Have you ever wanted to donate to a local charity or get your landscaping company employees together for a service project, but you weren't really sure where to start or for some reason you just didn't get around to it?
Well, today I'm excited to interview Jamie Waldron who runs The Industry Collective, which is a company that pairs landscaping companies throughout the United States with charities in their community for easy-to-do service projects that make a big impact. Watch or listen to the end of this episode to see how you might be able to get involved with this easily before the end of the year.
Interview With Jamie
Jack Jostes:
Hey everyone, Jack Jostes here and welcome to The Landscaper's Guide to Modern Sales and Marketing Podcast. This show is all about helping landscaping companies increase your profit, work with great clients, and build a great team.
Jack Jostes:
And the outcome of that is you're going to create more jobs in your community. You're going to create profit, which enables you to give back. And in today's episode, I'm going to share with you an incredible organization that's doing great things in the green industry, helping people around the country.
Jack Jostes:
And before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to remind you and invite you to our upcoming landscaper sales and marketing summit. This year, it's going to be a two-day event on November 17th and November 18th. It's a sales and marketing virtual event.
Jack Jostes:
You can bring your leadership team to it, bring your sales people, bring your marketing people. We did it last year and it was a real blast. And I can't wait to see you there. So check it out LandscaperSummit.com.
Jack Jostes:
All right, everyone welcome. Today we have Jamie Waldron. She's the Director of The Industry Collective, which is an organization that helps green industry leaders connect with their community through volunteering and service projects. Jamie, thanks so much for coming today.
Jamie Waldron:
Thank you for having me. I appreciate being here.
Jack Jostes:
Tell us a little bit, what is The Industry Collective, and specifically what do you do with landscaping companies and with the green industry?
About Industry Collective
Jamie Waldron:
So, at the beginning of this year, we started having conversations about what it would look like for us to impact communities across the country through very simple outreach projects. And we've been doing some smaller projects in Charlotte, North Carolina for years and years, partnering with nonprofits to help support doing various different projects.
Jamie Waldron:
And we said, "What would it look like for us to expand and to invite other green industry leaders into this?" And so we started dreaming about what that impact could look like. And so we started these very simple packing events, doing projects that fulfill big needs in every community.
Jamie Waldron:
The first one we did was packing hygiene kits. After a natural disaster, it's essential for people who have lost everything and people that live in like a shelter, a homeless shelter, they might need access to these certain items or someone whose kid just got admitted to the hospital, who's staying at the Ronald McDonald house.
Jamie Waldron:
These are simple things we don't think about, but we started doing projects like that because whether you live in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I am, or you're in Mobile, Alabama there is a need for that particular project.
Jamie Waldron:
And so we started with that. And then we packed backpacks for kids that were under-resourced. We have kids all across the country and there are always kids in need. And for us to be able to fill in the gap was awesome.
Jamie Waldron:
So, we just had green industry leaders just start plugging in and say, "I've been looking for a way to impact my community. This sounds great." And so what we do at The Industry Collective is we do all of the behind the scenes work to help equip and empower a green industry company to do the work.
Jamie Waldron:
And so we do all the purchasing. We do all of the acquisition of supplies, get it there, give you all the instructions, connect you with the community partner, if you don't already have one.
'I Want To Help… But I Don't Know How.'
Jamie Waldron:
And then all you really need to do is show up, set the tables up, show up, do the service project. And that's been a wonderful way for groups who maybe feel a little bit too busy or overwhelmed by the idea of like, "I want to impact the community. But I just don't know how," that's what this started with.
Jamie Waldron:
There are just a lot of people that are maybe paralyzed by the idea of, "What do I do? Is there a need in my community?" I'd like to help, but I don't know what that necessarily looks like. So, we've come together and just created a couple events a year where people sync up and so that we can have some synergy together with the green industry.
Jamie Waldron:
And then we've just been doing service projects and it's been really special and awesome to be a part of.
Jack Jostes:
So, do I understand correctly, you actually ship the materials to people and then they would kind of configure these backpacks and things at their own office or headquarters.
Jamie Waldron:
Yeah. We have groups that will do it out on the farm right before the guys who go out to get on their tractors. We've got it where the accounting team might gather together in a conference room or teams may be in a shop putting these things together.
