Scaling a Turf Empire and Solving the Desert Water Crisis (with Bonnie Mull of the Synthetic Grass Store)
In this episode of the Knoodle Founders Hour, host Rosaria Cain sits down with Bonnie Mull, co-founder, owner, and visionary of the Synthetic Grass Store, to discuss how she and her husband, Stephen, grew a startup during the Great Recession into one of the Southwest’s largest synthetic turf suppliers.
Bonnie’s journey is a masterclass in calculated risk-taking. Before entering the artificial grass industry, she earned a degree in communications from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. While her husband Stephen was the natural risk-taking entrepreneur, Bonnie was the “stay on the sidewalk” type who took a giant leap of faith in 2008 to start the business. In the early days, the two of them did everything themselves—from warehouse work and sales to finance and marketing. Today, the Synthetic Grass Store is a major B2B player operating three large warehouse locations across three states, supplying top-tier synthetic turf to contractors, landscapers, and homeowners alike.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- Starting in the Teeth of the Recession: Why launching a business in 2008 was brutal yet exciting, and how a stagnant housing market actually drove homeowners to invest in home equity and outdoor face-lifts.
- The Evolution of Synthetic Grass: How artificial turf transitioned from purely athletic surfaces into realistic landscaping lawns, moving from only two color options in 2008 to a massive catalog of colors, shapes, heights, and weights today.
- Tackling the Southwest Water Crisis: Bonnie’s strategic perspective on the Colorado River supply issues and how the turf industry acts as a crucial partner in water conservation, including helping customers navigate valuable municipal rebates.
- Designing for Four-Legged Customers: The booming pet turf market and the latest innovations in canine-friendly products, including permeable backings, antimicrobial fibers, and specialized infills.
- Commercial Resilience vs. High Interest Rates: How commercial developments with dedicated budgets continue to flourish, while residential homeowners adapt to 6% interest rates by choosing to remodel and fall in love with their existing properties.
- The Spouse Business Dynamic: The secret to working side-by-side in a family-owned business, where Bonnie handles the creative marketing and Stephen focuses on visionary ideas without stepping on each other’s toes.
For landscapers looking to boost job site efficiency, homeowners designing their dream desert oasis, or entrepreneurs curious about the dynamics of running a successful family business, this episode delivers invaluable insights into industry innovation and smart scaling.
Listen to the full episode of the Knoodle Founders Hour podcast to hear Bonnie’s fascinating transition from journalism to synthetic turf, and her secrets to building a business that stands the test of time.
Full Transcript
Announcer 0:02
Welcome to the Knoodle Founder’s Hour, where we go founder to founder and sometimes founder to visionary leader with host Rosaria Cain. Today, our special guest is Bonnie Mull, co-founder, owner, and visionary of Synthetic Grass Store, who has operated the business with husband Stephen Mull since 2008. Please meet Bonnie Mull.
Rosaria Cain 0:21
We are here, founder to founder, with Bonnie Mull, co-founder, owner, and visionary of the Synthetic Grass Store. Welcome.
Bonnie Mull 0:29
Well, thank you very much. It’s my pleasure to be here, and I’m happy to meet up with you today.
Rosaria Cain 0:33
Well, it’s always fun being that we’ve both come into the Phoenix market at the same time, and we’ve seen quite a bit of change. How’s business in artificial grass? I bet it’s booming with all the the lack of water and people that want nice green grass lawns in front of their house.
Bonnie Mull 0:49
Yeah, there’s so many different things that have been changing with the business, but yes, it’s been great. It’s been fun. It’s been a ride in so many different ways, and in watching things change in the valley is you know to keep up with everything that’s going on and the different ways that people want to use artificial turf has been really exciting as well.
Rosaria Cain 1:07
How can people use artificial turf?
Bonnie Mull 1:10
I think it’s unlimitless. It probably is. Heard so many different stories about the ways people are using artificial turf. Whether that’s you know it’s a regular landscaping lawn, which is the most common, but there’s bocce courts, there’s putting greens, there’s rooftop decks, there’s dog parks, so community spaces. So lots going on with artificial turf.
Rosaria Cain 1:32
That’s true. So when you narrow it down, and someone asks, what do you do? What’s your elevator speech?
