Enmanuel Tejada (00:01.244)
So now it's recording and by the way, Pablo, like I'm gonna edit this out, but This is open podcast man. So you can curse you can say whatever man. This doesn't matter. This is your space. Feel free. It's gonna be awesome So I'm gonna do the intro right now and then we'll start it up
Pablo- Black Sheep (00:16.712)
Cough
Enmanuel Tejada (00:22.3)
Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Digital Toolbox Podcast. My name is Emmanuel Tahara. I'm the owner of Landscape Maverick. We're a digital marketing agency for landscapers, hardscapers, and lawn care professionals. Today we have a special guest. We have Pablo from Black Sheep Lawn Services. Pablo, go ahead and introduce yourself, man.
Pablo- Black Sheep (00:42.536)
Well, that's me, Pablo Serrano, owner of the Black Sheep Loan Service down here in Florida in the Orlando area. We've been in business for four years and it's been good. It's been going so far.
Enmanuel Tejada (00:58.844)
Awesome, man. And so, Pablo, before we even get into the landscaping, when you were a teenager, who was Pablo Serrano? Who was he?
Pablo- Black Sheep (01:08.776)
I was a okay child, you know, I wasn't bad.
But I was, I'm a middle child, you know, so middle child tends to be a little bit more difficult, they say. But it's just they have, they have a bigger brother, so they have to stand up more than the bigger brother. And then they have a little brother, so they have to look for that love from the family, you know. So it's like, so they're always kind of looking for attention. So I was kind of like that funny guy to always have something funny.
to say in awkward situations. So yeah, in school I was pretty good about average B, stooling, you know.
Enmanuel Tejada (01:55.484)
So about like middle of the pack, little bit of an average type of student.
Pablo- Black Sheep (02:02.056)
yeah. Yeah, you can say that. I wasn't, I didn't study much. I was just paying attention to whatever the teachers say. And then, so it was pretty cool.
Enmanuel Tejada (02:17.148)
Gotcha, hey, hey, that's where it all begins, man. And so, and I know you weren't born in the US, right? You were born in Puerto Rico.
Pablo- Black Sheep (02:25.)
Yes sir, that's correct.
Enmanuel Tejada (02:27.068)
And what part of Puerto Rico, how was that by the way? Like how was growing up in Puerto Rico? Because oftentimes, you know, people that are not from the US, it gives us a different, like I wasn't born in the US either. I'm Dominican. I was born in the Dominican Republic. They often say that it gives us more of like a open mind to things, right? We think we see things differently. How would you say growing up in Puerto Rico was like for you?
Pablo- Black Sheep (02:47.4)
Yeah, it's completely different in the States. Being raised in Puerto Rico, it puts your mind aware of different things that you see around here in the States. So I was born and raised over there, spent like 26 years in the island, on the West side, pretty close to the coast.
So I was like a country boy type of deal. I went to college in the city. Did a couple years in college. So yeah, and you're right, man. Like the values that people learn in Puerto Rico and actually Puerto Rico, they are completely different than Puerto Ricans raised in the States.
So you can say that. Yeah, we are kind of more. How do you say that? More, more awake, I would say, maybe sometimes in different situations.
Enmanuel Tejada (03:53.852)
Yeah, no, I agree. Yeah, I agree a thousand percent, one thousand percent. And so moving on to it now. So how did you get into landscaping, Fowler? Like what were you doing before landscaping? How did you transition into being your own business owner, entrepreneur, hundred percent risk on you?
Pablo- Black Sheep (04:15.304)
So yeah, I was a truck driver for a long time. But I always have this, always thinking about having my own business and looking for ideas for a business.
And I'm sure this is like everybody else, you know, like when you're a kid, your father kind of teach you how to, you know, do yards and mow and, you know, all that stuff. And my father, he was a really perfectionist guy, you know, so he teach me exactly to take care of the little details, which it makes a big difference when you're doing grass. And...
So I stopped doing the truck. I actually didn't stop. I did it part -time, the lawn service. And in less than, I would say three months, it was already like my phone, it was ringing like crazy. So I was like, you know what? This is it. I think this is it. So I quit my job and went full blast on the lawn service. And it's been a blast.
Enmanuel Tejada (05:22.428)
Wow, and you said when you first started, your phone was ringing a lot. So how did you get your first couple clients?
Pablo- Black Sheep (05:29.64)
Well, the first time you kind of go everywhere, you know, and then you start putting stuff everywhere, Facebook marketplace, and your price is not probably not going to be the right prices. So a lot of people are going to see you with good prices, you know.
