Waterloo Turf Franchise: High-Margin, Low-CapEx Model + 75-Day Launch (What Item 19 Shows)

Imagine a home services business that turns heads, sparks referrals without begging for them, and actually gives families their Saturdays back. That’s the vision behind Waterloo Turf — and in this episode of We Bought a Franchise, we sit down with founders Lance Ingram and Tim Lovett to unpack how they’re building the first true national artificial turf brand.

We start with the origin story. Lance walked away from a traditional corporate path, returned to turf, and validated the model across Austin and San Antonio before ever thinking about franchising. Tim came from a large home services platform and saw turf as a rare opportunity: a niche category with high-ticket installs, low capital requirements, and almost no national competition. Instead of rushing to sell franchises, they raised capital first, built infrastructure, and designed a support system meant to scale responsibly.

From there, we dig into the operating model. Waterloo Turf uses generous territories (350,000 population), subcontracted crews, and a single wrapped sales vehicle to keep startup costs lean while preserving room to grow. New owners aren’t burdened with real estate, inventory, or large payrolls — and the launch sequence is designed to get franchisees to revenue in roughly 75 days, not “someday.”

We also talk numbers — responsibly. Waterloo shares a combined Item 19 P&L from Austin and San Antonio showing a little over $2M in revenue with approximately 16% EBITDA, along with how owner-operators can improve margins by replacing a manager. We break down how marketing actually works in this business: national brand and content layered with local hustle, referral relationships, and what Lance calls “donut economics.”

One of the most interesting pieces of the model is the Fresh & Clean maintenance program. Turf isn’t truly “set it and forget it,” and Waterloo leaned into that reality by creating a recurring service that protects installs, improves longevity, and drives ongoing client touchpoints. The result is better reviews, more referrals, and an additional revenue stream that stabilizes the business.

You’ll also hear how turf stretches beyond the typical backyard install — into putting greens, indoor gyms, golf simulators, dog facilities, and commercial spaces — and why those projects often compound through a powerful referral flywheel. We cover supplier relationships, national pricing leverage, turf coaches who fly out to ensure five-star first installs, and why staying focused (no stadium fields, no bolt-on trades) keeps execution tight.

If you’re comparing traditional home services like HVAC, plumbing, or roofing, this episode offers a contrarian perspective. Those categories are crowded with private-equity-backed platforms. Turf isn’t. Waterloo owners often compete against generalist landscapers, giving them a real chance to become the turf authority in their market.

If this conversation sparks interest, don’t guess whether a turf franchise — or any franchise — is right for you.

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From your pals in franchise ownership, Jack and Jill Johnson.

Chapters

• 0:00 New Year Kickoff And Guest Intro
• 1:15 Lance’s Journey To Founding Waterloo
• 3:30 Franchising Decision And Meeting Tim
• 4:40 Why Turf: Industry Advantages And Model
• 7:31 Brand Differentiation And Referrals
• 10:58 Maintenance Program And Recurring Revenue
• 13:09 Item 19, Economics, And Margins
• 14:49 Fast Launch Timeline And Training
• 16:34 Marketing Engine And Content Strategy
• 19:19 Donut Drop-Ins And Local Partnerships
• 21:34 Heat, Materials, And Product Tech
• 23:09 Territories, Scale, And Supply Chain
• 25:39 Turf Coaches And First Jobs Support
• 27:44 Capex-Light Ops And Subcontracting
• 29:39 Niche Home Services Versus Crowded Trades
• 31:44 Commercial Projects And Use Cases
• 33:49 Working Capital, Terms, And Cash Flow
• 35:29 Branding, Hats, And Memorable Leave-Behinds
• 37:09 Ideal Owner Profile And Hustle Factor
• 38:44 Market Availability And California Outlook
• 40:04 Typical Install Timelines And Next Steps
• 41:34 Big Picture Takeaways And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_03: 0:10

Hi everyone, welcome back to the We Bought a Franchise Podcast, the first We Bought a Franchise podcast episode of 2026. Hi, Jill.

SPEAKER_06: 0:17

Hi, hi.

SPEAKER_03: 0:18

How have you been?

SPEAKER_06: 0:19

It's been great. It's been a great new year so far.

SPEAKER_03: 0:23

Yeah, yeah. And we're here with our, of course, our steamed team with Catherine Allen, Brian Gross, and Morgan Noller. And today we have just an incredible guest franchise. We've got two guys that are really changing home services. We've got Lance Ingram and Tim Lovett. They are from Waterloo Turf. You guys, if you haven't yet heard about Waterloo Turf, get ready. Buckle in. This is going to be a good one. Hey guys, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_02: 0:48

Good to be here.

SPEAKER_03: 0:49

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02: 0:49

Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_03: 0:50

Thanks for having us. We have been chasing Lance and Tim for a while. They're busy, right? How many franchises did you guys award last year? We have done 50 territories in the last 10 months. Wow. That's incredible. So let's let's get into it, guys. Who are you? What do you do? And how did how did this all how did you guys become a franchise? Let's hear your story.