Bonnie Mull 1:39
Ooh, elevator speech. I would say what people may not know about us is that we are a supply company, so we supply artificial turf to the public. The majority of our our customers are contractors, landscapers, designers. So we are a business to business. Now we love our homeowners and our DIYers too. So, you know, we take care of all customers in all different ranges.
Rosaria Cain 2:06
See, that’s great. Synthetic grass actually solves a great many problems. Go through the big things that it helps.
Bonnie Mull 2:15
Sure, sure. I think a lot depends on the end user as well and what they’re trying to solve with artificial turf, whether that’s they’re looking at cutting down on maintenance, whether they’re looking at creating a green space for their kids or their pets, or it could be a commercial property that’s looking to maybe reduce maintenance, or as we’ve talked about water conservation and the reduction of water use as well, so along with a lot of different components to play with artificial grass for different businesses and different end users.
Rosaria Cain 2:50
Let’s talk about how artificial grass, synthetic grass, has changed. We both arrived in the 70s. I remember seeing Sun City artificial grass. It looked really strange. Now your synthetic grass, whole new picture. It looks real.
Bonnie Mull 3:05
Thank you. I can’t take a whole lot of credit for that, but yes, thank you. It has changed. It has evolved even since we got in the business in 2008. It was really was primarily athletic surfaces that artificial turf was known for, and then it started to evolve into landscaping products, to putting supplies. When we very first started, there was only two lawn products available, and they were just two different colors. Now we have tons of different options, and tons of different colors, and shapes, and weights, and heights, and uses. So see that it’s been fun.
Rosaria Cain 3:41
That’s that’s great. No, it’s really reached a a period of time that it’s so mainstream that everybody can really use it
Bonnie Mull 3:42
Oh, absolutely! So many different purposes for artificial turf. So we like to have fun with it and be creative and just embrace whatever the uses are our customers are coming to us with.
Rosaria Cain 4:01
Well, grass has changed. I mean, the look of synthetic grass has changed. How has the market changed for it? Now I’m sure it’s really increased. I’m sure a big percentage of of grass lawns are moving towards synthetic grass because it’s no water usage. It looks good. It’s great for pets. There’s not a lot of disadvantages with it.
Bonnie Mull 4:26
I would agree with you. I would agree with you. It’s it’s definitely taken a a whole new lift in the market as far as the uses and what people are using and utilizing artificial turf for. Solves a lot of problems. People like the you know green space and sometimes don’t like the maintenance, don’t like water or whatever the end users’ opinions are. Artificial grass can come into to help utilize or help solve a lot of those problems.
Rosaria Cain 4:55
Well, and you started in 2008.
Bonnie Mull 4:56
We did. I know what a crazy time to start a business.
Rosaria Cain 4:59
That was the start of The Great Recession.
Bonnie Mull 5:00
I know you have to remind me.
Rosaria Cain 5:02
It was brutal.
Bonnie Mull 5:03
It was brutal, but such an exciting time.
Rosaria Cain 5:05
How how did it go back then? So it was when home builders were having a difficult time, and development had kind of rolled to a stop.
Bonnie Mull 5:15
Yes.
Rosaria Cain 5:16
It was a brutal 10 years for us as an agency.
Bonnie Mull 5:18
Yes, I think for a lot of businesses, it was it was very very difficult. We were very fortunate that when we started, you know, if there were so many bad things happening, I don’t want to misstep on that one. But for us, a lot of people were in their homes and they were looking at, you know, holding onto their homes and what could they do to help enjoy their homes a little bit more. We get to spend so much time in the valley outdoors. Having that green space is really important. So I think a lot of people really move towards artificial grass in their houses and and and businesses alike.
Rosaria Cain 5:56
Well, when you look ahead, what’s the outlook in the next five years? What are you thinking.
Bonnie Mull 6:01
Oh gosh, I wish I knew. And I wish I knew the answer to that one. I think we all wish we knew the answer to that one. I think we talked a little bit about you know there’s so many changes that are going on in the market with everything, whether that’s AI, whether that’s more people moving into the valley.
Rosaria Cain 6:20
Right?
Bonnie Mull 6:21
The water usage we talked a little bit about. So you know, I think there’s a lot going on that we we’re never going to be able to predict, and we just kind of roll along with it.