Jamie Waldron:
So, really these events can be done literally anywhere at any time. Some groups are doing it at six o'clock in the morning right when they get there and other groups are doing it during their lunch hour.
Jamie Waldron:
And then some groups who have been working remotely, this has been their excuse to bring people back together so that, "Hey, we're going to come together. We're going to sync up and we're going to serve together and have a meeting."
Jamie Waldron:
It's created some fun energy to coming back into the office when people have been so used to working from home. And so it's really one of those things that however a company wants to leverage it, there's possibilities to make it happen.
How Industry Collective Decided To Focus In The Green Industry
Jack Jostes:
I love that. And how did you end up focus thing on the green industry in particular?
Jamie Waldron:
The green industry, so I am very, very good friends with the President of The Loving Companies here in Charlotte, North Carolina and that's who I've been serving alongside. We've been friends for a long time. Probably in 2011, he came to me and said, "I want to do something, I want to make an impact in the community, what could that look like?"
Jamie Waldron:
And so we just started doing simple events for ages, and I launched a company and I started helping different companies and individuals with how they could impact their communities. And I was just so inspired and encouraged by how The Loving Companies had prioritized generosity and service.
Jamie Waldron:
And they were so well connected to other green industry leaders. People would call often to say, "We see what you do, but how do you do it?" And so we just started dreaming up and saying like, "Let's do something. Let's do something for your friends. Let's figure out how we can engage other people."
Jamie Waldron:
And it just became something I'm passionate about because there are ... You have guys that have been on the farm or have been out on the field working all day and accountants and all of the different things. These are projects that everyone can participate in.
Jamie Waldron:
And it's been really fun to be a part of. I've been really inspired by the companies we've gotten to work with. There have been more than 25 of them. Companies like Yellowstone and Bartlett Tree Experts and Juniper landscaping.
Jamie Waldron:
The leaders of these companies are insanely generous and passionate about impacting their communities. And so I'm in. I'm like the green industry is where it's at and it's been so fun to just be in conversations about how can we impact our communities and what kind of impact can we have together?
Jack Jostes:
Well Jamie, I'm really glad that we got to talk. For those of you who are watching or listening, it's October 2021 and one of our mutual contacts, Scott Callenius from Forever Green Landscape Services down in Florida, he told me about it, I was like, "Yes, this sounds like an awesome thing to feature on the show."
Industry Collective Upcoming Events
Jack Jostes:
And you actually have an event coming up. You have other events, so this isn't the only one. But for people who are listening to this as it's coming out, what's coming up, this winter 2021 that people can get involved with?
Jamie Waldron:
In December, we're going to be packing meal kits for kids to take home during the Christmas holiday. There are so many kids that are dependent on the free and reduced lunch at school. They're waiting and oftentimes they get lunch and then they don't get food again until they come back to school.
Jamie Waldron:
And so when you're on a break, such as the Christmas break, a number of weeks, there are a lot of people that are food insecure. They've said one in seven kids in America are at risk of hunger right now, which is absolute insanity. There's childhood hunger in every single community that we're in.
Jamie Waldron:
So, we'll basically pack small backpacks to subsidize the food that kids hopefully have at home. And we work with the local food banks and the schools to distribute these food items to the kids that really need it so that over the holidays they have food. So, we'd be packing meal kits, which I'm really excited about because we've seen the need is so great, especially since the pandemic has begun.
Jack Jostes:
Wow. I didn't realize it was one and seven. That's just devastating.
Jamie Waldron:
It shouldn't be.
Jack Jostes:
And it shouldn't be, and it is what it is. And I'm really grateful that there are people like you in your organization who are getting involved. So, people could either participate and get their team together.
Jack Jostes:
And how would we do that? Do we email you? Do we apply on your website? Or how do we get started for the landscapers and green industry businesses who are listening, who are like, "Right on, we want to help feed those one in seven kids this winter, how could they get started?
Jamie Waldron:
Sure. You can go to industrycollective.com and you can contact us there. You can find out a little bit more about what this process looks like, contact us, and we'll create a custom quote for your company of what it would look like to be involved. Really, you are responsible as a company. If you're like, "Hey, I want to be a part of this." And you're like, "What does that really look like?"
