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Last month we talked about “How to Run a Profitable Business in 2023.” This month, we’ve compiled a list of all the actionable tips we’ve shared with you over the years.

Take the time to look over these list of tips/ideas/suggestions and make a list of those that can help you reach your S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) goals in 2023!

 

Business Tips

1. Don’t spend $10 to save $1. Click here to hear why!
2. Use Google Map and/or Google Street View when quoting a job. Using these tools will help you determine if it’s going to be a job that’s further out than your normal service area and the type of home you are dealing with. Know who your ideal client is and focus your efforts on those types of clients. If the distance is far out from your headquarters, consider charging them a fee. Remember, it’s not just a 20 minute drive, it’s a 40 minute drive round trip!
3. Create a client avatar sheet and make sure all of your staff knows who your ideal client is. You know what kind of clients you enjoy providing lawn care and landscaping services to, make a list of identifiable qualities and provide that to your team.
4. If you offer a gift certificate good towards future services, make sure that it has an expiration date, if applicable by your state law.
5. Keep your personal finances separate from your business finances. This is a common misstep in both large and small businesses, so take the extra steps/measures you need to ensure that “co-mingling” of your personal finances and business finances don’t happen.
6. Understand the difference between markup and margins. Click to watch a video to learn more about this common mistake that can leave $1,000’s of dollars on the table.
7. Get your employee’s input into all policies in your business. Ask the questions, get their feedback and make sure everyone is on board with the standards in your business.
8. Make sure there’s a disclosure inside all proposals that the estimate is only good for X amount of time and/or that it is subject to change based off of pricing changes from vendors.
9. Review workers compensations rates annually. A landscape installer typically has a higher workers compensation rate than someone who works in the office – make sure you know what you are paying and that you are charging the customer accordingly for each team member in the field, in other words, know the cost of this overhead expense!
10. Shop around and buy in bulk. When you use more than one vendor for materials, you are sometimes able to get a better deal. Buying in bulk in the off season can also help you decrease your bottom line and allow for even more profit.
11. Get a FREE LMN account and start building a budget for 100% free today. LMN has been a game changer for green industry businesses!
12. Set company wide expectations and reminders. Employees and contractors are too distracted juggling their own recurring personal issues, so they aren’t thinking the same as the business owner. By setting expectations and offering reminders, you are keeping the whole team on track to achieving company goals.
13. To incentivize your staff company wide, create an area where you hang a career ladder with pay ranges on it so that everyone involved can see what they can do to increase their pay.
14. Keep a fluid approach to cost adjustments. Don’t plug costs into your budget and hit cruise control. Instead, delegate responsibilities for tracking and updating costs into your estimating tools, and be prepared to change cost assumptions monthly, and/or quarterly. Side note: this will allow for better purchasing and/or negotiating.
15. Don’t forget to recover replacement costs on equipment. If you aren’t charging the customer for equipment, you should be. This is one area where LMN software comes in handy. By charging for equipment per job, you’ll be able to recover equipment replacement costs and replace that piece of equipment when the time comes.

 

Marketing Tips

1. Start collecting names and emails addresses in order to send out a monthly newsletter. A monthly newsletter is a great way to update your customers and/or potential customers about what is going on in your business.
2. Never post on social media ON the hour! All social media platforms offer advertising, and those ads go out on the hour (ie. 9am, 9:15am, 9:30am, 9:45am). This means you need to post on uneven numbers/times (ie. 9:02am, 9:17am, 9:33am, 9:48am). By doing that, you are increasing your chances of having that content engaged with organically.
3. Get your business relevant on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is under utilized by industries, which means you can build your brand in front of industry leaders and position yourself in a way that could grow and expand what you offer and who you serve. Rule of thumb: the underdog is never the underdog for long. LinkedIn has been making a shift over the last few years by adding stories and the ability to go live, so now is a good time to make your brand stands out above the competition.
4. Provide a price range on your website for a variety of projects. This helps to give your customers an idea of what the cost will be. It also a great way to weed out potential customers that are looking for the cheapest option for a project.

 

Profit First Tips

1. Start a drip account. A seasonal drip account allows you to squirrel away money into a separate bank account so that it’s there from December through February (the slow months) or whenever you need it.
2. Start stashing away 1% of all your regular monthly sales income and put it in a “Building Account” at the bank. Consider this account the way for you to obtain a down payment to the next big item you need in your business.
3. Join the FREE Profit First Pros – Experts In The Landscape Industry Facebook group. In this group, we’ll teach you about the Profit First method and give you reminders on when to allocate your profits. Allocation days are on the 10th and 25th of each month. So if you want this reminder – join us!
4. Don’t just buy a piece of equipment because your accountant told you it was time for a write off. Buy it because you need it and consistently use it. If you have additional profit at the end of the year, pay yourself more or start an investment account instead of buying something you don’t need!

 

When it comes to business, there’s never enough advice to keep you from learning from your own mistakes, but it’s our hope that a few of these will help you make better decisions or implement some new processes.

If you are looking for more advice to help you grow and scale your business, then consider hiring an industry specific coach. An industry specific coach, like The Green Executive®, will utilize their skills and experience in the field to help you take your vision from idea to achievable, actionable steps.

By working with a coach, you’ll get an individual who will take a deeper dive into the issues and develop more thorough solutions. Sometimes it’s just a fresh set of eyes on the business that helps take it to the next level.

Don’t go it alone another year. Contact The Green Executive® and let us help you make this year the best year yet!