SPEAKER_02: 1:10

Yeah, I can kick it off. So my name's Lance Ingram. I started, founded Waterloo in 2021. So I actually have turf experience dating back to 2016, where I helped co-start a separate turf company when I graduated from college. Didn't know what I was going to do, didn't have a plan for my life. So I got called into the turf business and ran that business for about three years. And then about three years in, I just kind of got lured into the corporate world, I guess you could say. And so it was about three years in that I saw my friends traveling, going to events, doing all the corporate things, and I was like, that looks cool. That looks really fun. And so I was telling my friends, like, hey, I'm going to quit my turf job. This turf company I own. I'm going to go into the corporate world. And all my friends were like, don't do that. Like, you've got what we all won. You have business ownership. Like, I promise you, you don't want to come to this side. Unfortunately, I am the type of guy that's like, you could tell me the stove is hot, but I'm going to touch it and find out for myself. So I I sold off my ownership. I went into the medical device space and I quickly realized everybody was right. Business ownership is a lot more fun than being in the operating room with doctors and selling med device. So I quickly, about two years in, I decided, you know what? I'm going to get out of med device. I'm going to go back into the turf space. I never thought I'd be back into the turf world, but I will say, once you're in the turf world, it's hard to get out. You kind of just you either stay in there or it keeps you coming back. So I, about two years in, 2021, I quit my med device job the same month me and my wife got married. I would not recommend you do that. And I started Waterloo Turf, just kind of burned the boat's mentality, went all in. And so 2021 launched Waterloo Turf, 2024, expanded out to San Antonio, and that's about an hour, hour and a half outside of Austin. So opened up a new market, hired a full-time GM in that location, and about three or four months in, all the systems that we were running here in Austin, that I was running here in Austin were validated in San Antonio to the point that I was very hands-off from that market. And so I kind of found myself in the spot where I was like, what do I want to do next? How do I want to continue to grow this brand? And do I want to do it corporately and just continue to plant location by location like we did with San Antonio? Or do I want to go the franchising route? Which, to be honest, I didn't know a lot about the franchising space beyond the McDonald's of the worlds. And I had a friend that had recently franchised his company that had kind of been following along with his journey. And so it was at this exact time where I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do that Tim and I met. My wife and I, we joined a small group through our church. Tim and his wife were in that small group, and we didn't talk about work for a good few months, and then we went on a double date one night to a pub and we ran out of things to talk about, and we started, you know, asking each other, what do you do for work? And I told him, you know, I own a turf company, I'm looking to grow it. And he's like, that's crazy. Because I'm in the franchising world and I've been looking for a turf company. So that's kind of how that all came about. And then we, you know, we're here today, but Tim, I'll let you jump in on that.

SPEAKER_04: 4:26

Yeah, so just a little bit on my background and I guess my side of the story. So was in the franchising space, was the operations executive for a home services franchise platform running a lot of the coaching, the training, the brand marketing. And I did get really interested in artificial turf just as an industry. There's not another national brand. It's a really cool industry to be in. It's outdoor, it's high-ticket, there's recurring revenue, it's B2C, it's B2B, it's low capex. Lots of attractive things that I liked about it. So I looked for a turf company in a franchise for about a year or so. And then when I met Lance and he said he owned a turf company, you know, I quickly actually saved his number in my phone because I hadn't done that before. And we didn't hit him on.

SPEAKER_02: 5:05

He started responding to my text after that. It was crazy.

SPEAKER_04: 5:08

We became fast friends, fast friends. And so after we did our diligence on each other, we quickly put the partnership together to go and franchise Waterloo Turf after I had saw that the market was validated in San Antonio and really just liked a lot of the things that Lance was doing versus some other turf companies I had looked at. So we went out and raised capital before we franchised. It was important to me that we had the infrastructure and support set up before we began to grow. And yeah, as we said at the beginning of the podcast, have been franchising for about a year here and really excited about a lot of the owners that have come on and a lot of the markets that we have that we are not yet expanded into.

SPEAKER_03: 5:44

That's fabulous, guys. And team, I know you guys have questions, but I think one thing that's important to note that Tim just said one of the conversations we had along the way before you know we had you guys on the podcast or started working with you recently, is we wanted to know what your cash position was. Because as a new franchise or that's something as franchise consultants that we we want to watch on behalf of our clients, right? Because there's so many people, and you guys think you didn't know about franchising. Most of our audience, they don't know anything about franchising, right? And there's certain things, it's like we talk all day long about make sure you call at least three to five franchisees. Make sure you talk to high performer, medium, low performer, low performer. And so it's so great. You guys have done this the right way. I think the people that you guys are working with are fabulous. I know the people, Tim, I know who you were working with before. Great company. And Lance, I have a feeling I know who probably you were following the journey who started franchising before you. I'm gonna say, was it Brandon and Pinks?

SPEAKER_02: 6:41

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 6:42

Carter.

SPEAKER_02: 6:43

Yeah, yeah, Carter.

SPEAKER_03: 6:43

Is it Brandon and Carter? They're great. We know a little something about Pinks. Oh, yeah. But you know, it's it's I saw recently, and I want to get into this with you guys. We saw a picture of a job you guys did in someone's home gym. Did you see this? This one made like a it almost looks like a football field, like the the the turf on the ground in someone's home gym.

SPEAKER_06: 7:04

No, we're not getting that.

SPEAKER_03: 7:05

It's already done.

SPEAKER_00: 7:07

I saw that. That did that did look cool. That that stopped my scroll. I was like, huh, this looks cool. What is this?

SPEAKER_06: 7:16

Like a soccer field, maybe, Catherine Morgan. Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 7:19

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_06: 7:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 7:21

Yeah. I mean, there's there's a lot that you can do with the within turf. So obviously, we are, you know, turnkey turf installations. So we do a lot of residential work, which is just full backyard transformations. We do a lot of commercial work. So we work with a lot of doggy daycares, playgrounds, hotels, apartment complexes, things of that nature. And then you have projects like that where someone wants to get creative with their backyard and put in a makeshift football field. It was actually, I think the one you might be talking about was for an NFL player. And so he wanted to have a training area for his home away from home where he can go in his backyard and continue to stay sharp with this game and run his routes and do all that good stuff. And so that stuff, putting green's super, super popular, but I mean, I'm sure you've heard us talk about it before. We are in the turf business, but we're really in the it's a lifestyle brand. We're in the memory business, giving your time back business. And so that's what we really like to focus on. Our slogan being get your Saturdays back. You know, we we truly believe in that. From when I started Waterloo, I started Waterloo to to get my time back, to get freedom. And if the financial side came with it, that's great. But ultimately, I just wanted to be a boss again and say yes to the things I wanted to say yes to and no to the things I wanted to say no to. And that's where Get Your Saturdays back came from. And that's what we really try to impart within our franchisees as their own business owners and the clients that they work with, and have them answer that question for themselves. You know, for you, what does it look like to get your Saturdays back?

SPEAKER_01: 8:55

Love that tagline. Fabulous. Talk a little bit about, you know, one of the things I think is really cool about Waterloo is just the brand that you have in the marketplace. And Catherine just mentioned there, yeah, she saw a picture of what a job you did and it stopped this role. And that's when I think Waterloo, it always stops me in my tracks when I see, you know, I follow your social media and your marketing. So when you talk, think about just the brand you're putting in the marketplace there at the even at the local franchise level, you know, what are you looking to accomplish and how are you setting yourself apart there in each market?

