ALMA Has The Answers!

Commercial Lawn Maintenance Contractor? You don't have to go it alone. ALMA can help you with every aspect of growing your lawn maintenance business. Estimating, operational procedures, marketing, crew configuation, etc. Visit www.almanow.com and I'm sure will find this is a no brainer! So come on, no matter if you're a new start-up or if you've been beating your head agaisnt the wall for years...join the family. It will be the single best thing you ever did for your company - and your insanity!

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi Tom, Can you tell us a little about how Alma got its start? What do you feel joining the organization has to offer the average lawn care business owner?

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After publishing Commercial Mowing Magazine in 1986, I decided to start an association for lawn maintenance contractors shortly after called ALMA. The association quickly grew to over 3,000 national members. We hosted the ALMA National Lawn Equipment Expo and National Conference. In 1993, I became a general partner in U.S. Lawns and unfortunatly had to let the association go dormant for a while because of conflicts between selling franchises and virtually giving the same information away for free in ALMA. After Leaving USL, I decided to take advantage of all the new technologies (video, audo, internet, etc.) and revitalize the association bigger and better! Now I have no restraints...I can do everthing I used to to as a franchisor, only instead of members paying thousands each month in royalty, they only have to pay 10 Bucks a month! It's a no-brainer!
ALMA provides video mentoring posts, podcasts, forms, operational procedures and helps contractors in every aspect of growing their busines.
ALMA is currently working on something that will "rock the industry" and change the way contractors run their business. We're very close but don't want to launch it until it's perfect!
Thanks for the forum. You do a great job!

[arthur712]

Originally Posted by tommyganz

ALMA is currently working on something that will "rock the industry" and change the way contractors run their business. We're very close but don't want to launch it until it's perfect!
Thanks for the forum. You do a great job!

Come on Tommy! Give us a Hint!!! lol

Welcome to the forum!

Thanx!
Artie

[Steve]

Tommy,

With all the franchise knowledge you acquired working with U.S. Lawns, did you ever think of starting another lawn care franchise? Or do you enjoy the lawn care association better?

Also what happened to the magazine you started?

Welcome to the forums Tommy.

I stopped publishing Commercial Mowing in or around 1993. The truth is, I just got tired of regurgitating the same stuff over and over. As we took on new readers, we had to keep on re-visiting topics from the past and it just became too much work trying to write about the same subject matter 10 different ways! So When I stop having fun with something, I stop doing it. Not sure if that's a curse or a quality? But that's the way I am. But the magazine was a blast. We are actually working on bringing Commercial Mowing back as an electronic newsletter from ALMA. I already told you about AgriCare in the other post...it was real unfortunate - that was going to be a great company! I have never lost my fire for helping contractors. It's what I love to do the most, so it was an easy decision to revitalize ALMA and make it something special once again. You haven't seen nothin yet!!!

[Steve]

So When I stop having fun with something, I stop doing it. Not sure if that's a curse or a quality?

In a book I was reading about Paul Newman, he used to say 'if it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing.'

I like that philosophy and subscribe to it

I already told you about AgriCare in the other post...it was real unfortunate - that was going to be a great company!

It seems like in the bigger picture, finding good people you can work with is much more difficult than finding funding for such a group.

Do you think this is the case?

Also, what is your view on why there aren't more businesses that are the size of what Agricare was going to be? Why can't most entrepreneurs put something like that together?

I stopped publishing Commercial Mowing in or around 1993. The truth is, I just got tired of regurgitating the same stuff over and over. As we took on new readers, we had to keep on re-visiting topics from the past and it just became too much work trying to write about the same subject matter 10 different ways!

I can understand this view. How ultimately does running a trade group then differ from what you experienced with the magazine? Won't there always be new business owners joining who ask the same questions?