Staying One Step Ahead

CLEVELAND -- Discouraged by job prospects after graduating from college, Robben Salyers decided to take a job in construction. That job led Salyers to where he is today, owner of Jake's Garden, a successful landscape construction company in Maple Plain, Minn.

"I didn't find the opportunities that were right for me," Salyers, a 39-year-old father of four, explained. "I went back to work into construction and worked for a home builder."

Working for the builder allowed Salyers to tap into the landscaping roots he developed in his childhood through farming. "I approached some homeowners who were our customers and asked them if they had any landscaping needs," he related. "I thought I knew how to install, so I started doing that."

After working for the builder for a while, Salyers felt he could branch out on his own. "I watched all this money come through the company and I wondered how I could tap into it," he explained. He purchased insurance and workers' compensation policies and handed in his two weeks notice to his employer.

Salyers started off doing small jobs with three pieces of equipment to his name: a shovel, a wheelbarrow and a pickup truck. "I literally built [the company] from the ground up with nothing."

Being active in a local builders' association and networking helped Salyers get more work. "There were a lot of contacts made within that organization," Salyers noted. "That's how I got into commercial work."

Nine years later, Jake's Garden, which specializes in retaining walls, boulder walls, finished grading, hydroseeding, sodding, planting and irrigation, derives 98 percent of its business from commercial clients. "I can't service residential clients because of my commitment to my commercial clients," Salyers acknowledged.

SECRET TO SUCCESS. Building a successful business in the landscaping industry can be tough. Every market within the United States is different, so what works for one company might not work for all. That's why Salyers emphasized the importance of not only knowing what's going on with the economy within your market, but also around the world.

"I'm finding that my competition is so preoccupied with looking at its small piece that they overlook the overall picture," Salyers warned. "You have to look at the economy on the national, state and local levels and read business journals that pertain to economic issues."

For example, Salyers advised that what's happening in the global economy now with oil will affect his business this summer in the form of higher gas prices. "In order to chart and measure market conditions, you have to know what's going on with the global economy."

As he saw a slowdown in the economy approaching, Salyers made a few strategic moves to help keep Jake's Garden from losing money: he cut his workforce from 14 employees down to six, got rid of old equipment that he wasn't using and paid off his line of credit. "I did the opposite of what everybody else was doing," Salyers acknowledged. "It wasn't the time to grow. Just because you grow your business doesn't mean you've increased your net profitability."

Salyers made his decisions after doing a little research on the merger of TruGreen Chemlawn and Landcare USA. "I got the merger book and studied it. What I found was horrifying," he related. "A lot of companies were based on goodwill and they weren't profitable at all. There's a difference between being profitable and using their line of credit," he stressed.

Salyers related that even though it's easy to spend frivolously with a $25,000 to $30,000 line of credit, it's important to be disciplined. Using the line of credit obviously increases debt, which sucks profitability out of the company. "Mix that with a lot of equipment and you've started to trigger a demise. You've eaten your profits before you make them," Salyers noted.

Therefore, Salyers explained that he uses his line of credit conservatively by using it only to smooth out peaks and valleys in the business, not to buy equipment. "If I'm just going to be in debt to my suppliers, that's not business."

JUMPING HURDLES. Maintaining a successful business is not without challenges. Salyers stated that internal organization is a huge challenge when it comes to continuing his success.

"I'm at the point where I need a full-time administrator because with the projects that we do, we're being absolutely bombarded with paperwork," he declared. "We're producing so much paper to create these jobs, it's mind-boggling."

Salyers insisted that any business owner who is not prepared for the amount of work it takes to manage the internal organization will be facing a huge obstacle. The key to overcoming the obstacle, according to Salyers, is balance.

"The question becomes 'Do I build an internal organization, build a crew or buy equipment?'" he explained. "Too much labor and you end up broke. Too much equipment and you end up broke. Not enough administration, you end up broke. It's a triangle and you have to balance them."

Salyers remarked that maintaining the balancing act can be tricky, but by constantly evaluating his business and knowing his limitations, he's able to maintain that equilibrium. One tactic that has helped Salyers stay within his limitations is setting goals for himself and writing those goals down. "Post your goals someplace where you see them every single day," he advised. "That's one of the things that will keep you on track."

Constructive criticism from an outside source can also help in this area. "If I'm off track, my accountant will tell me that I need to make an adjustment," he maintained. "My banker will let me know that I need to do better. It relates to your business plan and making sure it really operates how you intended it to."