SPEAKER_04: 9:49

Yeah, I think there's a few things on the brand and just how we set it apart. So the first thing is that there is no other national artificial turf brand. And so this is really important for a local franchise owner. Typically, you're going to be competing against landscapers who just do turf on the side, potentially kind of a one location or regional type of artificial turf company. And so when you get to enter the marketplace, our franchise owners have the opportunity to be the turf guy. So as they're going around and they're talking with different contractors or different referral partners, it's no longer, hey, this is one guy of many of that trade within the market. This is really the only turf guy that I know. He's really knowledgeable, he's really likable, and he seems really efficient as well with his time. And so we want all of our franchise owners to embody that and be the turf person in their market. But, you know, as you said, Brian, I do think the other thing that's really different about just artificial turf in general is that it does stop people in their tracks. And this is important for franchise owners. So the example that we always give is if any of you guys go and get new gutters on your house and then you invite your friends over, nobody's commenting on your gutters. I'm sorry, but nobody's commenting on it. People just expect that to look nice and it should look the way it is. But when you walk into somebody's backyard who just had an artificial turf job done, maybe they've got a putting green in their backyard. Oh my gosh, Brian, who did this for you? I have to have this in my backyard. Waterloo Turf did this for me. Here's Lance's contact information, and we'll come out and give you an estimate from there. So we get a lot of referral jobs. The other thing that's great about artificial turf is that it lasts for 15 years. And so we have jobs in Austin that we installed years ago that Lance is still getting referrals off of. So as you build the space, it's just a really seen thing in somebody's backyard or front yard to where the franchise owners do get referrals off of it.

SPEAKER_07: 11:34

I'm really glad you brought that up, Tim, about the 15 years because I thought turf was a set it and forget it type of situation. And I moved into my house and I had to rip it all out because there was no maintenance that had been done on it. And I remember watching something that you did, Lance, and kind of learning from you that this could be something that's like a repeat customer, that you could be doing maintenance on it. I didn't realize that. Can you talk a little bit about how you have clients that are coming back and doing packages to maintain the turf? Because in my mind, you put it in your backyard and you walked away and it just stayed like that for 15 years.

SPEAKER_02: 12:07

Right. Yeah, no, that's that is the way that artificial turf has been sold for forever, that it's it's a no-maintenance solution. And to me, that's not that's not accurate. Turf is a lower maintenance solution as compared to sod, mulch, fertilize, like all the things that go into a natural yard. So turf is a lower maintenance solution. So in order for your turf to perform throughout that 15 years, to look, to feel, to smell like it did on day one of installation, it needs a little bit of TLC over that 15 years. And so that's where the fresh and clean maintenance program that we have, that's where that comes from. And so, you know, a lot of times we'll give a client a 90-day post-install, fresh and clean. They get to experience the benefit of it. And then they oftentimes will jump on a recurring maintenance plan with us. So it could be a quarterly plan, it could be a monthly plan. We've got many different plans, but for your turf to perform like it should over that 15 years, the the fresh and clean maintenance program is highly recommended.

SPEAKER_03: 13:10

And what is that what is that cost on average, would you say, for someone with like just say an average size backyard?

SPEAKER_02: 13:16

The average cost is about$200.

SPEAKER_03: 13:19

It's not bad. And and as you build up a client base, because again, and and I love what you guys are doing, and we certainly Jill probably brings it up to me every week that we need turf. But as I think about one of the objections we might get from a potential client of your to who would look at you guys is, oh, I'm really looking for a recurring revenue business. This sort of answers that question. And while, you know, 200 bucks a month isn't going to get, you know, or or you know, whatever it is every 90 days, if we have 200 clients out there that are paying that, well, now all of a sudden that becomes something pretty powerful.

SPEAKER_02: 13:53

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you can you can really just build your business off the install side, and then we look at the fresh and clean as a bulletproofing way to bulletproof your business. So, you know, your installs, like Tim said, one install, we look at it as potential 10 installs because of the spiderweb effect that it has. And so, in a way, it is kind of recurring business by that word of mouth approach. And then, yeah, the fresh and clean side is just it's another great way to service our clients. And then it also goes into the quality that we want to reflect with our business. So we want to make sure that the turf we put in has the opportunity to continue to look good for that client because to us that reflects Waterloo. And so we want that turf to look good 10 years down the road because Waterloo installed it and then they maintenance it as well.

SPEAKER_06: 14:39

Yeah, and that's important. We have a a neighbor who, when we were looking at it, decided to go the more cost-efficient way. And he's regretting it, you know, and it's one of those things where it's like, especially with turf, if you have dogs, if you have pets, you know, you need that maintenance. And so, you know, he recommended it to us. And and having turf in the past, we realized, you know, no, we we need something that is going to smell better and look better. And it wasn't even an option. So, you know, having that, the higher quality, the ongoing maintenance, you know, that's a really big deal, especially if you've had turf before or know what it's like. So I love that that's a part of it. And then on the business side, obviously for you guys, the recurring is great.

SPEAKER_03: 15:20

So, and and to that point, the number one question everyone listening to the podcast is going to have is how much does this thing make? And so let's stay FTC compliant here. What does your guys' item 19 show?

SPEAKER_04: 15:35

Yeah, so on the item 19, we show the full PL for both Austin and San Antonio. So you get to see the full business. And I think what's pretty unique about Waterloo Turf and just the what we have is that San Antonio, what we have in the item 19, that's a true first 12-month location. And so you get to see what that first year looks like from literal day one all the way up to day 365. And so we found that a lot of franchise owners or potential franchisees who are looking at our concept like to see that because you're not looking at a brand that's been 20, 30 years, you know, kind of seasoned on the PL. And so what the numbers show is combined, Austin and San Antonio did about a little bit over 2 million and about a 16 point or sorry, a 16% net margin. And that includes a full-time employee. So for an owner operator who's coming in and really starting this, they can add on about eight to nine points on that net.

SPEAKER_03: 16:26

Yeah, wow. And does it show does it show EBITDA as well?

SPEAKER_04: 16:30

Yeah, correct.

