About the
Yard Dawgs

Call us

Lawn Specialist

About the
Yard Dawgs

Call us

Lawn Specialist

The beginnings of
Yard Dawgs

In 2014, Yard Dawgs embarked on a journey with just two ambitious students, an aerator, and a vision, walking door to door throughout Calgary, AB. Initially, their efforts were met with closed doors and rejection, but their determination never wavered. Overcoming these challenges, they secured their first customer, setting off a chain of success. Today, they boast a team of nearly 30 employees and are on an exciting path to expand their footprint across Canada.

Scroll on the right to see the journey

2014

Starting out as “JL Lawn Care” March 2014 is when our business started!

James (left) was in his 1st year of business at U of C and Liam (right) was in his 1st year studying engineering at U of S. They decided to start a lawn care company that focuses on aerations for the summer, then back to school in the fall.

The name “JL Lawn Care” only lasted a week as people kept mistaking it for sounding like “Jail Lawn Care”. So after an emergency brainstorming session on finding the right name, Yard Dawgs was born.

Right away, people appreciated our commitment to professionalism, honest pricing, great workmanship and our attention to a excellent customer experience from start to finish.

2015

With our first year off to a great start, many of our clients were delighted to have us back!

This year started out with excitement as the partnership grew out of the old “family minivan” for their lawn care vehicle and they invested in their first truck. The main services offered at this time were lawn aeration, power raking and mowing.

The plan was just to keep this lawn care company running during the summer, return the university in the Fall, and after graduation go out into the world and find a “real job”… You can probably guess where this is going.

2016

Our clients loved the way we did our services and our commitment to an unmatched customer experience

Demand kept increasing for a variety of home services and we found ourselves, for better of worse, doing a wealth of home services now including landscaping and window washing.

Things were getting busy, and our team has been growing! Having done many services at this point, we began focusing primarily on lawn care services including mowing, spring cleanups, and we just started focusing on fertilizer and weed control as a service as many of our customers were looking for a better alternative for their lawn care needs.

2017

Embarking into landscaping and commercial projects

In 2017, we embarked on our journey by venturing into landscaping and commercial projects, including parking lot construction (talk about diversifying your services)

However, as we took on more projects, we quickly found ourselves overwhelmed, tackling jobs we were not fully prepared for. Despite the chaos, these early experiences were invaluable, teaching us crucial lessons about the industry and the importance of focusing on our core competencies.

2019

Realizing the need for a more focused approach, we moved our operations into a barn, having outgrown our initial garages

This shift marked a significant turning point as we decided to specialize exclusively in lawn care, abandoning the various other miscellaneous services. This decision allowed us to hone our skills and build a strong reputation in our niche.

We did keep commercial year snow removal within our services offering, which was great until we realized our barn didn’t have any heat. So we became desperate to move yet again.

In November 2019, we moved to our current shop at 330 40 Ave NE. This was a large space outside of our budget, however we knew if we wanted to one day be a “million dollar company” it was time to start acting like one.

This move was terrifying, but we needed the space for our equipment and the office area to start focusing in.

2020

This was a big year!

With both owners graduating from university and planning their weddings, the pressure to professionalize the business mounted.

We took bold steps to streamline our operations with a FULL focus now on fertilizer and weed control programs.

This period was marked by intense growth and the challenge of balancing personal milestones with the demands of a rapidly expanding business.

This was the first year we were able to keep 3 trucks working full time just doing specific lawn care services.

2021

Our dedication and hard work paid off as we achieved a major milestone, hitting the 7-figure mark in lawn care revenue alone.

Our team was growing and individuals who came on originally as lawn care technicians started proving themselves and taking on more responsibility as managers. This helped build momentum.

With this new niche, we decided to sell of our snow removal sites so that we could spend the winter now reviewing the previous season and spending time focusing on how we can make the next upcoming lawn care season better and more efficient for our clients, employees and business.

2022

Fuelled by our recent success, we set ambitious expansion plans into motion. However, we soon realized we had grown too quickly.

The season was fraught with challenges and setbacks, forcing us to reassess and recalibrate. Despite the difficulties, this period was a learning experience, teaching us valuable lessons about sustainable growth and careful planning.

2023

After a tough previous year, we decided to concentrate our efforts solely on Calgary.

This strategic refocus paid off, resulting in our best season to date. The success of this year validated our approach and set the stage for future growth, proving that a well-defined focus could yield outstanding results.

This previous year was difficult, however in retrospect it was exactly what we needed to learn some priceless lessons on how to budget forecast, build a team, hire and promote strategically, and it resulted in us growing our client base by over 50% in a single season.

What we were doing was working, and the proof was in reviews we were hearing from our customers. This was the year we hit 1,000 5-star google reviews which gave us reassurance that we were doing the right thing for our customers 100% of the time.

2024

The adventure continues!

This is still a year we’re focusing on Calgary only. We are excited about the future and the opportunities it holds.

In 2025, we have big plans to branch out to Edmonton & Red Deer and continue growing the business.

Why our services are set apart

Immediately, people started to notice the difference between Yard Dawgs and other companies.

These “small differences” really had a “big impact” as people were used to their lawn care companies being late, unprofessional, and the results unpredictable. They started asking Yard Dawgs to provide additional services.

With each suggestion Yard Dawgs carefully researched, tested, narrowed down, and perfected the process to ensure they could confidently deliver top notch service for their customers. Rather than being a company that was keen to do everything, they zoned in and became industry leaders at the services they provide. Yard Dawgs is obsessed with creating the most effective, affordable, and sustainable ways to help people enjoy a beautiful summer.

Why our services are set apart

Immediately, people started to notice the difference between Yard Dawgs and other companies.

These “small differences” really had a “big impact” as people were used to their lawn care companies being late, unprofessional, and the results unpredictable. They started asking Yard Dawgs to provide additional services.

Our team

Meet the people guiding our team

Leadership team

James Szojka

President

James is the co founder of Yard Dawgs and has instrumental in the companies growth. He is the visionary founder and has an exceptional growth mindset for the team.

Liam Sunstrum

Vice President

Liam is the co founder of Yard Dawgs and has taken on the integrator role for the business. He is very analytical, has creative ideas and loves numbers.

Nathan Tobias

General Manager Calgary

Nathan started as a lawn care technician in 2020. Since then he has grown with the company, working his way up to operations manager in 2022, and general manager in 2024.

Emma O'Toole

Office Manager

Emma has recently moved to Calgary and has experience working at the Ritz Carlton hotels providing exceptional customer service. She was hired in 2024 as the office manager to oversee all the sales and customer service teams.

Technicians and Office Team

Joseph Anhorn

Service Manager

Kelton Wisbling

Service Manager

AJ Davey

Sales Representative

Clare Ottenbreit

Sales Representive

Majid Tariq

Customer Service Representative

Grace Tulad

Customer Service Representative