ManageMowed Eugene

By Jim Teece

I sat down virtually with Mike Kasper, a 64 year old Eugene resident, with 6 grandchildren, who manages accounts for the new ManageMowed Franchisee in Eugene to find out more about ManageMowed, how the business works and who the typical clients are. 

ManageMowed is a Lawn Service Franchise based out of Edmonds, Washington with franchisees located in 6 states. They have an interesting model where the franchisee doesn’t have employees that do the actual lawn care. The franchisee manages the relationship with the customer and the independent contractors that do the labor. 

Their website managemowed.com explains that the business model provides the best work/life balance for the owner. It considers itself a lifestyle brand and owners do not need landscaping experience. You don’t buy any equipment and you do not hire or manage any of the laborers. 

They also say that 90% of your revenue is recurring. 

I asked Mike what his typical day is like. The Eugene franchise services Eugene, Springfield, Albany, Corvallis and Roseburg. He typically drives around cold calling on buildings that need landscaping, giving out his card and making on the spot quotes for professional services. He also meets with independent contractors to set up lawn care relationships with them. 

When I asked him about the issue of competing with the contractors he finds, he says there is no competition. They show up and do the work and are branded ManageMowed when they are on site. “There is more than enough work to go around and they end up liking the relationship because they like to do what they are good at and we do what we are good at.”

The business growth comes mostly from word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers. They will perform a one time clean up and then move into a weekly, monthly, quarterly maintenance agreement. 

“We are open source – we subcontract all of the work”, Mike told me. 

They handle mowing, irrigation, bed care, seasonal plantings and they do quality checks. 

Most clients are gas stations, convenience stores, drive through coffee locations and commercial building owners that are tired of taking care of their landscaping. I’m one of those so I know exactly the kind of customer this service would appeal to. 

Mike shows up and measures the square footage of the lawn and uses formulas supplied for price quotes. They also provide seasonal services such as de-icing and snow removal. 

The ManageMowed Franchise provides ongoing training, marketing, operations support as well as a world-class on-line integrated CRM for scheduling and real-time communication and invoicing with clients.

The business started by two brothers providing residential maintenance in 1999. When the recession hit in 2009, 90% of their business was residential and they lost much of it, so they pivoted, rebranded and decided to focus on business only accounts. By 2013 they had a proven model and by 2016 had two test markets in Denver and Portland. Now they are pushing the franchise model nationally and hoping to add 10 to 20 franchisees a year. 

Franchisees pay a modest startup fee and get all the training they need to be successful and grow their own business. A prospective franchisee needs to have liquid assets of $50,000 or greater and a net worth greater than $150,000 according to the franchise page at https://www.managemowed.com/franchise

If you are in need of professional landscaping services in Eugene, Springfield, Albany, Corvallis or Roseburg, you can find Mike at https://www.managemowed.com/locations/eugene