SPEAKER_03: 16:30

That would be EBITDA, the same thing. EBITDA is 16%. Okay, fabulous. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00: 16:35

Those are great numbers, first off. For the listeners out there, I think it'd be really interesting. Let's say I just bought a Waterloo turf company. Walk me through the first three months. Like what does that look like? I I signed the I signed the contract, I'm in. Now what? Like what does that kind of rough three months look like?

SPEAKER_04: 16:57

One of the things that we've been really excited to see so far is that we've been able to launch franchise owners super quickly. And so we do have a launch sequence that we take franchise owners through. We call it about 90 days, depending on your market. But the average time from somebody signing the franchise agreement to getting their first dollar and their bank account is about 75 days right now. And so we really start to get to work on our side, not only on the training, but also getting their marketing set up very quickly. Um, along with the training, we try to equip franchise owners so that while we're getting their digital marketing set up, and they'll likely be one of the only artificial turf companies doing digital marketing within their market. We train them and equip them so that they can go out and start to drive their own business through some self-generated lead sources. And so it's fast and furious, it's weekly calls, it's marketing, it's operations, it's an operations playbook that takes forever to get through. And then it's in-person training in Austin. We culminate it when they go and kick off their first job. We go in person to go kick off their first one to two jobs with them to make sure that they're getting five-star reviews from the very start.

SPEAKER_00: 18:02

Awesome. And and marketing's my background, so I'm very big on all the marketing stuff. Is that something you guys do in-house, the digital piece for the franchise owner? Or talk to me a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_04: 18:15

Yeah, it's our our marketing is it's it's all encompassing. So we do have an in-house marketing team. And so what that looks like for a franchise owner, we believe that turf is a highly visual trade. And so my goal is I want to be the biggest spender on content within artificial turf. And so we have the content employees, we buy all the fancy drone equipment, the cameras, we run all of the social media channels. We are posting for our franchise owners really high-quality organic content multiple times a week that we've already tested on our in our own socials. And so franchise owners will have an organic marketing just machine behind them as they're running. From the paid side, we have multiple advertising agencies set up so that franchise are able, franchise owners are able to use our creative content against the budget that they want to set while having optionality with who's going to run their paid ads for them in their market.

SPEAKER_00: 19:07

Okay, that's that's awesome. I think that's great. I I being in franchising for so long, Jack and I used to work at a home care company together. And obviously, as my you know, soccer stars owner right now, I think like what I've seen just over the last 15 years is like franchise owners typically like marketing is the one thing, like the digital marketing, pay marketing, they have the least amount of experience in. So the fact that you guys have that dialed in, thought through, is super beneficial to your to your franchisees. And does that, is it a like 2% marketing fund, or is how is that structured that they pay on top of the royalty, or is that all encompassing of what they're they're paying with the royalty?

SPEAKER_04: 19:50

So the the royalty is six percent, but we'll tear down to four percent based on revenue tiers. So as somebody grows their business, they'll actually do better on their net. The brand fund is two percent, and then franchisees, we have it in the FDD that there's a requirement to spend three percent. Lance has actually spent a little bit under three percent for local area marketing in his business the past couple of years that you can see on the FDD. Um, but we have found a good benchmark for franchise owners that we at least like to communicate is expect to spend between five and seven percent on your local advertising.

SPEAKER_00: 20:22

Of total revenue.

SPEAKER_03: 20:24

Correct.

SPEAKER_00: 20:25

Okay. Yep.

SPEAKER_03: 20:26

I mean on a on a A business that's doing, you know, y what you guys are doing and to spend less than three percent on marketing is damn impressive. Lance, are you are you just like an expert schmoozer? Are you out there being the mayor of the town? Like tell so because that's really that's a great ad spend to achieve that type of revenue.

SPEAKER_02: 20:44

Yeah, no, it's it's a lot of answered prayers and donut drop-ins is kind of how I I talk it up. So the uh big bulk of our our business is obviously it's word of mouth. And so you wanna you want to be likable. You know, that's that's number one. But two, we want we want franchisees that are you know wanting to be grinders because we want guys that are or gals jumping in their cars and going and picking up a bunch of boxes of donuts and going into landscapers and pool companies and letting them know that they exist and they want to work with them and they want to service them and any turf that they have, that Waterloo Turf can take care of them. And so I just the way I kind of describe it is giving out a hat or giving out a box of donuts is a lot cheaper than uh a Google lead that might come in.

SPEAKER_03: 21:29

Isn't that funny? That was our strategy at home care assistance too, Catherine. Take the take the box of donuts to the discharge planner. In fact, we had Marcos Mora from a Modicare, and he said, We go in with the box of donuts, we don't even ask for anything. They just drop it. Yeah, and they'll say, Well, what did you want? No, just want to give you some donuts, and we're out of here.

SPEAKER_00: 21:47

Yeah. I think I need to start doing that in my preschools. That's my goal for this year. I need to get into more preschools. I got to drop those Johnny's donuts. Yeah.

unknown: 21:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 21:55

People love the donuts.

SPEAKER_00: 21:57

We got a really good donut place in this area, too. It's it's amazing. And I become really good friends with the owner. Like she loves me. So donuts. I get free donut holes every day.

SPEAKER_02: 22:08

That's dangerous. That's when it starts to get that's when it starts to get dangerous when they start throwing you free donuts.

SPEAKER_00: 22:13

I know.

SPEAKER_02: 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 22:15

But she lets me put my flyers on the window to promote my programs. It's fantastic. It's like a win-win. Like, promote my program, free donuts.

SPEAKER_05: 22:23

Love it.

SPEAKER_00: 22:25

The waistline.

SPEAKER_07: 22:27

We do the donuts too, but we also have been starting to do this. Is interesting, a kickback to some of the preschools that have my soccer stars program in them, and they're using that kickback to put turf in the playgrounds and all the pre preschools. So now I'm starting to think like there's some kind of synergy here with the donuts, the turf, and the soccer for the preschools. You're getting like three and one. I got to start marketing it a little bit differently. Maybe my flyer includes a turf, Waterloo Turf stars, and I'll give you a box of donuts.

SPEAKER_02: 22:56

All right.

