Going to buy Green Industry books, which ones

[JML]

I am going to buy 2 books for myself for christmas. Which two should i buy? thanks

[stslawncare]

speaking of books has anyone heard from our authors? to answer your question i have two books from bill phagan and am very pleased.

[MOW ED]

Read ALL the posts from Lawnsite and save your money.

[Toddppm]

I have 3 books from Bill Phagan and they suck!

[greenlawncare]

Todd,

Instead of blasting the guy's books why not be more civil and mature and state why your needs were not satisfied by the books so that your experience can actually be of some value?

[Toddppm]

Didn't know that you were appointed to judge content worth and maturity.
That was my opinion.
I personally didn't like them because they are very vague and incomplete. Not very straighforward. Sorry i have a hard time putting my thoughts down without being an articulated individual like you

[PLM 2]

I vote for these. ESTIMATING FOR LANDSCAPE & IRRIGATION CONTRACTORS, by James R. Huston.
THE COMPLETE BUSINESS MANUAL for LANDSCAPE, IRRIGATION and MAINTENANCE CONTRACTORS, by Charles Vander Kooi.
After reading these you can get consulting or attend one of their seminars. Depending on which one matches your operating procedures the best.
Huston (800) 451-5588
Vander Kooi, Look in trade Magazines for Phone or search web. Address: PO Box 621759, Littelton, CO 80162 (I couldn't find Phone #)

[mowing king]

I love to read and have spent thousands on book and tapes.The must reads are think and grow Rich and the E myth. Get a audio tape series on goal setting and listen to it in your truck and a sales tape series. the green books i recommend anything from Roy Rubenthal, the most detailed how to do business books, for seeding,mowing etc. Marty Grunders Marketing system is outstanding, Phil has good books too. It really depends on what you want to improve. sales,operations, marketing,training ? Dwight hughes has a book and tape on operations. Robin Perotti has a good book for selling aeration. Vandoor KOi on estimaing. Grunder for marketing and sales. let me know what subjects you want to read about. i have all these books and videos. if i get one thing out of each that makes me money it was worth it.

[thelawnguy]

"I personally didn't like them because they are very vague and incomplete. Not very straighforward."

This is typically the type of info you get from consultants (and not just green industry types, it goes for all sectors). They leave just enough out, so you need to buy the next installment to get the whole picture (except for the bit thats left out of vol. 2).

[Charles]

Lawnguy, I noticed that whenever neilson posted or when i went to his website "classes" some vague s**t. I dont know why but Todd made me laugh. Straight to the point is what we need sometimes :)

[lawnboy11]

The Ortho Problem Solver and a book of your choice on Small Business.

[thelawnguy]

Originally posted by lawnboy11
The Ortho Problem Solver and a book of your choice on Small Business.

Make it the unabridged Problem Solver by Ortho and leave it at one book ($$$).

[Guido]

I hate to say this but there are no super secrets in any of those books. Get a list of all posts from this site and it cover it ALL PLUS SOME MORE!!

I have 3 of Phagans books and 1 of Nillson, and I like them all, but I expected a little bit more I think.

[SLC1]

I went to one of Phil Neilsonns private one on one consultations and as part of the fee I recieved every single one of his books. Some are good others are useless. I have gotten some good ideas out of the books and some usefull information. How to write contracts how to approach commerical customers are just a few things. I would suggest getting a list of the books he offers and get a few, they are not all that much money . One that I suggest would be the labor time data handbook. And no guys I am not personal friends of Phil, and I am not getting paid from him for writeing this. Just My two cents

[cantoo]

JML,, here is an address, go there read every bit of it then send me a check....



http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1


I had to do it. I suggest you buy books relating to areas that you lack experience in, and winter is a good time to take some classes such as marketing, computer skills upgrading etc. Last year I took my pesticides courses and the year before a bunch of computer courses and the year before that some assorted one day hort. classes. This year I am planning on a new computer and some new software to learn.

[bdemir]

This site is a wealth of information. Just start browsing through the posts and read which ones you like. Thats what i do and i enjoy it.

[HOMER]

I'll offer a suggestion and hope it isn't too offensive for some of the tender hearted.

