In this episode of TradesTalk, Justin sits down with brothers John and Mark Stephens, co-founders of Stephens Landscape Professionals, to talk about how two teenagers with a mower turned their passion into a professionally recognized business featured in Lawn and Landscape Magazine’s January 2025 cover story.

The story starts in high school, where their parents handed them a commercial mower. What began as a family chore grew into an entrepreneurial drive; John took a business class project seriously, designing early flyers with tear-off tabs, logos, and door-to-door marketing. Together, the brothers combined grassroots hustle with a long-term vision.

They discuss their bold decision to pitch themselves to Lawn and Landscape years before getting featured, their standout branding (black trucks, polished logo), and how media exposure helped expand their reach and attract top talent. They also share how annual planning, strategic storytelling, and professional branding set them apart in a crowded industry.

This episode is about more than landscaping, it’s about vision, follow-through, and building a company that gets noticed.

In this episode of TradesTalk, Justin and Maggie sit down with Joe Lafigliola, founder of Process Smart, to explore how trades and service businesses can scale efficiently without breaking the bank on overhead.

Joe shares how Process Smart uses a remote team in India and the Philippines to handle critical back office tasks like estimating, AR and AP, lead follow ups, data entry, and more, which is giving owners breathing room to focus on growth.

They dig into why many companies stall between $4 to $10 million, how overhiring can kill profitability, and why you should build infrastructure for $20 million before you hit it.

If you are tired of wearing too many hats or overloading your team, this episode breaks down how to add horsepower without adding headcount and grow the right way.

In this episode of TradesTalk, Justin and Maggie sit down with Craig Muirhead, founder of Canopy Insurance Services, to talk about what it takes to build long-term business partnerships and scalable safety programs in the trades industry.

Craig, based in Santa Cruz, started his brokerage in 2020 after years in the corporate insurance world. He shares how he built his book of business from the ground up and why he walked away from the big firm model to deliver more personalized, relationship-driven service.

Justin reflects on their 12-year journey together, from when K&D was a $1 million business to now a $20 million company and how Craig was one of the few vendors to scale with them, playing a key role in shaping their internal safety culture.

Craig shares actionable advice on launching employee-led safety committees, when to implement them, and how to get real results with full management buy-in. He also explains how safety programs can reduce insurance costs and become a long-term asset, not just an annual task.

Whether you're focused on scaling your company, improving internal safety, or building better vendor relationships, this episode is packed with practical insights from one of the most trusted names in trades insurance.