SPEAKER_00: 22:57

I have a nerdy question, speaking of turf, because they put turfs, speaking of playgrounds, in my kids' school, and we did consider turf as well. We live in a place that gets really hot in the summer, and my fear when the kids were little is they would burn their feet. Is your turf like is there certain turfs that withstand heat better so that doesn't happen?

SPEAKER_02: 23:20

Yeah, it's a great question. That's something we get asked all the time. And so it's the turf game has changed quite a bit, the turf industry, where you know it's not the Astrodome turf from the 70s anymore. The technology that goes into turf products today is it's kind of crazy. I mean, there's there's different shades of green, there's brown in it to make it look a little bit more dead. And so on top of that, there's different yarns that have been put into turf that'll actually help keep it cooler. And there's different infills that you can use as well that'll help keep it cool. So we don't use black crumb rubber like you see on football fields. We'll use a some type of a sand infill. And some of these infills have a coating to them that'll actually react when water is sprayed on it to keep it cooled off. And so there's different methods, different sciences, but there's there's a lot of different tools and techniques within the turf game at this point that'll help mitigate, you know, some of the heat that people are feeling. And at the end of the day, turf does not absorb heat, so if it is getting hot, we recommend you can still run your irrigation or you can spray it down with a hose and it cools it off immediately.

SPEAKER_06: 24:24

So who's getting the brown turf?

SPEAKER_03: 24:30

Every yard in Palo Alto is dead. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02: 24:35

People love the brown turf.

SPEAKER_03: 24:37

Really? Really? Yeah. You you actually get yelled at in I know this because my my mom lives in Palo Alto and everybody's yards are dead because no one's watering, right? And so, like you she told us we went on a walk, and she's like, if you have a green yard, someone will come knock on your door and scream at you for for what you're doing. Really?

SPEAKER_06: 24:56

And these are like, you know, millions and millions of dollars in these houses. And they have these disgusting dead, you know, front yards, but that's like that's what you do there.

SPEAKER_03: 25:06

Not the case down here in Florida. We love to spend money on watering.

SPEAKER_07: 25:14

So I want to Yeah, I want to go back a little bit to the new franchisees. So you said you've added 50 franchisees in the last 10 months, is that right?

SPEAKER_04: 25:23

14 franchise owners across 50 territories.

SPEAKER_07: 25:27

So I was gonna ask, what what is a typical territory size for you? And are you seeing that these obviously these franchise owners are buying up multiple territories then?

SPEAKER_04: 25:36

Yeah. So for us, the territory size is 350,000 population. We found that that's about twice the size of most other home service franchises. For us, we really believe in trying to support less franchise owners who have more opportunity. And so that's why we set the territory the way that they are. And then, yes, most of our franchise owners do have multiple territories. You know, as far as us in the way that we look at territory design and how new franchise owners are coming in. Again, we want somebody who wants to come in and build a really big business because artificial turf is a high average job ticket. You can build a big business if you're able to go and execute quickly. And so by having a franchise owner come into a metro and really having them take up most of that metro, we think it gives them more opportunity long term. So, yes, most will come in and do a handful of territories with plans to continue to expand from there.

SPEAKER_07: 26:26

And are they how are they yeah, how are they getting the turf? How are you getting the turf to all these territories? I saw it was in Austin, there's a big warehouse and there's there's a lot of turf in there that you can go and see. But is it what's the typical like shipping? Is it local markets that you're buying the turf from, or is it all coming from Texas?

SPEAKER_04: 26:44

Yes, we have there is a network of artificial turf distributors. And so we have set up national relationships with multiple distributors. So franchise owners do have redundancy and choice in who their artificial turf vendor is going to be. We will approve everybody, making sure that they're high quality. We will then also go negotiate national pricing with these vendors. And it's honestly the pricing has gotten really great from where Lance started his business and even what's shown on the 2024 PL in the last FDD. And so we continue to grow, we continue to go and negotiate new rates with these artificial turf vendors, but they will have multiple options. And those could be warehouses, you're able to ship it in off of the freight. Your subcontractors will go and pick up that turf off of the freight, but there's multiple options for people to be able to utilize.

SPEAKER_07: 27:30

That's great to hear. We had a business success coach that I still use, but Jim, remember the first sales day and like just the pricing in general and just not really understanding how to answer questions super fast in those like rapid fire. So having that coach come out and sort of do a sales day with me when I first started as a new franchisee really helped me then understand like the pricing and how it was going to work in California versus, you know, down in you know, I don't even know, like Arizona or Colorado. Like my pricing is obviously a lot higher than some of the other states. So that's is it a business success coach that's going out? Or I remember you do the training in Austin for four days, and then somebody comes out, right, with the franchisees and sort of walks them through all of that.

SPEAKER_04: 28:08

Yeah, we call it a turf coach. And so what's a little bit different about the way that we have this set up is this is not a generalist kind of admin business support person. This is actually somebody who has turf experience. They've sold and installed artificial turf before. Both of our turf coaches today actually owned artificial turf businesses and then successfully exited. And they're kind of in the back half of their career where they're just excited to give back to the industry, teach people how to do artificial turf the right way. And so when we go out, let's say if you were opening a Waterloo Turf business, Morgan, when you were going out to kick off your first job, we'll have our turf coach come out to make sure that that job's going really well. And Lance and I have been to these, you know, I would say most of our kickoffs have gone really well to where it's just really boring for Lance and I. But there have been a couple of points where we needed to get involved. And so that's why we want to have the turf coach there to make sure that the crew is solid. If we need to get involved, we are able to take over because we want to make sure that everybody starts their locations with some really solid jobs and solid five-star reviews.

SPEAKER_07: 29:05

Last question I promise I'll let everyone jump in. But I just so when these franchisees are starting, is it one truck typically? And are they 1099 employees that you're contracting out?

SPEAKER_04: 29:15

It could be a pickup truck or a van. This is a sales vehicle. Some guys really like the van, some people like the pickup truck, so they have the option there and it's wrapped with the Waterloo Turf wrap, which has really been a great lead generation source for us because it does stick out a good bit. But yeah, as far as the operating model, it's all extremely CapEx light. And so we use subcontracted labor. We try to keep all of our expenses flexible with the revenue of the business. So there is no real estate, there is no inventory, and the labor is subcontracted. Terrific. And so, really, the franchise owners that we've seen have a bunch of success. They're embodying that. They're not afraid to go in and talk about their business. They're not afraid to do a bunch of drop-ins and sell. They're not afraid to go and manage a landscape crew or a turf crew as well. And they're able to just bring that type of confidence to the business.

