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When Is the Best Time to Diversify Your Green-Industry Business?

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” This well-worn aphorism has been attributed to seemingly hundreds of figures: poets, actors, business leaders, motivational speakers. While we may never know who first uttered the words, they ring true nonetheless. And they can be applied to personal as well as business growth. Many businesses have learned the hard way that placing faith in one revenue stream can be fatal: Blockbuster Video, for instance, ignored the signs that streaming was the way of the future — signs Netflix capitalized on — and their brick-and-mortar […]

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QuickBooks Best Practices: 7 Tips to Maximize Your Financial Management

If you’re running a green industry business, financial management software is a must-have to account for revenue for work completed, record daily expenses, and take inventory to properly allocate material costs. From all the software options available, the majority of small business owners have opted for QuickBooks: As of 2015, QuickBooks enjoyed an 80 percent market share of U.S. small businesses that use financial management software. But many have only scratched the surface of the tool’s capabilities: For even the most seasoned QuickBooks users, there’s always plenty to learn about […]

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Humility and Experience As It Relates to Leadership – Marty Grunder

Marty Grunder at Spring-Green National Training Conference

Guest Writer: Marty Grunder, Founder and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Company and a leading Green-Industry Consultant. Leadership. That’s a word we hear all the time, use all the time, but do we really understand what it means with regards to running a Green Industry Company? I am constantly teaching, and one of the topics I focus on is Leadership. Leadership is the difference maker; it’s what ultimately determines whether our endeavors will be successful. There are so many lessons I could share here on Leadership; I could write for years. Since […]

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Hug Your Haters: 3 Ways to Improve Your Customer Interactions

How would you rate your green-industry business’s level of customer service? If you’d give your business a pretty high score, you’re not alone: 80 percent of companies believe they deliver exceptional service, according to a survey of more than 350 businesses by Bain & Company, a global management firm. However, according to that same survey, only 8 percent of those businesses’ customers agree. That means nearly every customer thinks the company has room for improvement. At this year’s Spring-Green National Training Conference, Jay Baer, bestselling author of Hug Your Haters, spoke […]

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5 Checklist Tips to Help Grow and Organize Your Company

Checklists—they can make your business life so much easier. If you want to get control over your company’s spending, evaluate your teams performance on job sites, and organize every department, then you need to incorporate checklists to meet your goals. Checklists to Consider In Your Business As you probably realize, there is a slew of checklist templates available online. But do you know which ones are the best for your green industry company? Your managers or crew leaders benefit the most from checklists. So, empower them to take their leadership roles […]

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The Importance of Weekly Meetings With Your Employees

Over the past few years, you’ve seen your business grow—going from just you to having multiple employees, crew leaders and managers. And you know with more employees, communicating is essential to success. To be efficient, you need to meet with your team at least once a week. Commit to holding weekly staff meetings to keep the team on the same page. Gathering everyone at a weekly meeting is an excellent way to hear, first hand, any frustrations and company wins as well as reminding them of your company’s mission and […]

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8 Business Apps to Help Run Your Company On the Go

Sometimes it feels that you have too many responsibilities to juggle as an independent lawn care, landscape or pest control business owner. And it can be days before you sit at your desk to pay vendors, organize your staff and update your accounts. Fortunately, today’s technology makes working on the road fairly quickly and simple. You can almost run your entire company from your truck with business-oriented apps. Stay on Track With These Business Apps There are many ways to help you stay on top of the paperwork while you’re […]

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Processes and Procedures Your Operations Need Today

As you know, there are a lot of moving parts in a lawn care, landscape or pest control business. You’ll feel more in control of your company’s success when your standards of operation are fully written out for all employees to reference while on the job. If you’re a small green industry company, you may not have a fully staffed office of accounting, administrative and marketing departments. But you do have an operations department—whether you, the owner, run it, or hire a manager to oversee that area. You probably trained […]

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5 Tips to Help Convert More Customer Leads into Sales

Did you know that your customer service is key to converting more leads into sales? Think about it: If a person who answers the phone is curt and responds to potential clients in grunts, you’ll lose out on leads. However, if your staff answers the phone with a greeting and friendly tone of voice, your chances of getting a sale increases. Answering the phone is only the first step of excellent customer service. Whether you answer the phone while you’re out on the road or you have a team member answering, you […]

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Extend Your Season With These 7 Add-On Services

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. If you want to increase your revenue into the late fall and winter months, you can include add-on services to your lawn care, landscape or pest control company. Not only can you keep business rolling throughout the year, but you can transform your company from a seasonal business to a four season business – where you’re adding value to your current customers’ properties. You can start marketing your new services during the growing season. Add door hangers, post on social media and include […]

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