Another big challenge Salyers sees is raising the standards in the industry from a customer service standpoint. "I think a lot of us don't know how to sell. There's a difference between a marketing campaign and selling," he advised.

To help himself in this area, Salyers took a course to help identify his weaknesses. What he learned is that most contractors, when faced with an objection from the client, will lower their price. "Instead of selling the future benefits, they handle the objection by lowering the price," Salyers related. "Now they're undervaluing their market and they've thrown their budgets off." Learning to better deal with objections and selling the benefits of their work will keep contractors from losing money, he stressed.

But Salyers believes that if open communication with the customer is in place from the beginning, objections shouldn't be a problem.

"We get a clear understanding of what's required of us before we install and during the installation," Salyers stated. "If we come across a problem after the installation process and it's a major problem, we haven't done our jobs."

Salyers stresses the importance of keeping the lines of communication open with your clients, returning their phone calls and being available when they need you. He warned that bad customer service can cause problems by raising questions in the customers' minds.

"We keep our customers informed, we don't make them track us down," he emphasized. "It's so critical to return phone calls because if you don't, it's rude, it's inconsiderate and it's unprofessional."

Salyers also believes that entering into contracts with labor unions has also helped give his company a competitive edge.

"It's capped our growth, but it doesn't bother us," he explained. "Some companies aren't able to put together a benefit package, but because of our size and with the merger of TruGreen Chemlawn and Landcare USA, we needed a competitive edge. The union gave us that competitive edge."

Salyers explained that larger companies aren't associated with unions and because he is, Jake's Garden is able to bid union-targeted projects. "Some of the projects we bid have union-targeted dollars and it depends on what contractor you're bidding to," he related. "If they're signatory, they're obligated to take a union bid."

Being a part of the union has also helped Salyers when it comes to training his employees in the off-season. Combined with training offered by the union, Salyers makes sure his employees are cross-trained on all aspects of the business. "At any given point, any employee can do any job - and it's done correctly," he asserted.

While labor can be an issue in some markets, Salyers acknowledged that he hasn't had many problems in this area. He believes it's because of the benefits he offers his people, the higher than standard pay ($24 an hour and up) and the small-company atmosphere.

In addition to benefits, pay and training, Salyers has a philosophy when it comes to managing his workforce that has proven to be a surefire way to keep employees happy. "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care," he enthused. "That can fulfill all aspects of your life. Once people understand that you care about them, then they're willing to listen."

Salyers shows his appreciation to his employees by buying lunch for his crews, giving them letters of appreciation or publicly thanking them for a job well done in front of other crews.

One time Salyers even went so far as to provide some furniture and other household items to one of his employees. "It wasn't a lot and it wasn't expensive, but the employee's family needed a few pieces of furniture to make them feel more comfortable in their home."

But, showing your appreciation through a simple gesture can also go a long way to boost morale, Salyers pointed out. "It could be something as simple as putting my hand on their shoulder and telling them I appreciate what they do," he related. "I think when you're genuine about it, it motivates and it energizes."

He believes that this philosophy is one that isn't touted by larger companies, where employees might feel as though they're just a number - and Salyers believes that works to his advantage.  By using this philosophy to manage his employees, Salyers remarked "he can feel the pulse of the company."

STAYING ON TRACK. To continue on this road of success, Salyers said he focuses on procedures and guidelines. "I don't care if you're selling $10 worth of landscaping services or $20 million worth, the same business rules apply," he declared.

However, when it comes to measuring his success, Salyers doesn't rely on financial figures as much as one might think. "We don't measure ourselves in gross sales," he remarked. "It's about net profits and about lifestyle. If we're meeting everybody's lifestyle needs, that's what's important."

It's these business rules that have brought Jake's Garden to the point where the company stays very busy without advertising. "We get so many leads from our current clientele, that we don't need to advertise," Salyers noted.

With the company keeping busy with its commercial accounts, Salyers is considering leasing corporate office space to accommodate meetings and to provide dedicated office space for the internal operations employees. "Our next step is growth and maturity," he enthused. However, Salyers worries more about maturing as a company and less about growing financially. "We talk about growth in dollar signs, but isn't it really about learning and maturing? If that's in place, won't the dollars follow?"

Possibly more important than all this is the dedication a business owner must give to his business and his personal life, Salyers declared. "With smaller businesses, they take on a life of their own and they can interfere with your personal life," he observed. "You have to separate the two and prioritize. Your first priority should be to your god, second should be to your family, third should be to the company and the fourth should be yourself."

The author is the Internet Project Manager for Lawn & Landscape Online.