Lawn Doctor

<a href="https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=lawn-doctors-annual-conference-provides-franchisees-with-educational-sessions-and-network-opportunities-2708678" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lawn Doctor</a> held its annual conference from November 27-30 in St. Petersburg, Florida, providing franchisees with expert advice and an overview of upcoming corporate initiatives through panels and educational seminars.

&ldquo;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/lawn-doctor-begins-2019-with-strong-franchise-development-expectations-after-completing-one-of-its-biggest-years-in-franchise-development-in-2018--2708943" target="_blank">Lawn Doctor had its best year ever as a company and a </a><a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/lawn-doctor-begins-2019-with-strong-franchise-development-expectations-after-completing-one-of-its-biggest-years-in-franchise-development-in-2018--2708943" target="_blank">record breaking</a><a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/lawn-doctor-begins-2019-with-strong-franchise-development-expectations-after-completing-one-of-its-biggest-years-in-franchise-development-in-2018--2708943" target="_blank"> year in terms of new units awarded</a>,&rdquo; Vice President of Franchise Development Eric Martin said. &ldquo;The theme of our conference was Engage, Align, Win Together. To see our corporate team and owners come together in a beautiful resort in St. Petersburg and celebrate the success and discuss goals for becoming even better in 2019 was an incredible experience.&rdquo;

The conference also recognized high performing franchisees with award ceremonies, while providing plenty of time for networking and socializing opportunities for all in attendance.

&ldquo;We recognized a number of top performing owners, including our highest revenue award winner, who exceeded $5.5 million in 2018, and some of our Fireball Award winners, which recognizes rising stars after one year,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;We have a new cloud-based service software launching this winter so it is ready for the spring. This is really awesome and allows our owners to manage their business from any location. Of course, we also provided informative sessions on how to best utilize the new program.&rdquo;

Jim Duffy, a franchisee and the president of Lawn Doctor&rsquo;s Advisory Council, was especially struck by the strength of this year&rsquo;s conference. He said the group specifically asked for sessions on profitability and on hiring salespeople and technicians. Hiring, he noted, can be a bit more challenging in a strong economy.

&ldquo;Lawn Doctor brought some really good vendors to the table and provided educational sessions that addressed those issues,&rdquo; Duffy said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never missed a conference, and this one was the best because they gave us everything we asked for, along with a professional vendors and subject matter experts.&rdquo;

Conference Highlights

Vice President of Operations Dave Newman especially enjoyed the opportunity to connect with franchisees at the convention. Newman has known many of the franchisees for 10, 15 and even 20 years, as he&rsquo;s been with the brand since 1998.

&ldquo;There were a lot of good networking opportunities with the franchisees we don&rsquo;t get to see that often,&rdquo; Newman said. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s more is that they were able to spend time with each other, share best practices and what&rsquo;s working well for them in their businesses. It&rsquo;s also great to see our newer franchisees that have recently come through training and are now out there running their businesses and doing very well.&rdquo;

One of the more enjoyable parts of the conference for the entire corporate team is the employee awards ceremony.

&ldquo;Many of our franchisees will bring along their managers or sales reps, and it is so neat to see up close and personal the folks working for our franchisees, and being recognized for the work they do every day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I see their eyes light up when called on stage. It&rsquo;s a pretty big deal to get this type of recognition in front of hundreds of owners and corporate staff. Many of them are first-timers to the conference and have no idea of what to expect, so that&rsquo;s really cool to see.&rdquo;

Some of the most popular sessions this year were on optimizing marketing efficiency and the new service technologies the company is rolling out in the spring.

&ldquo;We are so fortunate to have a forward-thinking and innovative team that is always looking for ways our owners can improve their business and deliver cutting-edge services,&rdquo; he said.

There&rsquo;s also the matter of brand and role validation.

&ldquo;I absolutely love it when our owners approach us and say &lsquo;Thank you so much for helping us become a part of this system,&rsquo;&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;Those are moments, especially for people in development, in which you feel really good about what you do. We are helping people achieve their dream of small business ownership and it&rsquo;s very rewarding to have a franchise partner share how happy they are in business.&rdquo;

Panels and Seminars

As part of his role in the conference, Martin hosted a franchise consultant who specializes in succession planning to speak with franchisees.

