SMALL COMPANY!

[HOMER]

I got my new issue of LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT magazine today and they were profiling 3 differnt companys. One was Davey Tree Expert Co., 2000 revenue was $315,000,000.00. Not too bad huh?

The next guy was considered a medium company and did not disclose his revenue---------wonder why?

The next guy was a small contractor in Dallas, Four Square Landscaping Co., has 18 employees and grossed $1,000,000.00!

If he is small then what the heck am I? Homer's Micro-mini Landscaping Co. You have to make a million a year to be considered small, I don't get it.

Maybe my 5 yr plan will be to make it to a trade magazine in the "small" category. or maybe I'll move to Dallas cause there ain't no million a year in my future!

[bob]

Homer, Maybe they'll profile companies like ours on the back of a match book!

[gusbuster]

I think the catergory goes from $0 to 1,000,000.:)
John

[65hoss]

We may be small but we have "BIG" mowers :)

[pcs]

Hey HOMER. Is that Davey Tree in Canada?

[Skookum]

I hope to someday be a small company. I guess I am like Homer, I am a micro lawn care company.

[T.C.O.B.]

The U.S. goverment considers any company employing less than five hundred people a small business. Whew! thats alot of grass to be cutting.

[HOMER]

The magazine says Davey Tree Experts, Chantily, Va.
They have the contract to maintain Arlington cemetary!
135 workers during peak season
mow more than 100 acres a day-rain or shine
remove 300 loads of leaves each year
and
lay 60,000 sq.ft. of sod each year!

they own a school bus which hauls employees and string trimmers.

[Indiana]

I guess I'm the same as you guys. I'm micro as well.

I never had understood the term small business. Seems like more and more there "small businesses" grossing $1 mil or more. I have a hard time doing over $100K. Most years its like $60K - 70K gross.

I would hope if I did $1 mil I wouldn't have the income to debt ratio that I have now. If bid debt comes with big incomes than I don't want it.

[hortusa]

About 2 years ago i needed to buy a truck cause my old pickup wasnt doing it anymore. So I looked into getting loans and stuff like that. I tied to apply for the American Express Small Buis card, I dont know if you guys seen the commercial of a landscape architect neede to grow so he went to American Express bla bla .Now I showed gross of about 140,000 a year and they denied.I looked into small buis loans from state and federal and i know they consider min 500,000 as a small buis.I cant figure it out either.

[Green Finger]

Hortusa, I understand you

Hey thats a bunch of junk. Small companies like ours put up the numbers year after year. 30k,60k,140k.

We prove ourselves and they still give us a hard time.

When we go to apply for a loan or am express card, they never look at our business or ask or tax returns they look at our personal credit or they make up some excuse and say you need to make at least 500K. That's why they can't lend us money.

We contribute to the economy just like the big guys. and if you add up all of our gross sales it would proberly be larger than the big guys.

It's a bunch of junk.

[moonarrow]

Hey Homer, Dallas is a place to make it I worked for my son-in-law there , in 2 yrs. he had a million dollars in contracts and after the third he sold the business and got into the hotel business. he did not have money to start with he started with what he buy from sears on his charge card He was this amount of work with me as the crew leader and 5 other workers one truck and trailer. but I'm like you micro-mine business wish I could do like he did I would retire next year and just spend my time hunting fishing and visiting my friends

[RYAN]

Hey Hort usa I also applied for an American express business card and was rejected. If you are still interested I did get an AT&T universal card but the credit limit is only 1k, not sure what they expect me to do with that. Funny thing is it is difficult for us to get a 10k loan from the bank for equipment, but they have no problem giving me and my wife 150K loan for a house. ??