“Investing in your Success”

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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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How to Grow Your Green Industry Business To Sell

Think about why you started your business. Maybe you were 15 years old, mowing lawns for neighbors during the summer to raise money for your senior trip. Maybe you graduated from college and loved being outside so much you found a way to make it your job. Whatever your reasons were then, chances are you aren’t spending a ton of time mowing lawns or enjoying the outdoors these days. So what’s your “why” now? And do you have an exit strategy planned? These are all important questions to ask yourself […]

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Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement

I’m betting you didn’t start your business to become a financial expert. You’re not alone. The overlap between financial accounting geeks and green-industry pros is pretty slim. But it pays — literally — to understand the basic finances of your business. Not only should you be able to read your profit and loss statement (otherwise known as a P&L), but you should also understand how to use the data on the statement to run your business smarter and more efficiently. To help you develop that basic understanding, let’s take a […]

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Give Yourself a Break! 5 Tips to Increase Work-Life Balance

According to a 2015 Gallup study, the average full-time employee in the United States works 47 hours a week — now multiply that by the “small business owner factor.” It might be easier to calculate how many hours you spend NOT working. Are you constantly putting out fires? Is your smartphone buzzing nonstop with texts and emails from employees? How much time do you spend working in your business, rather than working on it? When’s the last time you took a vacation? Work-life balance isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the […]

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Growing Your Green Industry Business: 5 Tips for Hiring Support Staff

As your green industry business grows, it becomes less and less reasonable to assume you can handle all the day-to-day management of the operation. Don’t try be a hero by putting all the pressure on yourself to keep the ship upright. Hiring the right support staff can remove some of that pressure and help you focus on the bigger picture, like future growth or even your exit strategy. We asked some of Spring-Green’s seasoned operations staff for their tips on hiring support staff as you scale your business. Here’s what […]

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Succession Planning: What Is Your Exit Strategy?

There are plenty of ways to leave your business when it’s time to retire (or you’ve just had enough), from simply closing your shop to selling your business model to another business. You can sell to one of your employees, or keep the business in your family for generations to come. Matt Holker, and his son, Greg, began as Spring-Green Lawn Care Franchise Owners in 2006. Over the past 10 years, the business has grown, taking in neighboring territories, as well as bringing Matt’s other sons, Luke and Kevin, on […]

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How to Start a Blog For Your Green Industry Business

How are you getting the word out about your green industry business? If you’re only using traditional methods like direct mail, print ads, yellow-pages listings, you could be missing an amazing opportunity to attract new customers through your website. If you haven’t thought about blogging, what are you waiting for? Here are just a few of the many benefits of blogging for your green industry business. Your content could… • Drive traffic to your website • Position you as an industry expert • Help your sales staff nurture new and […]

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Spring-Green Lawn Care Named One of Largest Landscape Companies

Spring-Green Lawn Care has been named one of the largest landscape companies in North America by Lawn & Landscape magazine. Spring-Green Lawn Care was ranked 29th on the 2017 Top 100 list, and has been on the Top 100 list since 2005. “The companies on the Top 100 list represent an elite group in the landscape industry, and they represent what a landscaper is to thousands of homeowners and property managers across North America,” says Lawn & Landscape Editor and Associate Publisher Chuck Bowen. “The 100 companies on this year’s […]

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Economic Growth Means the Time Is Right for Diversification

In the first quarter of 2017, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate twice, a sign in the Reserve’s faith that the United States economy is finally beginning to perform again after a long downturn. The base interest rate is now between .75 and 1 percent (as of March 2017), which has inspired further confidence in the economy. What does this mean for you? Well, among other things, it means that now could be a perfect time to make an investment in the future of your business by diversifying. […]

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