&ldquo;As a legacy brand, we have owners who are just getting started and others who are thinking about their exit over the coming years,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;We always bring along vendors and industry experts that are relevant for owners at various stages in the franchise life cycle. We provided advice on how to position for a sale as well as how to pass along the business to children. This session was very informative and insightful.&rdquo;

The corporate team also helped facilitate a session on acquisitions of local independent firms.

&ldquo;We have a really cool strategy for helping our owners acquire smaller, non-franchised firms and we wanted to further educate them on that program and its potential,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;We all focus our time at conference meeting with some of the newest partners and introducing them to our seasoned owners. So many best practices are shared in this type of venue and the tenured franchisees love meeting with the rookies! It&rsquo;s this pay-it-forward mentality that makes our franchise system special.&rdquo;

Newman also noted that the conference had some great educational opportunities. He led a session on hiring salespeople. The salesperson hiring panel consisted of four Lawn Doctor franchisees talking about how adding a salesperson dramatically changed their business for the better.

&ldquo;The session was for franchisees who don&rsquo;t yet have a dedicated salesperson in their business,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The session was about when and how to make that decision.&rdquo;

Franchisee Feedback

First-year franchisee Matt Glasson, whose Lawn Doctor franchise is located in Waco, Texas, was thrilled to receive the Fireball Award, which he said was &ldquo;a great start to the first year for Lawn Doctor Greater Waco.&rdquo;

He credits the Lawn Doctor marketing team &ldquo;for their countless hours of work&rdquo; in helping individual franchisees produce results.

&ldquo;Lawn Doctor really sets itself apart from everyone else,&rdquo; Glasson said. &ldquo;By that, I mean they strive to be a family atmosphere and they want only the best for anyone spending the time to give it all they have to retain customers and grow their customer base. This was my first of hopefully many conferences to come. I enjoyed meeting my fellow franchisees that until the conference I had just communicated with by email. It was great to trade ideas, and hear about Lawn Doctor&rsquo;s success in 2018. It should make all of us want to do more for next year!&rdquo;

<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/lawn-doctor-s-services-are-a-cut-above-the-rest-4973" target="_blank">Mark, Marcia and Bradley Williams of Lawn Doctor of Clarksville, Tennessee won a Best of the Best Award.</a>

&ldquo;Winning the Best of the Best Award is very humbling,&rdquo; Mark said. &ldquo;We, as in everyone on our team, work hard to provide a great experience for our customers, and we, as employers, want to do things right by our employees, so it is so exciting to be acknowledged by your peers and the Lawn Doctor team for this award! We love that it is a team award!&rdquo;

Bradley echoed the sentiment.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Winning the Best of the Best award is always an honor knowing the quality of our peers,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It will be passed on to our team who make it happen here in Clarksville at our annual Christmas breakfast before we break for the holidays.&rdquo;

Bradley is thrilled to be part of the Lawn Doctor team and enjoyed what the conference had to offer.

&ldquo;The Lawn Doctor brand has great history and tradition and as owners we are set up for future success with the home office leadership team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The new programs have been systemized for profitablity. It was great to hear first-hand knowledge from other franchisees that had it in beta. The conference always reinforces the connectivity and power of the brand.&rdquo;

Franchisee Richard Benbow with Lawn Doctor of Southern Wake County also won a Best of the Best Award. This was a major conference highlight for him.

&ldquo;It was truly an honor,&rdquo; Benbow said. &ldquo;There are so many outstanding dealers that do a great job every year that I was and still am in a state of awe.&rdquo; 
 
Benbow said he always looks forward to the conference&rsquo;s roundtable discussions and talking to other owners.

&ldquo;I also really enjoy the time with the vendors, either at the trade show or in the breakout rooms,&rdquo; Benbow said. &ldquo;The partnership with the vendors is a large part of my success.&rdquo; 
 
A Collaborative Corporate and Franchisee Relationship

Lawn Doctor corporate team members and franchisees describe the relationship between the two as a positive one.

