Jennifer Lemcke is CEO of Weed Man, a lawn care franchise.
Jennifer Lemcke, CEO of lawn care franchise Weed Man, basically grew up with the franchise.
Her father bought his own Weed Man franchise when she was teenager in 1986, eventually evolving his business into a multi-unit operation in Quebec. Fast forward to 1992, when Lemcke’s father asked her and her then-boyfriend, Chris, if they’d be interested in buying an existing franchise in Ottawa.
The two were franchisees for six years.
“The existing franchise we bought was about $250,000 in revenue, and we grew that to over $2 million in the six years that we were there,” Lemcke said. “We had done quite a few acquisitions. We probably did about 40 to 45 acquisitions” from the brand’s then-owners, Brenda and Des Rice, “and became their largest multi-unit franchisee.”
When Des Rice died in 2018, Brenda Rice, looking to retire, asked if the pair was interested in purchasing the worldwide rights to Weed Man. “We did that, and it’s been a great time,” Lemcke said.
Lemcke’s father was her “biggest champion,” from when she was working occasional jobs as a teenager to when she owned her own units. Now, she’s extending that support to her franchisees.
“Everything that I do is motivated by the success of our franchisees and the people around me, my team, my franchisees, my family,” she said.
She takes pride in the team she’s built over the years, many of whom have been with her for a long time. “It’s pretty cool that I was able to retain so many of my employees through the years,” Lemcke said.
In the lawn care business, Lemcke “was the only woman, but I didn’t feel like the only woman.” Now, she’s excited to serve as a role model for other women looking to enter a male-dominated field.
This year, Weed Man expects to finish with $310 million in sales (it reported $259 million in 2021); it has more than 680 territories across North America.
“Lawn care is a male-oriented trade business, and for many, many years I was the only woman at the table,” Lemcke said. “I see so many women joining the industry, which makes me very, very proud that I can serve as somewhat of a role model for them to say, ‘Hey, other women have been there before me, and I can do it as well.’”
This year, Weed Man expects to finish with $310 million in sales (it reported $259 million in 2021); it has more than 680 territories across North America. Competitor True Green is a billion-dollar-plus corporate company, and before this year Lemcke never thought Weed Man could achieve financial success on par with True Green.
“We’re projecting in the next four years, we’ll be over $500 million, and I think we’ve got a shot at being No. 1,” she said. “Maybe not in the next five years, maybe in the next 10, but certainly being a half-billion-dollar company is well in reach for us.”
The investment required to open a Weed Man franchise ranges from $69,490 to $86,550.