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Probably the most important lesson that attendees of a recent Lawn & Landscape-sponsored facility tour could take away was that Dan’s Landscaping & Lawn Care, Terrytown, La., does what works for them. Held in conjunction with the Lawn & Landscape Weed & Insect Seminars – South, held in New Orleans, La., Aug. 17 and 18, company owner Dan Standley hosted visitors to his company’s facility last Thursday for a behind-the-scenes look at what’s kept the business successful for 25 years.
“Our company has done a lot of benchmarking and learned a lot about running a business all on our own, but my philosophy is, ‘Why reinvent the wheel?’” Standley told tour attendees as they gathered in the facility’s lobby. “We’ve found that events like these seminars that Lawn & Landscape has are really invaluable to our business and it allows you to get involved with industry organizations and get to know other business owners in the industry. You can learn so much from what other companies do well, and we were very excited and honored to be asked to host this year’s facility tour.”
Getting ready to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, Dan’s Landscaping & Lawn Care offers lawn and landscape maintenance and installation, weed control, horticultural services, IPM, paver and landscape lighting installation, aeration, landscape renovation and more. The company currently earns about $1.2 million in revenue, and while Standley says the company has been presented with a number of opportunities to grow significantly, the current business size works for them.
“Sometimes bigger isn’t better,” Standley says. “The current size of our operation lets us provide a high standard of care for all of our customers and also helps us focus on the wellbeing of our employees and their families.”
EMPLOYEE FOCUS. Specifically, Standley refers to the company’s four-day workweek – a business tool he picked up at an event similar to Lawn & Landscape’s networking opportunities and one that keeps the company efficient while still providing plenty of family time for employees. “Right now we have 13 crewmembers, who work in two-person crews with a separate crew for horticultural services,” Standley says. “Monday through Thursday, we operate from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and those four 10-hour days give us the ability to spend a lot of time with our families, or, we have a built-in weekday left to complete work on Friday if there were problems during the week. For instance, if we have bad weather on Wednesday, we can make that up on Friday. At the same time, if the crews are working on Friday when there were no adverse conditions during the week, we know we’re running overtime. The four-day workweek helps us keep our labor hours in line as a result.”
Also focusing on crewmember incentives, Standley noted that employees receive paid vacation time, medical coverage and some retirement benefits, as well as more immediate rewards in the form of “Bonus Bucks.” Passed out at the supervisor’s discretion, Standley says crewmembers can accumulate bonus bucks in denominations up to $20 and put this “funny money” toward serious prizes. Everything from dinner for two to video game consoles have been awarded to hardworking employees. Crewmembers can mention their ideal prizes to Standley who will add those options to a prize catalog from which employees can “buy” their rewards.
“Things like this are really inexpensive in the great scheme of things,” Standley says. “It’s really about making sure our employee’s know that they’re appreciated and that hard work will be rewarded.” Standley adds that he makes extra efforts in these areas, one time going so far as to wash the employee-of-the-month’s car. “Things like that put a real big smile on their face and that’s really important to our company.”
UNIQUE MARKETING TACTICS. In addition to finding unique ways to please employees, Standley shared some of the company’s unique and creative marketing tactics that keep customers coming in and coming back. Some of the highlights of the informal marketing effort are:
- Good Deed Days: “After September 11, I happened to be near a Burger King and saw a police officer going up to the store,” Standley said. “I wanted to show him my appreciation for everything that police officers and other emergency responders do, so I bought his lunch. It wasn’t much, but he thanked me for it and I gave him my card and thanked him for his service. Not long after that, we got a work referral for a job in a nearby town.” Standley says other good deeds, such as paying for drivers’ tolls on a local highway, are also relatively inexpensive but memorable marketing techniques.
- Magnetic Business Cards: A well-designed business card may say a great deal about your company, but they can be easily misplaced, damaged or illegible after spending a while in a prospective client’s wallet. Standley says he’s taken to supplementing his traditional business cards with magnetic ones that customers can keep on their refridgerators for easy access. Not only that – the magnets are mobile. “Fifteen years ago I was using these magnetic business cards and gave one to a customer who put the magnet on her refrigerator,” Standley remembers. “A number of years later, the homeowner moved, but she took her refrigerator with her. When she got to her new home and decided to put in some new landscaping, she knew exactly who to call and where to find our number.”
- Professional Proposals: “Sometimes, you have to do things in the field, and that’s fine, but it’s important to have professional-looking folders to present a proposal to a prospective client,” Standley says. “People will judge you by your cover and if they can see your professionalism in things like stationery, that counts.” Moreover, Standley says the company has had good luck with mini CD-ROMS that carry information about the company. Included in a proposal folder or on its own, this tool is easy to use and shows that your company is technologically up-to-date.
SMOOTH OPERATIONS. On the tour through the company’s landscape yard, Standley showed off a business tool he says has helped the company stay efficient and project a professional image. “We had one of our enclosed landscape trucks custom-made to suit our operation,” Standley says. “There’s a place for everything and everything in its place, and while we still operate two pickup trucks with trailers, as well as a landscape-body truck, this works great for us.”
Standley says their custom truck has an easy-to-operate ramp, gasoline on board for hand-held equipment, and a side entrance for easy access. (Though he says when the company’s ready to order another similar vehicle, they’ll specify a wide side door so pallets of mulch can be loaded quickly.) Logoed on all sides, Standley says the truck is a “mobile billboard” that always looks great.
Learn more about Dan’s Landscaping & Lawn Care in the photo tour of the facility, at right, or by reading the Lawn & Landscape feature profile of the company by clicking here.