In this exclusive CanadianSME Small Business Magazine interview, Cory Brewer, Founder & President of Beyond Landscaping Ltd. and Co‑Founder of Market Hill Agency, shares lessons from scaling a lawn‑care startup into a multi‑million‑dollar enterprise and helping fellow entrepreneurs achieve balance through smarter systems and support. A leader recognized for building high‑performance teams, award‑winning service, and strong workplace culture, Cory brings a practical yet values‑driven perspective to business growth—proving that success in entrepreneurship comes from disciplined systems, people development, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.
Cory Brewer is a Canadian entrepreneur, speaker, and business growth leader with a proven track record of scaling service-based businesses. In 2016, Cory founded Beyond Landscaping Ltd., transforming a modest neighborhood lawn service into a multi-million-dollar company. Today, Beyond Landscaping employs over 40 full-time professionals, provides landscaping, design, construction, and snow management services, and is recognized as one of North Vancouver’s top service providers. Cory also co-founded Market Hill Agency, which helps overworked business owners by recruiting, placing, and training skilled remote executive assistants.
Looking back at your journey from a single truck to a multi-million-dollar service business, what were the key turning points and systems that helped Beyond Landscaping scale successfully?
Reaching $1M isn’t magic, it’s hard work, fortitude, and long hours. The real challenge is what happens around that mark: your systems break unless you invest in them and in yourself. To avoid a mess, you need solid software, capable office/management support, and tight financial literacy and bookkeeping. Sales training and understanding our value, and to stop under-charging helped significantly as well.
What moved us into multi-millions was structure. Clear org design, defined roles and job descriptions, and unmistakable accountability so everyone knows what “great” looks like. Brand and reputation mattered, too, we became the highest-rated landscaping company by caring, delivering great service, and following through, even while some systems lagged.
Key inflection points: adopting an all-in-one platform for estimating, scheduling and invoicing (which doubled my output and let us manage more crews); joining Breakthrough Academy around $450K for coaching and exposure to top operators; hiring an office manager at ~$500K, an operations manager at ~$800K, and a salesperson after $1M. with mentors and peers guiding each step.
We pushed to $3M, then rebuilt our foundations. If starting over, I’d begin with a clear vision, mission, and values, plus a clear org chart with roles, responsibilities, and accountability. Then I’d lock in cadence: weekly meetings and consistent 1:1s to keep promises and performance on track.
Beyond Landscaping is known for its strong workplace culture and high-performing teams. What actionable strategies do you use to foster engagement, pride, and sustained excellence among your staff?
Culture is fun but slippery. We’ve built an amazing one, lost it, rebuilt it, and we’re always working to strengthen it. If you stop paying attention, it fades. What helps most is real connection. We host weekly barbecues with a keg and burgers to bring the crew together. Field teams rarely see the office, so that time matters. We also run regular parties and outings, golf, paintball, even camping. Getting people together outside work, sharing a few drinks, consistently moves the culture needle. One bad apple can infect an entire company, and we had numerous. We had to completely clear house of all employees even the average ones since our company was so infected.
We protect the brand and celebrate wins loudly. Online reviews are a big focus. Every new review gets celebrated, and staff are financially rewarded. Recognizing small wins, which is one of our values, compounds into pride and momentum.
We try to treat people exceptionally well. That can mean staying late to listen, helping with a personal issue, or simply keeping an open door. We also run anonymous surveys because not everyone is comfortable giving feedback face to face. The biggest driver, though, is accountability and teamwork. Weekly team meetings and one-on-ones, clear deliverables, crisp job descriptions, and accountability charts have transformed the vibe and raised our standards. When peers meet weekly and own outcomes together, excellence becomes the habit. Quickly poor performers were moved out and did not enjoy our new system, but that helped us attract new A players. Once we implemented crew accountability metrics, our GP% jumped up.
As a leader and mentor, how have your experiences with coaching and team development shaped the growth of your company and your approach to people management?
I never stop with my own personal development and coaching. I spend a lot of time and money on that and in therapy as well, so that I can be a better leader and mentor. I’m not the best coach or trainer, as I am very impatient and don’t handle Zoom meetings well. But the one thing I have going for me is how much I care and how much time I’ll spend with somebody to make sure that they get it. I’m always available to answer questions. I’m a big believer in the 131 from Dan Martel, which is:
“Don’t bring me a problem, bring me one problem, three solutions, and your solution to the problem.”
I also put a lot of trust and faith in my staff, sometimes to a fault. But I don’t micromanage or baby my staff. Once I train somebody in it, I give them the tutorial, go over it to them, and then I trust them. I allow my employees to make mistakes, even though I know that I can do it better and quicker and solve their problems for them. I’m a big believer in letting them figure it out for themselves for much longer rather than bothering me for every time, which really helps allow them to grow and develop. I’ve seen some amazing personal and professional growth from my staff over the years and it’s so amazing to see.
Your work with Market Hill Agency centers on helping entrepreneurs prevent burnout. What are the most impactful ways small business owners can leverage executive assistants to free up time and drive growth?
Hiring an executive assistant is one of the most valuable moves an entrepreneur can make. It protects your time and lets you focus on real priorities instead of scheduling, travel, meetings, and email. The key is trust and delegation. Choose someone you can treat as a true partner, then give them clear authority and expectations. I can’t imagine my life without an EA now, the amount of time it saves when I login to my computer in the morning and all my emails are cleared. When I travel now I don’t stress and come back to hundreds of emails clogging my inbox. Not to mention the amount of one off tasks, research, and back and forth I save. Easily 40 hours a week.Make this one of your first hires. When you bring an assistant in early, you can train them on your standards and build shared rhythms from day one. Over time they become a force multiplier who supports you personally and professionally, anticipates needs, and keeps the business moving while you concentrate on growth.
At Market Hill agency, we place exceptional outsourced EA’s with driven Entrepreneurs who want to buy back their time and are tired of the grind at a very affordable price, and get some amazing training on how to use an EA properly. If someone has never worked with an EA before we mediate and train both the Entrepreneur and the experienced EA on how to work together.
Balancing entrepreneurship with your passions for sports, health, and personal growth is central to your philosophy. What routines or mindsets have helped you maintain this balance, and what advice do you have for SMB leaders striving to do the same?
Balancing entrepreneurship with health, sport, and growth starts with routine. In my first 6 years I worked about 80-100 hours a week. The rhythm was simple: a full workday, gym, then another focused block at night. Working out after a 8 hour work day gives me a refresh that allowed me to work until midnight.That pairing of work and working out built stamina and kept me sharp. I also operate with a strong sense of urgency. I want things done quickly and done well, and I expect the same from my team. Fast responses, continuous improvement, and consistent service became non-negotiable.
Advice for SMB leaders:
- Build an anchor routine. Schedule work blocks and training like meetings and protect them.
- Use urgency wisely. Move fast, but set clear quality bars so speed does not create rework.
- Train the habit of quick replies. Customers feel cared for when they hear from you fast.
- Review weekly. Reset priorities, workouts, and recovery so you can sustain the pace.
- Model the standard. If you live the routine, your team will follow.
Simple routines plus urgent follow-through create momentum without sacrificing health. This is how I lead at Beyond, and why I built Market HIll, to help owners reclaim their time
