Andy Mulder

As odd as it sounds, Church was what launched Andy’s career in landscaping. At 15, the owner of a landscaping business and fellow perish member offered Andy a saturday gig working some landscaping jobs. Based in Crown Point, Indiana, Andy continued his career in the trades post-high school, and a few years later he and his wife were at a crossroads. They could either try to buy the landscaping business he had worked at for years or start their own. To acquire the current business, it would require Andy to go into debt. While some take that risk, Andy wasn’t about to take that step. Learning personal finance from the likes of Dave Ramsey, Andy took on the challenge of building his business debt-free. A slow transition, it wasn’t another two years until Andy finally launched Mulder Maintenance and Services. His next challenge growing and scaling his business in a lean and efficient manner, a constant challenge in any industry let alone hardscaping. “I wanna go out there and do what I love, and do it not just to make the next payment….I’m not stressed to do the next job, I’m not going to do a cheaper job because I am too stressed to do the next job..” To do this, Andy leverages heavy equipment. Close with the likes of Tom Gardocki, Andy has acquired a range of heavy equipment apt to carry the weight of his business. “It's a high risk..high reward, but it pays off...” Where human power can’t do the job, Andy’s carefully curated machinery can. This allows him to complete jobs efficiently without added manpower and apply the man power in the areas needed most. Andy’s success hasn’t been completely self-guided, however. After reaching out to a competing landscaping company in hopes of attaining a trailer, he met with the owner and took a younger Andy under his wing. “I didn't have much to base off of..I didn’t know about that stuff...I never went to college so I never really took those business courses…I started talking to this guy about numbers and bidding, and how to price correctly...so many things I missed out on….because of that I completely changed my business..” It’s this experience that makes Andy much more than just any old business owner. Andy first caught the attention of Bucket Talk via instagram. There he’s collected a hefty following, indoctering anyone willing to learn with the knowledge they need to go out and do what they love each and every day. Tune in to learn more about Andy, the insights he brings to the table, and everything he is learning along the way.