WORKING SMART PAYS DIVIDENDS
How a part-time outdoor maintenance company transformed into a thriving business and success story
Luke Benson discovered his affinity for landscaping and outdoor work in 2017 while taking care of the grounds of a local golf course. Ever the entrepreneur, Yardworx Outdoor Services was born when Benson decided to add landscaping and snow removal to his existing business portfolio. He began part-time by maintaining rental properties for his family. Benson enjoyed the work, and business ownership, but found himself wanting more.
After he decided to make Yardworx a full-time venture in 2019, Benson expanded his focus to snow and ice maintenance and shifted his business goals from residential clients to commercial properties in the metro areas of the North Twin Cities in Minnesota. When the snow stopped falling, Yardworx shifted focus to landscaping which allowed for a natural transition of his commercial snow and ice customers into year-long contracts.
Benson used two permanent mount dump trucks and two trailers to haul material and equipment between job sites at that time, but the demands of the business quickly started to outgrow the means. He was pondering purchasing a few more trucks to keep up when a 2020 social media post from Twin Star Equipment changed his trajectory. That day he called Bob Sonnenburg at Twin Star, to learn more about the advantages of the Switch-N-Go® system from their post.
They discussed how the Switch-N-Go® system pairs an electric-over-hydraulic or full hydraulic hoist with nearly 30 interchangeable work truck bodies to create endless opportunities for businesses to maximize their investment and optimize their workday.
After their conversation, Benson purchased a Ford F550 chassis and handed it over to Twin Star to have it upfitted with the Switch-N-Go® system. He also bought a few Drop Boxes, a Flatbed, and a WorkReady™ Subframe. His plans were to upfit the Flatbed with a Spray Tank to water flower beds around the city and to upfit the WorkReady™ Subframe with a Hilltop Salt Spreader for winter.
Once everything was operational, Benson quickly experienced first-hand how the Switch-N-Go® system allowed his Yardworx team to do more, with less. They could leave a Drop Box at a landscaping job, pick up the Spray Tank to water flowers around the city, and then pick up the Drop Box at the end of the day. Business continued to boom and in order to keep up with demand, he took his permanent mount dump chassis back to Twin Star and converted it to a Switch-N-Go® system. This time he added the Versi-Fit™ bumper so he could still pull his usual trailers when necessary. The Yardworx team was now able to juggle several jobs with each truck, each day.
There was an unexpected perk to the new system that not even Benson anticipated. He no longer needed to purchase larger equipment to support his business. The smaller equipment Yardworx already had could easily lift material into the Drop Boxes because they could load at ground level. Each savings opportunity, from lower maintenance and insurance costs to not needing to buy new heavy equipment, directly contributed to Benson being able to grow his business sooner than expected.
They were so busy that in 2022 they needed to expand their fleet to three trucks. Benson chose the Ford F650 this time for greater GVWR and ordered longer Drop Boxes to hold more material, a Chipper Body for fall cleanups, and a longer WorkReady Subframe for a larger capacity salt spreader. In the coming years, he hopes to grow his fleet and his business by two more trucks and looks forward to continued conversations with Sonnenburg at Twin Star Equipment and Bob Schaefer, a Switch-N-Go® Sales Specialist. They’re rumored to be exploring more interchangeable body purchases that include another WorkReady™ Subframe, Storage Body, and a few more Drop Box containers.
It is remarkable to look back and see how much Yardworx has grown since its inception as a part-time outdoor maintenance company in 2017. Benson realizes that as his commercial business continues to grow, trucks are becoming more expensive and more difficult to find. This makes maximizing the impact of each of his investments even more vital. We are proud that he has chosen the Switch-N-Go® system to get the most out of each new truck he adds to his fleet.
