As the leader of your company, your overall mindset, attitude, and outlook, have a huge impact on everyone in your organization and ultimately your profitability and success. But as a human being, how do you manage the stress of marital and relationship challenges, health issues, dogs? What if your dog gets sick? All of this stuff, in addition to running the company. In today's podcast, I interview Justin King, who's worked in the green industry since the late 1980s. Justin shares how he's developed a warrior mindset that has increased his employee loyalty and helped him persevere through the most challenging times. In today's interview, Justin is pretty vulnerable. He shares some really personal challenges that he's experiencing both in his business and in his personal life. And I guarantee that as a fellow human, you're dealing with some variation of these challenges too. So how do you get through it? Let's hear an inspiring perspective from Justin.
Hey, everyone, Jack Jostes here and welcome to The Landscaper's Guide Podcast. This show is all about inspiring the snow and landscape industry with stories, sales, marketing, and leadership ideas. And none of that can happen without a great leader at the helm. But how do you do all of that with all the struggles in life. Today, we interview Justin King and just prior to recording these standups for the podcast, I texted him and said, "Hey, Justin, if you could be any plant, what plant do you think you would be?" And he replied and said that he would be a dragons blood sedum, not necessarily my favorite, but it's aggressive, continues to spread even when not much water is around, blooms for a very long time, holds plenty of water in its leaves for times of drought. And it sounds kind of badass also.
I agree, that is kind of badass and I was actually thinking that Justin was a cactus. I think you have to be prickly and drought resistant to persevere and lead your company. I'm curious, what kind of plant do you think you would be? Let me know. And if you're enjoying today's show, I invite you to subscribe at landscapersguide.com/podcast. I'll send you our top three podcast episodes instantly, and you'll get email invitations to our upcoming live and virtual events that you don't want to miss. Check it out at landscapersguide.com/podcast and see our show notes for a link. Let's get into today's interview with Justin King. Well, Justin, thanks so much for coming to the studio here in Lyons. You made a long trek from Loveland. I'm just kidding. For people listening, Loveland is, I don't know, 15, 20, 25 minutes.
Justin King:
Yeah. I think it's about from our shop here, it is about 20, 30 minutes.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah. Thanks so much for coming to Lyons. Justin is the owner of Royal Turf Landscape and Irrigation. How long have you guys been in business?
Justin King:
The start of next year will be our official 20th year.
Jack Jostes:
That's awesome. And it was an honor really working with you on your branding and your business name, and we helped you evolve it to Royal Turf Landscape and Irrigation, I think that was three years ago or two years ago.
Justin King:
Two, yeah.
Jack Jostes:
Two years ago. We're both in ALCC. I remember meeting you and at that time, you had a big beard and now you're clean shaven. Do you miss the beard? Do you miss rocking the beard?
Justin King:
I'll tell you what I do, but I don't. The funny thing about having a long beard is it's a little bit like being a woman, you have to really take care of that. You don't just let it go. It's not like you can slap a hat over top of it, otherwise it gets pretty unruly and pretty funky. I don't miss that part, but a lot of people came to know me as the guy with the six inch goatee. In the industry, a lot of people were real shocked when I shaved it off.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah. I just remember meeting you and we were at ALCC happy hour and I was like, "Man, this guy has a sweet goatee." I've been rocking a short beard for 15 years. Partly, I hate shaving.
Justin King:
I don't really care for shaving either, but again, it's one of those things where you kind of have to take the good with the bad, I guess.
Jack Jostes:
Well, good. Well, I wanted to interview, you've had a hell of a couple years and despite that, you've maintained this incredible outlook on life. And I think it's inspiring. I know that a lot of the people listening have similar challenges, so I always try and just share stories and talk with people about how they get through it, because really, we were talking about this over lunch, we just had some barbecue. You kind of have to be insane in some ways to run a business and be able to see the potential positive through all the negative that's happening and your people really need you with that.
How To Keep A Positive Mindset
Justin King:
I think it's true of any entrepreneur and probably any industry, but it's especially true of this one, this being a seasonal industry. And I don't really want to call it cutthroat, but there's a lot of competition and there always has been, I've been doing this since the late eighties. And in that time, I remember, it's kind of been the thing where people say from north Denver to Cheyenne, there's at any point in time, three to 400 of us landscape contractors, we're just kind of all over the place. And so there's a lot of competition. There's a lot of people with varying degrees of skill and knowledge and even integrity, so that presents its own set of difficulties.
