The Landscape Business Pro Podcast: Expert Advice for Landscaping & Excavating Contractors

Stan chats with Stacey Marks, co-founder of OnSite Supply about the importance of connecting with both your male and female market and using social media.

Having a female look at your marketing and advertising ideas to give their input can be a make-or-break situation as a woman is the one making the final decision in a lot of situations.

In general, women are good at putting themselves in other peoples’ shoes so that can look at your ideas from multiple points of view and have a good idea of how will things will make a certain group of people feel.

When you are on-site with customers, be sure to ask the female questions, shake her hand, and make eye contact with her too!  Do not default to the man only.  She will notice and it will not leave a good impression.

For flyer advertising, Stacey recommends using warm colors with engaging and friendly copy.  Large rack card flyers are a great option.

Jeri Schulze knows how to hire (and fire) for large companies, small companies and everything in between.  She discusses what to look for in a resume and interview to help decide if somebody is going to be a good fit for your team.

1. There is no universal resume.  You should highlight what you are bringing to the team and make sure it matches what the position is looking for.  Highlight with bullet points what are some key skills you are bringing to the table.

2. How to dress for an interview.  The employer believes that the interview is going to be the best that they are going to get out of you.  Your clothes pay a big role in an employer’s first impression.

How do you qualify a firing?

If you don’t have an HR department, contact a reputable employer law firm to help guide through things. Discrimination, complaining of harassment, or something that could qualify as retaliation.  Make sure employees acknowledge employee handbook. have good documentation to back up communication of expectations before firing.  Demonstrate that you’ve done your best to help the employee. Have the employee sign and acknowledge the conversations you had with them regarding the infractions.

How many chances do you give somebody?  It depends on what your policies are and you should follow the policy.

Can this person do more than the job I’m hiring today?  Can they grow with the business and take on more leadership roles.

STAR Method

S – Situation – What was the situation?

T – Task – What was the task?

A – Action – What was the action you took?

R – Result – What was the result? How did it end up?

Skill – The ability to get something done

Competency – How you go about getting something done

You are looking for somebody who cares about customers even if they never interact with them.

 

Look for reasons to be grateful (every single day) instead of things to be upset about.

Practicing gratitude is a “keystone habit.”  The positive affects continue into other areas in your life.

“Give Thanks” System

T – Think about what you’re grateful for

H – Have an open mind (nothing you are grateful for is too small)

A – Allow yourself to feel gratitude

N – Note your gratitude (write it down)

K – Keep it in a special place

S – Share it with somebody else

Josie’s mantra when she is starting to feel frazzled is: “I am thankful for…”  When she feels herself starting to get upset or overwhelmed, she takes a second to note what is is grateful for.

Within 3 weeks of practicing gratitude, people are 25% happier, sleeping better and exercising more.  The benefits continue even after they are no longer intentionally practicing gratitude!

Links from this episode:

The Gratitude Jar

JosieRobinson.com

Brian ran a business in high school with a friend, got a job out of school, and then in April 2015, he started a new business.  In today’s episode, Brian asks Stan vital questions about transitioning from running a part-time business to a full-time business.

They also dive into important questions about the differences in homeowners associations and residential properties (bidding, advertising, providing service, etc).

NEVER belittle your competition, but create a flyer to show ways the property can be improved.  Give the flyer to every homeowner in the association.  The more specific and less generic, the better.

When you have the right person in your business, they will never cost you money.  You should be making more money than they are costing.

Don’t have analysis paralysis and think yourself out of new projects. Just get started!

Stan interviews Joe Mooney of Homesteadonomics about how he harvests 90-95% of his water usage from rainwater.  Joe goes over the specifics of how he has his collection, filter, and storage systems set up.

Every inch of rain on 1,000 square feet = approximately 600 gallons

Joe is a wealth of knowledge about a wide variety of topics when it comes to do-it-yourself projects and homesteading.

Links from this episode:

Homesteadonomics – YouTube

Homesteadonomics – Facebook

Dirt Monkey University is looking for writers to contribute content using their experience in the industry.  We will then post your blog on our website and put a link to your website.  We will also provide you with a badge that you can put on your website and link to your article.

This will have great benefit for both of us!  We are building a platform for people in our community to learn from each other.  You will get instant credibility to your clients and it will be a boost to your website when it comes to online search engines.

Articles don’t have to be directly related to the industry.  It can be about relationships, nutrition, personal growth, etc.

Share experience. Share knowledge. Create authority.

Links from this episode:

SarrosLandscaping.com

Stan sits down with Greg Chism (AKA Geek to Freak) and Keith & Ashley Kalfas after the GIE Expo to have a casual conversation about the ins and outs of their YouTube “careers.”

Links from this episode

Geek to Freak

The Landscaping Employee Trap

Stan talks to Dustin Maher of Fit Moms for Life about exercise, nutrition, and how it affects every part of our lives and business.  Our body is our engine – food is our fuel.  Exercise smarter. Change the food you eat. You are the role model for your family and company.

Food myths:

* Fat makes you fat

Health fats: grass fed butter, coconut oil, cold pressed olive oil, avocados, fatty fish, raw nuts

* Cutting calories is the best solution to lose weight

Surround yourself with people who have similar health goals as you.  Are your family and friends moving toward health or moving toward sickness?

Don’t drink your calories

Eat more vegetables.

Links from this episode:

www.FitMomsForLife.com

www.DustinMaherFitness.com

Stan turns the tables and is interviewed by young entrepreneur, Robert Buzzard.  He is 20-years-old and wants to start an excavating and hardscaping business.  Robert has limited technical and business experience and wants to know the best plan of action.

Things you need to master when starting a business

* Sales – sales skills will make or break your company!

* Technical

* Managerial Skills

* Estimating

Questions that Robert asks Stan include:

* Should I get a job working for another company or jump right into starting a business?

* How should I start planning for my business?

* What licenses do I need to start-up?

* Do I need insurance?

* What start-up costs should I expect?

* How do you get quick cash in a pinch when absolutely necessary?

* What is my competitive edge?

Today Stan talks with Tony Bass who partnered up with Michael Gerber (author of The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It) to write The E Myth: Landscape and Contractors edition. 

Before he read The E-Myth, Tony’s landscaping business was making approximately $350,000 in revenue with 8 employees.  After reading the book, he took a 6 month sabbatical to create systems he could apply to replicate and expand his company.

5 years after his sabbatical, Tony was at about $1 million in revenue.  The revenue wasn’t important, it was the foundation.  He had plans for every part of his business. A financial plan. Marketing plan. Operational plan. organizational charts.  Job descriptions.  Training manuals.

5 Mega Trends that Catapult or Kill

* Baby boomers buy more services

* Fuel prices are lower

* Big companies face higher cost of labor than smaller companies

* Pay rates are going up

* Automation

Links from this episode

SuperLawnToolkit.com

The E Myth – Landscape Contractor

The E Myth – Revisited

The E Myth – Original