&ldquo;Lawn Doctor is very open, very inclusive,&rdquo; Newman said. &ldquo;We try our best to maintain a very transparent, open dialogue with our franchisees. They know they can come to us with any ideas or questions or concerns and we can go to them and bring new things to the table and for the most part, they&rsquo;re open and eager to implement new programs. We rolled out a lot of new things at the conference that folks are pretty excited about.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Martin agrees.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s as good as it has ever been,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This was a fantastic conference featuring a great mix of newer and veteran owners that are really excited about our future. We have made quite a few improvements and adjustments to our marketing program over the past few years, and we are seeing the value of that come to light. There is so much energy and excitement for the future and our owners clearly see we are on the right path. There is a family-like culture in our company that you don&rsquo;t always find in franchising. Do we always agree on everything? Of course not. But, we can hug it out, high-five and know that we are all in this together. Everyone cares, wants to help make their neighbor better and is willing to share those morsels of knowledge to help the system grow.&rdquo;

Like everyone else, Duffy enjoyed the chance to connect with others at the conference and learn about ways to grow his business. He has nothing but good things to say about the Lawn Doctor corporate team and the support they provide the franchise system.

&ldquo;I love this business,&rdquo; Duffy said. &ldquo;I started it so my sons could take over the business in a couple of years, which is still the plan. Any time I&rsquo;ve ever had a question, I&rsquo;ve been able to go to the corporate team. My relationship with them has been fabulous the entire 15 years. I can&rsquo;t say enough good things about them.&rdquo;

 
Check out the full list of 2018 Lawn Doctor conference award winners:

Custom Acrylic Awards 

2018 Best of the Best Award

Category 2

Richard Benbow

Lawn Doctor of Southern Wake County

&nbsp;

2018 Best of the Best Award

Category 3

Kristena Polmanteer

Lawn Doctor of The Woodlands-Magnolia

&nbsp;

2018 Best of the Best Award

Category 4

<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/franchisee-chad-norton-says-success-is-all-in-the-lawn-doctor-name-2708555" target="_blank">Chad Norton</a>

Lawn Doctor of Cache Valley

&nbsp;

2018 Best of the Best Award

Category 5

Mark, Marcia &amp; Bradley Williams

Lawn Doctor of Clarksville

&nbsp;

2018 Best of the Best Award

Category 6

Jeff Angus

Glenn Farrell

Lawn Doctor of Fairfield

&nbsp;

2018 Highest Revenue Award

Brent Harl

Lawn Doctor of Denver

&nbsp;

Orbit Award

2018 Fireball Award

<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/long-time-servpro-franchisee-brian-mazzone-finds-new-opportunity-with-lawn-doctor-2706068" target="_blank">Brian Mazzone</a>

Mario Luciani

Lawn Doctor of Middletown-Essex

&nbsp;

2018 Fireball Award

Alan Eggleston

Lawn Doctor of Chagrin Falls-Chardon

&nbsp;

2018 Fireball Award

Homer Fouquier Jr

Lawn Doctor of South Lafayette

&nbsp;

2018 Fireball Award

Vernie, Ann &amp; Matt Glasson

Lawn Doctor of Greater Waco

&nbsp;

2018 Phoenix Award

Jerry Flyge

Lawn Doctor of Middletown-Lincroft-Oak Hill

Lawn Doctor’s Annual Conference Provides Franchisees with Educational Sessions and Network Opportunities 

1851 Franchise

Top performers were recognized with awards at the franchise system’s annual gathering.

This brand page has been paid for by LAWN DOCTOR. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

lawn-doctors-annual-conference-provides-franchisees-with-educational-sessions-and-network-opportunities

FRANCHISE INFORMATION

Own a Lawn Doctor

Happinest Brands Makes the Off-Season a Win for Franchisees

Veteran Success With Lawn Doctor

Lawn Care Franchise Opportunity Overview

Learn

Download Brochure

Visit Website

LAWN DOCTOR

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

YouTube

SOCIAL MEDIA

How a 20-Year Industry Veteran Tripled His Sales With a Lawn Doctor Franchise

Navy Veteran, Former Field Service Engineer Celebrates Early Success With Lawn Doctor Franchise

