New to the forum but not in Lawn Care

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum a but not to the Green industry. We are on our 24th year in business and this forum caught my eye from an ad I saw on the internet about snow removal. We are Put's Ponds & Gardens here in Michigan and we plow snow during the off season, so I wanted to check out the snow calculator on this site. Wish I had that 20 years ago, pretty cool! Anyway here is a pic of one of our projects.

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[arthur712]

Lawn care business tips

Welcome to The Forum Ponddude! Check out our Drawing for free stuff! http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=10007 Good Luck!

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Artie Crowley
www.marketingholders.com

www.mytakeacard.com

[Steve]

Welcome to our forum!

That is a fantastic picture of your pond there!

What got you started in constructing ponds?

I got started constructing pond 24 years ago when a client asked me to dig a hole in his courtyard for his preformed pond which was 3x6'. I thought it was pretty cool until it rained so hard that water got up under the tub and pushed it right out of the ground. I never-the-less had to correct my errors and took some pics of the finished project and won 12 ponds that year to install. Needless to say they weren't pre-formed ponds.
The most ponds that we have installed in one season has been 112 ponds. It was one busy year and don't wish that on anyone. Don't get me wrong the money was good (still is) but man with only 2 crews we busted some ***.

[arthur712]

It is great to see you are still busy.

I worked for Pond USA Magizene years ago! Great Industry if you do it right!!

[Steve]

I got started constructing pond 24 years ago when a client asked me to dig a hole in his courtyard for his preformed pond which was 3x6'.

Looking back over that time, you must have seen many businesses get started and many fail. What lessons do you think you learned from those years that have attributed to your success? We have a lot of newer start up businesses here and I am sure any words of wisdom you could offer would be of great help.

Steve you are so right, I have seen many companies come and go over the years. Lately when the Big Three has a layoff everyone thinks they can become a Landscape Contractor or Maintenance Company. They buy a mower in the beginning of the season, lowball legitimate companies out there trying to put food on the table, then sell off the equiptment at years end. This hurts everyone out there in the Green industry.
Do I know why companies come and go, no that would be saying I'm some kind of landscape guru that has all the answers.
I do know some companies that have grown up overnight, taking on more jobs that they can handle, hiring more employeees that they can pay and having too many loans out there. This was their failed to plan instead of planing to fail, and they did.
I have always had a 5, 10 and 15 year goal or business plan to keep me focussed. I stick to my prices and I am brutally honest with my clients when it comes to their home or business. I won't sugar coat it or tell them what they want to hear just to gain a job. This won't get me into anything but trying to back peddle in the long run.

[Steve]

I have always had a 5, 10 and 15 year goal or business plan to keep me focussed.

I think this is something most business talk about doing but never actually get to doing.

When you come up with such plans, what kinds of issues do you cover? What should other lawn care businesses look to include in a 5, 10, 15 year business plan?

I stick to my prices and I am brutally honest with my clients when it comes to their home or business. I won't sugar coat it or tell them what they want to hear just to gain a job. This won't get me into anything but trying to back peddle in the long run.

Do you mean if a customer says 'I would really like a pond here.' Then you look at the area and think that would be no good? Or how have you found it best to be so honest with the customers and have it work out well for both of you?