Lawn Doctor

Florida-based <a href="https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=veterans-turned-franchisees-turned-friends-find-benefits-to-opening-their-lawn-doctor-businesses-mid-year-2709267" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Lawn Doctor</a> franchisees Greg Harkrider and Ralph Valle have a lot in common. Both are retired veterans&mdash;Harkrider retired from the Navy after 25 years of service, and Valle from the Army after 23 years&mdash;and both operate Lawn Doctor services in Florida. Furthermore, the two launched their respective lawn care businesses in late spring/early summer of last year, right on the heels of what might conventionally be considered the industry&rsquo;s &ldquo;busy season.&rdquo; Rather than presenting them with issues, however, Harkrider and Valle say that opening mid-year was advantageous, and definitely brought them together as friends.

&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t so busy that, when we jumped in, we couldn&rsquo;t handle it,&rdquo; Harkrider explained. &ldquo;We got in at the very tail-end of the busy season, so we were able to gain customers that were looking for lawn care [...] but our heads weren&rsquo;t spinning.&rdquo;

Harkrider, who operates in Jacksonville, Florida with the help of his fianc&eacute;e, Sheri, said that this was a beneficial way to start because he made enough money to support the business throughout the off-season while he found his footing. This put him in the position to analyze everything he&rsquo;d soaked in during his 2018 opening so that he could hit the ground running in early spring 2019.

&ldquo;I am poised and ready to strike,&rdquo; Harkrider said of the upcoming season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve secured my deals for fertilizer and products for the year; in the off-season I got my program built; I can tell you down to the penny what it&rsquo;s gonna cost me per yard, per foot...I&rsquo;m ready.&rdquo;

Valle, who operates in Fleming Island, Florida, agreed that the mid-year opening was a positive experience.

&ldquo;Opening during the non-traditional season really helped me,&rdquo; Valle said. &ldquo;I was very nervous at first &mdash; you know, you&rsquo;re dealing with products that can burn a lawn. It was nerve-wracking.&rdquo; 

However, opening during a time with less-hectic demand let Valle get comfortable with the process and leveraged his learning opportunities. Now, as he looks toward the spring of 2019, Valle says, &ldquo;I have so much more confidence.&rdquo;

Since their openings, Valle and Harkrider have grown to be good friends, speaking regularly by phone to discuss business strategy and share best practices.

&ldquo;Ralph and I talk every day,&rdquo; Harkrider said. &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t have someone in the business to talk to, to brainstorm with, to jump in the boat with your misery or to laugh about it all together, well, look for another franchise,&rdquo; said Harkrider.

&ldquo;It helps us. We were just bouncing programs off each other,&rdquo; Harkrider continued. &ldquo;On a couple, [Valle] said &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll go with what you&rsquo;re doing,&rsquo; and on others, I changed my thought. That&rsquo;s imperative.&rdquo;

When asked if the friendship helped the experience of being a Lawn Doctor franchisee, Valle said yes, emphasizing that having another owner-operator who knows what it&rsquo;s like to be in the weeds (literally) has really helped him.

&ldquo;We actually met because he reached out to me before our training class. We&rsquo;ve helped each other a lot. If he finds something that&rsquo;s wrong, he&rsquo;ll call me and we&rsquo;ll see what a better route is. He has bigger lawns than me and I have smaller lawns, so if I have a granular problem, I&rsquo;ll call him, and if he has a spray problem, he can call me.&rdquo;

Knowing that the two could face down any concerns they encountered while opening mid-year was reassuring for each party.

&ldquo;It was win-win,&rdquo; said Valle.

Both Harkrider and Valle also knew that, no matter at what time of the year they launched, they could rely on Lawn Doctor&rsquo;s industry knowledge and ongoing support.

&ldquo;Lawn Doctor has been around doing franchising for over 50 years,&rdquo; Harkrider said. &ldquo;Everybody I&rsquo;ve met is happy in the business; there are guys that have been franchise owners for 20 or 30 years and are doing really well. [Lawn Doctor is] on the <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500/2019/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=veterans-turned-franchisees-turned-friends-find-benefits-to-opening-their-lawn-doctor-businesses-mid-year-2709267" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Franchise 500.</a>&rdquo;

Harkrider further explained the appeal to Lawn Doctor&rsquo;s proven business model by noting: &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t flying by night; it&rsquo;s not a fad. This is long-haul stuff. If you put money into retirement plans and investments, you&rsquo;re betting on the long game. This is the same.&rdquo;

Both Harkrider and Valle are focused on growing their business in 2019: Harkrider hopes to &ldquo;quadruple what [he] did in 2018,&rdquo; and Valle expects to end the year with at least 200 new customers. Given the knowledge and experience they had the opportunity to amass and better understand during last year&rsquo;s launch, the two friends are well-positioned to hit their goals.