Our industry, hasn't always done the greatest job of letting potential employees know that this is a career path, that this is a decent job, that you can wind up at a place that offers health insurance and benefits and things like that. Growing up, I didn't know any of that. And I know there's still a lot of people that might be attracted towards this industry that don't know that. And so we tend to attract people that maybe a little bit down on their luck or are struggling to get a different kind of job and keeping that professionalism and that kind of stuff going, especially when it's seasonal and you've got them working their tail off from March through November and then it just dies and you've got snow removal, which sounds wonderful until you realize we live in Colorado and sometimes it doesn't snow for three months and then it dumps three feet at a time. And it definitely has its challenges, so it's pretty important to keep that attitude going, because it'll take you down otherwise.
Jack Jostes:
Where does it come from? How do you maintain that attitude? Did you learn that from somebody or where do you get it?
Justin King:
That's an interesting question. It's something that I was no good at, at all as a kid, I was real hyper. I would take the negative side of a lot of things growing up. I got to the point where for me, having a family and all that kind of stuff, this was a bit of do or die. I have two degrees, neither one of which have anything to do with landscaping. And I realized I wasn't going to be able to support a family on that. And so this is kind of what I had. On top of that, I really love the industry and what I do, but if I allow that negativity in, it's going to take me down.
And every business owner has this, some more than others, but as the leader, you have a bit of a powerful personality. You have a huge effect on the people around you. If you come in crabby and negative, if every time something throws you off the horse, you just throw your hands up, and this is the end of it, your crew and your middle managers and all the way down, they're going to follow suit with whatever you do. And I can't afford that.
Jack Jostes:
Can you tell us about the last couple years in particular?
Justin King:
Oh, sure.
Jack Jostes:
I've known you for, I think, five years and you've always been this way with this positive mindset, and the last two years have really been a test.
Personal Challenges That He's Experienced Both In His Business And In His Personal Life
Justin King:
They have. Kind of some of my personal and professional trials, so to speak, stem back probably five, six years. My oldest daughter left, still don't know why. And that kind of started on a personal level, some really hard times, but on a personal level last year, my wife of 20 years decided she wanted out of the marriage and so she left. I'm now a single father trying to raise two kids and trying to do as good of a job as humanly possible at doing that. I'm not a slack job father. I'm definitely very involved in their life. On top of that, there's been a number of friendship things that have been really hard and trying. My daughter is fixing to be 13 here in just about two weeks. And about two months ago, we found out she had type 1 diabetes and she was already going through a really, really hard time with the divorce and she's at that age, she's 13.
And so hormones and all the things that are changing, getting ready for high school, all the things that any 13 year old goes through and especially a 13 year old girl. It was hard enough what she was going through and then the divorce and then the diabetes. You asked if anybody ever taught me any of that. And I guess I missed her. She did teach me a lot, watching her persevere through a lot of this stuff, really helped keep my own grounding, but between the divorce and that, I had my own health issues, I've got diverticulitis. And so I've been in the hospital a couple times for that, trying to keep hold of the family house that our kids grew up in, was hard, finding financing, that was a long year worth of kind of struggling that out.
And there's really probably even more on the personal level, but on the professional level, it's been just as hard. Just before COVID in 2020, we had a really good foreman who left the shop at night to go home, he rode his motorcycle home, got to 71st street, a lady was texting, turned right in front of him, T-boned him on his motorcycle, he flipped over and died on site.
That was really, really hard for the entire company and me included, I'm really close with the people that I work with. But he had a really big following and personality at our company. His brother-in-law worked there, still does, couple of best friends, his sister-in-law, so there was a lot of people that really tied to Kevin, so that was a really hard thing. We had kind of a mass exodus where I lost my operations manager, my head scheduler, our head technician, another technician, kind of all in the same grouping, I guess, if you will, all for very different reasons, they didn't leave because they were disgruntled. It just is the way life worked out. But all of these things have been exceptionally hard to persevere through.
I only had two choices. Choice number one is, "Woe is me and this is sucky and I don't know what we're going to do," and throw my hands up and quit or to say, tomorrow's going to be a good day. Tomorrow's going to be a day, and the honest truth is, there was plenty of times I said, "Tomorrow's going to be a good day," and it wasn't. There's plenty of times I promised my men and ladies that tomorrow's going to be a good day, and it wasn't.
