nilsson boks

[cjcland]

i was thinking about purchasing some of phil nilssons books<br>1.pricing your services<br>2.grounds maintenance manual<br>3.the art of selling<p>how good are these books? are they worth the money? please ley me know if i would be gaining anything from these books that i couldnt get from this forum, thank you<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[Finecut]

Empty pockets?

[smithf36]

I have purchased the whole set and there is a lot of good info in them. They have helped me a bunch. To me they are worth every penny. I needed some help before I went broke. They helped me get my act together and start making the kind of money I should have been making all along.<br>Joe

[Hardy Enterprises]

I have the whole set. I use them as a references on a daily basis. I have no regrets about buying all of them. It seems very expensive when you write the check, but in the long run it is worth it. If you can not afford the whole set I would say that the Time Labor Handbook and Grounds Maintenance Contracting are the two must have books out of all of them.

[Dingo]

Hey ill pay one of you guys to go copy the books and send them to me ill pay you 5 bucks a book. just joking with ya phil<br>Dingo

[steveair]

5 bucks!<p>Just go down to your local library and suggest to them how they REALLY need to have these books.<p>Wait two weeks, and bam, available whenever.<p>(just make sure you don't have any overdue books out before hand)

[Dingo]

would they really do that?

[yardsmith]

yes they would if enough people bugged them in your town (like you, your wife, mom, dad, sis, grandpa, etc.) LOL :)<p>----------<br>Smitty ô¿ô<br>

[Retro67]

A fool and his money soon part. Unless you have money to burn, listen to someone who is making a living in this business and save your money. Even a beginner has more to offer than someone who isn't successful&lt;b&gt; and&lt;/b&gt; working in this business. Even many of the &quot;experts&quot; will give you advice that a newcomer like myself can easily see is not the best advice for all situations.<p><p>&lt;p&gt;John

[steveair]

I said the library thing kind of jokeingly, but yes, it does work sometimes. If you have a college near you, join their library. They usually have policies where they have to order books for you if you need them as a student, but also order them for other people too.<p>I use to go to my college library and ask for books and say that it was for a paper I was writing. First, they would try to get it from another library, and then would order it if they had too. Worked about 3 times!<p>Local public libraries are a little diff't. They usually need to have a bunch of people request it, but in some cases, if you hassle them enough, they will order it. I did this once, and it worked. <p>So, if you really can't afford the books, try it. You have nothing to lose. <p>However, books are great tools and you will probably want to buy it anyways if you read it.

[parkwest]

If you can't afford a few books can you really afford to start or run a business? You need to get your hands on every book you can possibly read. Take a little from each book and develop your own business strategy. Use the stuff that will works for you. <p> I've been a contractor sine 1974 and I still learn something new every day. Life would be boring if we didn't face challenges everyday and figure out ways to overcome them. <p> The guy who thinks he knows it all needs to be asked on what day exactly did he come to the conclusion that he now knew all there was.<p>You'll sleep better at night if you base your decisions on something other than guesses and feelings.<p>Good luck

[cjcland]

why is it that people think that if money is tight you shouldnt be in business???i asked this question before and ill ask it again where did you get your million dollar working capital at?? i own everything i have no payments and i am saving money for more or breakdowns should i just blow all my profit on stuff without asking about it? to me saying hey i have all this money i think ill by everything that has lawn printed on it without asking people who have it already is bad management, thank you everyone for your input keep it coming<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[OBRYANMAINT]

YES SEEMS EXPENSIVE ,BUT I REFRENCE TO MINE OFTEN,AND THEY ALWAYS HELP TO DOUBLE CHECK YOURSELF ON MANY THINGS<br>DOUG

[steven Bousquet]

phil's books are the cheapest thing you can buy relative to how much they help. MOst of the guys i know you are making over 75,000 a year in this business will pay alot of money, travel great distance and invest lots of time into learning more about running a landscaping companyand yes many of these guys are over 100,000 grand in personnal income, most started with a push mower. $3,000 for a marketing system? 5g for a consultant? well if they double your income how much did it really cost? just some real life examples.