And so Facebook was the first thing that I kind of put myself out there looking for, you know, customers. A lot of people contact me through Facebook. And but I was like I say, I was driving like long distance and it wasn't like worth it. But once I started full time, I kind of fixed that little by little, try to work on my route density.
another thing that I did to get, customers, it was door hangers. That's door hangers is actually really good. cause you can buy, I don't know, 500 and if, only one, you get one, only one customer to those, door hangers that, that one customer is going to pay for all the door hangers and more. So, and I was targeting my area. Like,
all the communities around my house, I was just going out and putting door hangers on the doors and just waiting for the phone to start ringing. And I started, and another thing is I started like at the beginning of June. So that's when the rain actually hit really hard in Florida. So people were looking for it.
Enmanuel Tejada (06:56.604)
Yeah.
Pablo- Black Sheep (07:14.056)
for customer loan service. And another thing is this is what it's really been working for me is Google my business. Once I have my company legal with all the city and county or whatever requirements, I went to Google, got myself in Google.
Enmanuel Tejada (07:24.892)
Yes.
Pablo- Black Sheep (07:41.352)
So I start asking all my customers at that time, even family members, because at that time I didn't have that many customers. I asked for reviews and they start putting the reviews five star, four star, whatever. The more, the more reviews you get, the more Google is going to put you on the top of the list.
And that would actually work for route density. Because people in my area, when they look up on the phone, say it's a long service near me, my company is going to be on the top. So they're going to call right away, especially if I have a lot of reviews, good or bad.
Enmanuel Tejada (08:26.044)
Yes. Yeah. 1000%. That's one thing that I push all of my clients to do, right? Especially if they have some sort of CRM, like as soon as they complete a job, that client should automatically get a link sent to them for them to leave a review. Because I tell my clients, like think of each review as a thousand dollars, especially if it's like you mentioned in your local area, like imagine you go and you type in landscaper near me and there's somebody that left a five star review and they live like three blocks from you. That holds a lot of weight.
It's not like you have a client, you have a client in Northern Florida, you have a client in Southern Florida that's like an hour away. No, like these people are in the community and they're saying these things about you, that holds a lot of weight. So I definitely am glad that you implemented that right away, man. That's one thing most people don't do and it's free to do, right? Like how much did you pay to set that up? Nothing, it's free. You just have to go in there, throw on some elbow grease and get it done.
Pablo- Black Sheep (09:15.848)
Yep.
Pablo- Black Sheep (09:21.288)
phone call, not even phone call, just a bunch of texts to the customers. Like, hey, can I get a review? And most of the time they agree, you know, and you're going to get some bad ones, but I mean, it is what it is. That's going to actually show that you are actually a human being, not a robot. You know.
Enmanuel Tejada (09:36.604)
Exactly. Yeah. And that you're not paying for reviews because it shows that, you know, we all make mistakes and we all have to get better from that. and so Pablo, man, I, one thing I want to ask you too, because your content on Instagram is awesome. That's what made me reach out to you for this podcast, man. It's super entertaining. It's super sharp. And I would, you know, most people wouldn't expect that. Like people would think, especially with me, I'm like, yo, this probably takes a long time to film, come up with the idea. So I wanted to pick your brain on that.
so that the audience can benefit too. Like how do you come up with your content structure?
Pablo- Black Sheep (10:10.056)
Well, I mean, so I had the account on Instagram is the most that I use. And I have it for since I started with the business, right. And I was posting my, you know, jobs that I did and how clean they look and all that. And I get views, some traffic, but nothing major.
Enmanuel Tejada (10:21.404)
Mm -hmm.
Pablo- Black Sheep (10:31.816)
So this year I told myself like I have to do something with the Instagram. I wanted to do something. Because I do Instagram for fun. I don't do it for business. I don't look for customers. I do it actually for fun. So I started studying Instagram at the beginning of the year. I started looking for patterns if you want to call.
the most views, the most likes and stuff like that. And I come out with the thing that is either funny videos or drama. And I don't want, huh? Yeah, and I don't like drama. Yeah, those are like the top that I've seen that gets more views, more likes, more comments. So I don't like drama, so I kinda...
Enmanuel Tejada (11:10.62)
drama hmm you said funny but you also drama
Pablo- Black Sheep (11:24.488)
I taught myself like, let me start with funny videos. Let me figure it out how to make funny videos within. So I bring the funny stuff to my job. So the people, I do funny stuff that happens to us, all the landscape. And I make it pop more funny. And that way the video is kind of like people identify with it.
and they like it and they come, you know, comment on it and somehow it works, man. I'm actually surprised. I'm not paying anything. I'm not paying nobody. It's been, the last two months has been crazy.
