From New Startup to 5‑Star Design‑Build: Flanary Brothers’ Fast‑Track Growth

In this episode of The Landscaper Grow Show, host Mark Lamberth talks with brothers Dustin and Bradley Flanary of Flanary Brothers Landscaping in King, North Carolina about how they built a highly rated design‑build landscaping company in under three years by obsessing over online presence, craftsmanship, and customer experience. They share how they leaned on their father’s example as a long‑time small‑business owner, studied industry educators like Mike Andes, Keith Kalfas, and Brian Fullerton, and then focused hard on Google reviews, Facebook, and a clean website so new‑to‑the‑area homeowners could actually find them. You’ll hear how they carved out a niche in greenscapes—thoughtful plant‑focused designs around homes and water features—plus drainage and rock work, while keeping a small amount of maintenance for legacy clients so their crews get variety without diluting the brand. Dustin and Bradley also open up about the realities behind rapid growth: 12‑hour days, six‑day weeks, juggling design, estimating, production, and phone calls, and why they’re intentionally slowing their scale‑up to protect quality, reputation, and sanity. What you'll learn on this episode: The core services Flanary Brothers offers: full landscape design and install, greenscapes around homes and water features, drainage solutions, rockscapes, and limited maintenance for select clients How they used online reviews, a strong Google Business Profile, and a simple website to stand out in a small town where most competitors weren’t marketing digitally Why greenscapes (plant‑driven designs with careful spacing, sun orientation, and plant choice) have become their “pedestal” service and how they execute them in practice How Dustin and Bradley divide roles—design, sales, edging, on‑site leadership—and flex their crew size from 4–5 up to 8–9 people for larger projects The downside of growing too fast: what happens when estimates, follow‑ups, jobs in production, and calls all pile up on one person, and how that can threaten your reputation Their strategy for controlled growth: staying within roughly a 20–25‑mile radius, adding people slowly, and only spinning up additional crews once they have trustworthy leaders How Dustin handles phone intake today, why they’ve considered a dedicated call handler, and the trade‑offs between delegation and staying close to the customer The simple process they use to earn five‑star reviews consistently: in‑person walkthroughs, reading the customer’s enthusiasm, and asking directly for an honest review when the experience is clearly a win