Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley interviews Greg Garcia, Account Executive in the Landscape Group, as he highlights his key takeaways from attending the Aspire IGNITE Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Show Notes: ⁠Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter⁠

Director/Host: ⁠Alyssa Burley⁠

Guest: ⁠Greg Garcia⁠

Producer/Editor: ⁠Megan Lockhart⁠

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

Transcript

Alyssa Burley: Hi, this is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa's Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today's top Rancho Mesa News, brought to you by our Safety and Risk Management Network, StudioOne. Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Greg Garcia, Account Executive, in the Landscape Group with Rancho Mesa. Greg specializes in commercial insurance for the lawn and landscape industry, and I've invited Greg in today to

share his experience at the recent 2023 IGNITE Conference for the Aspire Software Platform. Greg, welcome to the show.

Greg Garcia: Hey, Alyssa, Thanks for having me. Great to be back and excited to talk about my experience there in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago.

AB: Great. Now, in this episode, it's not sponsored by Aspire, but I think it is important for our listeners and our clients to know that we're participating in their industry events and we're familiar with the software that they're using to manage their business. When we say we specialize in specific industries, we really do immerse ourselves in the culture so that we understand their needs and make sure they get the proper risk management. So recently, you and your brother Drew attended Aspires’ IGNITE conference, like you said, in Las Vegas. As a landscape insurance broker, what brought you to the event?

GG: Yeah, great question. I think this is our second year in a row, kind of, sponsoring this event. And it was kind of a no brainer for us because like Aspire, we're also niche to that landscape industry. And that's something that really has drawn us to Aspire and Aspire to us. We built a really great relationship with with those people over there. Some longstanding friendships that, you know, we connect with every day because I think we both value what we're doing for the industry. You know, with them, they have a great software product for our landscape clients and for us just kind of being the insurance professionals for landscapers and really focusing on that industry. It just so happened that at this event we had about eight of our clients there as well. So, you know, great catching up with them, seeing how things are going, talking about different things in the industry. And the other cool aspect of it was we were able to kind of introduce clients to one another. So we had Rancho Mesa clients that had just, you know, finally met each other for the first time and they could meet each other and, you know, talk about all the good and bad with Rancho Mesa. Mostly good, I would assume, but fun to kind of connect those people together, too, and kind of bring them all into one room. So, yeah, overall, a great event. Like I said, kind of a no brainer for us to be a part of it and really enjoyed our time there.

AB: Yeah. Okay. So you were there, met up with your clients, which is always great, you know, to see them in person. And Rancho Mesa was a sponsor, so we wanted to be there and support the industry. If you were talking to a client or maybe a prospect that hasn't attended this event, what could they expect if they were to go?

GG: Yeah, I think for this event, what makes this one kind of special is it encompasses a couple of different things. You know, every day is basically planned out for you. There's breakout events with different classes and those can range from, you know, company culture classes, how to create a better company to becoming a better leader. So it really encompasses all sorts of things that good organizations have, not just landscape companies. It just so happens to be a landscaping event. So you get a lot of benefit out of going to those classes. And it's also a way that your day is kind of scheduled out for you. So you're not like, what do we do next? It's kind of like you're in class and there's different classes you can go to and you get to pick and choose what kind of suits your eye. The other thing is it's such a tremendous way to network with people maybe outside of your region. You know, you're talking to landscapers throughout the country and hearing what they do well, what they struggle with, you know, what they're having as a as an industry issues. So it's a really great way to network with people and kind of bounce ideas off one another. So if you're looking for an event like that, I think this one is great. And then obviously with Aspire, they're also pitching some of their things that they're doing with with the software updates and kind of how they're helping landscapers be a little bit more proactive about business management. So it's it's a really, really great event. And I would encourage anybody to try to get out there if they can.

AB: Yeah, and I didn't expect you to say that there were breakout sessions on company culture and other industry related topics. I just assumed that it would all be about the Aspire software platform. So it sounds like it was a really well-balanced thought out event for everyone. It was definitely worth the time to be there.

GG: Totally. Yeah. I think Drew would echo this that when we go to these industry events, whether it'd be the Aspire events or the NALP events that we support as well, we're coming back with things that we want to bring back to Rancho Mesa as well.

AB: Yeah.