Enmanuel Tejada (12:06.364)
Wow. And so at the start of the year, do you know more or less how many followers you had?
Pablo- Black Sheep (12:12.488)
So yes, February I have 3 ,500. And as of right now, I have 15 ,200 and some change or whatever. So that's.
Enmanuel Tejada (12:25.084)
Wow, so you're telling me that in like four months, not even maybe like three months, you gained over 10 ,000 followers on Instagram. Holy shit. And that's something that people hear and it's like, how much did he pay? You know, who did he pay to do that? But you did it organically.
Pablo- Black Sheep (12:35.336)
Yes, sir. I'm apprised.
Pablo- Black Sheep (12:45.)
Yep, that's correct.
Enmanuel Tejada (12:47.036)
Holy shit. And then let me ask you this. You probably won't know the answer, but do you know how many posts you had in February?
Pablo- Black Sheep (12:55.784)
Enmanuel Tejada (12:58.588)
So then how, so then how many, how many posts with that new strategy do you think it took you to get those 10 ,000 followers?
Pablo- Black Sheep (12:58.664)
Exactly.
Pablo- Black Sheep (13:08.008)
So once I kind of figured out what the idea of what I have in my head, how Instagram works, which I'm probably wrong, but it's been working for me. So I start posting at least something every day. And then once I start doing that, I realize that when I put...
Enmanuel Tejada (13:27.228)
every day.
Pablo- Black Sheep (13:34.216)
a new reel or a new photo or story or whatever, I start getting notifications from older videos. So I realized that the algorithm, if I keep posting every day, the algorithm kind of push my content. Like older videos kind of push them out there. So, yeah, one thing every day, man. I try to.
Enmanuel Tejada (14:01.276)
Wow, so would you say that like one video kind of went viral and then from there you kept posting every day and you found that Instagram was still driving traffic even though you weren't going viral anymore with new content but your older content was still being pushed?
Pablo- Black Sheep (14:11.592)
Yes.
Pablo- Black Sheep (14:16.2)
Yes, exactly. So when I started posting every day, then my videos started getting more views, right? And then I hit, I did one video that went a little bit of viral, you know, a couple of millions. And then after that, I was like, okay, this is, I'm into something over here. So let me start posting for sure something every day. And it's been working, man. And we're talking about what, 12?
12 ,000 followers in three months. That's big.
Enmanuel Tejada (14:48.924)
Man, that is incredible. And at what time do you usually, like, do you have a specific time that you film content? Or do you just go with the flow when you think of something, you just pull out your tripod, set it down, and then record it?
Pablo- Black Sheep (15:03.208)
So I watch in the evening when I go home and relax or whatever, I start watching videos, reels, and whatever I think is funny, whatever I think, whatever make me stop to actually look the entire video. I hear the sound, I look at the video.
And then if I think it has potential, I save the audio right away. Sometimes even, yeah, sometimes even I save the video. And then I just, most of the time I copy this stuff, but instead of, let's say if it's a detailer guy, he's gonna do something funny with the detailing business, you know?
Enmanuel Tejada (15:29.34)
audio
Enmanuel Tejada (15:34.172)
Mm.
Pablo- Black Sheep (15:49.192)
So I have to switch it out and do something funny for the green industry. So it's not the same video. I'm not actually copying, but it's kind of like the same idea. And there's some other ones that I kind of come out with it and they've been good, good videos out there. So.
Enmanuel Tejada (16:03.228)
Wow.
Enmanuel Tejada (16:11.324)
I gotcha and that's actually a great strategy. I'm actually gonna start implementing that myself as well. That's an awesome strategy because either way whether we want to do it or not, we're gonna be using Instagram, we're gonna be using social media. So if something catches our attention, it's probably gonna catch somebody else's attention. So it takes two seconds to hit save and save the audio and then now you have that saved whenever you wanna make content, you go to the save section.
Pablo- Black Sheep (16:32.296)
Check.
Enmanuel Tejada (16:38.396)
and then you just put your own spin on things, right? Maybe it's a detailer, but maybe you can use it to show off some new patio that you installed or a new lawnmower you got, for example. Man, that is a great strategy right there.
Pablo- Black Sheep (16:48.936)
Exactly. Exactly.
And now I'm also thinking of stuff like all day long while I'm working, I'm actually like looking for stuff that they happen, you know? And, and I will, every time I run into something that I actually didn't have potential, I'm like, wait a minute, that's, that's a good video idea right there. And I can make it funny. And then boom, it just happened.
