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How to Build a Landscape Business That Gives You More Time for Life

00:00 – Why Jack Took Time Away From His Business To Go Hunting

00:00 Jack Jostes:

Got to have a clear hell yes. Customer that you're selling to. You're looking at our heart rate and stuff, and mine was way into zone four. He's like, hey, we got to slow down. We. We did not get an elk. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Landscaper's Guide podcast. My name is Jack justice, and I'm just finishing my annual archery elk hunt, and I'm on my way home, and I wanted to record this podcast to share with you my first harvest with a bow. Spoiler alert. It was not an elk. Some of my favorite propane accessories, and also a free gift to help you get more time in your life for things like hunting or if hunting isn't your thing, camping trips with family, basically getting more time with your business by automating certain parts of your marketing and sales.

00:50 – The Five Fs: Faith, Family, Finance, Fitness, And Fun

00:50 Jack Jostes:

So I'm going to share that with you in today's podcast. And if hunting isn't your thing, if you're really not into it, this probably isn't the best episode for you. But if you do eat meat and you're maybe you're curious about. About hunting and what it's like, stay tuned because we're going to dive into it. So, you know, one of the things that we talk about at Ramblin Jackson that I've mentioned on another podcast is the five Fs, which is faith, family, finance, fitness, and fun. We're not going to go into all of those things, but those are really the five key areas of life that I try and focus on, and I want to share some of them with you. Today I'm outside by this beautiful creek. It's super sunny. Hopefully the video turns out okay. Really beautiful.

01:34 – Bringing The Next Generation On An Elk Hunting Adventure

01:34 Jack Jostes:

The leaves are starting to turn. It's September. It's. It's early September. And I go. I go archery, elk hunting. And so one of the F's that I want to talk about is family. So four years ago, I went hunting with my wife's cousin, and we. We had an amazing time. We. We hiked up to around 11,000ft. And when were there, were like, we gotta bring our sons here some. And so we did it on this trip. So that was a major life goal for me and for my wife's cousin was to bring our sons with us. So we did. And that's been, you know, a big annual project for me and my boys. They successfully completed hunter safety.

02:17 – Why Health And Fitness Matter For Business Owners

02:17 Jack Jostes:

And while they're not old enough to get a tag for big game elk or deer or anything like that, they're learning the basics of firearm Safety, conservation, preparedness. You know, we got up and it was 40 degrees at 4am and then we hiked to the top of this mountain and it was so sunny and hot, were down into T shirts, you know, and just being prepared for all of that. So I'm really proud of them. And then another one was fitness. And I'm sharing this because I work with a lot of clients who, you know, we get so focused in our businesses that maybe we let part of our health or fitness go. And one thing that impacted my health was nerve pain. And it was related to how my posture at my work computer.

03:02 Jack Jostes:

That and some injuries from the past from sports, a number of things. But over the last year, you know, I really struggled. Like last September, I could hardly shoot my bow very much by the end of September, because I was shooting it so much, I overdid it. And I had this pinched nerve in my neck that was causing my arm to be numb. Like it was on fire all the time. And I would wake up in the middle of the night in pain and it hurt. When I worked at a computer and clients noticed it, like, it really impacted my performance at work and in life. So I worked with a physical therapist, Colin, and chiropractor Mike Lynch. Thank you guys. You guys both helped me tremendously and helped me enjoy my elk hunt pretty much pain free.

03:53 – How Zone 2 Training Improved Jack's Fitness

03:53 Jack Jostes:

Walking around with a 20 pound pack, doing miles and miles of hiking each day, sleeping on an air mattress, like, did all of it. And I felt amazing. That was a major win for me on the fitness front. And part of that was working with a physical therapist and then putting a bunch of my health stats and AI. I learned that I was over training. So it was partly I was over training, wasn't resting enough. And I paired my training back down a bit in the last year and focused a lot on zone two training. A lot of running in zone two, the heart rate zone. And a major win on this trip was we did this hunt or this hike where it's. It's 700ft of elevation gain in less than a mile. So it's pretty steep.

04:38 Jack Jostes:

And the first time I did it four years ago with my wife's cousin, he, you know, like were, we both wear Garmin watches and were looking at our heart rate and stuff, and mine was way into zone four. He's like, hey, we got to slow down. You need you. You know, this isn't safe for you to be at this elevated heart rate for this long. And I wasn't even really aware of it. At that time. So I worked on it and this time doing the same, stayed in Zone 2 the whole time, so I felt a lot better. Cardiovascular fitness was way up and getting there was really boring. You know, doing zone two running is not exciting. You're not breaking any records, you're not doing anything. And I think so much of business is the same.

05:20 – Why Consistency Matters In Fitness And Business

05:20 Jack Jostes:

It's a lot of showing up every day, doing a good job, taking care of your clients, taking care of your employees, keeping your books straight, getting paid on time, paying other people on time. And then if you keep doing that over time, you make big wins. So that was a big win for me and one of the hikes that we did. So we dropped our kids off and then came back and did a couple days, just me and my cousin. And I'm really impressed with him. He's. He's 10 years older than me. He just did a 50k. He's completed an Ironman. And it's fun hunting with him because we both like to geek out on health and fitness and these things and we push each other.

