What if?

Let’s play “what if.” This is a game where I ask you a couple of questions designed to help you think and make more money if you’re willing to take the actions we are about to discuss.

What if you were to systematically get rid of ¼ of your clients while intensely screening all new ones going forward? Would profits go up? What if you cut ties with some of your long-time employees who really haven’t improved a lick in the last three years? What if you sold off old equipment and bought new stuff?

Of all the things I have done for my business and all the things I do to help other landscapers improve their businesses, the aforementioned are some of the toughest decisions to make. But, there can be no question that taking action on some of these is the best thing you can do. Let’s talk a little bit about each of the three questions I raised above.

Getting rid of clients. I know; it seems like a stupid thing to do. But, most businesses that are successful clearly know who their client is. Clients who are never happy, are unreasonable and don’t pay on time need to be purged. We recently completed a job for a former client for over 40K. The family we worked for was as nice as can be. But that’s about all they were. They searched the internet incessantly for information to prove us wrong. They moved plants after we planted them and still wanted a full warranty. They hovered over our crews the entire time we worked there. They presented ideas daily of things they wanted changed but didn’t want to pay for. And they tried to make us do all kinds of things not covered or stated in the contract by saying, “But we’re paying you 40K; you can do this for 40K.” Again, this family was nice; in fact, as weird as this sounds, I do like them. I’ll wave at them when I see them; I’ll even stop and talk to them at the grocery store. But, Grunder Landscaping Company is not going to work for them again. Why? We did not make any money on the job because they wouldn’t let us do our job. None of my team wanted to go over there; and most importantly, I did not have fun nor did I enjoy the job at all. It consumed much of 2 months for me and if it weren’t for my years of experience, I think it could have caused a lot more damage. I now know that we’re not a fit for everyone and it’s important to get rid of clients from whom you don’t make money, don’t enjoy working with, and don’t fit your talents.

Getting rid of poor-performing employees. It’s probably easy for you to agree with my statement that you should get rid of poor-performing employees. The problem is that many of you don’t know a poor performer when you see one. If given the chance to rehire a person, would you? If the answer is “no” or “maybe not,” then what are you waiting for? In over 15 years of working with landscapers I have seen some truly horrible personnel decisions. I have seen owners let people stay on who have stolen from them saying, “But he’s a really good employee.” Really? Look, it boils down to this. It is incredibly hard to find good people. But you’re never going to find the good people if you let the bad people hang around. Poor performers bring everyone down. Isn’t it time you honestly looked at your organization and decided who can take you to the Promised Land?

Getting rid of old equipment and buying new. Again, I was there myself one time. I bought most things used because I couldn’t get a loan and thought I couldn’t afford new stuff. Today, we don’t buy anything used. And it’s not because I can afford to buy new stuff; it’s because I can’t afford to buy used things. Why would you buy a vehicle or piece of equipment that might have been someone else’s problem? Talk to your accountant. In many cases, by the time you factor in depreciation, fuel mileage, etc., you are ahead of the game to buy new; take care of it and keep it. This strategy doesn’t seem to make sense for a lot of us, but trust me, it makes business sense.

It’s fun to play what if; it’s even more fun to follow through and do it. I hope you’ll quit saying “what if” and start saying, “Look what I did!”