Interview with Tom Delaney of Professional Landcare Network (PLANET).  PLANET is the industry association serving lawn care professionals, landscape management, design/build/installation professionals, irrigation & water management and interior plantscapers.

For more information about Professional Landcare Network visit http://www.landcarenetwork.org/.

Interview Topics:

• Labor Concerns – 03:48

• H2B Visa – 09:48

• Workers Requirements – 13:44

• Pesticide & Fertilizer – 34:32

• Concerns – 40:10

• Water Restrictions – 51:24

Labor Concerns – 03:48

The major issue is the H2B program regarding labor and the rules the U.S. Dept. of Labor is attempting to enforce. With two lawsuits currently active, efforts are being taken to halt and prevent such rules that make it more difficult to find workers. Given the labor intensive and seasonal nature of the landscape industry, owners can be left without workers to complete work and also at risk of losing those workers with questionable paperwork, even if they follow all requirements.

H-2B Visas – 09:48

The fore mentioned concerns bring many to the H2B program which can help provide the needed workers. There are required steps to qualify such as applying in advance, advertising to American workers first and completing paperwork in an attempt to be certified for workers after approval from the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The State Dept. of Labor then sets up interviews with qualified workers before their entry into the country.

Worker Requirements – 13:44

This interview will determine entry and this process has been successful before. Proposed regulations regarding workers, can however make it difficult to consider using the program. The requirements, like wage rules requiring more pay per hour, as well as some regulations similar to those applied to the H2A program, make it costly for owners and workers alike. If the decision is made to use the H2B program, owners should be tracking proof procedures, contracts, employee and wage records to be prepared for possible Dept. of Labor audits. Having up to date files, I-9s, proof of worker’s citizenship, knowing what these proper documents look like to avoid fraudulent papers and fielding possible workers can ensure some safety during these audits.
There are kits available to help with this at http://www.landcarenetwork.org/legislative/industrytools.cfm

Pesticide & Fertilizer – 34:32

When applying pesticides and fertilizers, homeowners and commercial applicators alike must take caution in follow licensing requirements (when applying pesticides for a fee) of departs within states and also be sure to follow the label, which is the law. Without these measure both commercial applicators AND homeowners risk being cited for misuse. We have to be students of the environment and look at the resources used to take care of the landscape.

Concerns – 40:10

There are concerns about states being pushed to pass requirements that limit or ban pesticide use. We track any legislation mentioning “pesticide” or “fertilizer” and everyone should keep watch, trying to limit any restrictive requirements based on “this one person misused it, so more people must be doing the same”. If they push organic control, we try to inform people on these products and we have a document posted on our website that covers types of organic control. Organic doesn’t mean it’s safe. Maintain good management practices, using these products only when necessary and get involved and informed if you are considering working with these products.

Water Restrictions – 51:24

Restrictions vary from state to state and some states let the communities regulate water restrictions. Too often irrigation systems are improperly calibrated or not operated correctly. We need to stay informed on what we are planting and how it’s cared for, so that the minimum requirements can be met instead of the maximum. Having enough water is a serious resource issue, and this will be more of a concern in the future as time goes on, having enough water to grow the crops we need. When it comes to regulations, if you’re not speaking for your own industry, who’s speaking for you? Get involved, when it comes to all these topics discussed.

Jonathan Pototschnik interviews Tom Kelly, founder of BeeSafe, about Organic Lawn Care.

Tom and Jonathan discuss Organic Lawn Care from a business perspective.

Topics Include…

Can lawn care companies really make money in organic lawn care?

How much does an organic program increase product cost, labor cost and costs associated with retreats?

How fast are the results? Will homeowners (and businesses) really be willing to wait for results?

Does today’s approach to organic lawn care still require special lawn care equipment?

Is ‘true’ organic weed control possible? What about in southern markets that struggle with grassy weeds (crab grass, dallis grass, johnson grass, etc.)?

What is the future of the chemical lawn care industry (fertilization and weed control)?

