Build A Better Landscape Co. ’26 | Minneapolis, Minnesota

FOR LANDSCAPE LEADERS READY TO BREAK RECORDS.
Tour stops: Virginia • Minnesota • Massachusetts • Pennsylvania • Michigan • Texas

The Break Records Tour is a two-day, operator-led experience for landscape and design-build owners running $5M–$10M+ companies who are done grinding and ready to grow with clarity, margin, and control.

This isn’t a seminar. This is a backstage pass.

Day One – The Main Stage (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
Classroom workshop led by Sam Gembel, Owner, Atlas Outdoor.
You’ll work through the four pillars that drive a scalable landscape company: Revenue, Customers, People, and Operations—with practical, numbers-first frameworks you can act on.

Day Two – The Backstage Pass to Minnesota Sodding Company(8:00 AM – 12:30 PM)
Insider facility tour, hosted and emceed by Brian Fullerton.
You’ll walk the yard, fleet, shop, and office of a real, high-performing landscape company and see the systems from Day One running live—directly from the team that uses them every day.

Across two days, you’ll:

• Learn the financial and pricing systems top contractors use to protect margin and grow profit, not just revenue.
• See how winning companies hire, onboard, and hold teams accountable so the business can run without the owner in every conversation.
• Build a written 90-day plan you’re confident you can execute when you get home.

One day learning the systems. One day seeing them in the field. One playbook for record-breaking growth.

This program is powered by Granum—the operating system behind modern landscape companies—helping teams scale without chaos and turn strategy into execution.

And yes, every attendee walks away with the official Break Records Tour tee—because this isn’t just an event you attend. It’s a movement you’re part of.

Info: Coffee, networking, get settled

Info: The companies hitting new highs every year aren’t working harder than you. They’re running differently. Sam opens the day by laying out exactly how profitable landscape companies think, operate, and make decisions — and introduces the core operating framework the entire day builds around.

Budget → Estimate → Produce → Measure
Profitable growth is built on systems, not effort.

Info: Most landscape companies lose margin before a single crew hits the road. Sam breaks down how winning operators think about revenue targets, labor ratios, markup discipline, and the financial guardrails that protect profit at every stage of growth.
What you’ll take away:
•How to set a revenue target that actually drives decisions
•The labor ratio behind smart hiring and wage choices
•Where margin quietly disappears — and how to stop it
•How modern operators use AI as a financial thinking tool

Info: Winning the job at the wrong price is worse than losing it. Sam walks through how strong operators qualify work, discipline their estimating process, follow up without desperation, and protect margin all the way through the sale.
What you’ll take away:
•How to qualify the right work and walk away from the wrong work
•The estimating discipline that protects profitability
•A follow-up process that closes without discounting
•How AI helps your team communicate faster and more professionally with customers

Info: This is where the morning comes together. Sam shows how the most disciplined landscape operators connect their financial targets to their estimating process to their job execution — and why the companies that break records have one thing in common: their systems and their daily habits are aligned.
What you’ll take away:
•How your budget informs every target downstream
•How disciplined estimating protects margin before the job starts
•How job planning drives the production your crews need to execute
•The daily operator habit that keeps the whole system honest

Info: Turnover is predictable. Onboarding failure is predictable. Most companies know their people systems are broken — they just haven’t fixed them yet. Sam brings proven frameworks from real operators on how stronger people systems create stronger business outcomes.
What you’ll take away:
• What great people actually want — and why most companies miss it
• Why turnover starts long before someone quits
• The onboarding system that changes first-90-day retention
• How to build training ownership across your organization
• How AI supports consistency in communication, training, and field operations
Turnover is predictable. So is retention — if you build the system.

Info: Great plans break down in the field when foremen aren’t equipped to lead, crews don’t have clear expectations, and the owner is still the answer to every question. Sam closes the classroom content by connecting foreman clarity, crew accountability, and operational rhythm into a complete execution picture.
What you’ll take away:
• What foremen actually need to lead — and why skill alone isn’t enough
• How to build accountability into daily operations without micromanaging
• The production rhythm that keeps crews moving and owners out of the way
• How AI helps the field stay consistent on checklists, communication, and job execution
Clarity beats motivation. Every time.

Info: The best operators in the industry are building a new daily habit — opening their business every morning to understand risk, priorities, and movement, and reviewing performance before the day ends. Sam walks through what that habit looks like in practice and how the best-run companies make it stick.
What you’ll take away:
•The 10-minute morning check that changes how you lead the day
•What to review every evening before you close the laptop
•How to use your business data as a daily decision tool — not a monthly report
•Real examples from operators using AI to move faster without losing control
The system runs the business. The habit keeps you in control of the system.

Info: Brian Fullerton joins Sam on stage to introduce tomorrow’s host company and prepare attendees for what they’re about to experience. This isn’t a tour preview — it’s a strategic briefing. Attendees leave knowing exactly which systems to look for, which questions to ask, and how to connect today’s classroom to tomorrow’s reality.
What you’ll cover:
• Host company intro and background
• The operational stations you’ll move through
• How to observe the tour with purpose
• Your assignment for tonight

Info: Networking, drinks, and concert tee pickup for all registered attendees

Info: Brian Fullerton opens the day, connects yesterday’s classroom to today’s experience, and frames what attendees are about to walk into. The tour isn’t just a walk-through — it’s a strategic observation mission. Brian sets the lens before the first station begins.

Info: Rotating Stations Inside the Host Company
Attendees move through operational stations led by the host company’s actual team — the people running these systems every single day. Brian moves through the tour as host and guide, drawing out the real insights, asking the questions attendees are thinking, and connecting the live operation back to Day One.
Sample Tour Stations:
Dispatch, Routing & Daily Scheduling
Job Planning, Estimating & Job Costing in Action
Crew Training & Development Systems
Equipment Management & Yard Operations
Sales Process & Customer Communication
Leadership, Culture & People Systems

Info: The tour is over. Now what? Brian and Sam close the program by helping attendees translate two days of insight into three clear actions they can take back to their business immediately. Followed by open Q&A with host company leadership and a group lunch.

Info: Go break some records.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher LMN - Landscape Management Network