Jessi Burg began her journey as an entrepreneur after surviving a series of toxic work environments. Convinced that there must be a way to value employees, pay a living wage and be able to work outside, she built her landscaping company, Pears to Perennials, in 2017. “After graduation from college in 2007, most of my jobs were seasonal in nature— summer camps, environmental education and urban farming,” Burg says. “So, when I opened my own landscaping company in 2017, I had a lot of ideas but was unsure about running my business. Eventually, I figured out the answers I needed and grew my business.”

Being a business owner gave Burg a voice, and she began advocating for the trades and seasonal and gig economy workers. She also learned a lot about the frustrations that can come with running a company, and that led to the launch of her second business, Outgrow Your Garage, which provides low-cost classes for business owners looking to scale.

Through Outgrow Your Garage, Burg offers online courses that teach companies how to grow sustainably, all built around the idea that professional development should fit into a professional’s workday. Burg built Outgrow Your Garage around her passion for accessible, affordable learning and inclusivity in the business world, with a mission to reduce inequity and promote strong communities through collaboration.

Designed for early-stage landscapers, Outgrow Your Garage is a culmination of what Burg wished she had known when she started in the industry, plus everything she has learned since. All courses are affordable, easy to access online and offer practical advice that helps businesses create action plans.

“I started as a landscaper, so the classes are built to solve mobile service business problems,” Burg says. “I won’t tell you how to run your business. My goal is to help businesses ask the right questions and build operations processes effectivel

Turning work into love

“I like to say that, at this point, I’m unemployable,” Burg says. “I left that one single office job because I didn’t like it—but I also wasn’t a very good employee. I like to be able to set my own hours and work on projects that interest me. I like to have the freedom to adapt my services to what’s most needed. Being self-employed means I can set up my ideal work environment.”

With Outgrow Your Garage, Burg gets to work directly with other landscape companies instead of running her own, which has given her the time and flexibility to move to the Western Slope and buy a farm.

“Ten years ago, I would never have thought I would be interested in running an online learning company for business owners,” Burg says. “I adore the problem-solving aspects. I know that I cannot fix systematic problems, but I can give tools to help companies grow.

The trades are often overlooked when it comes to business policy and ideas, Burg says. As a non-field worker, she can both advocate for small landscape businesses and also help them grow. “Good operations mean you can hire a field crew, get them set up in the morning and then do your admin work.”

Burg is building out a course-hosting platform to start licensing Outgrow Your Business content so other businesses, nonprofits, schools, libraries and industry groups can access it. “Outgrow Your Garage is an operations company,” Burg says. “A lot of business owners know what they need, but they do not know how to get there. My favorite thing to say about business is that you should aim for different problems. No business is problem-free, but if your problems are changing year to year, you are learning from your mistakes. And that’s how you build a stable business.”