Today we’d like to introduce you to John Stubbs.
John, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Green Army is my 3rd company to launch in Dallas. No matter how experienced you are, it is never easy, and I like to refer to the ducks on the water. Although graceful on top and smooth sailing appearance, their legs and feet are going fast under the surface. My second company was a quick success and we had rapid expansion in our 3rd year, but as it goes, we grew too fast and were undercapitalized. This was a hard lesson learned that cost me a lot of money over the years. However, the best advice someone can give you is to learn from your mistakes, so I took several years rebuilding my company and no longer had control of my brand. In the end, I’ve built a handsome business with our team and it continues to thrive.
It was about 3 years ago that I decided to shift my focus to a new brand and to develop many more service offerings to widen our audience. My inspiration for a name was Red Bull. I wanted to lead with Green as my first word. I was passionate about this next venture and ensuring we had a name that was easy to remember, did not limit us, and could be developed in a way that we could build a well-known national brand in 28 targeted, key states. My Special Forces brother called me one day while in deep thought. He had entered a sniper division of the US Army and when my phone rang, I said “oh it’s my Army brother.” It immediately hit me, GREEN ARMY. I wanted to lead with Green but had to finish it strong (A – we get the job done, B – we work as a team, and C – we are a powerful service and what we do works). Green Army has two divisions: a Residential Pest Division and a Home Services Division. We do things in a green and healthy manner to keep our customer’s homes pest-free and clean. GreenArmy.com.
You cannot seal your fate in years 1 through 5, but at 5 years you can pat yourself on the back for making it that far. The next level of growth is in years 6 through 10. After 10 years you can expect to have a pretty viable business, but don’t let your guard down. If you hire senior management, show everyone the numbers and have them in your boat all rowing towards the same goals!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Rapid growth is a tough lesson… it’s like being on a mechanical bull… you will likely be thrown off very quickly.
People, good people, are harder to recruit these days in a service business. You have to be diligent in recruiting and finding people with a strong work ethic. You must always recruit and seek talent.
If you have any errors in your service, you must always go back to SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) and training. Always train and always follow a system or you will end up sunk and everyone will do it differently and you cannot expand with this model.
Please tell us about Green Army.
Residential Pest – greener approach, come more often, spend more time and use better products.
Home Services include garage clean-outs; outdoor grill steam-cleaning; gutter cleaning, window cleaning, attic insulation and cleaning, power-washing, debris and light junk hauling and interior detoxifying.
We handle the services of 5 to 7 vendors and consolidate them all into one company, one-bill and one point of contact and we do all with our employees for the homeowner’s protection.
We have a distinct brand and color scheme with our company, so we are easy to recognize in your neighborhood. We have an easy name to remember and that makes us happy from a marketing perspective.
We developed sales techniques and have coupled it with old-fashioned sales (getting in front of people and find out how we can help them or improve something they already have). Our Enterprise level proprietary APP is a major differentiator and allows us to deploy REPS who live in the Territories we serve. It is a fast and paperless process and sets us apart as a company in the pest and home services industry.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was taught to work hard from an early age. The day I saved over $800 to purchase my own brand new Honda Lawn Mower was my first success in business in the 4th grade. My friend Jim and I had about 15 homes we mowed lawns for, and my entrepreneurial spirit blossomed from there.
I read a book about baseball, and as a pitcher, I quickly realized how all the sports strategy and terms related to business. As a kid from age 10 on, I enjoyed two passions, sports and entrepreneurship.
Pricing:
- Pest – *$175 up front for inspection report and sealing of small cracks on the exterior and $40 per month avg.
- Mosquito- *$89 per month pro-rated for a complete 5-point treatment system
- Home Services- *$199 to $799 on average depending on services chosen
Contact Info:
- Website: GreenArmy.com
- Phone: 888-537-4555
- Email: john@greenarmy.com
- Instagram: GreenArmyPest
- Facebook: Green Army
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
