When you see a pile of cash, you don’t shrug your shoulders and walk on. You grab as much as you can and run.
This somewhat was my frame of mind when I came across the cover image of the April 1990 issue of Landscape Management, although the payoff for grabbing it was gaining insights rather than dollar bills.
Titled “The million dollar mowers” by Terry McIver, then-associate editor, the story surveyed a handful of company owners who reported more than $1 million in mowing/maintenance revenue in 1989.
It included a “Million Dollar Mowers” list as well, which ranked 34 companies that raked in $1 million plus in 1989. The three businesses that topped the list included:
- Environmental Care, Calabasas, Calif., which reported $44 million;
- The Brickman Group, Jenkintown, Pa., which reported $19.3 million; and
- Lancaster Landscapes, Arlington, Va., which reported $12.5 million.
Owners recalled obstacles they faced in 1989—wavering weather conditions, increased legislation and economic uncertainties—and then shared how those shaped their outlook and planning to “capitalize on what the’90s have to offer.”
McIver concluded the commons traits of those “million dollar mowers” were that they adopted and continued to practice preparedness and adaptability.
For example, Robert Mann of Hunt & Hulteen said his Brockton, Mass.-based company was planning to be more “prudent” in 1990 due to Massachusetts’s poor economy.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Allen Curr of Wm. Vandergeest Landscape Care, Santa Ana, Calif., was figuring ways to turn down more work in 1990.
“We’ve reached a size where I feel quite comfortable,” Curr said. “The most difficult thing is being polite enough to turn down a client without them thinking you’re being snooty.”
It seemed 1989 left companies in the eastern U.S. more distressed than those in the West.
Mark Arrimour of Pennink-Arrimour, Bryn Athyn, Pa., said his company would face even greater hardships in 1990, due to a slump in the local economy. For some of you, his remarks may hit a little too close to home.
“People are doing more renovation work instead of going out and buying new properties,” Arrimour said. “They’re trying to use more of what they have due to budgets. When the economy slows down, landscaping is the first thing that gets nailed.”
To combat like conditions, Scott Plein, president of KT Enterprises in Alexandria, Va., intended to market all of its landscape management services to its maintenance clients to provide them overall care.
Two Houston, Texans surveyed were quite optimistic about 1990.
“We’re headed in a good direction,” said Charlie Racusin, president of Environmental Landscape Services. “I feel comfortable and enthused and have nothing but good to tell you.”
Gregory Spencer of The Spencer Co. echoed Racusin’s comments, but didn’t disregard the elephant in the industry: Labor.
“It is imperative that we continue to train our personnel toward higher productivity and use the latest technology available to our industry,” Spencer said. “The recruitment, development and retention of experienced and educated employees at all levels of the company is a high priority for our industry.”
