Today, I want to talk about a topic that can make a significant impact on your success and profitability: route density. As someone who has been in the trenches of this industry, I know firsthand the value of optimizing your routes and how it can take your business to the next level. So let's dive into the world of route density and why it matters.

Efficiency is the Name of the Game:
In our line of work, time is money. The more efficiently we can complete our jobs, the more clients we can serve and the higher our profits. Route density plays a crucial role in achieving this efficiency. By carefully planning and organizing your routes, you can minimize travel time and maximize the number of properties you can service in a given day.

Reduced Fuel and Vehicle Maintenance Costs:
One of the biggest expenses for any lawn care business is fuel and vehicle maintenance. Driving long distances between properties not only eats up precious time but also increases your fuel consumption and wear...

I spent ten to twelve years in business without really making any money. I didn't take the time to understand the profitability of individual jobs, didn't have P&L statements, and didn't hire a bookkeeper. Don't make the same mistakes I did—know your numbers! Take the time to delve into the details of your business because they are crucial. If you want to make money, you must dedicate time to analyzing your numbers.

So, what does “knowing your numbers” really mean? I could elaborate endlessly on this, and I'm sure everyone has their own definition. However, for me, it consists of two main aspects: 1) understanding the profitability of individual jobs and 2) evaluating the overall profitability of your company. First things first, do you have a CRM? Somewhere to store job details, customer information, invoicing, and payment details? Do you have a system to track all this information without relying on numerous sticky notes scattered everywhere? Personally, I...

In Tuesday’s post I mentioned shedding my old identity for a new one. When I started my business I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have all the information and resources that you have access to today. I completely lacked confidence, and because of that, I wasn’t charging what I was worth. Remember that $12 push mow lawn? That alone should show you that I did not know my worth, and more importantly, I didn’t “know my numbers!”

Today, I can say I’m a risk-tolerant person. I don’t mind a little risk, but I’m not into guessing. I am not going to throw numbers at a wall and hope they stick. I am a pragmatic person. I want my business goals to be practical and realistic. My business should profit, not lose year over year. It should also profit significantly, not just barely make ends meet. It was not practical for me to charge $12 a lawn. Today, I won’t even drop my gate for less than $45. I know times have changed, and...

We all have identities for ourselves and our businesses. Over time, those identities evolve to represent the lessons we've learned. In the beginning of your business journey, it's easy to sell yourself short. I know I did. My identity was shaped by people telling me I wouldn't succeed and always wanting to please others, which created a complete lack of confidence within myself. There is a lot that goes into who we are as individuals, but don't worry, we have the ability to change our identities as time goes on. I am going to share with you my journey of shedding my old identity for a new one.

Growing up, my mom, my two brothers, and I lived in a double-wide trailer in a trailer park. My dad passed away when I was around sixteen years old, so my mom was doing her best to support her three sons. When I started mowing lawns at thirteen years old, my customers were my neighbors in the trailer park. That meant my demographic of customers consisted of those who wanted the most work for...

Everyone wants to grow their business, they want to make more money, and have more customers. There’s nothing wrong with that. That being said, growing just for the sake of growth is not something I recommend. If you want to grow you need to have a plan. You need to have the steps lined up, so that you don’t get too big too fast. Before you can even think about growing you must ensure that you have a solid foundation. When you lay the foundation, you will have sustainable growth. Without that your growth could be quick and temporary.

Back in 2004 the tallest skyscraper in the world was built in Dubai. The name of the skyscraper is the Burj Khalifa. Several years ago my oldest brother, Doug took a trip to see the Burj Khalifa. Doug is an architect nut, he can tell you just about anything and everything you’d want to know about architecture. He took a trip to Dubai so that he could see the beauty and structural integrity of the Burj Khalifa for himself. It took...

This time of year things are picking up. You are probably out mowing all day and the phone is ringing off the hook. As we all know, there is plenty of work and not enough good professionals to get the work done. This is prime time to be growing your business, but that begs the questions, how do you grow your business? There is so much information out there and so many different methods and “gurus” that it can be hard to figure out what path to take.

If you’re anything like me, while you are out working, you’re listening to audiobooks, podcasts and YouTube videos. Taking in as much information as you possibly can while getting your work done. With all the information and content out in the world you are bound to hear conflicting opinions when it comes to growing your business. It took me a long time to decide what information was worth consuming, as well as which philosophies aligned with the goals.

Just because you are consuming a certain content...

So, did you guess it? What other document do I include when I send out the Lawn Agreement Form?

The Price Adjustment Letter.

While asking customers what services they will be looking for in the upcoming season, it’s important to be transparent about what those services will cost. If our customers are opting to renew lawn services with us, we want them to know what that will cost them to avoid any confusion down the line.

I used to be the guy that never raised my prices. Heck, I went 10 years without raising prices and man was that a mistake! Now that I’ve learned my lesson the hard way, I encourage others in the industry to raise their prices at least every other year. Let’s talk about why it’s important to raise prices and what you should consider when increasing them.

When deciding on price increases, there are several factors to consider:

- Inflation
- Cost of Goods
- Cost of Labor
- Wage Increases

Currently, we are still seeing an inflation rate of at least...

As this spring season gets rolling, you may find yourself reflecting on some of the systems you have in place. Or thinking about the systems that don’t exist yet, but need to. During this time of reflection, you may be asking yourself the following questions:

- Do I have a system for getting in touch with customers to see if they will be working with me again this year?
- Do I know what services they want?
- Can I accurately project my revenue for the upcoming season?

If you are reading these questions and don’t know where to start in answering them, don’t worry, that's what we are going to address in this post!

I used to be disorganized and a bit frantic when it came to advertising and taking on different services. I was always behind and playing catch up. I would advertise for spring cleans-ups with yard signs, door hangers, and postcards, but by the time my materials came in, it would be time to advertise for the next thing, so I constantly felt behind.

Another...

With spring comes craziness. Of course, we all have plans, but weather or man power might derail them. This past week I wanted to work four ten-hour days, but did that happen? No, because we were fighting the weather and were down a crew member.

This time of year we are all in the same boat. We have lots of work to accomplish and very little time to do it. When things happen like having an employee out, or rain, or snow, it’s easy to get frustrated, but don’t let the frustration take over. We have to remember to be thankful that nothing catastrophic has happened.

For all of you that think I’m Mr. Positivity, it really comes down to not having a choice. I suppose I could be angry and upset that it’s raining or that I’m down a guy, but how will that serve me? How would that serve my team, or my family? It doesn’t, so I choose to laugh my way through it. Sometimes we laugh because if we don’t, we’ll cry. I’m here to tell you, we...

Over the last six months we’ve teamed up with GPSTrackit to put their innovative telematics and fleet management tools to work in our business. GPSTrackit has been a fantastic tool to keep tabs on our crew and monitor our fleet. Whether your fleet is two trucks, or twenty trucks it’s nice to have that piece of mind on where your team is.

As baby time approaches I am relieved to be able to rely on GPSTrackit. I know that my team will be out working hard when I need to be home with Liz and the new baby. Consider it an insurance policy, you will always know where your trucks are.

GPSTrackit is just one of the many ways a business can evolve with technology. Using new software can make your business more efficient and effective and as well as potentially offset workforce and fuel cost challenges. Technology has the potential to grow your landscape business to new heights. Check out these three areas where you could embrace technology this year:

Advanced Equipment...