The million dollar revenue marker has become a milestone for the landscaping industry. The idea that 7 figures worth of sales is processed from a lawn care or landscaping company shows that it is a real business and not just a hobby. It shows that the proprietor (founder) figured out how to create a team around their idea and make a profitable enterprise.

Here are 4 things you must do to take your business from $100K per year to the elusive $1,000,000 marker. Essentially this is how you 10X your company.

 

1.) Hire Good People

You must have a system in place to attract good people. Your equipment can be great, your storefront and company vehicles pristine but the real value of a business is in the people that work there. Once you have found good people it is important to get them involved in the mission of the business. Until your employees are SOLD on the business succeeding, your customers and clients won’t be. Get your people on-board and involved and watch how much more efficient your company becomes — let alone the company culture boost it will offer.

2.) Turn Good People Into Great People

Notice, I didn’t say that you need to hire great people in #1. Great people cost a lot. Great people are in high demand. You have got to have the training in place and the management style implemented that will foster growth and experiential learning. You can either hire the crew foreman with 10 years of experience for $25/hour or you can hire the recent high school graduate for $15/hour. If you have the right training and education procedures you can make the $15/hr guy work just as good (if not better in the long run) as the $25/hr guy.

3.) Sales Trumps All

You are a sales organization. Don’t forget it! Yes, you sell lawn care and landscaping services… but at the end of the day you live and die by your sales ability. Treat your sales staff like they are the kings of the universe. You will never save yourself to  success and exponential growth. Top line revenue should be a constant focus and not expenses. Spend 80% of your time on revenue generation (sales) and 20% on conservation (budgeting). I find too many landscape business owners that focus on their annual budget and forget to have a sales system and process in place to achieve their revenue goals.

4.) Be Systems-Centric (Not Personality-Centric)

What would happen if your manager got hurt tomorrow and couldn’t work for a year? Or if you got hit by a truck tonight? Gruesome, yes, but it happens… and most landscaping companies fail at that moment or shut their doors soon after. The reason they fail is the positions of the company are upheld by strong personality and people and not the systems and procedures those people follow. You should have an operations manual that outlines the processes of every function within your organization. How do you create an invoice? When do you advertise certain services? How is the shop supposed to be organized? How are the books reconciled? If you create standard operations procedures for all the positions within your company it is much easier to find and train new people to fill those spots if they become empty.