The No. 1 thing green industry business owners should do this off-season

(Graphic: LM Staff)

What’s the No. 1 thing a green industry business owner should do during the off-season?

Landscape Professionals

Richard Bare
Arbor-Nomics Turf
Norcross, Ga.

“Evaluate the previous season and based on that data, plan for the coming year.”

Paul Fraynd
Sun Valley Landscaping
Omaha, Neb.

“The off-season is all about planning and preparing your team to grow and improve over the next year. The No. 1 activity would be creating a budget that provides a roadmap for success. It should flow to your pricing, weekly/monthly KPI tracking, and any planned new investments. Our numbers tell a story, as leaders our job is to bring this story to life for our team.”

Luke Henry
ProScape Lawn & Landscaping Services
Marion, Ohio

“While we never consider there to be an ‘off-season’ in our business, winter — between snow events — is definitely a slower time than most of the rest of the year. We tend to tackle a lot of ‘special projects,’ whether cleaning up the handbook, doing extra training, revamping our SOPs or doing some long-range planning. With a slightly slower pace, we can zoom out from the day-to-day business and work ‘on the business’ more than just ‘in the business.’”

Jerry McKay
McKay Landscape Lighting
Omaha, Neb.

“Recharge and reload. Business planning is tied directly to yearly results.”

Bryan Stolz
Winterberry Landscape & Garden Center
Southington, Conn.
“Process improvement. How is your job mapping? Is your routing as efficient as it can be? How timely is your KPI tracking? If your management team isn’t as busy in winter as in spring, you are missing an opportunity to get better.”

Industry Consultants

Marty Grunder
The Grow Group
Dayton, Ohio
“Selling work. Nothing happens till someone sells something. Work is everywhere, but you have to look for it and be an order maker, not an order taker. Waiting for the phone to ring is a great way to get passed by those who don’t wait.”

Phil Harwood
Tamarisk Business Advisors
Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Review and update their strategic plan.”