Enmanuel Tejada (17:13.82)
Man that is awesome. And do you find that now that you've gained those 12 ,000 followers in the last four or five months or a lot of those Excuse me or a lot of those your clients or like future clients or most of those people just fans of landscaping overall?
Pablo- Black Sheep (17:33.416)
They're just either most most of them are a fan of the green industry whatever it's you know, mowing or trimming or But there's a bunch of other people that it's just random That they see the video the thing is funny they like it they you know comment on it and Customer wise I don't think I have too many customers on my Instagram because I try not to
push it to my customers. I'm also, I'm not going to do any video talking disrespect towards the customer size, you know, cause it's still, it's still my company page. I want to keep it respectful. But yeah.
Enmanuel Tejada (18:13.66)
Right.
Enmanuel Tejada (18:19.676)
Yeah, and reputation is everything, right? Reputation is everything. You don't want word going around, Pablo was doing this or talking shit about this client. He might do that with me, so let me not call him, right? You don't want that to happen.
Pablo- Black Sheep (18:31.304)
Yeah, you can lose. You can lose a lot if you cross that line.
Enmanuel Tejada (18:36.892)
100 % 100 % and now that you have such a following and I'm sure it's gonna keep growing right especially now that you're in that you know, it's summertime Sun's out, you know, you're gonna you have a lot of jobs, especially now, you know spring rush You're gonna be filming that a lot more content. So I expect you to get even more followers Are you going to be promoting things like for example, what if somebody came to you maybe like jobber or one of these bigger brands?
and they wanted to work with you, is that something you would be open to, like collaborations with them?
Pablo- Black Sheep (19:08.52)
Yeah, I'm open to anything. I already have a couple things sent from the different companies. And all they ask is just to make a small video and kind of give them a plug. But yeah, I mean, eventually if it turns to be something big, let's say, then it's going to be like getting paid for it. But for now,
Enmanuel Tejada (19:33.596)
Man, that's awesome. So yeah, man, I'm going to make a small clip of this and I'm going to tag the largest companies that provide for landscapers, man. I'm going to, we're going to get you, Hey guys, we have to get Pablo some new sponsors, Jobber, Teco Block, who else? Who else? Steel, all the big brands. We're going to tag them on here, man. We're going to get you some sponsors, man, for real.
Pablo- Black Sheep (19:51.592)
I didn't
I do actually use Java. CRM is kind of like really nice to have. It's really easy to use. Yeah.
Enmanuel Tejada (20:04.7)
That's awesome. Yeah, let's talk about that now actually as far as how you stay organized. So you mentioned you use jobber. What are some of the features you use inside of jobber that make your life easier?
Pablo- Black Sheep (20:16.648)
It's just how easy it is. When you separate, when you put the customer, you kind of have already the idea of what day is going to be done, their job, their house or whatever. So you put it in there and that specific day. Jover, we show you on a map where it is. You can hit complete on the app through the phone.
You can send the invoice right there. You can even collect the payment right there on the spot. So you don't have to. There's customers that I've never seen. So I have no idea how they look. Everything's been, yes, everything has been through the phone. All the invoice, money, everything is through the phone. So there's a lot of customer that I actually don't, I haven't seen them ever.
Enmanuel Tejada (20:55.964)
Are you serious?
Enmanuel Tejada (21:11.228)
Wow, that's awesome. So everything is done through the phone and when it comes time to fulfill on their service, you just go and mow the lawn, do what you have to do and then on your way to the next client.
Pablo- Black Sheep (21:11.4)
And.
Pablo- Black Sheep (21:20.52)
Exactly. I don't have to knock on the door waiting for the cash or you know, it's really, it makes your life simple. Everything is done right there. I still have some paper, you know, that I kind of write down stuff, but the main thing is that CRM, Yoder. And everything is so professional. Like you send an invoice, it will have your logo on it. It will look like really professional.
The link for the if they want to poop pay with the credit card. The link is gonna be there It's it's a really nice and it's not only jobber, you know, there's a bunch of other CRM out there They kind of do the same
Enmanuel Tejada (22:04.38)
Right. Yeah. And it just comes down to using the one that works best. Right. So, you know, definitely all the listeners, you know, test around, you know, a lot of these softwares offer free trial. So it might be good to try Housecore Pro. Might be good to try Jobber. Might be good to try Company Cam or some of the other ones. Right. See which one is best for you. Definitely. Just as long as you use one, because it does, like Pablo said, it does make your life a lot easier. Awesome. And.