SPEAKER_00: 30:42

Sounds very similar to soccer stars.

SPEAKER_05: 30:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 30:46

Lance and Tim, I want you to challenge some of our listeners. Um I I work with a lot of buyers looking for both existing businesses, new franchises, looking for home services. And I hear one thing on repeat. I'm looking at home services because I want something that's recession resistant, AI resistant. I'm looking at HVAC, I'm looking at plumbing, I'm looking at electrical. A lot of times I will throw something like Waterloo in the mix and I'll hear something along the lines of, hey, that sounds cool, that looks fun, but I'm concerned about the recession resistance part or the durability. So why are people that are very narrow-minded in those sectors in home services overlooking a company like Waterloo Turf?

SPEAKER_04: 31:28

I think what we've seen from our franchise owners is that the people who have joined the brand, what they were looking for is niche home services. And so I think it's great, you know, you can go and you could hire some people who have special licenses and go and start your own HVAC company, or you could go and start a roofing company. What's a little bit different about the artificial turf industry versus those is that there is a lot of private equity capital that has flooded those spaces. There are many national platforms, many national brands. And so day one, you're competing against some very, very well-capitalized operators who have likely been in your city for multiple years, have hired all of the best talent and already have a reputation to go off of. We compete primarily against local mom and pop landscapers. And so, as the first national brand for artificial turf, the franchise owners do have the opportunity to really plant their flag and be that national competitor long term as artificial turf continues to grow. I think from a recession resistance standpoint, there are a few macro factors that really excite us about artificial turf. Number one is just water conservation. And so a lot of people will think about water conservation within the southwest, maybe just kind of the western half of the United States. And that is true. Local legislators are choosing artificial turf as their answer to water conservation. But even within areas in the southeast, many of the cities in the southeast were not built and designed to get the type of population growth that they are getting. And so the water infrastructure was not set up in a way to handle the population when somebody wants to go and pop down a thousand track homes in a neighborhood. And so artificial turf is becoming an answer for homeowners who no longer want to pay for the increasing water costs. The other thing that we've seen is that artificial turf has traditionally been a little bit more of what I call like a luxury service and product for homeowners. Most of the time, that type of homeowner is not as affected by any type of future recession. But what's been increasingly popular for us is homeowners who are not necessarily on the most luxury side, a little bit more middle-of-the-road income, middle class, upper middle class. They're looking to replace their ongoing monthly lawn maintenance, and they can do that with an artificial turf job that is finance. And a lot of times it's absolutely apples to apples from what they're already paying to keep their grass up.

SPEAKER_03: 33:43

That's what I was going to ask you. So there is financing available for people, for clients, and for people. And for people and clients. No, I mean, I think you're right. Is as you look at it, as I as I look at, here's what I've seen happen in our neighborhood. We we live in a classic Florida HOA neighborhood. And when someone does a good job in here, if they come do a good job for us, and we tell someone, all of a sudden, for the the next month, you see them at like 20 other houses. And I really do think that that is a key strategy in the right areas, and that's where having the right truck. Now, what I would say for those of you out there listening, a mistake people make in larger territories is they buy too many trucks at once, and usually that's because the SBA tells them to. Please, for the love of God, don't do it. Don't buy five trucks before you've started operations. Start with one truck, and if you're doing it, finance it. Don't go buy a used one and go out with like 20, 30 grand. Finance it, put nothing down. You can still capture the entire Section 179, but you need that money for cash burn. You need to stay alive those first 18 months. And Lance, Tim, Catherine, Brian, Morgan, Jill, we've all been there, right? And so it's so crucial that you have as much money available, especially if you're going to take on commercial projects. Have as much money in your pocket as possible. Finance things like crazy as you're growing. I also, for you guys, I have a question. What is the largest commercial project that you guys have done?

SPEAKER_02: 35:13

I mean, we just we just wrapped one up last week that was a little over$200,000. So off the top of my head, that's that might be it. What was it? What did you do? It was a cool one. It was a full-blown, it was an Airbnb actually. Airbnb community's gotten massive for synthetic grass. And so huge backyard, and we put in a wiffle ball field that's got like brown lines with white stripes and a like legit wiffle ball field with a playground area and a dog park area and like eight putting green holes, and it's it's massive. Um is this for a former baseball player? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03: 35:54

Because I saw a former baseball player on LinkedIn post something like that. By the way, for those of you guys listening, just because Lance and Tim did a$200,000 job doesn't mean you're gonna do a$200,000 job if you buy a Waterloo 2 from Turf franchise. Just for our friends at the FTC and all the registration states, we're not guaranteeing any income. But it's great to know what's what you can do with a business like that. That's an incredible job.

SPEAKER_06: 36:17

Yeah, it's more than just your backyard and your lawn. You know, I think that's what you guys touch on is there's so much you can do, so many different options, and you guys help them come up with it. And then partnering with, you know, the, you know, landscapers and everything, it's more of like a collaboration. It's just a much bigger picture than I think most people realize.

SPEAKER_04: 36:37

Yeah, and you mentioned you mentioned the the indoor gym that we just did at the start of the podcast, but another service, kind of little niche of artificial turf that's been popping off has been indoor golf simulators. And so I don't know if I think everybody has seen it in their market. There are all of these either independent franchise national golf simulators coming in place. And what's been really fun to see has been our franchise owners in markets like Colorado, Boise have, you know, call it colder weather markets. They are doing a lot of indoor jobs, whether it's an indoor gym, a CrossFit gym, or a golf simulator. And so there's so many opportunities within artificial turf outside of just the traditional rip and replace of the backyard.

SPEAKER_03: 37:21

It's so popular. The golf franchises, we get so many people hitting our website every single day who are searching for golf franchises. Meet their low staff, and that's a great for that's a that's a really cool customer segment. Look at even like a D1 gym that again has sort of that fake field, perfect thing. Let me ask just a hypothetical question. What if, you know, you guys are there in Texas where football is is everything. If a local high school calls you guys and says, hey, we need to redo our field, is that could you guys do a whole football field?

