Stop Celebrating the Sellout: Why the Lawn and Landscape Industry Is Losing Its Soul
Y’all, I’ve got to say it. I’m tired of opening up our industry magazines and seeing another “successful exit” plastered on the front cover like it’s the Second Coming of business success. You know the headline — “XYZ Landscaping Acquired by MegaCorp Capital Partners.” Cue the confetti. But let me ask you — is that really something to celebrate? Or have we lost our entrepreneurial compass?
Now don’t get me wrong — selling your business can be a fine personal decision. You work hard, build something special, and when the time comes, you cash out. But when every magazine in our industry starts promoting mergers and acquisitions like it’s the Holy Grail of success, something stinks worse than sour mulch in July.
See, a magazine that calls itself an “industry leader” ought to do more than report who bought who. They’ve got a fiduciary responsibility — yes, a moral obligation — to promote the health and vitality of our profession. They should be shouting from the rooftops that this is a great business to be in. That it’s an industry where a man or woman can start with a mower and a dream, build a company that supports families, and create jobs that actually mean something.
That’s the story that deserves the front cover.
Instead, the editorial direction in today’s major industry publications is clear: bigger is better, private equity is the hero, and the small business owner is yesterday’s news. Well, I call bull on that narrative. Because every time a successful entrepreneur sells out to a conglomerate, a little bit of our industry’s soul fades away. We lose another story of grit, passion, and local pride — replaced with another story about spreadsheets and “synergy.”
Here’s the goofy paradox nobody’s talking about: while the magazines are busy glamorizing the exit, the very heart of this industry — the entrepreneurial entry — is being ignored. The message to the next generation is backwards. Instead of saying, “Come build something meaningful!” they’re saying, “Hurry up, grow it, and sell out!”
That ain’t how you build a robust industry. That’s how you build a bubble.
We need to put the spotlight back where it belongs — on the business owners who stay in the fight. The ones who keep innovating, hiring, training, and leading. The folks who build companies that last for generations, not just until the next buyout offer. Because that’s where the real wealth lies — not just in dollars, but in dignity.
I think it’s high time our industry media stopped drinking the M&A Kool-Aid and started telling the full story. Let’s celebrate the companies that make this industry great — not just the ones that make a quick exit. Let’s remind the world that entrepreneurship, when done right, creates jobs, builds communities, and fills bank accounts — all while putting food on American tables.
I don’t expect the editors to like this message. Heck, they might even clutch their pearls and call it “anti-growth.” But here’s what I know after four decades in the trenches: the lawn and landscape business has always been about freedom. Freedom to build, freedom to serve, freedom to grow at your own pace, on your own terms.
So to all the business owners out there still building, still hiring, still dreaming — those that are prepping the next generation to keep that dream alive – keep your head high. You’re the real success story. You’re the backbone of America. And while the magazines might have forgotten that, I sure haven’t.
Because every time a small business owner chooses to keep growing instead of selling out, our industry gets stronger. And that’s a headline worth printing.
— Tony Bass, founder
Ps – if you’re one of the lawn & landscape business owners that wants to KEEP GROWING, we’d love to have you join us at Profit Builder this winter season! More info here.