Rosaria Cain 6:31
But if you look at trends, it seems like water usage is going to reach an even greater peak as more people move into the market,
Bonnie Mull 6:41
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 6:41
And as the water supply in the Colorado River kind of is seeing a lull at the moment, and there’s differing opinions on how this will affect if someday we’ll have water restrictions like other states have done.
Bonnie Mull 6:56
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 6:56
That’s a possibility. Do you foresee this being a real boom for synthetic grass because if you can’t have lush landscape because the amount of water won’t allow for it, certainly seems like it could become an incredibly popular item even more than it is now if people can’t have it the way that you know requires water.
Bonnie Mull 7:21
Yeah, we would love to be part of that. Absolutely, I think in conjunction with artificial turf, we also look at what other factors are there, so that we can keep water usage down. We can keep space green, providing shade, providing different uses for trees and and other things in spaces will help reduce water, and you know just paying attention to water and water restrictions if we have them, and you know we can’t predict how the valley will continue to grow and whether there will be issues with water shortages, but it’s I think it’s staying informed and watching what’s going on and just being mindful.
Rosaria Cain 8:04
Well, that makes sense. Now I know that some of what you’re doing is educational, in terms of water. That’s kind of an area that you’re doing more work in. Tell me about how you see that in the future.
Bonnie Mull 8:18
Sure, sure. I think growing up in the valley, we’ve seen so many changes, like you, that I think it’s been helpful to have lived in the valley for so long to know, you know, what’s been going on, and it just kind of piqued my interest really more so within the last year about water conservation and how maybe our industry can be involved with even if it’s a small part a small part of that solution, and it’s putting information out there to really give people resources if nothing else.
Rosaria Cain 8:53
No, and keeping the solution in front of them because people might not always think of it first.
Bonnie Mull 8:58
That’s correct.
Rosaria Cain 8:59
Yeah.
Bonnie Mull 9:00
And if they’re teetering, maybe they’re thinking, “Oh gosh, do I want to put artificial grass in? Am I not sure?” There’s many cities and municipalities that are offering rebates, and so it’s just making people aware of those things that might be available to them as well.
Rosaria Cain 9:14
Now that makes a lot of sense if you think about it. What do you see the challenges in the next few years for the synthetic grass company. Any trends trouble you, or any trends do you think are worth watching that might become interesting?
Bonnie Mull 9:28
Troubling. Hmm. Well, you never know what challenges are going to come, so you just try to keep your, you know, you just try to stay ahead. You look ahead. You try to look what’s going on. One of the things that we focus on is also what type of problems do our customers come and come into play with? What problems can we help them solve? So we’re always looking at at the future and adding things to the business that that can help our customers be as efficient as they can possibly be. If they’re not out on a job site. They’re not making money either, so it’s getting them in quick, getting them out, and always looking ahead at what we can do.
Rosaria Cain 10:06
See, that’s great. So explain the business side to me. So you deal with contractors around the country.
Bonnie Mull 10:10
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 10:11
And so, what problems are they having?
Bonnie Mull 10:13
I would say having products that they can get immediately by having our multiple locations, we’re able to get contractors around the valley, at least if we’re going to talk the valley first, at least being able to get grass in their hands the same day, if need be, get them out on their job sites, and like I said, mentioned being efficient as far as nationwide, we’re able to deliver products around the United States, so putting them in the hands of individuals who need them out of state as well.
Rosaria Cain 10:45
See, that’s great. Is there are there any misconceptions people have about synthetic grass?
Bonnie Mull 10:52
I would say one that we talked about a little bit was the way artificial turf used to look.
Rosaria Cain 10:58
Oh, it did, it looks great now. I have it in my backyard.
Bonnie Mull 11:01
Oh well, thank you. Glad to see you’re you’re supporting your local grass dealer.
Rosaria Cain 11:06
I am. I am, and and you know it’s a small patio.
Bonnie Mull 11:10
Sure.
Rosaria Cain 11:10
And we have a dog, and so it was really the only thing that made any sense. And I’m sure pets play a part.
Bonnie Mull 11:19
Pets play a huge part. So a lot of people will even bring their animals into our our showrooms to to take a look around and take a feel around. So artificial turf has definitely become very popular for dog owners such as yourself. A lot of new products have come on the market for pets specifically in dealing with artificial turf, antimicrobial products, permeable backing, antimicrobial infill materials. So there’s a lot of focus on pets, and a lot of people, you know, make decisions based on a lot of times kids and pets. Those are a lot of decisions that get made about backyard usage or green space, so we’ve been very fortunate.
