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  1. Business Operations
    “I swear to God if I see that $#@%^& I’m going to kick his $%#!” Wow. Pretty rough. Oh wait, I forgot to tell you that this is a portion of a conversation I had with a lawn and landscape business owner who told me that he had some of his customers stolen by a competitor and the next time he saw...
  2. General Industry Discussions
    You have probably seen the Papa John’s Pizza ads on TV – they are everywhere. “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John’s.” Is that false advertising? Pizza Hut thought so and in 1998 took Papa John’s to court and won. The court ruled they had to stop using the slogan. But Papa John’s...
  3. General Industry Discussions
    The days of placing an ad, the phone rings, bids placed, bids accepted, worked performed, money paid are all but gone in the lawn and landscape industry. Does this still happen sometimes in some places? Yes, but nowhere near as often as before. The economy and the uncertainty going on with...
  4. General Industry Discussions
    Tough love. Some parents believe in it, others feel like it might be the wrong approach. For me, tough love usually delivers results, or at least wakes people up. This is going to be a very short post - so think about what I am saying here. If you want to play with your equipment, take it...
  5. General Industry Discussions
    To be honest, this really goes for all businesses in general, not just lawn and landscape businesses. Look at your advertising. Look at your website. Glance at your flyers and brochures. Take a quick look at your direct mail pieces. Even look at your facebook and twitter feeds. Where is the...
  6. General Industry Discussions
    Did you know that in general, it costs 5 to 7 times more money to acquire a new customer than it does retaining an existing customer? Many lawn and landscape business owners are anxious to build their customer list. They want more and more new customers, but the fact is, most business owners in...
  7. Business Operations
    Absolutely. But.... Yes, there is a "but"... Only if it is done the right way. I recognize the desire for getting your message in front of as many prospects as possible. Reasoning would tell you that the more prospects you are put in front of, the better chance you have of gaining a greater...
  8. General Industry Discussions
    When you are starting out or your business is starting to grow I know it can be difficult to turn work down. It can cause a significant amount of anxiety because you sit there and think "what if". But I am here to tell you right now that you should be turning work down. If you have decided that...
  9. General Industry Discussions
    I have been in business for a long time. I've learned so much over those years that is never easy to pin-point one particular lesson that stands out for me. There is one lesson I have learned that I will never forget and I hope you realize as well... Great employees, talented employees are...
  10. General Industry Discussions
    You are in business. Each day poses new challenges. There is always so much to do and rarely do you have enough time to get it all done. Mother Nature usually doesn't help much either. You have phone calls to make, invoices to send, jobs to bid, employees to deal with and the list goes on and...
  11. General Industry Discussions
    With titles comes more money, or at least usually. In the lawn and landscape industry it has forever been a challenge to find hard working, reliable, competent employees. When you do find an employee who you can trust, who does his job well and seems to be genuinely concerned with the overall...
  12. General Industry Discussions
    For every lawn and landscape company that conducts a legitimate interview with a potential new employee, there are 10 that skip right over this process. Many companies in this industry will hire someone if they have a drivers license and a little experience. These are also usually the same...
  13. General Industry Discussions
    You will hear people tell you that answering your phone is crucial. In fact, they will tell you that you should have a real live person answer your phone every single time it rings. That would be nice. I am all for this, but sometimes we have to be realistic. Depending where you are with your...
  14. General Industry Discussions
    As a business owner you have to be strong in so many different ways. You have to be willing to do things that most other people just don't have the stomach for. In the lawn and landscape industry there are a lot of business owners who have constant and direct contact with their employees...
  15. General Industry Discussions
    I know it is common practice for lawn and landscape business owners to build their lawn maintenance routes, make a list for designated days and hand that list over to their employees who work out in the field and have them go to work. When this is how you set things up, you will encounter...
  16. General Industry Discussions
    Ok, here's the scenario. A commercial property manager calls you and says they want you to give them an estimate for the complete grounds maintenace services at their property - they want it all - mowing, trimming, edging, mulch, aeration, seeding, fertilization, weed control, shrub trimming...
  17. General Industry Discussions
    Wrote this for my blog today. Have been discussing this a lot on the phone past few days. Wanted to share... I receive emails and phone calls every single day from lawn and landscape business owners who need help with their business. I enjoy it. The conversations are great. The people are...
  18. General Industry Discussions
    Wrote this for my blog, figured I'd post here since Ihave been getting a lot of employee related questions lately... Ahhhh, isn't it fun when you feel trapped? As a business owner it is not a feeling we like or are accustomed to. We are the owner, President, founder, chief, big cheese as well...
  19. General Industry Discussions
    I wrote this for my blog and I even included a picture of Vanilla Ice! This is going to be very short, very simple, right to the point, and if you do it well, it will be wildly successful. People do not like to be sold. They don't like a salesperson being pushy and overly-persuasive. People...
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