Jamie Waldron:
You pay for the resources. And we handle all the other business behind it because we're in the business of changing lives and impacting our community. That's what we want to be a part of. We kept the cost so low in order for it to work for different companies. And we have companies that are five people participating, and we have groups that have 25 locations participating.
Jamie Waldron:
And so there's, at any level, there's an opportunity to get involved and be a part of it. And what's also special, I think about The Industry Collective, if you're like, man we're five people, we're going to pack 25 backpacks. What does that do? Together we're going to fill more than 5,000 backpacks. And we celebrate that. And that's amazing.
Jamie Waldron:
And we'll resource companies that are involved with social media collateral because it's not only an opportunity to impact your community. And if it was that, that's awesome and that's enough.
Show Your Customers How You Care For Your Community
Jamie Waldron:
But to leverage this as a way to show your community that you care, because you're committed to whatever your location and to give back to the community that has given you a home or space or whatever, and to show the people that work for you what kind of business that you are or show your customers, or just even the local community that you are a company that's generous, that gives back, that cares about the people that are around them. I think there are a lot of other benefits to that as well.
Jack Jostes:
Well tell me a little bit about that, about showing people that. That's always something I've kind of struggled with when I've donated to things. I've always just kind of quietly done it. We have done some things with Habitat for Humanity where we've built homes, like literally down the street from where I'm working right now.
Jack Jostes:
And I know the people who live there and that's rewarding. But I've never really put it in my marketing or anything. Should businesses tell people that they're doing this? Or do you have people who ever ask you and say, "Hey, I want to just help, but I'm uncomfortable telling people I'm doing it?"
Jamie Waldron:
Of course. I do think that there's a level of it. The goal is not to brag like, "Oh, look at what I've done. We're so awesome." But it does inspire generosity. It inspires other people to participate and it gives opportunity for more people to be impacted.
Jamie Waldron:
And so I had to wrestle with that in my head because I could do all of this quietly. We could go behind the scenes, just fill all of these things, but you would never have known had they never talked about it.
Jamie Waldron:
And all of the people that would choose to participate, if they don't share it, there are kids down the street that could have really benefited from that opportunity. And so I think it inspires people. We do it in a really special way and try to share stories with the utmost dignity, that is so important to us.
Jamie Waldron:
But it is one of those things that I get the chills just thinking about it. I want to share a staff person talking about how this has impacted them to be a part of a company like this. I think it inspires people. They're like, "I want my company to have that kind of culture as a part of what we're doing."
Jamie Waldron:
And so I think there's a balance to it. I don't think you need to do it in secret. Certainly there are times where you might just feel that in your heart and certainly you should do that. But I think it inspires people and I think that's something good.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, and it does ultimately spread the word and ultimately helps other people.
Jamie Waldron:
Yeah.
Prioritizing YOUR Local Community
Jack Jostes:
So, help me understand. So let's pretend that I'm in Boulder, Colorado. I live near Boulder, Colorado. If I had a landscape company here, would you help match me with my local community? Or how do you find the people in need?
Jack Jostes:
Are you actually helping the local community local to the landscaping company? Or is it helping somebody across the country or talk to me a little bit about how you match the businesses?
Jamie Waldron:
We prioritize that partnership locally because ideally you want to create a relationship with the organizations that are close to you. I think out of all the locations that we've worked with over this year, everything, the furthest has been a 22-minute drive from a location that we weren't able to find something awesome.
Jamie Waldron:
And there have been so many groups that I've talked to that they're like, "I don't know, I need some help." And I'm like, "I'll do the research." And I'm like, "Five minutes down the road, there's a group that could really use some help."
Jamie Waldron:
And if there's something in particular that the leadership of the company is passionate about, we can connect and give suggestions to say, "Okay, here's a school. That is an option here's as A. Food pantry, that's an option. Here's this and this is why this organization would be a great option. And then it's your choice."
Jamie Waldron:
Ultimately, it's a tax write off. Whenever you give to these nonprofits, you get a donation receipt from them. And so we're connecting with the local community. We do have a partnership with Convoy of Hope, which is a global organization. They respond to natural disasters.
Jamie Waldron:
And so we've worked hard to also resource them because it's been really special for us to be able to share with the group that our supplies in the wake of Hurricane Ida we're right there being distributed.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah.