Rosaria Cain 12:04
So, getting back to the the water situation,
Bonnie Mull 12:07
Absolutely.
Rosaria Cain 12:08
Is there a water crisis in Arizona? What is your thinking on that?
Bonnie Mull 12:13
I think it depends on who you ask, as well.
Rosaria Cain 12:14
I know it, totally. I do.
Bonnie Mull 12:17
I think there’s a lot of things that we can do to try to help if there is a crisis that comes up, but at the same time, I think being informed, being educated, looking at what the resources are available, and then finding ways that not only individuals but also businesses and communities can help avoid crises, if that’s what it comes to be.
Rosaria Cain 12:42
No, that makes sense. Now, of course, we’re in a very interesting political climate right now. In general, how does that affect business, or does it affect business? I know I’m hearing from many of the business owners I’ve been interviewing that there’s kind of a sense of uncertainty. So a lot of business owners are seeing it a little bit more challenging right now because of you know the uncertainty in the market, well inflation, well because price of gas goes up, everything goes up What are you seeing in that? Your current outlook, what’s it look like, and how does the current political climate affect what you’re dealing with?
Bonnie Mull 13:24
I think always staying positive, just you know, trying to to look forward, move forward, move ahead. But I think a lot of people are being hesitant when, if we’re talking homeowners, they are a little hesitant about do I make big purchases, whether it’s vehicles, whether it’s luxury items, whether it’s turf, any of those type of things. I think people are putting a little bit more pause, and I’ve been hearing it from a lot of different businesses and a lot of different industries. So, I mean, it makes us feel a little bit better that okay, you know, while things are a little uncertain, that it’s kind of across the board things with trade, you know, changing so constantly, you know, affects things as well. So many different industries that you wouldn’t even think about those things affect. So just staying positive, looking forward.
Rosaria Cain 14:15
No, and that makes sense. Now you have a great position in the market because you work with contractors, but both homes and and businesses and and big development projects too.
Bonnie Mull 14:28
That’s correct.
Rosaria Cain 14:28
Do you see parts of the business flourishing while others aren’t quite as active, or what are you seeing? Because you have a nice bird’s eye view of of what’s working right now with the current economy and what’s not working as well, what are you seeing?
Bonnie Mull 14:43
We’re seeing a lot of, I think, probably more commercial development using artificial turf. You know, they have budgets for these these different type of projects that they’re working on. So they’re you know they’re looking at what technologies can we use? You know what what things do we have available to us, and and homeowners as well. You know they’re interested in their green space, their outdoor space, and so you know that they’re like I would say they’re moving hand in hand with each other. Really.
Rosaria Cain 15:18
Is it good or is it bad? No one is moving out of their houses, see because, for instance, with the interest rates up around 6% there’s a lot of people that are not going to trade in their mortgage.
Bonnie Mull 15:30
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 15:31
We have home builder clients, so we’re very aware of the situation. It’s starting to move a little bit, but it’s been a while since there’s been an uptick in in home sales.
Bonnie Mull 15:41
That’s correct.
Rosaria Cain 15:42
And so, does that affect– It doesn’t affect commercial development so much.
Bonnie Mull 15:48
Correct. It
Rosaria Cain 15:48
seems like that’s a little bit more resilient and a little less affected. But how are you seeing that on the residential side?
Bonnie Mull 15:55
I would say it goes two different ways. A lot of people, when they are staying in their homes, they’re looking at what can they do to give it a facelift per se. Whether that’s in the interior, whether that’s in the exterior, whether that’s in their yard. So a lot of times people are looking at what can I do to love my property if I’m going to be staying for longer.
Rosaria Cain 16:14
That’s true.
Bonnie Mull 16:15
Or preparing it to sell.
Rosaria Cain 16:16
That’s why home equity loans are really big right now.
Bonnie Mull 16:19
True.
Rosaria Cain 16:19
Because they don’t plan on leaving, so they want to make their home as nice as possible.
Bonnie Mull 16:24
Agreed.
