Introducing Pam Berrios And Infinity Group
Jack Jostes
Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Landscaper’s Guide Podcast. Today I'm excited to talk with Pam Berrios from the Infinity Group. Pam is a long time green industry contact of mine. I've known you for like, feels like 10 years or so and we've been wanting to do a podcast for a long time and we're finally doing it.
Pam Berrios
I know this is exciting.
Jack Jostes
So thanks for coming on the show.
Pam Berrios
Absolutely. Thank you for having me.
Pam’s 30-Year Career In The Green Industry
Jack Jostes
So for folks who don't know you, tell us a little bit about your background.
Pam Berrios
Absolutely. So again, Pam Berrios. I am, this year will be my 30th year in the industry. I used to own my own company, all full design, service, construction, maintenance for 25 years. And kind of alongside with that, I've always been really passionate about training and I opened my own training and consulting company and I've been helping crews in the industry at the field level with training in Spanish. So it's a very dedicated niche to, you know, our Latinos in the industry, to my community. And I look to elevate them to, you know, help them become leaders and hopefully elevate the industry as a whole.
Building Latino Leadership Through NALP
Jack Jostes
And how have you done that with the NALP? Because you've done quite a bit.
Pam Berrios
Yes. So we used to, we actually started a association specifically directed to the Latinos in the industry and it was called the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance. We ran that for a long time and that kind of tied in now to the Latino network at NALP.
Jack Jostes
Yeah. And did you start that with Chuy Medrano?
Pam Berrios
Yes, absolutely. That's why I came this year to honor him.
Jack Jostes
Yeah. So Chewy we just got to see was he earned the lifetime achievement award from NALP.
Pam Berrios
That's right. That's right. Longtime mentor of mine. He was actually one of the people that actually got me passionate and got me started with thinking about like the number one thing we need to focus in this industry is our people. That's our motor, that's our engine, that's who we need to focus on.
Jack Jostes
Yeah. And that was cool to see that Mari accept the award yesterday.
Pam Berrios
Mari's like a sister to me. The whole Medrano family is. And they're there. It's really nice to finally see representation of our community up there as well.
Why Landscaping Is More Than Just A Job
Jack Jostes
Yeah, well. So, yeah. So what are you working on now?
Pam Berrios
Oh, Goodness gracious.
Jack Jostes
It's November 2025. And what are you up to at this phase of your career?
Pam Berrios
Well, again, my main passion is motivating guys in the field to really help them understand that this is not just a job. It's not an hourly gig, it's a career. And you can go as big as you want, you can learn as much as you want, you can live your entire life with this, and you can grow with it. So I want to make that contribution to the industry as much as I can.
Creating Clear Career Pathways For Crews
Jack Jostes
So I see that opportunity, like, abundantly. That this is a career industry, and I work with landscape people who start their own company and they grow into these big companies or I interview employees. When you say that you work on teaching people that, do they not know that? Do you think that a lot of people think it's just a job?
Pam Berrios
So there's a huge misconception in the industry, I believe, and from what I've seen, and just all the many years that I've been doing this, that when they first start working in the industry, it kind of is just that it's kind of like a means to. You know, our community is used to working in the fields back home, so they kind of come here and it's like, oh, we're working outside. It's actually really nice to work outside, but I don't think that they have that pathway. Kind of like just looking ahead and seeing like, hey, you're starting here, you're starting as a laborer, but this is really where you could get to. And I think with the right guidance, with the right training, with the right motivation and just seeing people's potential.
Pam Berrios
I've seen so many people grow and then turn into, you know, crew leaders, assistant managers, branch managers, even, you know, and that's what we need. We need more representation of that so that people that are just coming in the industry can see that pathway and.
Jack Jostes
Can get one idea. Have you thought about starting your own podcast?
Using AI And Translation Tools In The Field
Pam Berrios
Yes, actually in Spanish many times. And it's actually in the works. That's another thing that's in the works for next year.
Jack Jostes
Okay. And it's in Spanish.
Pam Berrios
I would like to do it in.
Jack Jostes
Spanish because I think that would be a great way to reach people.
Pam Berrios
Yes.