Work on your communication skills and personality, without these 2 things all the technical knowledge in the world ain't going to sell your services. This is not to say that your personality "sucks", it probably doesn't. You have to first be a salesman to get the sale to show the customer that your a wiz kid that has done his homework.

No sale, no work!

This is a general statement intended for all who read.
Personally I think it's important.

Homer

[turfman99]

Is hunting season on consultants over yet ??

I have some materials from the majority of the consultants mentioned. All comments made were legimiate at some point I believe. If someone could write tht perfect book on this business, that made every one happy, take it to the bank jack!!

Guido made the comment about gleaning something from every resource and that's a good concept. I am currently working on an operations systems and procedures program that I have not seen before. I will not hold this out to be the end all, but implmentation of a couple of the system and procedures should result in some increased efficencies, that in return result in increased revenues or gross margins.

Now the big questions, and I want answers and input please!!

What type of information are you all seeking to improve your busines that you are not finding ??

What information are you lacking that you are seeking answers for ??

Where is the greatest need and for what ??

Asking the consumer about the product needs and desires is the first step to producing the desired product.

I would appreciate your inputs.

Thanks.

[bill phagan]

Originally posted by Toddppm
I have 3 books from Bill Phagan and they suck!

Todd, if I had bought anything from anywhere and was as dissatisfied as you appear to be, I'd express my concerns at the place I purchased it.......feel free to contact me regarding the books. I will do my best to assist you. As all the books indicate, contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Bill Phagan
Green Industry Consulting, Inc.
Ofc 813-961-2149
e-mail bphagan@tampabay.rr.com

[Administrator]

Opinions are like a**holes... everyone has one. SO, it looks like I might start thinking of a new guideline that makes it so a person has to back their opinions up with facts when it comes to manufacturer or product slamming.

Does it really help the manufacturer or author build a better product when someone simply states it "sucks" ?

Im sure Mr. Phagan has sold hundreds or even thousands of his books to happy customers and helped a lot of people in the industry. How fair is it for one "opinion" to do any harm to his reputation?

Im just sick of seing that word "suck" not backed up with reasons.

[Charles]

Critics usually give details as to why they think that way

[Toddppm]

Well mr Phagan i tried that all ready and it didn't seem to help.

Just cause i said something negative it has to be explained , but if i said oh it's great no explanation neccessary? Has to work both ways.

[turfman99]

Toddy,

Maybe you would be so kind as to provide all your customers with this URL so they can post their opinions of your service's, with no explanations, and with no chance for you to explain one way or another, or correct any precieved problems..

Got to work both ways right ???

[Charles]

You consultants and distributors should not get so worked up about this though. In any forum as active as this one you are going to get all kinds of responses. Positive and the dreaded negative ones. Most intelligent people who read a forum will weigh how many positive response compared to how many negative ones. Most serious buyers will also read every detail of the positive and the negatives and decide if they have merit. And weigh them in making their decision. You shouldn't underestimate the forum reader in their ability to weed out the good info from the bad. Censoring this forum too much could hurt it.

[GroundKprs]

Hang in there, Chuck & Bill Phagan. No need to worry, as Charles points out. Regular readers know to disregard ignorant comments. Just look at the current thread started by the correspondent in question: http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=7151 . And this person seeks credibility? Most readers would more likely consider a diaper change.

Why, regular readers can even tell when the normally sedate Charles is starting to get riled!!

[thelawnguy]

"Just cause i said something negative it has to be explained , but if i said oh it's great no explanation neccessary? Has to work both ways."

Good point.

I think its funny how nobody complains when someone posts "MTD mowers suck" ...maybe because the chances of MTD buying a banner ad are next to nil???

[Administrator]

Pretty soon I am launching http://www.turfmfg.com

This will give manufacturers the direct opportunity to respond to the public in a forum setup.

I dont want to censor anything but im sure you guys can see how this can be a touchy situation.

Chuck Keough

[curlawngreen]

Not to change the subject of the topic, but back to the question.I have Nelsons Labor and time book.It has very good data about all aspects of green industry.You may need to plug in your own slower or faster working times but on the whole worth much more than $50.00.