Rosaria Cain 16:24
So that makes that makes perfect sense. So let’s talk about leadership. So you you’ve been you’ve been at the leadership role, co-founder, co partner for since 2008.
Bonnie Mull 16:38
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 16:39
What characteristics make a good leader?
Bonnie Mull 16:42
Well…
Rosaria Cain 16:43
Besides you, I mean, I’m sure you do an amazing job.
Bonnie Mull 16:46
I would say some of the things we’ve talked about, you know, staying positive, helping people understand the the you know the role and the mission of the company is really important too. You know how how we want to poise ourselves as turf experts, but but that also comes with being knowledgeable and and paying attention to new trends that are coming in the market and paying attention to what people are looking for when it’s when it’s about artificial turf when it’s about the business. So a lot of research and development and making sure that that that’s something that our team is focused on as well is that we pride ourselves in carrying quality products and warranties that are important to people and standing behind our products. So it’s something that it’s important for us to to to show that you know, integrity matters.
Rosaria Cain 17:42
And it does. Did you know you were going to go into business early in your career, or like as a kid? Some people are born an entrepreneur; they had paper routes, they did you know things like that, and some people it was an accident. That’s me.
Bonnie Mull 17:58
That’s you. That’s your story.
Rosaria Cain 17:59
That’s my story. What was it? Did you develop into into a kind of entrepreneurial leader, or did you did you always were you always that way?
Bonnie Mull 18:11
That’s a very good question. The entrepreneur is my husband Stephen.
Rosaria Cain 18:15
And that’s great. So he gets to take all the risks.
Bonnie Mull 18:17
He’s a risk taker. I was just talking about that earlier today, that he has that entrepreneurial spirit, and and it’s and it’s carried through in a few different businesses that he opened. So I was brought in at a time when he was looking at opening the Synthetic Grass Store and talking about the concepts and the ideas behind it, and he said, “Well, what do you think?” And I said, “Let’s do this.”
Rosaria Cain 18:42
So, therefore, you are really kind of an entrepreneur.
Bonnie Mull 18:46
Yeah, I was, I was willing to go along with it.
Rosaria Cain 18:48
Yeah. Well, give yourself enough credit because there’s a lot of the just go with it. That takes some courage.
Bonnie Mull 18:55
It took a lot. It really did. It really did. Says yourself when you when you do something, you know, like that, you are taking a risk, and and sometimes you don’t really think about what the risks are. And I think you know, just that one foot in front of the other, and taking things in small increments to help you understand the idea.
Rosaria Cain 19:15
Were you always a risk taker, or was that– So that was one of those unusual moments, kind of where it all, where your current self began.
Bonnie Mull 19:25
Yes, yes, I was the I was the stay on the sidewalk type of kid. So.
Rosaria Cain 19:30
Safety first.
Bonnie Mull 19:32
Right? Exactly.
Rosaria Cain 19:33
Not for the faint of heart.
Bonnie Mull 19:34
Not for the faint of heart. But but it was a giant leap, and I think you know, just knowing that we had each other’s back was really what helped him, and I think the the idea of “Well, if this doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world.”
Rosaria Cain 19:48
Right.
Bonnie Mull 19:48
It’s not the end of the world. But if we don’t try it, we’ll never know. So that’s what I bought into. That’s how I,
Rosaria Cain 19:54
I see that.
Bonnie Mull 19:56
saw it working and and coming to fruition.
Rosaria Cain 20:00
Has it been easier than expected, or harder than expected, or both?
Bonnie Mull 20:03
It’s both. It depends on the day. It depends on what happens. But it’s there’s so much joy that comes with it, and watching a business change and evolve has has has been amazing. Bringing people into the team has been such a fun thing as well. So in the very beginning, it was just Steve and I doing everything. You know, we were sales, we were finance, we were warehouse workers, we were marketing, we were the back office. So it’s been nice to to to spread out and have people that you know that have come to the table that really are knowledgeable in their space that have brought so much to us as well to ever think that you can accomplish one thing by yourself I think better with the team.
Rosaria Cain 20:55
Oh, I think so too. So what values define the team that you’ve built.
