From Teen Side Hustle to Sellable Landscaping Business in 10 Years

In this episode of The Landscaper Grow Show, host Mark Lamberth talks with Carson Tinsley of Top Cut Landscaping in Richmond, Virginia about how he grew a lawn-mowing gig he started at 16 into a diversified landscaping company that’s now worth an estimated half-million dollars—and is actively preparing for sale. Carson shares how he went from running a weed eater for someone else to knocking doors, underpricing to land his first clients, and eventually building a lean operation that does everything from weekly mowing to $30,000 backyard projects using a small core team, a fractional CIO, and a part‑time partner crew. He breaks down how he learned to value his own business after turning down an early six‑figure offer, what goes into a realistic valuation (assets, contracts, EBITDA, and debt), and why he aggressively focused the last year on tightening contracts, boosting profit, and staying as close to debt‑free as possible. You’ll also hear his take on when it makes sense to move on, how he’s balancing a potential sale with a lucrative sales manager opportunity out of state, and what he’s willing (and not willing) to do in terms of staying on as a general manager after a deal closes. What you'll learn on this episode: How Carson went from a 16‑year‑old helper to owning Top Cut Landscaping, offering services from weekly mowing to full backyard builds The current scope of the business: hardscaping, lawn care maintenance, and large landscape installs, plus the lean team and partner setup he uses How he initially received a ~$130k offer, then learned how real valuations work and why that number undervalued what he’d built The components of his current ~$500k valuation: equipment (at realistic resale values), recurring contracts, EBITDA, and low debt Why moving customers to shorter, stronger contracts and minimizing new debt became critical once selling the business became a real goal How industry‑standard multiples on EBITDA (often up to ~2.5x for small operators) shape realistic expectations for a lawn and landscape exit Carson’s plan for a sale timeline, including how long he’d be willing to stay on as GM to protect his team and the brand His advice to other landscapers: start learning valuation early, get serious about contracts and financials, and build with a future sale in mind—even if you’re not ready to exit yet