Optimistic outlook

That’s because he has $100,000 worth of new work booked next year. And because his crews weren’t at full capacity, he will only have to bring on a couple of part-time employees to fill in the gaps. They can hit the ground running in 2019 with a better outlook for 2020.

Hess says a main lesson he took away from the project was knowing the cost of his jobs. He also learned the value of budgeting for new equipment. “I bought used stuff and I think new is probably the best way to go if you can get it financed,” he says. “You have to watch when you buy used stuff because I have a mower that's done nothing but cost me money.”

Even though 2018 fell short of expectations, Hess is confident they will hit their revenue goals in a few years.

“I wouldn’t doubt that we’ll make somewhere near a million two to three years from now,” he says. “We'll be close to where I wanted to be this year, next year and if we're on track for that, I should definitely do the same thing the following year. I bet at least another $100,000 above that. I've got good connections now.”

Harvester’s Take

LaMont and his wife Kimberly found out just how difficult operating a landscape business can be, even though they’re seasoned business veterans. They experienced Murphy’s Law throughout 2018. What could go wrong did go wrong. They had equipment, vehicle, people, customer and, to cap it all off, weather problems. This year proved to be one of the rainiest seasons in Pennsylvania’s history. Just in the month of August it rained 42 inches.

Because of the obstacles the company faced, Kimberly took an outside job to support the family, which turned out to be a very wise move. In the meantime, LaMont persevered, working through and solving one problem at a time.

Most of the problems LaMont faced were inherited from the company he purchased. Although this company had enjoyed a good reputation, they were experiencing a severe decline in sales. Many of the jobs were underpriced, the equipment and trucks were old and in need of repairs and the employees were not up to par.

Despite these problems, LaMont finished the season and did quite well.

His overall sales goal was to go from $200,000 with a 48 percent gross margin to $375,000 but only reached $240,000 with a 40 percent GM. Why? He dropped unprofitable jobs and lost weeks of work because of the rain.

He essentially reach his second goal of moving $100,000 of reoccurring revenue to $260,000 in that most all his work is now contracted maintenance work.

As for his crew, his goal was to hire one new capable crew leader with a solid driver’s license. He did that and also hired two additional crew members to finish up the season with six good people.

His last goal was to have no lost time accidents. However, he did have one accident that had to be reported where worker’s compensation was used.

As for next year, he has multiple new contracts that were priced right and he’s positioned to possibly double sales. Despite his problems, he did an amazing job and his cool head and tenacity in dealing with problems should be applauded.