Jack Jostes
And interview, just interview people about their career path in Spanish. And so one interesting thing that happened today, I was talking with this woman who, she came by my booth and she was looking at my book and she started telling her story. She's from Brazil.
Pam Berrios
Oh, nice.
Jack Jostes
And she grew up growing vegetables with her family, and then she studied agronomy and then she moved to the United States and she's now an account manager, but she speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish. And So we use ChatGPT together on the podcast. And I'm like, hey, I'm curious, how does ChatGPT translate Portuguese into Spanish? And so like, she literally just spoke into it and it was like, nice and it just did it. So that was just an interesting experience for me.
Pam Berrios
Absolutely. Yeah.
Jack Jostes
Today in running my podcast that I, I wouldn't have thought about doing that.
Pam Berrios
Right.
Jack Jostes
A few years ago.
Pam Berrios
Right.
Jack Jostes
So I'm curious, are you, how are you using AI with you? You work with some Spanish speaking people?
Pam Berrios
Yes.
Jack Jostes
Are you, are they, how are you working with them on, like, translation and stuff like that?
Pam Berrios
Yeah. So one of the really cool things that I help people with is kind of motivate them to learn the language. Right. That's number one. Because if you want to be a manager, if you want to step up, if you want to elevate yourself, you've got to get with the language. So AI now has become such a big part of what we do at every level that, yeah, there is AI based apps that you can learn language in. So I kind of promote those, just whatever you can do to kind of help you. But the main thing is that you kind of have to stop your Spanish life for a minute and start like reading in English, you know, listening to music in English, watching TV in English. I mean, you just kind of really have to stop everything else.
Pam Berrios
And it's hard to do, which is why, you know, it's always been a problem in our industry. But I think with the help of AI, there's, it's definitely easier. There's a lot of translators, immediate translators. There's things you can put in your ear, actually, that will. You'll be talking to me in English and I'm hearing it in Spanish. Yeah. I haven't seen using those as well. So I've used those to connect kind of field people with managers. They work really well, you know, so. And it's just the beginning. Right. Like, everything is heading that way and it's innovative and it's, you know, Just growing. So I think it's going to be really cool for connecting both sides of the industry.
Why Relationships Matter More Than Technology
Jack Jostes
What are some things that you're working with your consulting clients on right now that maybe we could share a tip with the audience? I think that would be helpful to them, honestly.
Pam Berrios
I have to say this and I live by this. It's all about building relationships. You know, as cool as AI is and as cool as robotics are and like all these other innovative stuff, it still goes down to that one thing which is, you know, care. You care about your people and that's, you know, and you show that you care, genuinely care. They're going to be loyal, they're going to advance with you, they're going to help you grow your business, you know. So I think at the end of the day, no matter how much cool stuff we have, it's all about that building of relationships, that bond and trust and just really empowering people and caring about them.
Jack Jostes
I agree 100%. Good. So good for you. Yeah, no, I really do because I, I think like sometimes I think people, there's all this cool tech stuff coming out and it is helpful, but it's not. I actually think people crave relationships even more as a result of it.
Pam Berrios
Yes.
Jack Jostes
Because were getting so much AI and tech and screen time. So what are some of the ways that landscape companies? Maybe they. I've just found like, honestly in growing my own business that it was easier. That sort of stuff just came more naturally as I was smaller. But then as you start growing, it's harder. It's harder. And it sometimes feels like ships passing in the night of different crews, different people like that. So what are some of the ways that you coach your clients to build those relationships as they grow?
Training Leaders As Companies Scale
Pam Berrios
One of the most important things I think is to establish as you grow and you start having more branches, more than one branch and you expand and you, that you have a representative at each branch in charge of being that cultural liaison, that trainer. So I do a lot of train the trainer stuff, you know, like so where people are touching base with people and connecting at that day to day level, I think that's really important.
Jack Jostes
Do you ever find that people get promoted, they're really good at maybe the task side of things and then they get promoted into a manager role and they maybe don't, they don't.