GG: So it's great. Like you're saying, it's not just about Aspire Software, it's about creating the strongest business you can create and kind of can relate to anybody, not just a landscaper. But so definitely we've we've taken back nuggets that we're trying to maybe implement here at Rancho Mesa to create a better company culture here, because we know the importance of that. Another huge highlight for me would be their keynote speaker. And being a former baseball player and an athlete, this one kind of hit home because he was an athlete in another sport, and that's Emmitt Smith was a keynote speaker. So day one basically gets kicked off with a bang with Emmitt Smith out there, a Hall of Famer, rushing leader. And he was so captivating up on that stage and he's probably talking to 1500 people. And just hearing his story of, you know, going through some trials and the people that impacted him, you know, and all the hard work that went into what he was able to accomplish was truly inspiring. And like, I think everybody was kind of ready to go run through a wall after after hearing his speech. But he did it, he did a great job. And I mean that for me, that's kind of like an A-lister to get to go and do the keynote speaking so that just kind of goes to show you what Aspire is about. They're about doing things the right way. You know, as we say around here, big league. That was a big league keynote speaker for sure. So really, really fun. Really, really great.

AB: Did you know that he was going to be there?

GG: I did. So we have a couple of people at Aspire. One of them, his name is Jon Gohl, and he was actually kind of like the moderator throughout this. And he did a tremendous job, too. He had a great opening speech, too. And he was kind of the one that did the Q&A with Emmitt. So he reached out a couple of months before and said, you're not going to believe this. You know, you got Emmitt Smith coming. I was like, no way. You know, like, I thought he was kind of, you know, teasing me. But sure enough, showed up first day, Emmitt Smith was there. And yeah, it was a it was a moment. I won't forget it for sure.

AB: Yeah. It's going to be really hard to top that, next year.

GG: Exactly. I don't know who you get after that.

AB: Yeah. So, Greg, is there anything else that you'd like listeners to know about the IGNITE event?

GG: Yeah, I think in closing, kind of talking about this, whether you're going to go to Aspire IGNITE or any NALP association, I think my message would be get out there, join some peer groups that are industry specific to your industry. For us, we focus on landscape, so that's what we're going to. There is a huge advantage to it and we kind of outlined a few of those in this podcast today. But you'll go and you'll meet people from all over and find out what why other companies are successful. You know what have they failed in. So you don't make those same mistakes and you'll end up, you know, building some pretty strong relationships. So again, if it's not Aspire, if it's not NALP, those are both great events, those are great associations. And obviously Aspire is a software company, but you know, get out there and find a peer group and start networking because I think it's a great way to learn more about your industry and and how to create a better business.

AB: So yeah, and especially these are companies from all over the country. So you could be talking to somebody that is not necessarily your direct competitor in your region.

GG: Exactly. Yep.

AB: So you can really be open about the issues that you're struggling with and how to maybe mitigate those.

GG: I mentioned that to them because I was like a couple, you know, landscape company was like, you guys are really kind of loose about telling your secrets, all the tricks in the trades. And they gave me that same answer that you said, Hey, we're talking to people that we're really not competing against.

AB: Yeah.

GG: That's not really in our region, so it's not really an issue. And it's it's something that's unique about the landscaping industry that kind of me and Drew are drawn to, is that always paying it forward and helping out that maybe that smaller landscape company that's trying to go from 1 million in revenue to five and they're asking that larger landscaper, Hey, how did you do that?

AB: Yeah.

GG: And the landscape industry in general is so willing to do that. So it's something that me and Drew really appreciate about it and something that we're always, you know, happy to see when we see these little smaller landscapers make that jump to the next step. It's pretty cool.

AB: Yeah. And I think Rancho Mesa is a little bit like that. Yeah, exactly. We're pretty open about our secret sauce.

GG: Totally. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.

AB: All right. So, Greg, if listeners have questions about their commercial insurance, maybe they want to pick your brain or they want to ask you questions about this event, what's the best way to get in touch with you?

GG: Yeah, absolutely. You can be I can be reached at ggarcia@ranchomesa.com com or my office line is 619-438-6905. Yeah. Use me as a resource if you have any insurance questions or any questions regarding, you know, an Aspire event in the future an NALP in the future, you know, we'll try to get to most of those. My brother Drew and I. So, yeah, reach out to me. If there's anything I can do to help. I'd love to help.

AB: All right. Well, Greg, thank you so much for joining me in StudioOne.

GG: Awesome. Thanks, Alyssa.

AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning into our latest episode produced by StudioOne. For more information, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.