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Knowing where to start with building value in a landscaping business starts with one valuable question: What does a top notch landscaping business look like to YOU?

Owning and running any successful business starts with the effort you are willing to put into it every day. You’ve got to have a vision, mission, & values, be organized, learn how to delegate, use proper equipment and have a great team at your side. Once you understand those key points, you’ll have a successful landscaping business.

Let’s break each of them down into action steps:

Vision, Mission, & Values

Every company needs a foundation and that foundation starts with the vision, mission and values. These three variables are the driving force behind the initiative to own and run a successful business.

• The vision of a business answers the question: Where do we want to go and/or what do we want to be know as?
• The mission goes along with the vision by answering the question: How are we going to get there?
• The values of a business pulls the vision and mission together by answering the question: What are you NOT willing to give up? (aka. what is nonnegotiable?)

Once you have a solid foundation, it’s time to get organized by putting systems in place to run a business efficiently and effectively.

Organization

Organization starts with documenting processes and procedures. The best way to document a process is by using a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). SOP’s are a step-by-step guide of how to perform a routine task. By documenting how you want tasks completed, you are taking the first step you need to delegating.

Another thing to consider with documenting processes and procedures is where are you going to store them? All information pertaining to SOP’s and the company (aka. contacts, estimates, etc.) should be stored in one central location. This way it is accessible to all who are involved in the day-to-day processes.

Delegation

Delegating allows you to focus on income producing tasks, plus gives you the time you need to network, make sales and build relationships. These things are essential to the growth of a business and cannot take place if you are doing all things in the business without help

Rule of Thumb: If you think you need to hire someone, you should have already hired them.

Proper Equipment

You have to re-invest in your business to scale and technology will help you scale!

Technology used inside the office is just as important as the equipment used for lawn care and landscaping. Without the right equipment in the office, processes and procedures will not run smoothly. It’s why The Green Executive® partnered with LMN Business Software.

LMN’s software allows us to:

1. Track day-to-day schedules
2. Keep documents in one central location
3. Provide estimates
4. Keep track of inter-office communications (to and from clients)
5. Invoice clients

It truly is the one piece of technology that will not only help you grow your business, but it will grow with your business.

Team

Having the right people in the right positions in your company makes all the difference in the world. And once you’ve got that team, you need to make sure you are providing them with the tool for success.

Those tools are:

1. The Vision, Mission and Values – display these in your central work area for all to see.
2. Clear set of responsibilities and guidelines to follow – SOP’s, equipment, etc.
3. Clear set of expectations – start with open communication and how they can help each other.

By having these tools in place, you’re building a strong company culture and structure. Always remembers that the culture (morale) of a company is just as important as how it is structured.

“When you’re a better human being, you’re a better business owner.” – Larry Winget

Words of Wisdom

With over 26 years of actively owning and managing a successful landscape company and as industry leaders, we want to give you a few final tips for success:

• Join a professional association like NALP or Landscape Ontario
• Hire a business consultant/mentor
• Know your numbers and understand your financials
• Find a hobby you enjoy and make time for it
• Always make uninterrupted time for family

If you have more questions or would like 1:1 Consulting, you can book a consultation here.