Lawn Doctor Franchisee Chris Clark Sows Seeds of a Successful 2020 After Fall Training Program

Spring is just around the corner, but many Lawn Doctor franchisees have already spent months ramping up for the busy season. The custom lawn care solutions service boasts best-in-class customer service, over 50 years of experience and the highest customer retention rate in the $78-billion-a-year lawn and landscape services industry. These accomplishments, in part, are the result of  a collaboration between Lawn Doctor’s experienced executive leadership team and its dedicated community of franchisees. One of those franchisees is Texas resident Chris Clark.

Taking over the territory in East Texas, Longview and Tyler, Texas, Clark, discovered Lawn Doctor while researching lawn care franchises. He came across the brand in Entrepreneur where it ranks highly at No. 58 in the Franchise 500, and quickly reached out about franchising. After serving in the Air Force and a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement, Clark was accustom to gathering details and making decisions. “Once I had located Lawn Doctor and received information from the development team, I was all in,” said Clark.

By the first week of August 2019, Clark was attending Discovery Day. Shortly thereafter, Clark made the decision to get on board with the franchise in August 2019, giving him ample time before the busy Spring season to start sorting through necessarily licensing procedures. “I immediately began the process for my Lawn and Ornamental Pesticide state license,” said Clark. By mid-September, he was officially licensed. “It was my goal to be licensed before attending franchise training in November so that I was ready to hit the ground running come January,” said Clark.

“The program is very informative, but just brushes the surface of everything involved,” said Clark. “As a franchisee, I have to put in serious effort to really grasp the totality of all that is needed and involved in running a franchised Lawn Doctor.” Thankfully, Clark has a whole team of other franchisees in his corner and ready to help.

Most of all the supportive network that Clark has found in Lawn Doctor has been invaluable in the onboarding process. “The most important thing I have learned is that I’m not alone,” Clark said. “Although franchisees live in different parts of the country, we encounter many of the same problems or share similar experiences.”

From the leadership team to his fellow franchisees, Clark felt that the Lawn Doctor community as a whole was on his side. “Everyone from the top down has been encouraging and helpful,” said Clark. “There is no shortage of people I can reach out to when I am experiencing a problem or need guidance.”

For prospective franchise owners just now beginning their research process, Lawn Doctor offers some unique startup options including a Soft Roll Out strategy. According to Vice President of Franchise Development, Eric Martin, a Soft Roll Out can be a great way to launch a business. “Chris is locked in and ready, but the sales power window in the Spring can be daunting, especially for those who are trying to rush the process. It’s much easier to learn everything and train just before the season hits,” said Martin.

Martin has seen a number of franchise partners have success with the mid-season opening approach. “This time of year, some new franchisees choose to launch after the Spring rush, which is less hectic,” Martin said. "There is more business to acquire in the Spring, but along with that comes more stress. Everyone gets one full year and a peak period in their first year of business no matter when they start, it's just a matter of where it falls in the first-year life cycle.”

To have already attended training and be licensed by November was huge however for Clark: the beginning of the year—just before the Spring season—he feels will be crucial for the growth of his business. “The first part of 2020 will be a big opportunity to gain customers for next year, and I didn’t want anything to interfere with that,” said Clark “I felt like being ready to open by January 1, especially in a Southern market, was essential to my first-year success.”

The startup costs for a Lawn Doctor franchise range from $100,015 to $116,065. The franchise fee ranges from $88,950 to $102,000. To learn more about franchising with Lawn Doctor, visit https://lawndoctorfranchise.com/.