Pablo- Black Sheep (22:22.952)
Mm -hmm.
Pablo- Black Sheep (22:28.104)
Yes sir, definitely.
Enmanuel Tejada (22:30.876)
By the way, Paolo, how many people are on your team? Is it just yourself?
Pablo- Black Sheep (22:35.592)
Well, I mean, I started myself, but then I got three kids. And they the older kids helped me a lot at the beginning. And then they went off, you know, college and they got their own jobs right now and stuff. So the little guy is actually helping me. Which is not that little anymore, but but yeah, he's.
Enmanuel Tejada (22:54.78)
Door guy.
Enmanuel Tejada (22:59.42)
I think I saw a picture of him. He posted like a before and after. Now he, like when he was younger and then he had the hat on. man, that's how old is he now?
Pablo- Black Sheep (23:05.992)
Yes, sir. And he actually, he's 19 and he's actually really good with the malware, man. Like a lot better than me, I would say. Yeah. I'm a trimmer guy, so I like using the trimmer and he take care of the malware.
Enmanuel Tejada (23:17.116)
Really?
Enmanuel Tejada (23:26.524)
That's awesome, man. And so does he work with you full time or is it just sometimes what helps you out?
Pablo- Black Sheep (23:33.576)
He actually worked with me and he also have a part -time job at night. So.
Enmanuel Tejada (23:39.196)
wow, that's awesome. So he's working with you. He's helping you set up the legacy, the Black Sheep legacy.
Pablo- Black Sheep (23:48.36)
Yeah. Yeah. You can call it like that. Yes, sir. Yeah. He's my employee. He's not working for me for free. You know, he's actually getting paid and everything. And I wanted to have more employees. I wanted to grow. But at some point, sometimes it's like really hard to get new employees that actually...
Enmanuel Tejada (24:00.092)
course.
Pablo- Black Sheep (24:14.152)
care about the company like a little bit closer than exactly what you care. So yeah, it's been difficult to get employees and try to grow the business.
Enmanuel Tejada (24:28.972)
Gotcha. So you it does sound like you do want to grow, but it's just been a bit difficult as far as finding employees that are actually competent and that actually care about the work and the business.
Pablo- Black Sheep (24:38.408)
Yes, yes, exactly.
Enmanuel Tejada (24:41.276)
Gotcha. And are you at the point where like, you literally don't have any time because you're always doing work? Like if you found the perfect employee right now, do you have enough work to pay them and grow the business?
Pablo- Black Sheep (24:58.792)
I do, I do. If I hire an employee that actually cares, that I see that it, you know, I will have the ability to pay him good and find more jobs. Cause like you say, I'm always busy right now. I'm not taking any new customers unless they're neighbors from my customers.
because of the time. If I wanted to do a bigger job, like cleanups and stuff like that, which I can't, but I pretty much don't have the time. And, you know, I don't want to work Saturdays and Sunday, which sometimes you got to do, but yeah, that's one of the reasons why I kind of...
settled down a little bit here with what I got so far, but I wanted to grow. I wanted to put at least two more trucks with trailers and kind of build another route close to where I'm at.
Enmanuel Tejada (26:05.23)
Yeah, no, that's awesome, man, because it shows right there too that what you have is working, right? So like if you had somebody that actually cares and it's a good employee, all you need is that new truck. I mean, that another, a second truck, a second trailer and that route, right? Because you will probably have a lot of people that are calling you already. Hey, Pablo, do you do this? Do you service this area? And you're like, no, I'm sorry. It's too far away. We're too busy right now. I'm sure you say it differently, but that's...
kind of what it's like, I would imagine.
Pablo- Black Sheep (26:36.872)
Yep, that's exactly what it is. Somebody that I actually care at least like, let's say 70 % of what I care about the company or maybe less, let's say 50. It will be nice. And then I can put my song with whoever it is, you know, after we train.
And then I can go solo and if it goes well, then hire a new guy and kind of I train the new guy. And then it just continue growing.
Enmanuel Tejada (27:10.332)
Yeah, no, that sounds like a beautiful strategy right there to scale. So it sounds like the only thing that's holding you back Pablo is finding some people that care. So guys, listen in, if you guys live in Florida, what specific part of Florida Pablo?
Pablo- Black Sheep (27:24.424)
St. Claude.
Enmanuel Tejada (27:26.108)
St. Claude, Florida, guys, we need you guys. If you care about landscaping, if you love the green industry, if you're looking to make some good money with a good person that has a good heart, reach out to Pablo, man. Black sheep landscaping is gonna be the next big thing. And all he needs is an employee that cares. The workers are already there. They have the strategy that works. They're just missing you. So if that's you, reach out to Pablo.