SPEAKER_02: 37:53

We don't. We don't mess with the field turf on that that size or scale. It's it is truly a different ballgame to be in the the field space. So yeah, we we don't touch it.

SPEAKER_03: 38:03

I actually think that's bad. You know what? Companies, we were talking to to our son Trey about this when we took him to In N Out last summer. Um In N Out thrives because it focuses on hamburgers, fries, and shakes. You can't go there for a fish sandwich or a piece of pizza, like with McDonald's, it tries to be everything to everyone. They know what their lane is and they stay in it. And I appreciate the fact that you guys do that too.

SPEAKER_02: 38:27

Yeah, we we ultimately like we want to be the go-to turf guys, turf pros uh in our territories. And so we we do turf, we don't do pergolas, retaining walls, any of that stuff. We make great connections with referral partners that we can feed business to and they feed us business back as time goes on, but we want to focus on just being turf, being passionate about it, and really installing high-quality installs. Smart.

SPEAKER_00: 38:55

Quick question. Curious just on the kind of split across the franchise system of B2C revenue versus B2B revenue.

SPEAKER_02: 39:06

Yeah, I would say it's it's usually gonna run around 70% residential and 30% commercial.

unknown: 39:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_03: 39:15

And since you're taking on commercial projects, one lesson we learned with with our Pinks franchise, if you're gonna take on commercial projects, you better have at least 50K in your business bank account because it may take 30, 60 days to get paid. What would you recommend to a new franchisee? What should they have after they pay the franchise fee and they're opening their doors? What kind of capital would you like to see them in terms of cash on hand have available?

SPEAKER_04: 39:39

Yeah, so on that note, Jack, actually one of my biggest surprises of joining the artificial turf industry is I have been very surprised about the terms that we get on commercial projects. And so, yeah, of course, there are jobs where it is a 30-day, 60-day net payment schedule, but many of the commercial projects that we work on still can operate off of a 50% deposit on the front-end basis and then getting paid immediately at the conclusion of the job. And so, of course, before you take on net payment, you need to have some cash from the bank to make sure that you can be prepared for that. Um, it just kind of depends on the job size. And so when I when I talk about working capital to our potential franchise owners, I I suggest to them to bring as much capital as they can to the business. And so the more that they're able to invest in their business and have a runway for themselves, I think the better off that they'll be long term. It would be a shame if somebody came in with three to six months of cash. And then once they're getting to about that three to six month point, you're just starting to see your business really start to thrive based off of the work that you've done in the past. And if you run out of money, you've put in all of this work for really no runway to kind of reap the benefits beyond. And so we try to encourage people to bring as much cash as they're able to just to have as big of a runway as they're able. You'll see on our FTD for a territory, it's between 20 and 30K of working capital.

SPEAKER_03: 40:56

No, it's good to know. Yeah. And I think that's that's very I think that's very realistic. That's great.

SPEAKER_07: 41:02

And one I have one last question for really Lance. How do you get the hats? And are you still working on the hats? Or does every franchisee get one of your hats? And how where is that started and how has it ended? Are you still working on these? And can we have one? We love our hats.

SPEAKER_02: 41:17

Oh yeah, we can definitely get y'all some hats. The the hats is uh always evolving. We've got our core go-to hats. I get a little carried away on the hat making website though. I sometimes I sometimes will say we are a hat business that does turf on the side because I need someone to change my login for the the website. But ultimately the goal with the hats came about because I just remember growing up and my parents would have, you know, people come over for gutters or backyards or whatever, giving them quotes, and they would always give them leave behinds that I would see go straight into the trash. And so to me, I just always thought it was kind of weird. I'm like, they're leaving these things behind to make them, as the salesperson, feel like they accomplished something, but the client on the other side, like it's not something that they want, it's it's a throwaway. So whenever I started Waterloo, that was like the number one thing I wanted to focus on was the branding with the armadillo and then making things that I can leave behind that people would actually want to wear. And for us, like especially on the commercial side, even residentially, to truly be top of mind for that client when they're thinking about turf and who they want to use with turf. So yeah, we've got this. This is the OG hat right here, and we can definitely get you some of these. But we've got a lot of other flavors. We've actually got a swag store, a merch shop on our website as well. So go on there, go on our Instagram, tell us which ones y'all want, and we can definitely send y'all some.

SPEAKER_03: 42:39

Yeah, we'll do it, we'll do a horse trade. We'll we'll trade you some franchise insider swag for some or some water loose. Do it. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00: 42:47

Jack and Jill are great on the merch as well. I I get carried away too. I get it.

SPEAKER_02: 42:53

There we go. There we go. Yeah, we need some of that.

SPEAKER_06: 42:57

Yeah. Well, we're nice a family where my my stepdad, what is it? He's always negotiating a hat.

SPEAKER_03: 43:03

Oh, yeah. You want to close Jill's stepdad on like a couple hundred thousand dollar boat? Just make sure you throw in the hat and he'll do it.

SPEAKER_06: 43:10

We understand the importance of that.

SPEAKER_03: 43:12

All right. All right, you guys, for for our listeners, what would be the key takeaway for everyone listening and they're, you know, they're thinking about something else, they're thinking about Chick-fil-A, they're thinking about all the classic franchises. Why Waterloo Turf? Why should you guys be in their in their sights?

SPEAKER_04: 43:29

Yeah, we we don't think we're for everyone for sure. I think that there's lots of really great franchise brands out there, and sometimes we'll even recommend some to people. But, you know, for us, for anybody who wants to be a part of an emerging industry that's growing really fast, that doesn't have a national brand yet and wants to be niche home services, I think you'll get really excited about looking into the artificial turf industry. And then once you get excited about the industry, you'll see a little bit about how we're doing artificial turf and how it's different from the competitors in your market and it could be a potential good fit.