[thelawnguy]

I have four of Phils books. Some info, in my opinion, is priceless, some is worthless, but overall I feel they are worth the money. I find the most useful info in the Time Data Handbook (title may be different). It has basically the same info as the Grounds Maintenance manual and expands to landscaping also.<p>To Retro, <br>which book of Phils do you have? Or is your opinion of his books based on some sort of soured business relationship? You suddenly have taken a strong negative stance towards his books and you are not clear on where you base your distate.<p>Bill

[lawrence stone]

Retro wrote:<p>&gt;Even many of the &quot;experts&quot; will give you advice that a newcomer like myself can easily see is not the best advice for all situations.<p>How does a neophyte know what is the best<br>advice for all situations?<p>Ignorance is bliss.

[Finecut]

Look out! Here come the smoke and mirror guys! Ready for the tag team?<br>

[Administrator]

Lawrence Stone:<p>Ease off the personal attacks. Please don't let us remind you again. You have been warned about this in the past and you have been playing nice. Continue to act like a professional please

[Retro67]

I own no books by him. I have read plenty written by him and have formed my own opinion. I have no sour dealings with him either. I simply stated the fact that I would rather follow the example of someone successful and working in the industry today. Period. Nothing more meant.<p>John<p>Lawrence- Did you come up with $3500 for that Toro yet?

[cjcland]

retro,<br> thank you for your post i have read alot of your posts and i respect your opinion i am glad you havent let any hostility twards you keep you from posting i have learned from you thank you<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[Retro67]

Thanks. I don't feel like I have to justify my knowledge, my experience, none of it. <br>&lt;p&gt;<br>I have more going for me than those that lie in wait to attack me. I think there are a select few that are intimidated by an intelligent upstart and anyone who looks like they could be one.<br>&lt;p&gt;<br>I am not superhuman there are areas of this business I am a bumbling idiot. There are others I'm an ace at and people would do well to even take a piece of it. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. <br>&lt;p&gt;<br>If you watch closely you will be amazed at some of the bs some people try to pass off. Posts will directly conflict with everything else the poster has said.<br>&lt;p&gt;<br>A person who shall remain nameless was bragging; I won't do this and I won't do that. Only contracts that include it all. Only contracts over X amount. Well, then this high roller is trying to figure out how to come up with chump change to invest in an old used machine after all these &quot;successful&quot; years. Kinda makes a guy wonder, doesn't it?<br>&lt;p&gt;<br>John <p><br>

[Finecut]

Retro,<p>Sounds to me like you bought all the books Phil had to offer that didn't contain bull crap. Lot less myths to be sorted through, you won't have to seperate the wheat from the chaff! Or... you from your money! <p>And your right, why after five or seven years of being a BIG operator, would you need 3 months to come up with $3500.00 cash? I wonder if that's the million dollar mower for sale at only $1400.00 dollars? <p> Trying to be low bidder isn't the way to make money, being good at what you do and getting paid for your knowledge and developing a good reputation in the business as a quality contractor, will pay dividends...not lowballing. Buy low sell high, not the reverse!<p>

[Retro67]

Now finecut you and I both know that isn't the Million dollar mower, because if you remember correctly, Lawrence only paid $500 for the million dollar mower. I certainly wouldn't trade a million dollar mower for $900 profit, would you? <p>John

[curlawngreen]

Phil's books are great!!!When you and the other lawn boy are having lunch at Micky D's and you ask him/her how much they are making on the job across the street from your job and they tell you $35.00 and it only takes there crew of three 30 minutes to do it,YOU might have an insight into how to make money with one of Phil's books.Phil does know bean counting,lawn maint.,etc. Does your accountant?I felt it reasuring to know that the numbers I had guessed at were not to far off, but some were where I was losing my @#$.<br>Thanks Phil for your help. Tim