When Traven Pelletier acquired Lotus Gardenscapes in 2015, the size of his landscape company, Bloom Garden Center & Elemental Design, grew from $1 million to $2 million overnight. He realized he would have to implement a set of systems to split his focus between being an owner managing a now-doubled company and a designer trying to uphold his creative passion.... read more
It’s important for companies to implement and execute lockout/tag-out (LOTO) procedures. LOTO is necessary whenever cleaning, maintenance, repair and/or inspection is performed on any machinery, equipment or device that has a source of energy connected to it that represents a potential safety hazard. Your company should have a formal LOTO procedure that: Communicates the company’s commitment to LOTO standards; Provides... read more
One of the biggest training challenges is consistency. Based on who facilitates the training and even how busy things are, the experience at a landscape company can differ from trainee to trainee. To streamline messaging and make training more accessible, Perficut Cos., based in Des Moines, Iowa, launched Perficut University, a multifaceted approach that includes training videos. The idea for... read more
John Joyce is a contractor with a heart of gold. He and his team have passion, integrity and a dream of dramatically growing their business. They work in a midsize market, and the potential to dominate is huge. They have been enjoying consistent growth, but it came with no real plan, no true buy-in and too much stress. I helped... read more
A growing business produces many benefits, if it’s managed properly. Growth often results in new positions, opportunities for advancement, a more stable management team, better technology utilization and more. We can all agree that growth is generally a good thing. But how much growth is too much? What are the dangers of growing too quickly? What do we need to... read more
What stand-on mower do you recommend and why? Daniel Dix Owner, Countywide Enterprises Flemington, N.J. “The Toro GrandStand MultiForce is an efficient stand-on mower that produces quality results. We invested in the MultiForce simply because it has the ability to service our clients year-round. The MultiForce is comfortable to operate, and it handles well. With a variety of attachments... read more