Pam Berrios
Have the right guidance usually. So a lot of times you can see that person fail. So that's another thing that I coach too. It's really to have the proper guidance, proper training, proper support when they are at that higher level role. So you're not just like throwing somebody in the lake and have them row the boat. It's like, let me row the boat with you for a while and then get you situated in that. It's really important.
Pam’s Elevate Leadership Bootcamp
Jack Jostes
Well, do you have any events or. And maybe not, but I'm just. I do.
Pam Berrios
I have events going on all the time. So I do a leadership boot camp that is three days that I take all over the country. It's called Elevate.
Jack Jostes
Oh, okay.
Pam Berrios
They stole the name from me.
Jack Jostes
I'm speaking at another event called Elevate in April, so.
Pam Berrios
Well, it's a really great word.
Jack Jostes
It is a great word. I like it.
Pam Berrios
I put together the leadership program, and it actually means the same thing as Spanish and English, and it's spelled the same way, really. So it's Elevate. Yeah, elevate. And that's the same thing. You know, it's like we. We want to elevate ourselves, to elevate our people, to elevate our companies. And it's always been a concept that I've held dear to my heart, and I love to elevate people. It's what I do.
Starting A Spanish-Language Podcast
Jack Jostes
Cool. Well, do you have any questions for me or anything you want to share on the show before we start to wrap up? I'll edit this out.
Pam Berrios
But yeah, no, I would love to. To do a Spanish speaking podcast with you first, to kind of test it out, because I definitely want to run my own podcast in Spanish, and I'd like to see how that can go. Yeah, you know, I'll use the AI with you.
Jack Jostes
Okay. And I'll. I'll need to brush up on my Spanish.
Pam Berrios
Right?
Lessons From 300 Podcast Episodes
Jack Jostes
What did I say about having me on your podcast?
Pam Berrios
No. Yes. I was gonna say I would love to do a Spanish speaking podcast with you and test your Spanish out, and maybe we can use a little bit of AI. I don't know how it'll go, but I would love to do that. Let's test it out.
Jack Jostes
I would be pretty intimidated to do it, but I'm up for the challenge and I will need to practice. I will need to practice, and I'm up for the challenge. I think that would be fun. I also want to encourage you to just get started with your podcast because I think it would really serve the industry.
Pam Berrios
I think so. As well. Maybe I could get some tips for.
Jack Jostes
Yeah, so I'm coming up on my 300th episode. Awesome.
Pam Berrios
And congratulations.
Jack Jostes
Thank you. Yeah, it's been. I started it during COVID and I started it before I knew Covid was happening. So I, like, it was literally that spring of COVID and I was just like, I'm just gonna launch it. I was like, oh, maybe I shouldn't launch it. I'm like, just so. All I'm saying is, like, get started. You get better along the way. And one thing I did take that really helped me is a course called Power Up Podcasting by Pat Flynn.
Pam Berrios
All right, taking that note, I don't.
Jack Jostes
Know if anyone has ever given you a spreadsheet in your career that you end up, like, it, like, becomes part of your life.
Pam Berrios
Yeah.
Jack Jostes
Part of the deal from that thing is he has this spreadsheet that helps you organize your episodes, and I still use it five years later.
Pam Berrios
Talk about a powerful tool. I like that.
Jack Jostes
It was incredible. So check that out, and I'll look forward to hearing from you when you're scheduling guests on your podcast.
Pam Berrios
Look forward to doing a podcast in Spanish with you.
Jack Jostes
Okay.
Pam Berrios
You might be my first guest. Okay, let's do it.
Jack Jostes
Let's do it. I will. I. That's a tall order. I think you need. You need somebody who's more fluent in Spanish to come on the show if you want people to really listen to it.
Pam Berrios
Well, we'll see. We'll see what happens.
Jack Jostes
Okay. All right. Well, Pam Berrios from. Is it Infinity Group.
Pam Berrios
Infinity Group, that's right.
Jack Jostes
Where can we connect with you if we. If we want to learn more?
Pam Berrios
So just. https://elevate123.net/
Jack Jostes
I'll put links to that in our show notes. And thanks for coming on the podcast. Great to see you.
Pam Berrios
Thanks, Jack. Great to see you.