Special Report: Are You Prepared?

EDITOR'S NOTE: This week's special online features on the state of the landscape industry supplement our annual State of the Industry Report, which is included in the October 2001 issue and will be mailed to readers next week. Click here for a sneak peak of the Lawn & Landscape Top 100 companies of 2001.

Despite the cautious optimism the industry is currently experiencing, most contractors still have prepared themselves and their businesses for the worst.

"I think we got rid of our extra equipment and cleaned house in the nick of time," said Robben Salyers, president, Jake's Gardens, Maple Plain, Minn. "A lot of dealing with a recession properly is about timing. If you're just not thinking about it, you're in trouble. You should have been thinking about it two years ago."

Bob Andrews, president, The Greenskeeper, Carmel, Ind., agreed. "We will struggle to have any growth this year," he said. "Some of it will come from increased prices while more will come from retaining current customers and selling them more services. This is a real change from the last several years in which 14 to 20 percent growth was the norm. At the same time, we all would be foolish if we did not know this was coming."

Steve Pattie, president, The Pattie Group, Novelty, Ohio, said listening to the rumors has been worse than anything else. "People say the word recession all the time now," he pointed out. "We'll watch our backflow of work and be cautious. When things get tighter, we'll try to diversify more."

Marketing is another business aspect contractors focus on when a recession is approaching. While some contractors cut back marketing because they can't find enough employees to handle the additional work, most others augmented their marketing campaigns to maintain client exposure.

"You have to make sure that clients know about you, which means marketing is the last thing you should cut when business is tight," Pattie said. "We upped our marketing budget 5 percent this year. Consultants told us that was even 1 to 2 percent too high, but we wanted to spend more money on that."

Salyers also increased his marketing efforts, sending out additional flyers and amplifying his cold-calling skills. "If you're winking in the dark, no one knows you are winking," he explained. "You have to advertise and keep your name out there."

The author is Managing Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.