Are we going the direction of Canada regarding lawn care chemical regulations?

What is the state of Organic Pest Control?

Suggestions to learn more about how to transition a lawn care company to organic lawn care?

The bottom line – how realistic is it for a company to make money (and increase profits) if they switch from chemical lawn care to organic lawn care?

** NOTE **

Within 5 minutes 3 companies applied.  Within an hour… 20.

Unfortunately, I cannot accomidate everyone at this time.

If you would like to be on the waiting list – which will give you first right of refusal - next time I offer this opportunity, please click on the orange Ask a Question button to the right and send me your name and email address.

Greetings,

I’ve invited two (primarily) residential maintenance companies to Dallas for a very unique opportunity to work on taking their business to the next level.

While in town, we are going to tour my company and take a look at exactly how it runs.

I am inviting four companies.  I already have two committed.  I’m looking for two more and if this is a fit for you – I’d like to invite you.

This is urgent… if you have any interest please be the first to contact me before the two spots are taken.

You can call my office at 800-475-4157 (ask for Ashley) or send me a message via this form:
http://www.servicebusinessstrategy.com/question-lawn-care.asp (include your email address)
Details:
Dates are somewhat flexible for the next few days.  I’m most concerned with putting together the right group of four companies.

The tentative dates are August 17th, 18th and 19th.  Or August 24th, 25th and 26th.

If you haven’t watched the video above – you should.

We are going to work on your business…

1) fix what is wrong and not working
2) give you a roadmap and the tools to take it to the next level
3) clarify exactly what your action steps need to be to get you there fast

This is for companies that are primarily residential maintenance.  Each of the four companies must be serving different markets (no competitors).

We will get together for 2 full days at my office… and I mean FULL days (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a working lunch each day).

You will fly into Dallas (DFW airport) on a Thursday evening.  We will meet at my Service Autopilot office all day Friday and Saturday.

Friday night we will do something fun.  (I will pick up the tab)

Sunday morning (if you can stick around) we will tour my lawn care company.

I will show you anything you want to see and answer all of your questions.

We are going to fix your business and give you a plan of action to execute.

You will get ½ a day to focus on your business exclusively.

BUT.  Because the other 3 companies are going to have the exact same challenges and needs as you – when they are on the hot seat and we are fixing their business you will get a hundred ideas and action steps you can apply to your own business.

DO NOT under estimate the value of being in the room while we are working on the other three companies just like yours.

Two weeks later, you and I will have a 1-on-1 private phone consultation to follow-up on what you’ve done and the new challenges you’ve encountered implementing the plan.

Six weeks after you leave, we will have a second 1-on-1 private consultation call.

Requirements:
You have to be a fit — if I don’t think I can massively help you — I will tell you.

1) You must be focused on primarily residential maintenance.
2) You must be willing to work… not B.S.  We are going to make progress.
3) You must be currently grossing between 250,000 and 1.2 million.  If your too much over 1mm this won’t be a perfect fit for you.
4) You cannot be working in the field full time.
5) You must commit to fully implement what I tell you to do.  There are only four spots and you will be wasting both your time and mine if you do not do exactly what I suggest.
6) You must be willing to set your pride aside and be honest about your company problems, fears and frustrations.
7) If $2700 is going to bankrupt your business, destroy your marriage or put you in debt you can’t afford – don’t attend.
8) If you have a negative attitude or generally complain about your life and the world – we won’t be a fit.
9) You will be prepared – with questions ready – you will be able to clearly articulate what your think your problems are.
10) You will have made arrangements to ensure you will not be taking phone calls, fighting fires, dealing with emergencies, or coordinating crews while here.  I want you to make significant break-throughs – so I don’t want you to be distracted.
Investment:
$2700

You’ll blow $2700 messing up one mailer, hiring one bad employee, botching one small door hanger run, not doing any one of the things I will advise you to start doing, etc.  I could go on.