Pablo- Black Sheep (27:49.8)
yeah.
Enmanuel Tejada (27:51.408)
Let's go. And Pablo, by the way, man, I mean, I know you're a big fan of the green industry. What's your take on hardscape? How do you feel about that? Do you think you would ever take the leap into doing something like that?
Pablo- Black Sheep (28:03.464)
I think I can. I don't know how to do it, but I'm sure I can learn. I won't be doing the big stuff, you know.
probably do small, you know, patios in the back and, you know, making the driveways, because driveways over here are, most of the drivers are made with payers, so that's considered hardscape. Maybe make the driveways a little bigger, you know, small jobs like that, nothing.
Enmanuel Tejada (28:28.956)
Right.
Enmanuel Tejada (28:33.724)
Small jobs like that, yeah. And what about even subcontracting? How do you feel about that? Would you ever take on a job that you know you can do, but you have a friend that can? Would you subcontract them out? Or do you feel that you wanna have total control, you'd rather do it yourself?
Pablo- Black Sheep (28:47.336)
yes.
Pablo- Black Sheep (28:51.368)
Well, if I'm able to do it, I will do it. But if it's something that I either can do or don't have the time, I will look for, like you say, just that network trying to find a friend and know a friend and, you know, and that's how pretty much goes.
But yeah, if it's a customer of mine already, I will try my best to look for somebody who can do the job responsibly to, you know, not just trying some random guy to them.
Enmanuel Tejada (29:26.076)
Yeah, that's that's true, right? That's true and if if there's somebody that's gonna do it Might as well be you because you care about the person right you care about them. Like you said, you don't want to send some random fucking guy that says he can do something and then now you look bad because you recommended him and then it ruins the whole thing ruins the whole flow, but man, that's that's very interesting and Paula one thing I was curious about so what does a day in the life look like for you?
Pablo- Black Sheep (29:42.536)
Exactly.
Enmanuel Tejada (29:54.94)
as far as from morning to the end of the day.
Pablo- Black Sheep (29:59.528)
Like my day, you say, or I think... It's pretty simple. I wake up, you know, get everything ready, get the water ready for the day, the cold water, make sure all the equipment are, you know, gas, have gas on it. How much water? About, between my son and I, it's about two gallons and a half.
Enmanuel Tejada (30:01.596)
Yeah, like a day in your life.
Enmanuel Tejada (30:15.548)
How much water do you drink per day? Yeah.
Enmanuel Tejada (30:26.812)
Two gallons and a half, wow.
Pablo- Black Sheep (30:28.712)
But she's not putting it like, you know, working in the sun outside. It doesn't sound like much, but yeah, it is. But yeah, we kind of I kind of go through the whole process of looking at the equipment and make sure the oil is fine, make sure they're not like leaking the fire. The tire pressures are fine. And then we then we go and do.
do about, some days are kind of slow and we do about 12 yards, some days are kind of crazy and we do about 20 to 25 yards. It all depends. And then if we got a bigger job, the day turned to be a lot longer.
Enmanuel Tejada (31:12.508)
And what are the times more or less like what time do you usually wake up?
Pablo- Black Sheep (31:19.08)
Well, that's the thing. I don't like to go out that early. Like a lot of people be mowing already at 6 a I'm really not into bothering people. So I kind of go out my door about 8 .30, 9 each.
And then I start. And like I say, all my customers are really close, so I don't have to drive that long to get to my first customer. And that way, if I started that time that way at nine, nobody can say anything that, hey, I'm asleep. Can you come later? Or stuff like that. I mean, come on, it's already nine.
Enmanuel Tejada (32:01.98)
Wake the fuck up. What are you doing? Wow, and then so does that mean that since you start a little bit later than most other companies Does that mean that your days also end a little bit later?
Pablo- Black Sheep (32:03.784)
Yeah.
Pablo- Black Sheep (32:15.144)
Well, the bigger days, yeah, yeah, I would say that's for sure. I might be mowing almost dark, you know, going on. But I mean, all these companies that start really early, they get a lot more yards and they make the day the same, you know, the same.
Enmanuel Tejada (32:35.932)
Got it. So yeah, so they'll start early, but they'll also end late as well. It's not like they start early and finish early.
Pablo- Black Sheep (32:42.312)
Exactly, because they have more time to do work. So they will add, instead of doing 20 or 25, they probably going to do like 40 yards.
Enmanuel Tejada (32:53.148)
Wow. And that's just one truck, you think?