While Harkrider and Valle have indeed hit their stride after a mid-year opening, Harkrider takes care to emphasize that there&rsquo;s no &ldquo;one size fits all&rdquo; approach.

&ldquo;There are advantages to opening right in the middle of the heat in the season, and there are advantages to opening earlier,&rdquo; Harkrider said. &ldquo;It depends on the person. If you&rsquo;re a person that wants to ease in, then maybe you get started in the off-season. If you say, &lsquo;Light the fire and throw me in it!&rsquo;, then, jump on it and strike.&rdquo;

<div>&nbsp;</div>

Veterans-Turned-Franchisees-Turned-Friends Find Benefits to Opening Their Lawn Doctor Businesses Mid-Year

1851 Franchise

Lawn Doctor franchisees Greg Harkrider and Ralph Valle leveraged what they learned opening last summer in order to hit the ground running this spring.


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

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After 11 years of ownership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and more than 20 years with the brand, Todd and Janis Rucker have exited their&nbsp;<a href="http://lawndoctorfranchise.com">Lawn Doctor</a> franchise. In January, the pair officially closed a seven-figure deal as the business was acquired by their former general manager,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-dunning-218b1962/">Russ Dunning</a>, 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&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/info">Lawn Doctor</a> goes back much further.<h2>A Decades-Long History With the Brand</h2>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.&nbsp;<h2>A Thoughtful Ownership Journey Rooted in Stewardship</h2>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.<h2>The Road to the Exit</h2>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&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor">https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor</a>.&nbsp;

Photo of former Lawn Doctor franchise owners Todd & Janis Rucker

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.

franchise-resale-succession-success

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

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

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

Each year, Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 ranking is published, highlighting the strongest franchise brands in the industry. The list is prepared through the evaluation of over 150 data points spanning categories like growth, support and financial strength. In other words, size or rapid growth alone won’t guarantee a brand a spot in the ranking.&nbsp;For many franchise brands, being included in the ranking is an important achievement. According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/for-47-years-this-brand-has-kept-up-with-mcdonalds-and-dunkin-have-you-heard-of-it">recent Entrepreneur article</a>, only three brands have enjoyed the honor every year since the ranking started 47 years ago. McDonald’s and Dunkin’, two industry giants, make sense. The third is&nbsp;<a href="https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/">Lawn Doctor</a>, a smaller brand but clearly just as strong.Part of the larger&nbsp;<a href="http://happinestbrands.com">Happinest Brands</a> portfolio,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/lawndoctor/info">Lawn Doctor</a> is a 665-unit lawn care brand. While the brand has evolved over the years, CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottfrith">Scott Frith</a> told Entrepreneur that the brand’s commitment to taking care of its franchisees has also been a key contributor to its success.“My father once said, ‘Treat a franchisee as if they can leave you tomorrow and you’ll be okay.’ In other words, make sure you understand their value in building this business alongside you. And that’s been a guiding principle,” Frith said. “So a real differentiator for us is how we’ve created the structures to help every franchisee unlock [success]. We’ve really ramped up training. For new franchisees, we have pre-training with digital content, then class for a week, practical training in the field — and then it’s ongoing with new initiatives. You also have a dedicated person with you for two years.”As Frith looks toward the future, he’s transparent about what has and hasn’t worked for Lawn Doctor, and he recognizes how the brand’s strength and history benefit owners across the Lawn Doctor system and larger Happinest Brands network.“Lawn Doctor, almost 60 years old now, is bringing a lot of operational experience — nearly 4,000 years between our franchisees and our team — across the platform,” he said. “So certainly that brings value to emerging brands that are small and learning.”Read the full article&nbsp;<a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/for-47-years-this-brand-has-kept-up-with-mcdonalds-and-dunkin-have-you-heard-of-it">here</a>.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 team member working outside, wearing blue button-down and khakis

Only three brands have been included in Entrepreneurs highly competitive Franchise 500 ranking every year. Lawn Doctor is one of them, standing next to some of the biggest names in franchising.

Veterans-Turned-Franchisees-Turned-Friends Find Benefits to Opening Their Lawn Doctor Businesses Mid-Year

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