During the early years in my career, I learned and mastered all the field level skills that helped me become a landscape technician. When I started my own business, I realized my field skills weren’t enough to make me a successful business owner. At first, things flowed smoothly, but as the business grew, things began to get out of control.... read more
The differentiator in highly competitive industries often comes down to one thing: customer service. In a competitive marketplace, we generally see one or two providers rising to the top. Consider the fast-food industry. There are fast-food restaurants everywhere and many players in this market. Currently, the leader in this industry is Chick-fil-A. This chain generates more revenue per store in... read more
Culture can be defined as how a team or organization thinks, feels and acts or how an organization behaves. In his book Built To Last, author Jim Collins explores the importance of culture in top-performing firms. While most owners understand the value of a healthy culture intellectually, it can be difficult to achieve. Companies invest much time and effort in... read more
If you have a business problem that’s going to take $1,000 to solve, shame on you if you cheap out and try to fix it for $900. You risk not solving it at all and having to start over. Only now, it may be a $1,100 problem that’s going to cost you a total of $2,000 to remedy. This brings... read more
Are leadership and management different? Management guru Peter Drucker is credited with saying, “Leaders do the right things and managers do things right.” Let’s tear the idea down a bit, assuming you need to establish some fundamental components for your business to reach its full potential (the right things). These include: Vision and strategy: Where are we going, and how... read more
Ensuring great relationships requires effort. Charisma and charm are great, but charm is not a strategy. Clients of landscape services are primarily looking for trust, expert advice, proactivity and effective communication. Trust is earned on two levels: honesty and keeping commitments. While few of us will blatantly lie to a client, it’s tempting to tell less than the full truth... read more
