Two Conversations, One Philosophy: Brian DuMont on Leading Through Uncertainty and Building Lasting Partnerships

Over the past several weeks, Yardnique Founder & CEO, Brian DuMont, has been featured in two separate National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) articles, each addressing a different challenge facing today's commercial landscape industry. While one focused on lessons learned during the 2008 recession and the other explored rising operational costs and customer pricing, both interviews revealed a common thread: successful businesses are built through disciplined leadership, strategic decision-making, and long-term relationships.

Here's a closer look at the insights Brian shared.

Lessons Learned

Economic downturns often force business leaders to make difficult decisions. In NALP’s July 7 article, "Lessons from 2008: How to Build a Landscape Company That Can Weather Economic Uncertainty," Brian reflected on the decisions that helped Yardnique not only survive the Great Recession but emerge even stronger.

One of the biggest lessons was understanding that growth should never come at the expense of profitability. As Brian explained:

"Not all jobs are profitable jobs."

Rather than accepting every opportunity that came along, Yardnique remained disciplined about pursuing work that aligned with the company's financial goals.

"Our goal was to not lay anyone off, but it was also to keep our doors open, and if we just took work that wasn't profitable, we'd have a problem. It was about knowing our numbers, where we had to be. We cast the net maybe three times the number of customers that we got the same amount of revenue for, but we turned down a lot of customers."

Another defining moment during the recession was deciding how the company would respond while many businesses were pulling back.

"I had an approach of, while others are retreating, we're going to go forward and make sure that our team was bought into the message."

That message extended beyond simply surviving the recession.

"The second challenge I had was making sure the team was bought into the mission, and that mission was not only that we were going to come out of this, but we were also going to have an opportunity to really grow through the recession."

Rather than relying on a small number of customers whose workloads were shrinking, Yardnique intentionally expanded its client base.

Brian explained that before the recession, the company was approximately 65% construction and 35% maintenance. Today, that mix has evolved to roughly 90% maintenance and 10% construction –– a strategic shift that created greater stability.

"Let's say we had 20 clients. I knew those 20 clients were going to cut back on the number of jobs they were going to have for us, so my approach was instead of 20 jobs, let's go get 60. The plan was when the recession did settle, those 60 clients were going to ramp up, and our business would just scale, and that's exactly what happened."

His advice for business leaders facing uncertain markets remains simple and relevant today.

"Be prepared for the worst. Make sure you're confident in all the decisions that you do and clearly define a message to your team and your clients of what you're going to do."

Passing and Protecting

Just one week later, Brian was featured again in the July 14 NALP article, "The Fine Line Between Passing Along Costs and Protecting Partnerships." This conversation centered on a challenge many contractors continue to face: balancing rising operating expenses while preserving long-term customer relationships.

Brian believes those conversations should begin with understanding the customer's vision and not simply discussing price.

"It starts with casting the vision for them."

Rather than leading with cost, Yardnique encourages customers to think about where they want their properties to be years into the future.

"Ask them, 'What is your 1-, 3-, or 5-year goal?' That's what we try to sell on, not necessarily on price. Our job is to help you execute your 1-, 3-, 5-year vision, and I think that's what really differentiates certain companies. It allows you to take price off the table, drive margin, and build the long-term partnerships we're really proud of."

Those partnerships become even more valuable when external pressures, like fuel costs, begin affecting everyone.

With nearly 700 trucks operating daily, Yardnique has certainly felt the impact of increased fuel expenses. Although company contracts allow for fuel surcharges under certain circumstances, Brian explained why the company approaches that decision carefully.

"We don't take those lightly. Those are true partnerships."

Instead of immediately passing additional costs on to customers, Yardnique first focuses on improving internal efficiencies. By leveraging Samsara GPS technology, the company optimizes routes, improves productivity, and minimizes unnecessary fuel consumption before considering price adjustments.

As Brian shared, "We're letting our customers know, 'Hey, we're not raising our prices, and here's why.' Is it impacting us financially? 100%, but for us, it's so hard to gain a customer for life, so our focus is on really making sure that we're a true partner to our customers."

Only after exhausting operational improvements, and ensuring the work remains profitable with the right customer, does the conversation about additional costs become appropriate.

One Leadership Philosophy Across Every Challenge

Although these interviews explored different topics, they ultimately point to the same leadership philosophy.

Whether navigating a recession, managing rising operating costs, or building stronger customer relationships, success comes from making disciplined decisions, communicating a clear vision, investing in your people, and earning trust over the long term.

At Yardnique, those principles continue to guide every decision we make. Markets will change, costs will fluctuate, and new challenges will arise, but businesses built on strong relationships, thoughtful strategy, and unwavering commitment will always be positioned to grow.