Steve Kerns runs S.K. Services, a full-service outdoor company based out of Baltimore, MD, that mows, mulches, trims and builds patios, decks and retaining walls for homes in the area. On episode 23 of the Mow Money, Mow Problems podcast, he explained how a business that started as one person with a mower grew into 125 weekly lawn accounts, a crew kept busy and paid through the slow months, and a steady pipeline of higher-ticket hardscape work.
His approach treats recurring lawn maintenance as the engine, not the ceiling. The weekly route pays the bills and keeps the crew at full hours, and every one of those mowing clients is a prospect for mulching, trimming, retaining walls, patios and decks. Here is how he built that system, and what keeps it running.
Key takeaways
- Recurring maintenance contracts are the foundation. 125 weekly lawns keep the crew at 40 hours a week and fund the move into hardscaping, not the other way around.
- Every mowing client is a hardscape prospect. Kerns's stated goal is for every client to be "full service," doing mulching, trimming, walls, patios and decks with him, not just the lawn.
- Fast issue resolution keeps cancellations rare. Problems get handled "that day or the day after," not pushed to the following week.
- A documented renewal cadence does most of the retention work. A message at the end of the mowing season and another before it restarts brings seasonal clients back without anyone chasing them down.
How did a neighborhood mowing route grow into a full outdoor services company?
One higher-ticket service at a time, built on top of the lawn work that was already there. Kerns started as a kid, mowing grass for neighbors with a borrowed mower, and marketed the old-fashioned way: a golf cart and door-to-door flyers, driving around a community and talking to people directly rather than paying for ads. He worked alone for the first year or two before bringing on a helper.
Mowing, mulching and trimming were the first services, and S.K. Services has "always done" those three. Patios, decks and retaining walls came later, added on top of the maintenance base rather than replacing it. Retaining walls are now one of the company's most common jobs.
Why build a landscaping business around recurring contracts instead of one-off jobs?
Because a steady base of repeat maintenance work is what makes everything else possible. S.K. Services services 125 properties a week on standing maintenance contracts, which keeps the crew at a full 40-hour week doing work that, as Kerns puts it, "pays the bills" so "everybody makes money." The company stopped taking one-time mowing jobs years ago and builds entirely on contracts instead.
Those contracts run from March through November, covering the spring mulching and trimming push through the end of mowing season, and are billed monthly only for the services actually completed that month. There is no invoice over the winter, aside from a separate bill in December for the fall leaf cleanup. Because the client base is already secured for the season, the crew's time can go toward bigger projects instead of chasing new lawns to mow.
How does S.K. Services turn mowing clients into hardscape clients?
By treating the lawn visit as the first impression, then offering more every time there is an opening. Kerns describes his strategy directly: he wants to make a good first impression doing the lawn maintenance, and then "try to upsell them or give them options for what they can do to make their yard look better." He wants every client to be full service: "I want all my customers to be full service. I don't want to just mow the grass." Mulching, trimming, wall or patio replacement, even a deck: "I want my customers to do everything with me."
The company backs that up with its CRM. S.K. Services runs email and text campaigns through Jobber that promote add-on services with seasonal specials, and lists the company's full range of services in those messages so clients know it is not just a lawn mowing operation.
What does a retaining wall project typically look like, from quote to completion?
It starts with an on-site quote, a choice of materials, and a plan the homeowner understands before work begins. Kerns meets the customer at the property, reviews what they want done, and shows them options for different block. From there, he says, "we show them the proper way to build a wall. We tell them what we're going to do, how we're going to do it," before the crew gets on site to execute.
Most of these jobs are not brand-new walls. Kerns says most of the company's projects are "tearing down old walls or walls that have failed in the past." Those tear-outs often surface another upsell: the landscaping behind an old wall is usually dated too, so clients frequently replace the plantings, mulch or rock on top of the wall, and new turf, since the rebuild disturbs the existing lawn anyway.
How does the company manage renewals and keep cancellations rare?