Jamie Waldron:
And for us to collectively celebrate that together to say we're a part of impacting right now was awesome to we ... It's not just the 25, 27, whatever amount of companies. We're partnered with these guys that right now, a day after this hurricane, they're distributing our supplies and you made an impact whether you were the one that packed that particular hygiene kit or that wasn't yours.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah. And I love that. I love. I think when I think about giving, I always try and do it in my community. And I think if everyone gave to their own community, that everyone would be kind of taken care of, right?
Jamie Waldron:
Yes.
A Low Cost For Participation
Jack Jostes:
So tell me a little bit, how much does it cost? Some people might be listening and they might be thinking, "You know what? I had a pretty good year. Oh, she just mentioned it's a tax write off? I'm going to be doing my taxes and I'd like to help, but I'm also ... I'm strapped on cash at the same time." How much does it cost to participate?
Jamie Waldron:
A group that has six people, they're going to pack 24 kits. It's going to be about $250 to $300. I don't know the number right off the top of my head. And that's all of the supplies. All the supplies, the instructions, everything being shipped to you, everything that you need.
Jamie Waldron:
So, if you just multiply that by how many we sell, everything goes in groups of six, which is one table of people serving together. And so that's how we've done each one of the things. It goes to about $55 per person, if you kind of do the math that way.
Jamie Waldron:
So, if you have 55 times ... Just thinking about it real quick. My math, sorry about that. I should have been ready for that one. $300.
Jack Jostes:
So, $300 could help create 25 kits?
Jamie Waldron:
Yes.
Jack Jostes:
Wow. That's really reasonable. That's a big impact to help 25 people for $300 plus the time of course that your staff is spending it. And how long would it take to do 25 packs? Like an hour, a couple of hours or what are we looking at?
Jamie Waldron:
No, the goal is 15 minutes. We've got work to do Jack.
Jack Jostes:
Right.
Jamie Waldron:
We're like ... The first time we did the event, it took us probably 30 minutes, or 30 minutes to an hour. So we're like, "Cool, that was a huge investment." And so we heard back from our industry leaders that said, "If we can move this just a little bit quicker, we do want to make an impact. It's so important to us, but how can we do that and still achieve our goals."
Jamie Waldron:
And so these events typically take 15 to 20 minutes. There is some setup involved, if you have one or two people on your team that could help put everything on tables. About 15 to 20 minutes, and the guys are out on the field or everyone's back to work, or you can share a meal together, whatever.
Jamie Waldron:
So, that's kind of the timeframe that we're looking for. We're not looking for a massive time investment, but there are groups also that have said, "Hey, it's Christmas. We want to use this as a part of our Christmas party. And we want to spend 30 minutes doing this."
Jamie Waldron:
We adjust the number of kits everyone's making and we create an opportunity that's appropriate for the timeframe that they're looking for. So, it really is unique to the companies of what they're looking for. We're a standard 15 to 20 minutes. But if you're like ...
Jamie Waldron:
I spoke with the company yesterday, they said, "Man, we really want to spend an hour together. And this was what we're going to do for the year." We just adjusted and made it happen.
Jack Jostes:
Wow. Okay. So, it's less than an hour. You're going to help 25 people for $300. Why are people listening? Why wouldn't they just do this?
Jamie Waldron:
Why wouldn't you just change the world? I don't know. Because we could ...
How We're Getting Involved… And You Can Too!
Jack Jostes:
I don't know. Well I'm excited. I'm crunching some numbers over here. I'm going to get involved. So, half of my team, I have about 15 people on my staff and we're remote. Half of us are in Colorado because that's where I'm based. And it's just kind of grown that way. So, I'm going to get some of our Colorado folks together.
Jack Jostes:
What about people who are listening? I have people who run software companies in the green industry, or other businesses that have kind of a dispersed workforce that's working remotely. How can they get involved? Is it maybe just donations or talk to me about that?
Jamie Waldron:
Yeah. Two opportunities. One we've worked with groups like SiteOne that's just about everywhere. And we've just adapted to try to figure out like in Charlotte, they had small groups of people come together. Just kind of what you just mentioned. Like, "We have some people in Colorado, maybe we get together and hang out, grab coffee or grab a beer and pack some things together," it could be an option.