LAWN DOCTOR MOST READ STORIES

1851 LOGIN

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

ABOUT LAWN DOCTOR

CONTACT LAWN DOCTOR

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

First Name

Last Name

Email

Phone

City

State / Province

Zip Code

For&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominick-pennella-9918a448/">Dominick Pennella</a>, the journey to becoming a franchise owner with&nbsp;<a href="http://lawndoctorfranchise.com">Lawn Doctor</a>, the 700-plus-unit national lawn care franchise, has unique ties back to his childhood and family. Growing up in Brooklyn in a traditional Italian family, Pennella was involved in the family landscaping business from a young age. He also saw just how important family was. As he approached adulthood, he wanted to explore other paths, which led him to the Navy“I was the baby of three kids. The family culture was already set; landscaping was the thing, and we were Italians who lived in Brooklyn,” Pennella said. “I just felt like there was so much more world to see. I’m appreciating all of these things now, in hindsight, but as an 18-year-old, I just wanted to get going. So I joined the military, and it was the scariest thing I ever did.”<h2>The Military to Corporate Transition</h2>For Pennella, the military was a way to fast-track personal growth, in a way, allowing him to explore what it would mean to go out on his own. It meant leaving his hometown and taking on the adventure without familial backing.He spent about four years in the Navy, working on submarines and doing things like monitoring nuclear reactors through a keyhole. In addition to meeting new people and seeing new places, his time in the Navy set Pennella up with a technical foundation that would define his corporate journey.This military background and technical proficiency opened doors for Pennella as he transitioned to civilian life. He was hired as a field service engineer for a biomedical company before even completing a college degree, but he was already looking toward the “next rung” of the ladder.“I was looking up at the next rung. I thought, ‘I can do that, and to do that, I would need an education directly in management,’” he said. “I decided to sign up for distance learning and see if I could work full-time and go to school at the same time. I did that for about five years. My master’s was in business management.”As he continued to climb the corporate ladder, Pennella returned to lessons he learned in his early landscaping years.“Whether you're showing up to someone's home to take care of a lawn or whether you're showing up to a hospital mid-surgery to take care of a blood gas instrument, the end result is still the same,” he said. “You still have to deal with people who are discontent. They don’t like the current situation, and they need to believe in you. You need to convey a plan, communicate throughout that process and close the loop at the end.”“Regardless of the perceived severity of what you’re fixing, any type of field service is similar,” he continued. “When I worked for my father as a landscaper, it was the exact same thing. A different product, but the exact same customer-facing experience. They want to know what you can do for them. ‘I’m in this situation. How can you help me? And can I contact you if I need anything?’ If you answer all those questions, they're happy. It was the same thing in medical device field service. So, I did well by literally copying the same tenets my father taught me.”Throughout his corporate career, Pennella’s approach earned him and his teams multiple awards and widespread recognition. But as he advanced, it also began to demand more from Pennella in terms of travel. When these requirements began to overshadow his family time, he knew it was time for a change.“I was successful, but my family is so important to me, and they were not more than 20% of my week in any given week in that life,” he said. “I knew it was time for a change.”Today, Pennella says that decision was fueled by the people who matter most — his wife of 14 years, Maria, who is also his partner in running the business, and their two daughters, Dora (11) and Gigi (7). He describes them as his daily inspiration and the driving force behind his decision to build something that would allow him to be present, ambitious and rooted at home all at once.“I didn’t even think of landscaping again, because that was what my dad did,” he continued. “I did electronics in the Navy, and that was my thing. But my father and I, one thing we have in common is the love of family. He couldn’t wait to get home and spend time with us when I was young, and I share that same view.”So, when he first began searching for his next opportunity, Pennella was looking for other roles in the same industry. He wanted to stick with “his thing,” just in a capacity that would require less travel and allow for more family time. After realizing that, at his level of seniority, any new role would be more of the same, he went to step two: franchises.