Green Industry Landscaping & Garden Magazine, ProGardenBiz

For many years, I worked with clients and never had a contract with any of them. It simply didn't cross my mind that I might ever need one. Not every project ran as smooth as silk but, in the end, everyone was always happy and I got paid. Life was good. You can probably see where I'm heading with this.

One day, I began a small but complex residential project. I now refer to it as “The Project From Hell,” and enough time has passed that I don't get chest pains just thinking about it. At the time, everything started out just like any other landscape project. I spent several hours working with the clients on the design, discussing their needs, their aesthetic preferences, their budget, etc. I found Mrs. Client to be a little difficult at times, but not any more so than some clients I'd worked with previously.

When the design was finished and we started the installation, things started to get ugly very fast. Mr. Client had to go out of town, leaving Mrs. Client in charge. She changed her mind several times right while we were all knee-deep in building the deck and patio and planting several large trees. She banished the landscapers from the property three times... Read the complete article here...

Taking Chances, Making Chances...
You Can Start a Lawn Care Business

By Steve Goodier

Lecturer Charles Hobbs sometimes tells about a woman who lived in London over a century ago. She saved what little money she could working as a scullery maid and used it one evening to hear a great speaker of her day. His speech moved her deeply and she waited to visit with him afterward. "How fine it must be to have had the opportunities you have had in life," she said.

"My dear lady," he replied, "have you never received an opportunity?"

"Not me. I have never had a chance," she said.

"What do you do?" the speaker asked.

She answered, "I peel onions and potatoes in my sister’s boarding house."

"How long have you been doing this?" he pursued.

"Fifteen miserable years!"

"And where do you sit?" he continued.

"Why, on the bottom step in the kitchen." She looked puzzled.

"And where do you put your feet?"

"On the floor," she answered, more puzzled.

"What is the floor?"

"It is glazed brick."

Then he said, "My dear lady, I will give you an assignment today. I want you to write me a letter about the brick."

Against her protests about being a poor writer, he made her promise to complete the assignment.

The next day, as she sat down to peel onions, she gazed at the brick floor. That evening she pulled one loose, took it to a brick factory and asked the owner to explain to her how bricks were made.

Still not satisfied, she went to a library and found a book on bricks. She learned that 120 different kinds of brick and tile were being produced in England at the time. She discovered how clay beds, which existed for millions of years, were formed. Her research captivated her imagination and she spent every spare moment learning more. She returned to the library night after night and this woman, who never had a chance, gradually began to climb the steps of knowledge.

After months of study, she set out to write her letter as promised. She sent a 36-page document about the brick in her kitchen and, to her surprise, she received a letter back. Enclosed was payment for her research. He had published her letter! And along with the money came a new assignment - this time he asked her to write about what she found underneath the brick.

For the first time in her life she could hardly wait to get back to the kitchen! She pulled up the brick and there was an ant. She held it in her hand and examined it.

That evening, she hurried back to the library to study ants. She learned that there were hundreds of different kinds of ants. Some were so small they could stand on the head of a pin; while others were so large one could feel the weight of them in one’s hand. She started her own ant colony and examined ants underneath a lens.

Several months later she wrote her findings in a 350-page "letter." It, too, was eventually published. She soon quit her kitchen job to take up writing.

Before she died, she had traveled to the lands of her dreams and had experienced more than she ever imagined possible! This is the woman who had never had a chance.

Some people wait for opportunity to come knocking. Here is a person who sought it out, proving again that we can be more than victims of mere circumstance.

If given a chance, will you take it? If given no chance, can you make one?

Steve Goodier, Publisher@LifeSupportSystem.com is a professional speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site for more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of Life, Love and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.

Green Industry Game Plan
The Game Plan

The Difference Between Small Business
Success and Failure

Article by Jan B. King

It is an American dream to own a business. But sadly, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, only one in five businesses is still in business five years after it opens. Landscaping and lawn care are no different.

A lawn care business needs a great business plan, but it doesn't give management enough information to have a successful, profitable business, like TruGreen. You dramatically increase your chance of success with a game plan. According to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey, over half of the fastest growing firms not only have business plans, but also have separate game plans to keep them focused on what must be done day to day. Green Industry businesses should also apply this technique.

A business plan gets you in the game. A game plan keeps you in the game. To use the sports analogy, it's easy to see how you are going to win the game from in the locker room. Most businesses in the Green Industry don't have a working plan that takes into account what actually happens on the field once play starts. Read the complete article here...

Green Industry lawn mower
Being a Pro: A Series on Professionalism

Lawn Maintenance Equipment

Buying & Using to make a Profit

Article by Joe Marsh

Your goal in selecting equipment should be to purchase equipment that will cut your labor costs the most. You must not be concerned with the expense of the equipment, except to find the best available price and financing.

I attended a national Green Industry landscape meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. One of the landscape maintenance contractors I met there was very knowledgeable about equipment. He was from Wisconsin where equipment is manufactured and where landscape properties typically have large lawn area. Contractors in Wisconsin make heavy investments in equipment to mow, edge, fertilize and spray these large lawns. Read the complete article here...

Green Industry Uniform
Being a Pro: A Series on Professionalism

Uniforms - Image & Perceptions

The time has come for all faded jeans to pass. For all torn tee shirts to seek the shortest path to the rag barrel. The time has come for UNIFORMS!

What work does your company do? Irrigation and sprinkler installation, landscape contractor, lawn maintenance, interiorscape plant care, nursery and growing grounds, waterscape, landscape design? All these Green Industry businesses have one common element, our customers and how they view us. Read the complete article here...

Recommended Reading:

Starting a Landscape or Gardening Business:

ProGardenBiz, a landscape and garden magazine for the Green Industry is your online resource for starting and operating a business as a landscape contractor or landscape and lawn maintenance gardener. Related fields covered by ProGardenBiz are irrigation installation and maintenance, sprinklers - repair and maintenance, waterscapes, water features, and ponds. You will also find information on plants, plant identification, trees and tree maintenance, and many other topics that span the Green Industry. Visit our new Community Web Portal for Forums, Chat, FAQ's, News, Articles and more.

If the answers you seek are not readily found, then drop us an email at: editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and will be answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?" columns.

ProGardenBiz Articles Available for Reprint and Free Syndication:

These articles are available:

How to Start and Run a Landscape Maintenance Business

Mow & Edge, The Basics of Lawn Care

I Survived the Landscape Industry Trade Show

The Gardener, the Salsa, and a Day at the Ranch

The Pocket Gopher

and more...

Mostly Business by Ted Goff

www.tedgoff.com