You will get a 10x return on your investment… if not 100x or more.

This is ridiculously inexpensive.  I’ve blown more than $2700 on one marketing mailer mailed at the wrong time.

Image how much money I can save you shortcutting the process of building your business.

I’ve traveled the road you’re approaching… what can I answer that will save or make you a ton of money?

What are you scared of?  I can help.

Want to take home a 6-figure pay check on a $600,000 to 1mm $ per year business?  I know exactly how to do it.

Ever wondered what the best strategy is?

Ever wondered where most of the money is in the industry?

Ever wondered what you should be focused on to make the maximum profit over the next 5 years.  I’ll tell you.

Once you reach 1mm per year what should you be focused on to ensure you dominate your market and maximize your pay check… I know… I’ll show you.

Ever had a family member, relative, friend, acquaintance scoff when they heard you are in the lawn business?  Ever felt that everyone thinks the lawn business is not a real business?  I’ll show you how to make everyone that knows you wish they were in the business.  They will all call you lucky.

I realize everything I just said sounds like marketing hype.  If you don’t believe it’s all possible – this isn’t for you.

I don’t have the time to convince you otherwise.

Contact me if you think this is a fit.  First come first serve.

You can call my office at 800-475-4157 (ask for Ashley) or send me a message via this form:
http://www.servicebusinessstrategy.com/question-lawn-care.asp (include your email address)
Guarantee:

If after the first day you’re not convinced I can deliver to you massive value – that this experience will change your business – you can return home the night of the first day and I will refund 100% of your money.
Travel Details:

You will fly into Dallas.  DFW airport is generally the best airport to fly into.  You can check rates on Orbitz.com.  I generally fly American Airlines.

There are plenty of $50/night hotels.  And plenty in the $125/night range.

My office is a 45 minute drive from the airport.  I recommend renting a car.  Car rental is at the airport… it’s easy.

You can bring a business partner.

Don’t plan anything Friday night; however, Saturday night there is a lot to do in Dallas.  If you stay over Saturday night to tour my company on Sunday I can give you a lot of Saturday night entertainment ideas.

How To Fix Your Lawn Care Business – or – if your business is going well this video gives advice on what to look at and think about if your goal is to take your lawn care company to the next level.

The three areas discussed:

1) Marketing your Lawn Care Business
2) Hiring and employing the right employees
3) Lawn Care Software & Systems (processes and procedures)

A large portion of the video is about pricing your lawn care, landscape and enhancement services correctly.

It is impossible to do the right marketing, hire the right people, setup the right systems and deliver the level of quality and service you must if your services are incorrectly priced.

In addition to the three main topics discussed, accurate pricing is critical to building a great Green Industry company.

 
Jonathan of Lawn Care Millionaire and Andrew of Lawn Care Marketing Expert speaking in Chicago after a two day visit with Perry Marshall – the expert to the Pay Per Click industry – and the guy that literally wrote the book on Google Adwords.

If you don’t own Perry’s book – Ultimate Guide to Google Ad Words, 2nd Edition: How To Access 100 Million People in 10 Minutes – and you want to grow your lawn care / landscape business using PPC marketing you should buy this book today.

Most in the lawn care business dream (or at least once did) of building a big lawn care company.

How does a 10 million dollar one sound?  Exciting?

The fact is, less than 1% of all lawn care companies in the U.S. and Canada gross more than $10,000,000.00 per year.

I personally like 10mm as a goal; however, I believe the ultimate achievement in business is to create a company that produces strong profits, grows and manages itself without your constant intervention.  By keeping your personal debt (monthly payments) to a minimum… meaning you have more monthly take home pay each and every month than the amount you pay out in personal expenses… you have created the ultimate freedom.

I believe freedom is the bigger goal.

A big business is a secondary goal.  Only to be fought for after you achieve the first goal.

Imagine a paid for house and cars.  Now imagine a lawn care business that runs itself and spins off more cash every month than you need to live.  You could do anything you want (within reason)… you could go anywhere you want.  This is freedom.  This is the ultimate business accomplishment.

