<font color=red>ON THE ROAD</font> GIE Breakfast Participants Discuss Diversification

Landscape contractors gained tips on how to diversify their businesses during the Breakfast with Champions at the table led by Phil Fogarty of Weed Man, based in Cleveland, Ohio. An overriding theme was to try new things in different areas of the landscaping industry, but to never neglect your core business.

“You don’t want to take all of your time and energy away from your core business for something you may or may not be good at,” Fogarty said.

However, the attendees agreed that to totally diversify, a company has to expand outside of their niche. Fogarty suggested offering something you think a client might want or need, subbing-out the job and then seeing if the demand for the service increases. Try something new every year to keep your business fresh.
“Sometimes you end up expanding your company to offer that business, sometimes you don’t,” Fogarty says.

When diversifying his business, Gary Donovan, president of TurfMasters, based in Wallington, Conn., follows a theory of study, research, test. This ensures that the service he is thinking of offering is appropriate for his business and his clientele.

According to Fogarty, it is not always safe to assume that you can utilize your existing crew and client-base when adding a new service, a lesson he learned the hard way when he added a holiday lighting and décor service to his business.

“A good portion of our clients weren’t interested, and some of our guys wouldn’t get off the ground to do the work,” Fogarty said. “There were some serious miscalculations made.”

However, a strong business plan, the successful merging of partnerships, a functional internal system and solid customer relationships can make diversifying a business a smart and profitable idea.

Like Rob Mulaik, owner of Canton, Ga.-based RWR Lawns, said, “It’s painful to see how much business gets away from you when you can’t offer your customers everything they need.”