Jamie Waldron:
But also we've had some sponsorship partners that have come alongside some of these organizations that said, "I have the manpower, I'd love to participate, but I can't financially do it right now." And you can provide the finances and partner with another green industry team and we can help share the story of impact with you too, because it's just as important. Both parts are important, the finances are important and the service is important.
Jamie Waldron:
And so we do have people now that say, "I'll do it. I'll do more. I'll pack whatever." And if there were people that were willing to financially support that, I feel like this is a wonderful way to impact your community for sure.
Jamie Waldron:
And it's a simply go to industrycollective.com and connect with us through our contact forum, and we'd be happy to put you in contact with a company that's interested in serving, but isn't able to at this point in time, and it could spark a great relationship too.
Jamie Waldron:
And so whether you want to partner with another group in your city or you're like, "I don't care. I just want to partner with someone," we can make those connections.
Why Wouldn't You Want To Help Change The World?
Jack Jostes:
Well, and Jamie, tell me, why do you do this? Why aren't you doing something else? What lights you up about this?
Jamie Waldron:
Why wouldn't I do this? Be a part of changing the world? I love it. I feel like helping people is my greatest joy and kind of like a little, like I can see things, and there are so many people that want to help, but just don't know how to.
Jamie Waldron:
And so to help people see the path towards service and impact and generosity is so exciting. I don't have to be the one on the front lines anymore. I used to have to be. I used to love that, but now to have the opportunity to help people see the path toward how they can make an impact is the most exciting thing for me.
Jamie Waldron:
I got off the phone with a green industry leader from New Jersey about 20 minutes before he jumped on this podcast. And he said, "I saw you speak somewhere, and I jumped on the website and it all clicked for me. I've been looking for years." He said, "I've been in the green industry for 30 years and I haven't figured it out, but we are in."
Jamie Waldron:
"I've been looking for a way to impact my community, I just didn't know how." And this is so simple. It honestly isn't that hard. You could probably do it on your own. I'm not ... This is more an invitation, but it really is so simple.
Jamie Waldron:
And I think we just crack the code and we want to invite other people to participate because together the impact that we can have is so much more than we could ever do on our own. And that's what's special about the green industry. It's not just one company.
Jamie Waldron:
And even to see that, people that may have been competitors ... In my community in Charlotte, we have I think five different landscaping companies all serving together. That's cool. That's very cool. And to be able to make an impact and not be like, "Well, this is my thing," or whatever, it's exciting.
Jamie Waldron:
Collaboration is exciting. Impact is exciting. And I want to be a part of that.
Jack Jostes:
I love it. And so far, I think you said you've worked with around 27 green industry businesses. What's your goal?
Jamie Waldron:
My goal? All of them. There is so many. When I looked up, I was like, "There are so many green industries."
Jack Jostes:
So, when we talk again, like a year from now, how many will you have worked with?
Jamie Waldron:
I don't even know. I feel like there is this, we keep talking about just like a swelling up their glacier, something happening with green industry leaders. Like when you get on the phone, we have a group that we call the pioneers and there are groups like Bartlett and Gachina in California, Juniper, Loving, Strausers, Yellowstone, LandCare, all these people.
Jamie Waldron:
We get on the phone and we're with all these executive leaders dreaming about what kind of impact can we have? And it's a we. And so when I think, and I'm in those Zoom calls, I'm like, "This could be huge and this could be massive."
Jack Jostes:
I think it could be or it could be-
Jamie Waldron:
Can you imagine the impact? Nuts.
Jack Jostes:
I love the green industry and I interview a lot of great leaders who have big teams that I think, and small teams, right? And I love that you talked about how the small five person team could do it. And I talked to somebody recently as an 85 person company.
Jack Jostes:
So, in any case, everyone check out industrycollective.com and get involved if you can, for this winner 2021. And Jamie, thanks so much for coming on this show. You're really making a difference in the world and you're making it easy for other people to make an impact also, which is just really great.
Jamie Waldron:
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. It's been great. And I'm looking forward to meeting some of the people that we get connected to through this.
Jack Jostes:
Well, I'm super inspired by Jamie. In fact, I am getting my team on board in Colorado. We're going to get together and do some fundraising and get some kits together for our Colorado community. I invite you to do the same if you can, or donate, check it out IndustryCollective.com.
Jack Jostes:
And I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming sales and marketing summit. Check it out LandscaperSummit.com.