Bryan M Clayton is CEO and cofounder of GreenPal an online marketplace that connects homeowners with Local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 200,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day. Before starting GreenPal Bryan Clayton founded Peachtree Inc. one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee growing it to over $10 million a year in annual revenue before it was acquired by Lusa holdings in 2013. Bryan‘s interest and expertise are related to entrepreneurialism, small business growth, marketing and bootstrapping businesses from zero revenue to profitability and exit.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
- Reid Hoffman
- Jason Calacanis
- Click the following link to listen to the Jason Calacanis podcast episode on The Entrepreneur Way
Also mentioned:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“Both businesses, getting over that cold start is the hardest part. And the first company was a basic lawn mowing business and for me for many years it was me doing all of the work physically and all of the small things that going to running a business. And I think one of the most challenging things of starting any business from scratch is balancing between working in your business and on your business. As time goes on you really want to pull yourself out of the business and try to delegate certain things to freelancers, contractors and employees ”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change Book by Stephen R. Covey
Also mentioned:
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It Book by Michael E. Gerber
Favourite Quote:
“Sales Cures All.” Mark Cuban
Recommended Online Resources:
- This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis
- Click the following link to listen to the Jason Calacanis podcast episode on The Entrepreneur Way
- Everything Marketplaces– A community for marketplace startup founders, teams, leaders
- Noah Kagan on YouTube – Lessons from an 8-figure founder on how to start a business, grow a business, improve your marketing, and more.
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“Act small but be ambitious. Entrepreneurship is full of these dichotomies and it’s like you have to have this grand vision but you have to be willing to humbly act small… If you are willing to really get in there and do things that don’t scale and hand crank and hustle your way through every level of the game but have this grand ambitious goal and be able to hold those two things in your awareness at the same time. I think it’s a talent that most successful entrepreneurs and business owners have”…[Listen for More]
More About Bryan M Clayton:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Don’t think or judge, just listen.” Sarah Dessen, Just Listen
Other Quotes From the Chat with Bryan M Clayton:
- “I think when you do have a mentor or a role model or somebody that you follow it’s important that they have done what it is you are trying to do or at least they are currently working on the same thing or a similar thing. Because otherwise the advice and the leadership is almost irrelevant. Like Tony is great but is Tony going to teach you how to start a tech company? Probably not”
- “You are better off to hire somebody who is an expert and is an effective practitioner at whatever it is you want them to do. You are better off to hire them for two or three hours a week and pay them what they are worth rather than somebody who doesn’t know what they are doing who is cheaper for 40 hours a week”
- “Great, perseverance… I think entrepreneurship can be defined as going from one failure to the next without a loss of enthusiasm. I think that that is the key to success.”
- “I think the main thing is to not die in the sense of running out of money or giving up”
- “sales cures all because sales creates momentum, sales gives you money to put to work to make more money, it gives you money to hire better talent. So, when it comes to business sales cures all”
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