Pablo- Black Sheep (32:56.84)
Yeah.
Enmanuel Tejada (32:58.748)
Holy shit, that's intense, that's intense right there. And then...
Pablo- Black Sheep (33:02.344)
I mean, we're talking about probably 10, 12 hours people work. So yeah, they can be done. If they are really close to each other, yeah, they can do a lot of houses.
Enmanuel Tejada (33:19.004)
Wow, and then what's it like when you're on the road, for example, what do you eat? And I'm just gonna ask questions that most people have. So like, when do you eat and what do you usually eat?
Pablo- Black Sheep (33:31.208)
So I kind of split my day in like, like two mini routes, you know, and I do all the ones that I pretty much together. And then we go and eat. It doesn't matter what time it could be 11, it could be 2 PM. And that's when we go and kind of, I don't bring lunch with me, with my kids. So I kind of go out and eat something nice so that he can have a nice meal.
Enmanuel Tejada (33:56.988)
Thank you.
Pablo- Black Sheep (33:59.272)
And we sit down and we eat 30, 40 minutes and then we go back and then do the rest. So the first group of houses, they're all pretty much together. And then the second group of houses, they're going to be pretty much all together.
Enmanuel Tejada (34:15.836)
Got it. Okay, so route one lunch route two end of day Gotcha man, that is an awesome structure right there with and plus I like the fact that you mentioned That you guys treat yourselves a little bit right you guys treat yourselves you go to a nice restaurant Maybe me know who knows maybe some sort of Cuban spot I know Florida is known for a lot of Cuban food. So, you know, you go get some food and then you Go to the next job. So that's awesome
Pablo- Black Sheep (34:22.696)
exactly.
Pablo- Black Sheep (34:39.56)
Yeah.
Enmanuel Tejada (34:44.028)
I thought it was like, you know, you eat in the car and you're like, let me eat real fast, real fast. Boom, boom, boom. They go mow this lawn. So it's not like that. Although sometimes probably like it's like that.
Pablo- Black Sheep (34:51.144)
No, I'm a, yeah, I mean, a lot of people are like that and I get it, I get it. You wanna be fast, you wanna go do yards and go home, but I mean, I'm my own boss. I don't mind staying a little bit later and I wanna eat.
good, you know, I don't want to, and it's not that I'm going to a restaurant every day, but I can sit down on a subway and eat me a nice sandwich and take my time eating it and kind of process the meal and then go back to work.
Enmanuel Tejada (35:29.852)
That's awesome. And then what type of equipment do you guys use? Like, do you tend to buy the same brands? Do you tend to test different things out? How does that look like?
Pablo- Black Sheep (35:41.704)
Well, all my hand my handheld my tremors and stuff like that is echo. I'm an echo guy. For some reason I love echo. I don't know why. And then I have two 36 inch mowers. One is a Kubota and one is a John Deere. I've been thinking of getting a 52 inch probably this year.
But I do need a 36. That's a fact because I do so many houses with fence and the 36 inches is the only one that I can fit through some of these gates to mold the backyard.
Enmanuel Tejada (36:22.414)
and all that fits in one truck or one trailer?
Pablo- Black Sheep (36:28.392)
Yeah, I mean, when I started, I had an enclosed trailer that it was six by 10. And I used to put on that trailer a 36 inch Kubota, a 48 residential John Deere, one of those from Home Depot, and all my tremors and stuff. And that was a six by 10.
Now I got a 8 .5 by 16 trailer. So I put everything there and I still have like probably about six feet of just nothing on the trailer. I can stand there, you know, look for my equipment. Everything is organized. I want everything organized. If you grab something, you got to put it back the same spot.
That's going to minimize my time looking for something that I need or whatever. I just grab it, use it, put it back and done. Do the job.
Enmanuel Tejada (37:33.604)
Dude, I love that. Yeah. And the efficiency too, right? The efficiency of it is probably means a lot instead of being slowed down by the size of it, stuff like that. So that's awesome, man. And I wanted to ask you, so yes, you do lawn care, but do you also install flowers? Do you also install mulch? Do you do all those little things too, or are you just more about cutting grass?
Pablo- Black Sheep (37:58.056)
Well, I mean, lawn care, it's the biggest. So just cutting the grass, doing the edging. But I can do, I can plant flowers. I can do, sometimes I do mulch. I fix the flower bits, like pull all the weeds and stuff like that. We can trim some trees if you need to.
not too big of a tree, but yeah. Palm trees, we can prune them too. It's pretty much everything within the yard maintenance, just to kind of keep it nice and so that people like it.