Bonnie Mull 21:04
I think one that we talked about is integrity, standing behind your product, standing behind what you do, and educating more than anything. We want to be a resource for people when they have questions about artificial turf. You know, let’s be knowledgeable. Let’s help them find their answers. So those type of things, you know, and it’s a family-owned business. So in the end, you know, it all comes back to us and the team. So we want to make sure that the people that work with us have integrity and value that goes with their beliefs as well, because it’s not just us.
Rosaria Cain 21:44
Well, and the whole family aspect, it feels different to have a family business.
Bonnie Mull 21:52
I think so as well. I think so as well. I I think that when when once you have a family owned business, you start realizing other family businesses and how can you support them and really the the support that the small business community gives back to each other is amazing. So it’s just a different feel. I would agree coming from a larger, it wasn’t a large corporation, it was a nonprofit organization, but coming from something like that, you know, where you have several 1000 employees that are working for it, and narrowing it down to a small, you know, small group, it’s just a different feel.
Rosaria Cain 22:30
No, that makes perfect sense. Does that mean you never have a holiday without talking about business?
Bonnie Mull 22:36
We talk about business a lot.
Rosaria Cain 22:37
Yeah, no, that’s the thing about family businesses, right?
Bonnie Mull 22:40
Yes, we talk about business a lot, but at the same time, I think what’s always helped Steve and I is that what our interests are in the business are two different things. So the things that he likes to do are not the things I enjoy about it. The things I enjoy are not the things he enjoy. So at the same time, while we’re working side by side a lot, we’re not tripping on each other. We’re not stepping on each other very often. So it’s kind of fun to also get into his mind what type of things he’s thinking of. And trust me, he thinks a lot. He’s constantly thinking, constantly the idea guy. So it’s fun to work in that environment as well.
Rosaria Cain 23:22
Well, and so do you spend a lot of time during the day together, or because you have separate areas of the company?
Bonnie Mull 23:29
That’s a good question. That so Steve and I started working together when we met. So we’ve never known not working together, but again, with taking those different roles in the business, we can still work right next to each other. We work in the same office together, but can be working on two completely different projects and never really bumping into each other. Or it’s nice that you’re able to just turn around and say, “Hey, I’ve been thinking about this,” or you know, “Can you give me your what what your thoughts are about this particular project?” So.
Rosaria Cain 24:05
So which one of you two is the person behind the marketing? Now, I know you have marketing in house and very adept at doing these things.
Bonnie Mull 24:14
Yes.
Rosaria Cain 24:15
Who does the marketing?
Bonnie Mull 24:17
I would say that’s that’s definitely more on me, but I do look at Steve for a lot of insight on thinking about trying this or trying that. But he also has a very good marketing brain, so I think where my side is the creative side,
Rosaria Cain 24:32
Okay.
Bonnie Mull 24:32
his is the behind the scenes, like what is going to make what is going to make the company work? What how do we need to look at what marketing means, because marketing can mean so many different things.
Rosaria Cain 24:44
Very broad, very broad.
Bonnie Mull 24:45
Very broad. So I think kind of the same thing is that I like one side of it, or he likes the other side.
Rosaria Cain 24:51
Now, are you the visionary?
Bonnie Mull 24:52
He’s the visionary.
Rosaria Cain 24:53
Okay. All right.
Bonnie Mull 24:54
Yes.
Rosaria Cain 24:55
All right.
Bonnie Mull 24:55
He’s the visionary.
Rosaria Cain 24:56
Okay.
Bonnie Mull 24:56
Always got his mind thinking on projects.
Rosaria Cain 24:57
So okay, and that’s why he likes being behind the scenes, so much.
Bonnie Mull 25:01
I think so. I think so. But don’t let him fool you. He is a very social person.
Rosaria Cain 25:05
That doesn’t mean he isn’t social.
Bonnie Mull 25:08
Right, but he does not want to be the the one standing up on a soapbox.
Rosaria Cain 25:14
He doesn’t want to be in your chair, right now.
Bonnie Mull 25:15
He does not want to be in my chair. Which you learned.
Rosaria Cain 25:18
Yeah, I did.
Bonnie Mull 25:19
You got to turn the table on him. No, he would prefer to–
Rosaria Cain 25:22
You did out him with the cameras.
Bonnie Mull 25:24
I definitely did.
Rosaria Cain 25:24
And I thought that was great.
Bonnie Mull 25:26
I definitely did.
