The first $50,000 is the hardest! Mike Rhine grows the TurfGuy from zero to $250,000.

Learn about Mike Rhine's journey building The TurfGuy from scratch in 2019. Six years in, Mike is positioned to grow to $400–500K in 2026. This is after starting with a nearly paid-off Camaro and no clients in 2019. The first $50K–60K was the hardest part. Once he figured out his process and marketing, the business accelerated to $250K.

This episode is for the landscaper just starting out. Mike talks about how he got going, what steps he took to increase his growth, and how he achieved over 40% revenue growth last year. He also gives direction on where to focus and what to avoid when you're starting out. Mike breaks down real overhead numbers, how he priced his way out of undercharging, why he had to let go of the field work, and how he thinks about business risk through the lens of poker.

TIMESTAMPS

00:01:44 – Mike Rhine intro and background

00:02:27 – Golf course roots and turf school

00:08:00 – Launching the business during COVID

00:11:33 – Danielle's role from day one

00:16:23 – Pricing and real overhead breakdown

00:24:39 – Early marketing: Nextdoor, newspaper, Facebook

00:38:28 – Choosing LMN over WorkWave

00:46:21 – Poker parallels to running a business

ABOUT THE GUEST

Mike Rhine is the owner of The TurfGuy in Kokomo, Indiana. He spent a decade as a golf course superintendent before starting his landscaping company at the beginning of COVID. In five years he grew the business to $250K in revenue and is targeting $400–500K in his sixth season.

Website: https://www.the-turfguy.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Price your jobs to cover real overhead, not just your labor rate.

Start with landscape maintenance tasks like bush trimming before buying heavy equipment.

Use low-cost marketing like Nextdoor and local newspapers when starting out.

Invest in scalable software early so it grows with the business.

Focus on process. The results follow when the process is solid.

Know when to walk away from a risky job or client.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

landscapebusinessgrowthlab.com

https://nextdoor.com

https://golmn.com