MISSISSIPPI TURFGRASS

If you get a chance to sit down and talk shop with Jay Grisham, MTA member and owner of Weed Warriors, it won’t take long for his gratitude, humble nature and enthusiasm to take center stage.

What’s unique about Jay and Weed Warriors is the focus on training and preparing his staff for not only the challenges of the job, but also for the struggles of life. Jay’s faith is at the forefront of his personal and professional life, and he brings that perspective to all aspects of his work and relationships.

We talked to Jay about how his company was founded, how it’s grown and his principles for leading and encouraging his staff and those around him.

How did you choose the turfgrass industry as a career path?

I started off in college in sports turf management because I loved sports, that’s what I did growing up in Decatur, Alabama. Originally it was a steppingstone to get me to the next step, which was going overseas to do missions. I went to Mississippi State, worked on a golf course one semester, athletic fields another semester. Then I realized I wanted to be more well-equipped to do things overseas, so I changed my emphasis from turf to integrated crop management, so it was still an agronomy degree, but the concentration changed. I got to do classes in vegetable and row crop production, a wide variety. It feels more like a general agriculture degree.

In college I realized I wasn’t ready for the mission field like I thought I was, so I decided to go into the workforce first. A guy from church hired me to work for him – he had a lawn spraying business and he knew I had an agriculture degree.

How did your company, Weed Warriors get started?

After a year of working for the guy at church, he was like, “Are you going to start your own business?” I said “WHAT?” He told me he was trying to help me start my own business because he knew I wanted to have a big family and I needed a job where I could provide for them. On one hand I want to encourage people that anyone can do this. On the other hand, I share that it’s really what the lord wants. There are people way more qualified than me who haven’t been able to succeed in it, and then I’m your perfect example of I’m the last person on earth that should have started a company!

In 2009, we started with one customer. We’re based in Pearl, with employees in every city around Jackson Metro. The only job I could get coming out of college has turned into something that I truly enjoy. Now I do it because I enjoy doing it and I enjoy the employees I’ve been able to hire.

How has Weed Warriors grown and changed over the years?

I started with one customer because my first boss gave it to me. I kind of knew what I was doing, and I just slowly grew and kept adding. I was able to learn and grow as I was going. But I did get to the point where business became difficult, and I made mistakes and tried to get out of the business. I tried to find other professions to do. It’s almost like this is what the Lord wanted me to do because I tried to get out of it, and I couldn’t.

Now, it’s something I love and Weed Warriors is becoming a staple name around here. We’ve got amazing guys and I’ve done it enough years now where I can really teach guys like me who don’t come from agriculture backgrounds, but they have character and intelligence. I’m able to take those same kinds of people and have a company of guys that are smart and that care about what they’re doing, and I can teach them about the agriculture side of things.

We have over 1200 customers now, and I have 13 employees, which includes full-time, part-time and seasonal. We do plant health and plant pests including fertilizer treatments and weed control, insect, and disease treatment for grass, shrubs, and trees. Most of our business is weed control and fertilizer in grass. I’ve got substantial resources devoted to the shrub/tree side. There are not as many customers there, but it is growing.

It’s also noteworthy that I am very thankful for MSU extension as part of my continuing education. I have learned a lot of important things at extension educational events and wish I could meet more people like myself (lawn, shrub, and tree) at these events, but unfortunately, they seem to be more dominated by golf guys (no offense!) Let’s go LCO’s!

Have you faced labor challenges with the company’s growth?

It’s not easy, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult as I’m having to hire more people. Anybody can spray yards, but I’m realizing part of being a business that has multiple employees is that you have to be able to manage people. When you’re trying to take care of people’s plants, to do that you have to take care of the people who take care of people’s plants. The way we have been successful is first, with the Lord’s blessing and second, the Lord has humbled me in ways that allow me to be able to deal with people. I’ve learned that you’re either leading people in a good way or a bad way, and if you’re not leading, somebody else will. So to have good employees, you have to be a leader. Maybe that can be an encouragement to someone out there to do some self-reflection. I think we all, myself included, need to be encouraged.

Why have the principles of your faith been so important to the growth of your business?

I like to compare it to an agriculture concept – we like to go after fruits, whether it’s actual fruit, leaves, or flowers to get the desired result. Just like with everything else in creation, if you go after it by not thinking about the things you can’t see, which are underground (roots), you’re not going to get the results that you’re going for, so you have to look inward. When you’re in an organization that’s not a Christian or spiritual organization you’re going after things physically and scientifically, which I love. But I also know that people are not just physical, there is a spiritual dimension. If all you’re thinking is what you can see in the physical, outward, above ground space, then it is always going to be difficult because you misdiagnose the true problem of what you’re really going for and how you need to be encouraging your people. We take time every day to pray and to teach – I teach Biblical concepts because the root problem is sin and the way we relate with God, ourselves, and people is marred because of sin. So sin affects everything so if you take that out and you only try to be scientific, then yes, it is always going to be a big, confusing thing.

Whatever you do, all to the glory of God. That’s really our motto. I want to encourage my guys to do that.

What do you do outside of work?

I have five kids (ages 4-13), and a sixth on the way. The Lord is most important thing in my life, my family is second. I’ve created a business environment that when its 5:00, we’re done, you have time to be with family. It doesn’t mean that I don’t stay up late at night!

As a family, we like to go to MSU sporting events, church events, visit with family and friends, gardening. We love being outdoors.

What advice would you give to younger people starting out in the industry?

There’s a Proverb that says humility and fear of the Lord bring riches, honor, and life. If we’re seeking riches and honor and life, but not through humility and fear of the Lord, then it’s going to be like chasing after the wind. It doesn’t matter how well equipped you are, people much less equipped can do better, more equipped can fail. For me that’s what it is and that’s what I want to encourage people with. Don’t go after it for the money. Whatever you do, do it with humility and fear of Lord, then it’s going to be a wonderful thing. You can find contentment and joy. •

To learn more about Jay and Weed Warriors, visit his website at: https://weedwarriorsjackson.com/about-us/

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