Most Owners Are Terrified to Do This. He Did It Anyway.

The Turn: Blue Collar to Billions · Jun 23, 2026 · 36m · transcript

Chris Lee's mom called him with a U-Haul in the driveway. He'd already accepted a job in Little Rock. The U-Haul went to Texas instead. He joined his family's landscape company — Earthworks — when it had 25 employees, an answering machine, a pager, and no real systems. His stepdad was a brilliant operator who couldn't tolerate people. Chris was the opposite. He liked people. That turned out to be enough to start something.

Over the next 25 years, Chris built Earthworks from a few hundred thousand in revenue to more than $40 million. He expanded geographically before it made obvious sense. He…