Enmanuel Tejada (38:39.132)
Gotcha. That's awesome, man. And I'm glad I was able to ask you these questions because like when I come onto these podcasts, it's like I often ask questions that come to me and that most people always have in the back of their minds, but they're either like too scared to ask the question or they don't know who to ask it. Or maybe they had the question, but they never got to ask it to somebody in the space. So I'm glad you were here Pablo to answer those questions for us.
Pablo- Black Sheep (39:03.368)
Thanks, appreciate it.
Enmanuel Tejada (39:04.604)
Yeah, for sure, man. And then I want to get some closing thoughts here. First thing is how can somebody that's starting out in a long care business, how can they make more money? How can they be more profitable faster? So like what are some mistakes they can avoid? What are some tips that you would give them if they're just at the beginning of their business?
Pablo- Black Sheep (39:28.744)
Well, I was lucky because I was a truck driver. So I had an income already, you know. And when I went to buy my first couple of equipments, I didn't went and just got me a mower. I went and got me a whole trailer. Somebody was selling it on the marketplace. Pretty much all the equipment already set up to start the business.
So if you're able to do that and maybe pay cash, because some people sell it for cheap, that will bring you a lot of profit without too much expense. Because you're not going to be paying for anything. Everything is going to be already paid.
So all the jars and the jobs that you're going to be doing is going to be straight for you, you know, to your pocket. So that's something that you might want to consider. Try to save money and get all the equipment, you know, pay, not finance or anything like that, or start small with just a little, a little more, a little tremor and build that, save that money and then start getting better equipment.
Another thing is the Google, Google My Business. You need to. You need to open that Google My Business and get a bunch of reviews that will help you to create route density. And it was, it's going to be like, I don't do door hangers anymore. I used to, I don't do any, any type of a.
yard signs or anything like that. All I do is have my Google account and people call you. And the more reviews you have, the more Google is going to put you on the top, which is good. So I would say those are like the main things to do and not kind of screw yourself. Start slow and then get that Google account.
Enmanuel Tejada (41:45.756)
Boom, let's go. I love it. And I love it. It sounds like you really want, or you really recommend people to start off with not getting into too much debt at first, right? Not like going out, let me go buy this $100 ,000 truck brand new. Let me go buy a $20 ,000, $50 ,000 of equipment brand new. Sounds like you recommend kind of going with things that are pre -owned, get some money rolling into the door and then later on you can buy better and better stuff.
Pablo- Black Sheep (42:10.888)
Exactly. That's exactly what it is. When I was in Puerto Rico, I kind of did the same thing for like less than a year. And all I have, it was a Corolla, 1984 Corolla. And I used to work at a restaurant too. So in the morning I used to mow some yards and then work at the restaurant at night.
I didn't want to have my mower and stuff on the trunk open, you know, so that people can steal it or whatever. So what I come out with, I took the passenger seat out and I used that space to put my mower, my trimmer, and then lock it, you know. So there's a way. If you want to do it, you will find the way to do it.
Enmanuel Tejada (42:57.724)
Yes, sir. Where there's a will, there's a way. So if you want to do it, you'll figure out. I love that message right there. In fact, that'll be our closing thought right there. There's a will, there's a way. So if you want to own a company, if you want to own a lawn care company, you can do it. You just got to put in the work and be resourceful. So you know what, Pablo? How can people get in contact with you? Let's say they're your potential customer or they're a fan of your content. How can they reach out to you? How can they reach you?
Pablo- Black Sheep (43:25.128)
You can reach out to me through Instagram, which is the platform that I use the most. Just send me a message or whatever. It's the Black Sheep Lawn. I'm also on TikTok and all these other stuff, but Instagram is like the go -to for me. But you can show me an email to the same, the blacksheeplawn .gmail .com. Those are like the, look for me on Google, which...
Enmanuel Tejada (43:54.964)
Awesome let's go. So yeah guys go ahead and give Pablo a follow on Instagram at the black sheep lawn and Connect with her man. This guy's this is an amazing person. He was on here on our podcast. He's a great dude and Yeah, man Pablo. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for coming on to this podcast for telling us those stories dropping those gems man I really value your time. Thank you so much audience follow Pablo like the show
Give me a follow on Instagram. If you are in need of any digital marketing services, reach out to me at landscape maverick on Instagram. Be more than happy to answer any of your questions. If you have any questions for Pablo, reach out to him, but guys stay blessed, put in the work. Let's go.
Pablo- Black Sheep (44:41.992)
Thank you guys.