But the more I held strong and the more I stood up straight, the more they felt like I was someone that they could follow. And so as a team, we pulled it out and we're on the precipice of greatness. And I don't think any of that would've been possible if I'd not taken a good attitude towards it. And on a personal level too, my kids are thriving. They're doing really, really well. My daughter's doing amazing with diabetes. My son just got his black belt in karate at 10 years old. And so they're doing good too and I think that's a direct result of that as well.
Jack Jostes:
Wow. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing this on here. We all have health and family and people challenges, and this is a lot, that's a five year, but in particular the last two years. But I remember talking with you... And by the way, thanks for helping with my irrigation system.
Justin King:
You're more than welcome.
Jack Jostes:
Learned a lot today. One of the cool things I didn't know was the seasonal setting where I can just adjust the percentage.
Justin King:
Probably one of the most quintessential things that we educate our clients on is how to use a budget feature on their clocks, because the whole reason that feature exists is to make it convenient and easy for a homeowner to manage their own water. That way they don't get in there and mess all the programming up and all that kind of stuff. It's just kind of an easy, one touch button to be able to do that.
Jack Jostes:
And one fun thing that happened was the wasps that were in there.
Justin King:
Real common.
Jack Jostes:
When we opened it.
Justin King:
Valve box is in clocks. They're notorious for spiders, snakes and wasps.
Jack Jostes:
Well, thanks again for sharing all of that. The thing when we talked, I think it was, maybe was it even a year ago? I think you were here about a year ago, I bought this place and we were looking at irrigation and some landscape work and it struck me then was the attitude. And we were on the phone recently, I just called you to see how you were doing. And you were talking about, I think you said it was like walking on a tight rope.
Justin King:
Very much, it feels like. And this is really kind of true of life in general, but sometimes more so than others. It just feels like you've got the long stick and you're on the rope, and if you fall this direction, it's disaster of whatever that might mean. It could mean divorce. It could mean death. It could mean the end of your company. It could mean all, who knows. But on the other side is greatness. And you just really hoping that, that little birdie comes and lands on this side and tips you to the other side.
But sometimes that's just where you find yourself. And that's where I've been for a long time is kind of on that tight rope, between the two sides. But you mentioned attitude. If I didn't keep a good attitude, I'll tell you exactly where I'd be. And everybody around me knows where I'd be. I chose that path and I will continue to choose that path. And I think that's why we don't generally see as much turnover, why I have a lot of loyalty in the company and why people really enjoy working there is because they can get behind that.
How To Get Through Life Challenges?
Jack Jostes:
Absolutely. They really need you to do that and to have that perspective and your kids need you and good job. I know that there's been a lot of challenges, but at the same time, you kind of killing it.
Justin King:
Well, thanks. It took a long time before I was willing to admit that or to think of it that way, that I am killing it, man. And I guess one of the best parts of walking this tight rope and keeping that good attitude is, I know a lot of people in the world struggle with self confidence and I have, that's been a big thing in my past. But right now, I'm very proud of me. And that's a big statement, especially when mental health is such a big deal nowadays, and this is something a lot of people struggle with. And again, it's something I've struggled with, but to be able to say that to you and even on camera, I'm proud of me. It's a good feeling, man.
How He Developed A Warrior Mindset That Has Increased His Employee Loyalty And Helped Him Persevere Through The Most Challenging Times
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, good. Yeah, it should be. It's not like you're gloating, "I'm so great." But yeah, you've accomplished a lot. I think even just being aware of that mindset and how important it is.
Justin King:
It is. I told you when we were eating, but operations manager of mine years ago likened this to war and he said, "You are the general of the army. And if the general keeps trudging along with a good attitude and he's got a good plan, even when the enemy is right at his door and he knows defeat could be imminent, but he keeps a good attitude, that army is willing to follow you to the death." Consequently, the other side of that's true too. If the general falls apart, the army falls apart. And I kind of look at every part of my life that way, that's how I am with my family. It's how I am with my business.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah. I worked with a guy, Al Killeen, who said, "You needed to adopt that warrior mindset towards your business." And at first, when I heard him say that, I'm like, "Oh man, that's way over the top." But you do need to have that.
Justin King:
You do. It requires some thick skin. It requires you to be able to take some punches. It requires you to be able to smile through the pain sometimes.
