After several entrepreneurial ventures and over two decades in the military, Ralph Valle had gained a fair share of experience with adversity and persistence. So, when things got tough just six months into ownership with Lawn Doctor, he thought about throwing in the towel. But he didn’t. He dug in, relied on the proven model and his standard operating procedures, and transformed his budding lawn care franchise into a top performer in the booming Jacksonville market.

“After retiring from 24 years of military service, I told my wife, ‘I don’t want to work for anybody. So let’s go ahead and find something to do,” Valle said. “And my wife said, ‘That’s fine, but we’re not doing any more mom and pop stuff. You’re going to have to look for a franchise.”

Valle was initially drawn to restaurant models like Subway and Firehouse Subs, but as he researched, it became increasingly clear how demanding a restaurant schedule would be.

“I was already semi-retired; I didn’t want to work seven days a week anymore,” he said.

So, the investigation shifted toward the service industry. The Valles knew this would allow for more flexibility in schedule, and they would likely be able to enjoy weekends and holidays off. As the search narrowed and they identified Lawn Doctor, Valle felt an affinity for the brand.

“I was a medic in the military. So Lawn Doctor spoke to me,” he said. “I was already in the arena of helping things heal.”

Valle executed the franchise agreement, reviewed the business plan, and got to work. The first year was difficult, though, and he almost stepped away.

“I would call the leadership team,” Valle said. “I emailed everybody, ‘I want out. I don’t want this anymore.”

The turning point came when he decided to buckle down and commit to fully learning the business. Valle leaned on his experience with operations and developed systems to overcome the unique challenges he was facing in the Florida lawn care market.

As he immersed himself in the local market, Valle became what he called a “label geek,” gaining a deep understanding of products, how they work, appropriate applications, and their effects on different grass types.

“New franchisees have to find a resource within their state that they can tap into,” Valle said. “Mine was the University of Florida’s Pest Management University and Extension Office. I always tell franchisees trying to open in Florida to go to the university as soon as possible.”

Valle leaned into education, allowing him to avoid costly mistakes and develop effective treatment programs.

When the pandemic hit, Valle’s wife, Laura, joined the business full-time.

“We rode in the truck together for a while. She had the computer and the phone in her hand. She was the ‘office’ in the truck,” he said. “And when I got to a stop, I would get out to spray lawns. When she wasn’t working on sales, she would grab a backpack and start spraying for weeds, too.”

This hands-on approach allowed them to build strong relationships with their clients. In addition to the strength of the Lawn Doctor name, the pair became known to the families they serviced. Rather than being the anonymous people who serviced the lawns, they were “Ralph and Laura.” The hands-on divide and conquer strategy would need to quickly change as their local presence and footprint began to rapidly expand. “At the rate we were growing as we approached our year 2, we knew the days of running our day-to-day with a couple of part-time technicians weren’t going to cut it,” Valle said. “We invested in additional talent pretty quickly after that, so we could take the next step and start to work more on our business together, versus in the business together.”

The relationships they created in the early stages of development strengthened the business and helped the Valles gain significant traction. They ended year one with just 75 clients, but at the end of year two, they had 300. They then grew to over 700 clients — nearly a tenfold increase — in the third year. As their customer base expanded, the Valles now had the resources to add to their growing team to better meet the increased demand.

Valle’s growth strategy extended beyond organic growth to include strategic partnerships and acquisitions. In 2021, he merged with another Jacksonville franchisee.

"We kind of met, we became friends, and we leaned on each other very heavily for the first couple of years. At the beginning of '21, we merged," Valle said. "That helped us grow even faster because he had so many clients, and we had so many clients.”

The partnership continued to expand when they acquired another established territory in 2023. That is becoming one of their top-performing markets as it includes one of the higher-income areas in Florida.

Valle’s success represents the type of opportunity that exists in the Florida market. A key growth market for the brand, with strong potential in major Florida metropolitan areas like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tallahassee, and Gainesville, is an attractive space for franchisees looking to grow, and Valle’s experience can serve as a blueprint for fellow Florida owners.

Having overcome his early struggles, Valle now serves as a mentor to three other franchisees, embodying the collaborative spirit that he believes drives success.

“This is what’s going to help the brand grow,” he said. “As the brand grows, we all grow together.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor.