About Us

My background, in a nutshell…

I grew up in the landscaping industry. My father owned and operated a landscaping firm in the Washington D.C./Northern VA area and I started working with the crews around the 9th grade. I would spread mulch, mix mortar, push heavy wheelbarrows back and forth for hours on end, plant trees/shrubs, etc. After high school I worked construction for my uncle’s home building company as a laborer and then as a team leader. In my mid-20’s I started working with my close friend Dave Castleman at A Cut Above for a couple of years as a crew lead. We were a 3 person company and mostly mowed lawns and did small cleanups/installs. During my late-20’s I left A Cut Above to start my own irrigation business and pursue my bachelors degree online at night.

Three years later I completed my bachelors in business management and had some decisions to make… I decided to close down the sprinkler business and team back up with Dave, as partners this time, and grow A Cut Above into what we hope one day could become a franchise. We teamed up around 2014 and wow the years since have been jam-packed with learning experiences. It’s been quite a journey in trying to create and implement systems & process for a business that didn’t have any when we started. Currently we’re at around 1,000 – 1,500 residential lawn customers and I spend most of my days managing the technology, systems & process, day-to-day sales/marketing, and overall business development at A Cut Above. I look forward to posting articles and collaborating with our readers here!

A Cut Above’s President and CEO…

Some time around my high school years I started working at a couple of local service businesses for around minimum wage. It was a great experience and making money at a young age was awesome but early on I knew I wanted to work for myself. A couple years out of high school I sold my motorcycle and used the cash to buy a 36″ belt driven Exmark mower. Then I sold my car and bought a used Ford Ranger with some ramps and I was ready to roll! I went with “A Cut Above” because the yellow book was still the main form of free advertising in those days and the “A” as the first letter would list us high on those lists.

Early on I was able to link up with a local property management firm and they sent me 15-20 regular accounts to maintain. This was a great start for us and it generated cash-flow to get things moving in a positive direction. About 5 years later, around 2008, I had my first child which obviously triggered some priority changes. I began to concentrate on the business more in an effort to provide a good future for my family. My second child was born in 2012 and in 2014 I decided to partner with Chris in an effort to create a business I could work “on” instead of “in the field”. We’ve seen our business consistently grow from just a couple of crews to 15+ in-season, and the sky is the limit from here!

Chris and I decided to create lawnbusiness101 in an effort to help others with lawn & landscaping industry business information. We’ll use this platform to share our experiences, post about specific topics, and anything else we come up with!