Jack Jostes:
For people listening, they probably can't see, but you've got some sweet sleeve tattoos. And I noticed one of them is new since I saw you last time. Tell us about them and one of them, I think your name relates to your business. I just want to hear about that, because I know it's a passion of yours.
Justin King:
This one's a little older, but having gone through that divorce, armor was pretty important, so that's really where the armor came from. But there's a lot of symbolism in it too. My dad passed away when I was younger and my original last name was Flynn, so on my arm is the Flynn family crest. And then on my chest is the King family crest because that's what my name changed too. King was the tie to Royal Turf because royal king.
Jack Jostes:
Right.
Justin King:
This other side is really all martial arts sleeve. My family's into Kempo karate. My son just got his black belt, I think I mentioned that, but I'm fixing to get mine pretty soon, so there's a lot of different symbols and things that have a tie to that. I have to give credit there too, because that's something that's really kept me grounded and focused through all, is just, I know that twice a week, I've got that. Everything else shuts off. I just focus on that and I love it. Kempo itself is really a lot more academic than a lot of martial arts disciplines. There's a lot of theory. There's a lot of talking that goes on in it. It's not really what a lot of people would think, but that has really helped ground me. It really helped my son. My daughter's in it too, so this is something that really has been a family thing for quite a while. And so yeah, the sleeve is just little ties to that all the way through.
Jack Jostes:
What's your next tattoo?
Justin King:
Actually it's tomorrow.
Jack Jostes:
Okay. Really?
Justin King:
It's just a continuation of this actually. The Kempo, the way you address people is this. And so it's a sun with that in it and some clouds and some of the stuff that just kind of ties to it.
Jack Jostes:
Do you have a tattoo artist that you've worked with for these or are they different people?
Justin King:
I do. It's really funny for those people who don't know much about tattoos, tattoo artists are no different than landscapers, which are no different than digital marketing people. There's some wonderful ones and there's some not so wonderful ones.
Jack Jostes:
Sure. Yeah, the difference is that you can redo your website or your landscape pretty easily.
Justin King:
Right, this is permanent forever. And so, I've kind of visited a few of them. Some of them had considerably more experience and were just not all that wonderful. The lady who did everything on this sleeve and even did some touch ups on this, she's got three years experience doing this, so basically nothing. And she is phenomenal. I'll walk out of the chair and half the time it's not even red when I leave, I can't hardly feel it. It's a tattoo, there's some pain, but it's not... This guy that did this, it felt like he had a machete that he was carving that out with. There was times over here I thought she was touching me with a feather. She's amazing. Yeah, I pretty much stick with her at this point.
Jack Jostes:
Awesome.
Justin King:
She's good.
Jack Jostes:
Well, I know you've got another client appointment to run to and I do too, so thanks so much for coming on the show today-
Justin King:
I appreciate you having me.
Jack Jostes:
And sharing your amazing attitude. I think it's inspiring to me for sure. And I know people listening are having similar challenges because I talk to them.
Justin King:
We all do.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, so keep it up and thanks again for your help with my irrigation today.
Justin King:
Well thank you for having me.
Jack Jostes:
Regardless of whether or not you are the business owner, your attitude has a huge impact on your enjoyment of life and definitely how you impact the people that are with you, whether it's your family, your coworkers, and so on. The way I personally manage all the stress of running the business and work to keep a healthy mindset is through exercise, prayer and meditation. This morning and every morning before work, I work out and today I went on a ruck with 60 pounds in my pack and I did 300 feet of elevation gain. And I guarantee that anything else that I do for the rest of the day will be a lot easier than that. I also pray. I pray every day. I pray with my family. And one of the things that we do is we have a little gratitude practice where before we pray at dinner, we write down something we were grateful for.
My kids are six and seven, my wife and I do it and it stops us. And you think about something from the day that was good. And I find that when you focus on what's good, you get more of it. That's what I do. I also like having adventures in my calendar. I love going hunting. I also like going on trips with my family, so that keeps me inspired to keep going even when it's hard being physically well from exercising mentally well, it all works together. But what about you? What do you do? I'd love to know. Send me an email, jack@ramblinjackson.com. Send me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn. And if you enjoy The Landscaper's Guide, I'd love it if you gave us a review, wherever you're listening, if it's on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, give us a review. If you're listening to this on YouTube or watching it, give us a thumbs up and subscribe, help other people find out about this show. My name's Jack Jostes and I look forward to talking with you next week on The Landscaper's Guide.