Business Systems Double Landscaper's Staff and Revenue

Quick Snapshot

• Revenue: $1.7M → $3.5M+
• Team size: 16 → 33 employees
• Business model: Landscaping (hardscaping + maintenance)
• Location: Okotoks, Alberta (near Calgary)
• Key transformation: From reactive operator to strategic leader

Meet Kayben Landscaping

Okotoks landscaping business Kayben Landscaping wasn’t built in a boardroom. It started as a creative way to make land profitable.

Founders Claude and Judy Kolk began planting thousands of tree seedlings annually as a long-term investment strategy. What started as a “retirement savings plan” quickly evolved into something much bigger.

As demand grew, so did the scope of work. A simple tree sale turned into full landscaping jobs, and just like that, a business was born.

The Early Grind: Hard Work Without a Business System

In the beginning, Kayben looked like many early-stage trades businesses:

• Family-run operations
• Minimal equipment
• Long hours of manual labor
• Constant uncertainty

Claude, his wife Judy, and their young daughters handled everything from digging to logistics.

“It was lots of back-breaking work with very limited equipment.”

Even as the business grew, one major problem remained: Claude knew how to work hard, but not necessarily how to run a scalable business.

The Breaking Point: Growth Without Structure

Before joining Breakthrough Academy, Kayben had already reached:

• ~$1.7M in revenue
• ~12 employees

But growth came with real challenges:

• No clear strategic plan
• Limited mentorship or external perspective
• Hiring struggles and team instability
• Leadership bottlenecks

Claude also operated from a scarcity mindset, where he guarded information and lacked a strong peer network.

“I held my cards really close to my chest… I didn’t have good mentors.”

That isolation made scaling harder than it needed to be.

What Changed: Systems, Structure, and Strategic Thinking

The turning point came when Claude joined a community of non-competing contractors and began implementing structured business systems.

“Having 40 or 60 really smart people… pour into your business… I was like, ‘Yes, I’m sold.’”

Three key systems drove the transformation:

1. Goal Setting & Review (GSR): Structured Leadership

GSR became a core rhythm for communication and accountability across the business.

• Weekly or biweekly leadership check-ins
• Centralized tracking of priorities
• Clear space for both operational and personal conversations

“He knows he has my fully undivided attention… nothing gets forgotten.”

Results:

• Better alignment across teams
• Stronger leadership relationships
• Fewer dropped balls and reactive decisions

2. Hiring & Career Pathing Systems

Instead of relying on “unicorn hires,” Kayben shifted to building talent internally.

He defined career paths (Landscaper → Tech → Leadership)

His company also structured the hiring process and focused on retention and development.

The impact became visible. There was:

• Improved retention
• Stronger culture
• Sustainable team growth

3. Strategic Planning & Financial Visibility

The Master Business Plan (MBP) became a daily tool for decision-making, giving the business clear visibility into forecasting, budgeting, and long-term strategic direction. 

Instead of guessing, the team could rely on data to guide pricing and operational decisions. 

Paired with tools like LMN, they gained real-time insight into job performance and profitability—removing uncertainty from the equation. 

As Claude put it, “You actually know what you should be charging.” 

The result was stronger margins, more confident pricing and tighter operational control across the business.

The Results: Real Growth, Not Just Activity

The shift from operator to leader, and from chaos to systems, produced measurable results:

But the biggest wins were not only financial.

Life After Systems: From Scarcity to Balance

Claude’s mindset and lifestyle changed just as much as the business.

Before:

• He felt constant pressure
• He was reactive decision-making
• He had limited time outside work

After:

• Claude gained strategic clarity
• He grew a strong leadership team
• He got time for a healthy personal life

“We have more time to ourselves… to go hiking, get into nature, and re-energize.”

This is a pattern you see across top-performing contractors:
systems don’t just grow the business - they give owners their life back.

A Leadership Shift That Changed Everything

One of the most important transformations was Claude’s shift in thinking:

• From scarcity → abundance
• From control → trust
• From doing everything → building leaders

This showed up most clearly in how he developed long-term team members.

This shift wasn’t just operational. It was deeply personal for both Claude and Judy. 

As Judy reflects, 

“I think I felt like an imposter because there were things I didn’t know how to do or didn’t understand about business, and I didn’t want anybody to know that.”

Instead of chasing external talent, Claude invested in internal growth, creating leaders who understood the business deeply.

Lessons for Landscaping & Trades Business Owners

If you’re running a trades business and feeling stuck, Claude’s journey offers a clear roadmap:

1. Hard work isn’t enough

You can grind for years and still hit a ceiling without systems.

2. Build structure before scaling

Growth without systems creates stress, not success.

3. Invest in leadership, not just labor

Your business grows at the speed of your leaders.

4. Create visibility into your numbers

If you don’t understand your costs, you can’t scale profitably.

5. Don’t build alone

The right peer group and coaching environment accelerates everything.

What Happens When You Commit to the Process

Claude puts it simply:

“If you stick to it, in three years you’ll look back going, ‘I should have done this 10 years ago.’”

That’s the real takeaway.

Not a quick fix. Not a hack.

But a repeatable system for building a business that:

• Grows consistently
• Runs efficiently
• Supports your life, not consumes it

Ready to Build a Business Like This?

Kayben Landscaping Inc. didn’t reinvent the wheel.

They implemented proven systems, committed to the process and surrounded themselves with the right people.

If you’re serious about scaling your trades business without burning out, it might be time to do the same.

Book an implementation call to explore how Breakthrough Academy can help you build a business that works.

‍

‍