<h2>Identifying Lawn Doctor: The Return to the Lawn Care Business</h2>“There are about a billion franchises for anything you could possibly think of, so how do you choose one?” he said. “I ended up finding some really great people — some franchise brokers. I took the Zorakle Assessment, and two days later, they called and said, ‘Hey, have you ever heard of&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/info">Lawn Doctor</a>?’”At this point, Pennella had not mentioned Lawn Doctor to the brokers, but he remembered it from childhood. He saw the green thumb logo and vehicles in the community and, as a child, asked his father how the business model worked since he never saw them cutting anyone’s lawn. At the time, his father explained that fertilization was one of the more profitable services in the lawn care space, but the conversation stopped there.So, when Pennella was presented with the Lawn Doctor franchise opportunity decades later, it almost felt meant to be.“When I started doing some research, I realized it might be the perfect fit. It tied in with my nostalgia, my culture, my history, my skill sets — everything,” he said. “And again, it’s field service. It wasn’t a straight line, and I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for the folks who guided me in the selection process. But when they said ‘Lawn Doctor,’ I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? I used to joke about comparing Lawn Doctor to the type of work I did in my father’s business.’ And here I am, the owner of a Lawn Doctor franchise! And I couldn’t be happier with the choice.”<h2>Building Momentum Through a Culture of Collaboration</h2>As Pennella launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lawndoctor.com/naples-fl/">Lawn Doctor of Naples-LaBelle-Marco Island</a>, he applied a sophisticated management lens to a local service model. This approach has already yielded impressive results, driving Pennella to blow his first-year projections out of the water within a couple of months. By focusing on communication and personal outreach, including knocking on clients’ doors himself, he was able to build trust and set the business up for an amazing first year.“It’s a simple, scalable model, and it sets you up to make your money back in a fairly short time frame,” he said. “It’s a great choice for a calculated risk-taker.”In addition to his own analytical lens, Pennella’s success has been driven by the support of the entire franchise system. Previously accustomed to a “dog-eat-dog” atmosphere in corporate America, Pennella was pleasantly surprised by the collaborative nature of the Lawn Doctor system. While he has worked diligently to educate himself on all facets of the business, he realized that, with the franchise system behind him, he didn’t have to absorb all of the information immediately and completely.“In the corporate world, everyone is looking for their own win. Here, a rising tide floats all ships,” he said. “I have at least five other owners and a dedicated mentor that I can call any time for any reason, and they’ll have an answer. I’m not scared to take on things I might not be an expert on yet because I have the backup to help me find those answers if needed.”&nbsp;Pennella is quick to credit those who have walked beside him during this first year. He highlights&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottspitz/">Scott Spitz</a> of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lawndoctor.com/lakeworth-fl/lawn-care-in-west-palm-beach/">West Palm Beach</a>, who has served as a dedicated mentor, providing the institutional knowledge that only a veteran owner can offer. He also expresses deep gratitude for the ongoing support from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-valle-a92584103/">Ralph Valle</a> in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lawndoctor.com/jacksonville-fl/lawn-care-in-jacksonville/">Jacksonville</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lawndoctor.com/fortmyers-fl/home/">Duffy family in Fort Myers</a>, whose insights helped him navigate the nuances of the Florida market, illustrating just how valuable it is to be a part of the Lawn Doctor system, which functions as a true team.As he prepares for continued growth, Pennella recognizes that there will be additional learning and growth opportunities as a Lawn Doctor owner, but he’s ready for them, and he encourages others in a similar position to consider taking the leap, as well.“If you are willing to learn agronomy and work closely with the franchisor, this can change your life,” he said. “It gave me the one thing I couldn’t find in the corporate world: the ability to put my family first without sacrificing my ambition. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor">https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor.</a>&nbsp;

Photo of Lawn Doctor franchisee Dominick Pennella and family

After making the switch to franchising for better work-life balance and to prioritize his family, Dominick Pennella exceeded his first-year projections by 50% in his first few months of operations.

navy-veteran-dominick-pennella-success

Design with photo of John Perry and Lawn Doctor logo

lawn-doctor-franchise-success-story-john-perry

Happinest-Lawn-Doctor-Franchisee-Ralph-Valle-Profile-Jacksonville-FL-June-2025

From Near-Quit to 7 Figures: Success With Lawn Doctor in Jacksonville, Florida

lawn-doctor-franchise-success-jacksonville

Record-Breaking Rookies: Firefighter-Banker Duo Blazes Trail With Lawn Doctor Success

record-breaking-rookies-firefighter-banker-lawn-doctor-success

Lawn Doctor’s Annual Conference Provides Franchisees with Educational Sessions and Network Opportunities

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS