Bill Stone, owner of Swede’s Plant Maintenance in Hillsboro, Ore., needed a better system for differentiating between fuel types when his company’s chainsaws began to seize up and his crew began to show up to job sites with the incorrect type of fuel. That’s why Stone decided to use carabiners from the dollar store to tell the difference. Containers with... read more
Within a few years of founding Stickle Lawn Care in 2012, owner Cody Stickle realized he couldn’t be everywhere at once. That was when the Hampton, Va., company incorporated a client satisfaction software system called Quality Driven Software (QDS) into its operations. “Being that we’re continually growing, I’m not able to go out and look over every single client’s yard,”... read more
U.S. Army veterans Brian and Kristy Boase are in their second season operating Mil-Spec Lawn Care in Clarksville, Tenn. The husband and wife team recognize it’s difficult to add employees, so for now, they’re remaining a two-person show. Yet, they say they’ve been able to grow thanks to the online invoicing platform they’ve selected: Jobber. They have about 60 maintenance... read more
With more than 15 percent of Country Club Lawn & Tree Specialists’ 30-plus employees starting work remotely on any given day, Co-owner Mark Black knew he had to find a time clock that fit his company’s needs. Black consulted with his peers, and about a year ago, the South Roxana, Ill.-based company implemented TimeStation, a cloud-based time clock that allows... read more
When Peter Stewart, horticulturist and designer, joined Envisioning Green last year, he was the firm’s first “plant guy.” At the time, plant replacement costs were a concern for the Caseyville, Ill.-based company. It warranties plants for a year after installation. Drawing on his education in botany, Stewart evaluated the problem and enlisted the help of mycorrhizal fungi to help feed... read more
Beginning in 2015, Toledo Lawns in Toledo, Ohio, streamlined almost all its processes using a collection of Google applications. “It’s really changed the way we do things,” says Joe Eide, vice president of the $1.3-million company. “It ties a lot of our pieces and parts together using that entire suite of apps.” The best part, he adds, is it’s free.... read more
