business smarts Archives - Page 2 of 6 - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

We recently updated our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use this website, you acknowledge that our revised Privacy Policy applies.

business smarts

Business Smarts: Implementing Expense Management Measures

Visibility into your lawn or landscape company’s expenses is vital to ensure bad actors are not abusing your operations. For instance, fuel cards are historically hard to track as different employees might be using different cards or sharing pins when they need to fill up at the pump. An employee could easily use this lack […]

Read More

Business Smarts: What Are You Planning For?

The saying “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is often tossed out when an individual suffers the consequences of not planning. However, this is your call to start the year on the right foot and plan purposefully. “Planning to check a box means just meeting a requirement without understanding its significance,” says […]

Read More

Business Smarts: Identifying Your Leadership Style

Some individuals are born leaders. Others reach leadership positions over years of effort and others can find a leadership role almost thrust upon them. Whichever path to leadership resonates with you, knowing what your leadership style is can help you establish your values and a vision to achieve those values. Discovering Your Leadership Style “Self-reflection […]

Read More

Business Law Basics: Things All Landscape Company Leaders Should Know

This information came from a session during the 2023 ELEVATE conference and expo. Don’t miss ELEVATE in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 3-6, 2024. Legal matters typically aren’t top of mind when operating your lawn care or landscape business, but understanding the law can help you tremendously when implementing different policies. For instance, you may think […]

Read More

Providing Holiday Décor and Lighting: Mastering the Logistics

If you want to add on holiday lighting and décor to your service offerings, there are numerous logistics to think through including if the installation window works with your current crews, how to handle selling and servicing and whether franchising is the right option for your business. Installation Window Depending on whether you work with […]

Read More

To Buy or Not To Buy: Taking On Other Landscape Companies’ Customer Accounts

It’s natural to want to grow your business organically, but there can be times when you are presented with an opportunity to purchase another local landscape company’s clients. This can occur when the other owner is transitioning away from a certain customer base or if some circumstances make it too challenging for that company to […]

Read More

Lessons Learned from Offering Holiday Décor and Lighting Services

As the holiday decorations begin to appear in stores, you may be mulling over the viability of selling holiday lighting services to your clients. Aside from being festive, this service offering can allow you to keep your staff working during the slower months while generating a good profit margin. While you may not be able […]

Read More

The Importance of Benchmarking

When you go to the doctor for a physical and your blood pressure is 120 over 80 and your temperature is 98.6, they’ll declare you’re healthy. This is because the average human has a blood pressure and a temperature that is in a certain range of healthiness. Likewise, determining the health of your business requires […]

Read More

Business Smarts: Setting Contract Minimums

The first year Landscape America, based in Wrentham, Massachusetts, implemented contract minimums they were able to reduce their clients from 300 to 180 and increase their revenue at the same time. “We wish we had done it sooner,” says Doug McDuff, president of Landscape America. “It would have saved a lot of headaches and allowed us […]

Read More

Business Smarts: Becoming a Snow Removal Subcontractor

If you want to break into the snow removal sector and don’t have the customer base to support the division yet, becoming a subcontractor can be a helpful solution. “I tell guys that don’t have experience if you can find a good contractor in your marketplace and become a subcontractor for them, that’s not only […]

Read More