SPEAKER_02: 43:59

Yeah, and uh to jump on that, I would say it's just it's a really fun industry and business to be a part of. I mean, you're you're outside most of the day and you're getting to truly, like, truly impact and transform people's lives. You know, the the ending process when a yard's been installed is we call it the move that bus moment from that TLC show back in the day. Because you kind of watch the kids and the family like look through the window as you're installing over the course of a couple days. So when they get to actually come out and see their new yard, like it's it's the best. I still get excited about seeing the before of yards and then going through that that walkthrough process after the install because clients, man, it's just it changes their lives, it changes the day in and day out, the rhythms of their home. And so it's it's just a really fun process to be a part of.

SPEAKER_03: 44:47

And for those of you listening, we do have a special 2026 promo. If you text us at 305-710-0050, you can find out what that is. And if you'd like to get introduced to Waterloo, we're happy to do that. Last questions. Let's go in order. Catherine, Brian, Morgan, Chill, what do you guys got?

SPEAKER_00: 45:06

You're putting me on the hot seat first. Gosh, I feel like I asked most of my questions. It's been great having you guys on. I have a few clients in mind, actually, that I want to send your way, assuming they they line up right on the, you know, home services is where they want to go. But just thanks for coming on. I I'm out of my questions. I asked them all.

SPEAKER_03: 45:28

You know what? It was just great to hear, you know, Catherine, I would just say this. So for you guys, Catherine's one of those franchisees that had great success in her first year. She was MVP of her system, clearly led her system in in revenue, which is not easy to do when you've got Morgan in your system, too. Um, who are you, in terms of your most successful franchisee over the first year, what are some of the qualities that you you saw with that person that that maybe you'd be looking for in your next franchisee?

SPEAKER_04: 45:57

Yeah, they're willing. There's a few things. So, number one, we'd say willing to hustle. Even though you're coming into a franchise brand, you've got to be willing to go out and drive business on the ground. The biggest, the best jobs, however you want to categorize it, are always gonna come through a landscape architect or a landscaper in our business. You know, like the NFL player does not go on to Thumbtack to go ask for an artificial turf quote. He's gonna go to his landscape architect, and you wanna be the person that that landscape architect has worked for. And then once they get you in the door, you'll see a lot of benefits through the organic marketing that we're doing. So somebody who's willing to hustle, somebody who is extremely likable. This is a high-ticket industry. And so people do not want to spend 10K and work with somebody that they just don't like and they don't trust. And so you've got to be likable and you've got to be organized, efficient, and willing to do a high-quality turf install because your reputation is everything in this industry.

SPEAKER_01: 46:49

Beautiful. All right, Brian, pressure's on you. Yeah, I'm not gonna ask any questions. I I've asked a few. First of all, just thank you both for being on the podcast today. But I really appreciate something that Tim just said. And it's this brand isn't for everyone. You're not trying to be the franchise for everyone, right? And this is a really cool, it's a merging brand that's for some people. Yeah, so for people that are open to that risk, want to be something new and exciting. Um, I think you both represent the franchising space and this company really well. So thank you both for being on and turning this forward today.

SPEAKER_07: 47:23

And I only have one question. Are you in California? Are you available in California and Northern California specifically?

SPEAKER_04: 47:30

I feel like I've been in line at the DMV for nine months. And so it's about that. It's not the DMV, it's the California registration line. So we're not in California yet. We are really excited to get into California. There are quite a few markets in California that we've got high on our radar.

SPEAKER_00: 47:46

Good, good to know. What markets are those? Because I also am in Northern California.

SPEAKER_04: 47:53

I think there are really there are a few good Northern California markets we've looked at, kind of like the Sacramento area and the surrounding area of Sacramento.

SPEAKER_00: 48:01

Um what about the East Bay? Bay area? East Bay?

SPEAKER_04: 48:05

Bay Bay Area, East Bay, as well as San San Diego, as well as a really great artificial turf market.

SPEAKER_00: 48:13

Well, we'll be waiting for that registration.

SPEAKER_04: 48:17

What about you? Me too. We're right with you.

SPEAKER_06: 48:19

California. I my question is because I've been trying to convince this one for how long have we lived here? Five plus years. Forever. What is the typical install time for just like just a non-complicated backyard?

SPEAKER_02: 48:33

Yeah, a very a very standard install turnkey. I would say it's a two-day process. We do we do a lot of jobs that are one day in and out, but on average I would say two days.

unknown: 48:44

Great.

SPEAKER_03: 48:45

Please tell your Palm Beach franchisee to call us.

SPEAKER_06: 48:47

Um I we've we I've been a big fan for so long, and I've been watching the progression of turf, like you said. When we had it when we lived in San Diego, it was like the most basic, awful. I mean, I love the look of it, but I we've seen the progression in, like you said, the different types and this and pet friendly versus not. I'm just really excited for you guys. I think it's such a great industry. And like you said, it's everywhere. It can be indoor, it can be outdoor. So it's not one of those we have to live in, you know, California, Florida, where you have great weather. I mean, it's actually beneficial for indoor spaces too. So I just love, you know, the advancement and the variety. And I just think it's such a great concept. And I'm just excited for you guys, you know, to see all this growth.

unknown: 49:30

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03: 49:31

Yeah, and I just want to close with this. You know, it's like we had a conversation last week with a father and son. The son has a great finance background, and but those jobs are drying up. AI has definitely penetrated corporate America. And what we talked about is have being in a home services business like this, like Waterloo Turf, where you can be out there with your team. You can be out there meeting people, doing fun jobs, growing your team out there in the sun instead of inside in a cubicle. There's really, I really do think we are seeing the next wave of where people can go to build wealth, is with businesses like Waterloo Turf, that you can be out there with your team building wealth, having more time freedom, um, instead of the old school sitting in an office all day long. So I love what you guys are doing. Thank you for being a part of this franchising world. Thank you for doing it right. Thank you for staying in your lane. Thank you for being well capitalized and taking care of your franchise owners. That's that's the best thing we can ask for as franchise consultants. So, Lance, Tim, thank you for joining the show today. And uh anything else you want our listeners to know about you? Great to be on, Jack. Appreciate you having us.

SPEAKER_02: 50:42

Yeah, thank you all so much.

SPEAKER_03: 50:44

You got it, guys. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining the show. And for this episode of We Bought a Franchise, we appreciate you guys joining. We're gonna have many more exciting episodes coming up in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.