reach the best caliber employee candidates – even those who aren’t actively looking for a new job,” said Martin. “We are seeing great results in using technology to significantly expand the labor pool without relying simply on advertising, networking, word of mouth and other traditional methods.”
 

Additionally, the franchise spent dedicated time focusing on marketing performance tracking with its owners. Martin noted that the brand is using BI to monitor centralized media performance and sharing results directly with franchisees. “Our owners don’t have to wonder what their marketing money is doing because they can track results,” he said. 

Owners also got to hear about a new sales training program. The new internal program will focus on upsells and increasing revenue within the existing customer base, as well as roll out a new and improved sales follow-up processes. Attendees also got a chance to learn more about Lawn Doctor’s new health and benefits program that rolled out in 2022, to better equip franchisee recruitment efforts when it comes to hiring and retention.

On top of providing invaluable informational sessions, the franchise also made time for fun team-building events such as golf, fishing, team Olympics, a dinner cruise, an awards dinner and time for franchisee recognition. “It was great to be able to bond as a team,” Martin noted. “We don’t often get the opportunity to all be together in one place, so this time together was priceless.” 

The conference wrapped up a banner year for the Lawn Doctor brand. The franchise closed out 2022 with a whopping $204 million in system-wide sales. And all the hard work put in didn’t go unnoticed. Lawn Doctor was also ranked #81 overall in Entrepreneur’s prestigious Franchise 500 and was #1 in its category. Entrepreneur’s annual list examines trends in the franchising industry. The 44th annual Franchise 500 highlights the unprecedented challenges faced over the last two years and the resilience of the franchising industry. Brands are recognized for their outstanding performance in areas including financial strength and stability, unit growth and brand power. 

“Lawn Doctor was one of three brands to be recognized in the Franchise 500 for 44 straight years,” said Martin. “It is an incredible honor and a testament to everything we have accomplished as a brand.”

The startup costs for a Lawn Doctor franchise range from $116,465–$141,815. To learn more about franchising with Lawn Doctor, visit https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/.

ABOUT LAWN DOCTOR:

Since its first franchise in 1967, Lawn Doctor has established itself as a leader in the lawn care services industry through innovative technology, its ability to satisfy the needs of consumers on a national level and its development and expansion within the industry. Lawn Doctor specializes in treatment and conditioning services, such as fertilization, weed control, seeding, aeration and tree and shrub care. The Lawn Doctor brand has hundreds of locally owned and operated franchises and is the #1 ranked lawn care franchise in the United States. Lawn Doctor is a 2023 Franchise 500 brand, ranking no. 79 for its financial strength and stability, unit growth and brand power.