06:02 – An Eight-Mile Mountain Hike And The Elk Hunt

06:02 Jack Jostes:

So yesterday we did this 8 mile hike and 5 miles of it was going up over this mountain peak. It was incredible. And were glassing into all these areas. We had a spotting scope, we had binoculars and tripods and all this cool gear. And it was like so cold in the morning. We were wearing all these layers and it was super windy. And then by the end, were drenched in sweat because after we got down the other side of the mountain, we had to hike back to camp on this road. And that was three miles, basically uphill. But it felt really good. It was fun. We did not get an elk. Now elk are majestic animals. They are so incredible.

06:44 – Finding Joy In The Experience And Jack's First Bow Harvest

06:44 Jack Jostes:

I think about them when I'm hunting because I have all these layers of clothing and things on and they don't get to take them off. They get to deal with 8 degrees to 60 degrees in the same day. And they're just doing it. So that's why they're bedded down on north facing slopes in the shade. We did our best to find them. We did our best to balance. You know, really I'd say this year was tipped way more in the camp direction. It was way more fun. Our kids are 10 and 11. We wanted it to be really fun. Fun foods, camp, meals, lots of adventures. But didn't get an elk. But I did have my first harvest with my bow. I've been bow hunting for a few years now and it was a grouse. So Grouse is amazing.

07:30 – Cooking Grouse And Favorite Camping Gear

07:30 Jack Jostes:

I typically get a grouse time. I go elk hunting either with a shotgun or this year I also got one with a.22, so we ended up getting four grouse. We got two with the bow and arrow. I got one. My wife's cousin got one. We got one with the shotgun, one with the.22. And really tasty. One of my tips is to marinate it in garlic oil. So this year I just bought garlic oil instead of getting both garlic and oil, which adds another component, and we grilled them. Really tasty. Was not very photogenic, so I'm not going to share that one. But that was fun. And as far as propane, you know, propane, think of king of the hill when Hank talked about propane and propane accessories. Now I love propane accessories because at camp, I actually have my dad's Coleman camp stove.

08:26 – Propane Accessories And Camping Tips

08:26 Jack Jostes:

He got it in the 70s, and it still works. I also have his lantern. And I use this thing like 10 to 15 times a year. Every year. I take really good care of it. And you use those little green propane canisters and those when they're empty, it just feels really wasteful to throw them out. So I've kept a bunch of them. And I got this little adapter on Amazon for filling them up. And I used it, and it had a gauge that said it was in the green, but it just didn't feel like it had really added much weight. And I looked into it, and the tip I wanted to share with you is to put your propane tank in the freezer before you try and fill it up. That is the secret tip to getting it, getting the pressure.

09:13 Jack Jostes:

It basically makes it fill up. If you don't, it, like kind of adds a little bit. But even then, I didn't think it was actually full on this little gauge on there. So I weighed it, and using a food scale was the other tip. So I used a food scale. Max out those propane canisters. And for those of you who camp, if you like using those things, try freezing them. Get one of those adapters. And if you're a geek, weigh it if you want to be really precise. So, you know, I had an amazing time. I actually haven't been online in like a week. So a little anxious of, like, what am I going to come back to? What happened in the business while I was gone, but also feeling really relaxed.

09:56 – The Benefits Of Disconnecting From Screens

09:56 Jack Jostes:

Didn't use any screens, really, except for looking at onx, which is a hunting mapping app, and using my phone as a camera that was it. And that was also amazing for my kids to be totally screen free for several days and they got bored. And you know, getting bored is part of life. It was a good experience for them to get bored because they found ways to fill the time like whittling sticks or they brought print books to read or you know, stuff like that. Or they stacked rocks. They, you know, they just played outside like little boys should. So that was really good. I needed it. And hey, maybe hunting and camping isn't your thing.

10:39 – How Sales And Marketing Systems Can Give You More Freedom

10:39 Jack Jostes:

Maybe maybe you're into sailing or video games or I don't really care what it is, but I want to help you get more of it in your business. So if you run a snow and landscape company and you'd like to have more time in your business with your family, well, maybe time off to spend with your family or whatever it is you love to do. You've got to have the right sales and marketing systems working for you. You've got to have a clear hell yes customer that you're selling to and then build automations and lead generation tools and online scheduling and follow up tools. And I just finished a new book.

11:15 – Jack's New Book On Direct Response Sales And Marketing

11:15 Jack Jostes:

It's the Landscaper's Guide to Direct Response Sales and Marketing featuring a foreword from my favorite author, Dan Kennedy and I'd love to send you a free copy of the book in the ma limited time I'm actually giving away a hard copy of the book. It's a lot of book. I've been working on it for a few years. It also has a ton of really current information packed into it about AI, how to show up in AI email marketing, social, getting found in search, getting ChatGPT to recommend you and I'd love to send it to you because it's going to help you spend more time camping outside, whatever. Once you put these systems to work, they work for you ongoing and that's what direct Response is all about. So check it out. Grab your free copy while you can.

12:03 – How To Get Your Copy And Final Thoughts

12:03 Jack Jostes:

There's a link in the show notes for this episode to landscapersguide.com books so go there, grab your free copy, I'll ship it to you. All I ask is that you pay for the shipping and printing costs. But for a limited time we're giving away the free hardcover copy of the book. So my name is Jack Josses. Thanks for checking out today's episode. If you enjoy hunting and camping and stuff, hit me up. Let me know what are you hunting this year? What do you like? And grab that book. I look forward to talking with you next week on the Landscapers Guide, where we're going to share some interviews with people. We're going to share interviews with landscape company owners. So make sure you subscribe to our podcast to never miss an episode.