Rosaria Cain 25:27
Put him in the limelight, whether he wants to or not.
Bonnie Mull 25:29
Whether he wanted it or not, he was going in there.
Rosaria Cain 25:31
No, that makes perfect sense. So, okay, so as you’re doing this together and you’re working with the marketing and your marketing team.
Bonnie Mull 25:39
Yes.
Rosaria Cain 25:40
How are you positioning Synthetic Grass Company?
Bonnie Mull 25:44
I think always looking at what’s going on in the market, product research development, what other people are putting out, what new products can come on the market, and staying on top of those type of things, I think, is really important, and using marketing in different ways, like what is trending, what’s trending right now. So staying on top of that, and again, looking at other people that are knowledgeable specifically in those subjects, and leaning into what they’re seeing and what they’re noticing.
Rosaria Cain 26:21
Now, when you position yourself, so you’re obviously dealing with wholesalers, generally speaking.
Bonnie Mull 26:28
That’s correct.
Rosaria Cain 26:29
And so that’s a great position too. Are you one of the biggest in in the Phoenix area because you deal with three states?
Bonnie Mull 26:38
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 26:38
That’s amazing.
Bonnie Mull 26:39
There’s some big players in the market. We are among them. I think mentioning that we have three locations, we have very large warehouses, so we’ve got a lot of space because artificial turf is big. But we are one of the big players in the market. The biggest? Mmm.
Rosaria Cain 26:58
Best?
Bonnie Mull 26:59
Best by far!
Rosaria Cain 27:00
Okay. All right. So see, that’s like that’s where you start getting into that whole positioning exercise. Like what differentiates you besides people, because people always make the difference. And doing what you say you’ll do and all of those things really loom large. And I’m sure contractors really care about that because it reflects on them, it kind of all rolls either uphill or downhill, depending on on what happens.
Bonnie Mull 27:27
That’s correct, and we really support our contractors because they’re the ones that see the end users, and we want them to look good. We want the products that we offer them to to be quality products. We want them to be the winners in the end because they’re the ones that are they’re they’re on the line really.
Rosaria Cain 27:47
Right okay all right that gives me some context. Do you have a positioning statement you’re working with, or is it something that you, or is it just kind of what you exude on a regular basis?
Bonnie Mull 27:59
I’m not even sure how to answer that question?
Rosaria Cain 28:01
Think of it like a slogan, something that something that defines you.
Bonnie Mull 28:06
I would say what we’ve been using is turf experts.
Rosaria Cain 28:10
Okay, all right.
Bonnie Mull 28:11
We want to be your turf experts. We want to be the people who are knowledgeable about turf and that can talk about artificial turf in different ways. Whether somebody wants to get technical about turf.
Rosaria Cain 28:22
Okay.
Bonnie Mull 28:22
Or whether somebody just wants some surface information, so we really want to position ourselves as being knowledgeable in the business.
Rosaria Cain 28:30
See, that’s great, and you’re using education to make that happen as well. It sounds like with the the water situation and climate things like that.
Bonnie Mull 28:38
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. There’s so many different factors that go into artificial turf and and the uses for it. So it’s really just how can we educate and help people with resources, whether that has to do with water rebates, whether that has to do with maintenance, whether that has to do with whatever problems they’re facing. We’re trying to help them solve those problems.
Rosaria Cain 29:01
What do you think the future is of artificial grass?
Bonnie Mull 29:04
Ooh, another one I don’t know the answer to.
Rosaria Cain 29:05
I know it’s a hot question, but I ask everybody this because always getting the outlook of what the future looks like interests so many people because nobody really knows.
Bonnie Mull 29:14
No.
Rosaria Cain 29:14
But when when you when you look at trends and you have your eye on what’s going on, for instance, the water situation- it’s probably going to get worse. I imagine from everything I read. So it just-
Bonnie Mull 29:27
We can’t control Mother Nature.
Rosaria Cain 29:28
We can’t. No, we have climate change.
Bonnie Mull 29:30
We have climate change, right?
Rosaria Cain 29:32
So it seems like it would be a very positive prognosis for people in the industry of synthetic grass,
Bonnie Mull 29:41
Absolutely, absolutely. It’s been growing leaps and bounds. I can tell you that much by the amount of competition we see.
