Today we’d like to introduce you to Haygen Larsen
Hi Haygen, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I always knew that working for other companies and having to answer to someone wasn’t for me. Big dream of mine with a vision was to build and own a company from nothing and have it be successful. After a few months of research and figuring out which industry would be the best to get into, Landscaping & Lawn Maintenance was a go. Which led to starting Legend Landscapes with a good friend of mine, Bennett Gordon. With both of us having the same mindset, and faith of knowing what it would take to start and continue, made quite the difference! Huge industry to get into with many other companies already doing what we set out to do, but knowing with all the homes, subdivisions, and commercial properties being built there’s always landscaping and lawns to come with those.
The early stages of the company definitely had its ups and downs, Legend Landscapes started off by mainly doing lawn care with some smaller landscaping jobs here and there. Knowing the start-up costs were going to be the biggest battle to get through, using personal vehicles, renting a-lot of equipment, having the right people in our corner willing to help us save and build up made it possible to keep going! Our goal starting out and what we stand by to this day is to do every job to a T and have great communication with the customers, which is what you see most customers complain about with other companies in the industry. Being so young starting out definitely made it a bit harder to land jobs, and customers trying to take advantage due to our age, but having the right customers put their trust in us and us doing the work the way we’d want someone to do the work for us made the difference. Treating every job like it would be our last chance to make a difference, following these circumstances the company began to grow by word of mouth, and advertising on a few different platforms with pictures and reviews from past/current jobs. Having the knowledge, but having the right people in our corner, especially family and people that have already been through what we were going through was huge. After about a year of being in business, moving forward, keeping ourselves held accountable, and making connections with other companies not just in our industry, major growth began to happen. Bigger jobs started coming in, but bigger jobs meant bigger equipment and more money needed to spend, really focusing on reinvesting into the company but wanting to make great money at the same time was then another struggle that had to be worked through. Invest back into the company and work, work, work now while we’re young, shine later and live the life we want was always a constant reminder! Making some big decisions to then buy what we needed at the time but keeping the business capital is a big key that we figured out, dealing with banks trying to get loans was quite the obstacle with not being in business long enough, being self-employed and relying on the business was one of the biggest bridges that was crossed. Keeping discipline, pushing through the “what ifs” and knowing all the struggles weren’t permanent, but were needed to continue to grow and learn. Always going about talking to the right people, making the right connections and there’s no such thing as a dumb question will make the difference needed!
To this day, after crossing a-lot of the big bridges, continuing to stand out by going beyond what our customers ask for and keeping our motto “Value & Expertise” has led to major growth and expansion in all aspects of the company. From big landscaping jobs, adding snow removal after the first couple years, and expanding the maintenance side of things. Huge achievement was getting “Best of 2024 Landscaper in Spanish Fork”. To start off 2025 we were able to buy out another company to add more growth to Legend Landscapes. Paying the right employees what their worth to keep around is one thing we have figured out that’s needed to continue growing and make our company’s workload, achievements, and goals happen while keeping the value of work high. Making decisions to set us apart from other companies, treating our customers like they’re more than just a number and continuing with the reason of what we set out to do at Legend Landscapes will always be what we stand by and use to keep growing. Value & Expertise!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part it’s been a fairly smooth road, hasn’t been easy but hasn’t been crazy hard at the same time. Keeping the right mindset about everything moving forward has helped make everything fall into place a-lot smoother. Some of the biggest challenges in the company that have been faced as stated before are, keeping every customer happy, continuing to get the name out there, keeping the right employees, upgrading equipment and keeping it in working condition, making good money but knowing the business comes first, and dealing with banks during the early stages while wanting to make the business grow.
Keeping our customers happy and standing by what we do will always be the same, but there will be times when you get a customer that’s harder to deal with than others. Having clear and strong communication as well as really explaining every step of the way on the job while documenting is a game changer. Continuing to get the name out there is simple but hard at the same time, always making sure a job is finished when it’s actually finished, and taking pictures to post with the owner leaving a review is a must. Going through employees and making sure the right ones that are an asset to the company is huge, pay those employees what they’re worth and keep them around. Making sure the right equipment is on hand when needed can be tough and yes it sucks paying a good amount of money for it, but keeping good equipment and making sure it’s in great working condition will make you the money back. Time is money and equipment that isn’t holding up will have down time which then costs you losing money in the long run. Yes, everyone starting out will always want to make good money themselves but re-investing the money back into the company for growth is huge. Banks have always been a struggle, especially for a new company but keeping a good financial background and making sure everything is in line and up to date goes a long way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
All of us at Legend Landscapes, and I say all of us because without having the right people in the company it would be twice as hard. They’re highly appreciated. We’re a business that goes above and beyond what it takes and what we have to offer, always making sure we stand by our word, continuing to treat every job and every customer like they’re more than just another number. Because at the end of the day one bad job can ruin a-lot of the good and takes a-lot more time to build back up. We’re a licensed & insured company that does commercial and residential properties, specializing in Landscaping, Lawn Care/Maintenance, Yard Maintenance and Snow Removal. From full yard installs to putting a new look on your current landscape, weekly-biweekly mowing, fertilization/spraying, and clean-ups. We’re a very knowledgeable company and sets us apart from others because you’re more than just a number or job to us, we like to build a strong relationship with our customers and make sure they know they’re takin care of. We’re all huge on our motto “Value & Expertise”, meaning the value of our work and customer satisfaction stands out with the expertise we have to offer.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Having to pick a favorite childhood memory is hard because I have more than just one. All of them have similar meanings to me, but one that stands out to me the most was a trip to the Smarty Training Facility in Texas. This trip happened because I made the Smarty Young Pro Team, which is huge in the rodeo world and meant a-lot to me being a sophomore in high school at the time. Being able to go to Texas with family and learning how to better myself at what I enjoyed doing the most which was roping, and still to this day it will always be something I enjoy doing. The meaning behind this whole trip that stuck with me and will continue to, was highly talked about and stated that there’s going to be people in your life who doubt you and say you can’t do something but use that as fuel to make things happen. There will always be more to life than swinging a rope or any other hobby you do. I say this because “there’s more to life” means keeping God and family at the center in everything you do and never forgetting who you are as an actual person. The whole outcome of this changed the way I looked and thought about everything moving forward, keeping Faith in God and staying true to yourself while setting examples for younger kids or maybe even people older than you will mean more than anything. Still to this day I live by keeping God first, knowing all things through him are possible, and when you think people aren’t watching they are!
Contact Info:
- Website: Legend Landscapes on google
- Instagram: haygen_larsen and legend_landscapes
- Facebook: Legend Landscapes