With a set cadence of outreach, not by waiting for a client to call first. Around the second week of November, when mowing wraps up for the year, Kerns sends every maintenance client a message letting them know the season is done and that work will restart the first week of April. He follows up again in February and early March to say mulching and trimming resume March 1 and mowing starts April 1, and unless a client cancels right then, the contract just continues.
Kerns also credits fast problem-solving for keeping clients. If an issue comes up, "we take care of it that day or the day after," rather than letting it sit a week. Cancellations do still happen, most often in the fall, when a client decides to try doing their own yard work over the coming season. Those clients typically come back once they are ready, and Kerns puts them back on the schedule when they do.
| Season | What keeps the crew and revenue moving |
|---|---|
| Spring | Mulching and trimming jobs get front-loaded before mowing season starts; renewal messages go out to maintenance clients |
| Summer | Weekly mowing across 125 properties keeps the crew at 40 hours and funds the rest of the year |
| Fall | Leaf and yard cleanups; also the season when the occasional client cancels to handle their own yard work |
| Winter | Weather permitting, crews shift into retaining wall and patio builds; maintenance employees stay on salary either way |
What keeps a landscaping crew intact through the slowest months?
Paying the crew a salary regardless of hours worked, and giving them hardscape projects when weather allows. Kerns's employees have been salaried for the past three years, meaning they are paid every week of the year whether there is a job scheduled or not. In recent winters, that has meant building hardscape projects when the ground and temperatures allow it: four retaining walls one winter, two walls and a patio the winter before. As Kerns puts it, "we can still do our job in those temperatures as long as it's not a deep freeze," which he says is fairly rare where he operates.
How did Steve Kerns retain the same crew for years?
By treating employees the way he would want to be treated, with pay and terms that beat what they had before. Kerns has had the same two employees for the past three years after hiring them away from a larger company in the area, telling them he would "pay them more and treat them better." Beyond salary, the crew gets a monthly profit-sharing bonus. Kerns sums up the approach simply: "I take care of my guys. They take care of me."
Losing an employee does not stop the business, but it does slow it down. Instead of running a separate mowing crew and a landscaping crew, the company drops back to one crew focused on lawn maintenance, the priority, until the gap is filled.
What lets the business keep running when the owner is not there every day?
Standardized scheduling and a trusted crew, with the CRM doing the coordination. Kerns runs scheduling, invoicing, customer messaging and marketing campaigns through Jobber rather than handling each piece separately; he switched from QuickBooks and says the change has been worth it. Because the crew has worked together for years and knows what is expected on each property, the operation does not depend on Kerns being on site to function day to day.
The operator takeaway
Steve Kerns's business shows that a recurring lawn maintenance contract is not competing with higher-ticket hardscape work, it is what makes that work possible. The 125 weekly lawns pay the bills and keep the crew employed, and that same client relationship is what opens the door to mulching, trimming, retaining walls, patios and decks. None of it depends on aggressive outbound marketing: a documented renewal cadence, a CRM that sends the seasonal reminders, and a crew the owner trusts do most of the work.
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Frequently asked questions
How can a lawn care company add higher-ticket services like retaining walls?
Steve Kerns of S.K. Services builds that work from his existing recurring maintenance clients, using the lawn visit to make a strong first impression and then offering upsell options directly to those clients rather than marketing hardscape work separately.
How do you keep lawn care employees through the slow season?
S.K. Services pays its crew a salary year-round regardless of scheduled hours, adds a monthly profit-sharing bonus, and shifts crews into hardscape projects like retaining walls when winter weather allows.
How can a lawn care company reduce customer cancellations?
Steve Kerns credits fast issue response, handling problems the same day or the next, along with a set cadence of renewal messages at the end of the mowing season and again before it restarts in the spring.
How does billing work for a seasonal lawn maintenance contract?
At S.K. Services, clients are billed monthly only for the services completed that month, from March through November, with no invoices during the off months except a separate bill for the fall leaf cleanup.