Rosaria Cain 29:49
Ah, late to the party,
Bonnie Mull 29:50
Right? Exactly, late to the party. Come join us. You know, staying water conservation is going to be something that we need to continue to search, you know, resources, and I think innovation. You know, there’s always something new coming to the market, and that doesn’t stop with artificial grass. It’s a product that’s constantly evolving. So it’s it’s looking at what products are going to be new to the market and how to pose those to our customers.
Rosaria Cain 30:21
No, that makes perfect sense. So, when you’re not working, and that’s like a joke, right? Because you’re in business.
Bonnie Mull 30:27
Correct.
Rosaria Cain 30:27
When you’re not working, you’re always thinking about it.
Bonnie Mull 30:30
Exactly.
Rosaria Cain 30:30
What do you do for fun? What keeps you grounded when you’re not working?
Bonnie Mull 30:31
A couple of different things for fun. Fortunately, my husband and I both share a love of boating, so we spend a lot of time as much as we can on the water. So that’s been you know a fun hobby of ours to have together. I would say hiking, family, spending a lot of time with family is really important to us. So and being involved in in the community is very important too, and paying attention, lending a hand when you can.
Rosaria Cain 31:02
Yep, that makes perfect sense. So, how do you reduce stress?
Bonnie Mull 31:07
Ooh, probably through
Rosaria Cain 31:09
Boating!
Bonnie Mull 31:09
Hiking, boating. Yeah, exactly. Taking your mind off things for a little while.
Rosaria Cain 31:15
I can relate to that. Will you be doing this 10 years from now?
Bonnie Mull 31:19
I would love to see us doing this in the next 10 years. I’d love to see where it’s going to take, you know, where it’s going to go in the next 10 years is probably what is the the biggest excitement because we’ve seen so many things change in the past 18 years. That the next 10, you know, the sky’s the limit. They say, you know, so it’s really exciting to think, what can happen and where we can go.
Rosaria Cain 31:43
So, Bonnie, you seem like you’re an incredibly candid, even keel person with a great deal of common sense, and it seems like you’re very practical. So, what would surprise people about you? So, I imagine you’re probably a very predictable person because you’re so in it for all the right reasons, and you work hard and you do all those things.
Bonnie Mull 32:11
I would say probably. So what people know about me on the surface is that I went to Arizona State University, so works up. And but what people may not know is that I got my degree in communications from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. So that’s probably something that people don’t know about me.
Rosaria Cain 32:34
That’s really great. So you’re a content writer as well.
Bonnie Mull 32:37
Well, I enjoy reviewing content.
Rosaria Cain 32:40
Oh, alright. Somebody has to edit it.
Bonnie Mull 32:42
But I will say it in the very beginning. It had to be me. It was me, and so I spent a lot of time. And but now I get to work with a team of people that are creative and help. And you know, if I’m not exactly sure where I’m going to go with an idea, I have people that can at least get the ball rolling and help with content.
Rosaria Cain 33:03
So you went from journalism to grass.
Bonnie Mull 33:06
To grass.
Rosaria Cain 33:07
And there you go. I went to school for journalism as well.
Bonnie Mull 33:10
Well, here you are.
Rosaria Cain 33:12
It’s kind of related.
Bonnie Mull 33:13
That’s really related.
Rosaria Cain 33:14
I wanted to make more money than a journalist, so that just
Bonnie Mull 33:17
There you go.
Rosaria Cain 33:17
That wasn’t working.
Bonnie Mull 33:18
Well, congratulations, it’s working for you.
Rosaria Cain 33:20
And same to you. I’m sure you’re making way more money than a journalist does.
Bonnie Mull 33:23
I hope so.
Rosaria Cain 33:24
And as you have it, and I hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you for coming by, and I appreciate your outlook on synthetic grass. It’s really interesting and what it could do. And with the water, with the water situation as it is, it’s something that could that could easily balloon into a crazy good demand.
Bonnie Mull 33:42
We’ll just have to watch that one, won’t we?
Rosaria Cain 33:44
We will.
Bonnie Mull 33:45
Yeah.
Rosaria Cain 33:45
I’m here for you.
Bonnie Mull 33:46
Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much for having me. It was such a pleasure to be here today.
Rosaria Cain 33:49
And me too. Thanks.
Bonnie Mull 33:50
Thank you.