You don’t need a 10 million dollar business or 10 million in the bank.  You simply need a consistent means to produce guaranteed cash in excess of your living expenses. 

When you’ve achieved this you will never have to make hard personal or business decisions that aren’t in your best interest.

Freedom is knowing that you don’t have to work with anyone you don’t want to, or do anything you don’t want to do or take a job you don’t want because without it there won’t be enough money to make the payments.

Too many lawn care business owners find themselves in the unnecessary position of being over loaded with debt.  Lawn service and landscape businesses that cannot service the debt ultimately go out of business leaving the owner with a mountain of debt to work off and pay back over years.

Here is how to avoid the trap:

1)     Don’t sign long term leases for office space and equipment that you can creatively avoid.  Our lawn care company could easily afford to buy and build out a multi-acre facility.  However, doing so would push us further out of the city limits resulting in higher payroll, fuel and truck maintenance costs.  Rather, we’ve found creative solutions for very efficient office, storage and facility setup that keep our costs very low and our financial obligations at a minimum.

2)     Don’t buy fancy trucks when you are starting out.  In fact, I can’t figure out why you would ever need brand new trucks.  They will almost immediately get beat up, scratched and dented.  That’s the business we are in.  Look for low mileage used trucks.  Painting a truck is cheap… a lot cheaper than buying a new one.

3)     That piece of equipment that would be really cool to own but may not be used to its full capacity should be rented on an as need basis.  Wait to purchase it or finance it until you are absolutely certain you have enough work to fully utilize it and when you are sure the payments or large cash outlay will not financially strain your business.

4)     Expanding too quickly by adding new service offerings that require the purchase of new equipment, trucks, employee’s, etc.  Think of each new service offering as a mini business.  Most businesses involve a start-up and learning phase.  Adding a new service to your service mix will work much the same way.  It is unlikely that it will be highly profitable day one.  Can you afford the financial strain it might put on your lawn and landscape company?

5)     As soon as you make some good money resist the urge to buy that new fancy truck or a bigger house.  Lots of personal debt that requires you to earn a certain size pay check every week to make the payments is bad.  When a challenging time arrives in your business if you can’t cut back your pay check you’ve got a problem.  As a result you are forced to make bad decisions within your business to ensure you can continue to take the same size paycheck as before.  Likewise, when great business opportunities come along you will be unable to temporarily reduce your pay check to capitalize on them (finance them).  Far too many business owners use their lines of credit to subsidize their personal living standards.  This is bad.  This is how businesses are slowly destroyed.  The concept of living below your means isn’t popular.  I realize this idea doesn’t sell books but it’s exactly how you get rich.

And, most important… it’s how you create freedom.

6)     Finally – I can’t improve on the wisdom of this Saturday Night Live episode.  http://www.hulu.com/watch/1389/saturday-night-live-dont-buy-stuff

Mulch and Soil Conversion Chart for Landscapers

You can use this Square Feet of Coverage by Depth Chart in place of a mulch calculator.

In the example below 2 cu. yds. of mulch installed 2″ deep will cover 324 sq. ft.

Calculation Notes:
1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet = 9 bags / 3 cu. in size
Yards needed = sq. ft. x depth (in.) divided by 324
Coverage = cubic yards x 324 divided by depth (in.)
2 cu. bag covers 8 sq. ft. (3″ deep) or 12 sq. ft. (2″)
3 cu. bag covers 12 sq. ft. (3″ deep) or 18 sq. ft. (2″)

Use the following chart to calculate how many plants / flowers are required to fill a specific area / space / flower bed.

* Multiply sq. ft. of bed by # in this column

Example:

If your bed is 10′ x 20′, then the area is 10 x 20 = 200 sq. ft.

If the plant / flower spacing is 12″ on center then 200 x 1.15 = 230

You would need 230 plants to fill this area.