ValleyCrest and IFMA pitch in for those with developmental disabilities

We were happy to hear this month that ValleyCrest and the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) collaborated on a landscaping project supporting people with developmental disabilities. The project took place on March 20, the first day of spring.

ValleyCrest and IFMA donated their time and equipment to the project, beautifying the grounds of Cary, N.C.-based non-profit Life Experiences, Inc. The non-profit helps employ people with disabilities and empowers them through their work.

Here are a couple photos of the project in action, courtesy of Life Experiences, Inc. Nicely done!

--Beth Geraci

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Rich Arlington

After being discharged from the Marine Corps for medical reasons, Rich Arlington of Rich Arlington & Associates, Erie, Pa., struggled with trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. He sought help from a Marine physician who listened to his concerns and then gave him some good solid advice that still drives him to this day. He said, “Suck it up Marine. Overcome, adapt, improvise and make it happen.” And that’s exactly what he did.

According to Arlington, anybody can complain. That’s easy. When adversity does hit you, in business or in life, you need to remember that there's always is a way to overcome it, there's always someone who's had the same experience and pushed through it and there are always people willing to help you, if you just ask.

The bottom line: That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

If you don’t believe this, just listen to the entire interview or read Arlington's book, “Why Not You?" Proceeds from the sale of the book are used to help veterans throughout the U.S. 

Listeners are also eligible to win a free autographed copy of “Why Not You?” or the student version of DynaSCAPE Software.

Show: "Why Not You?" with Rich Arlington
Guest: Rich Arlington, Rich Arlington and Associates, Erie, Pa.
Date: March 27, 2013
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE.

Editor's note: As part of a partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com.     

Think like an owner Part 2

By Jeffrey Scott, consultant

Earlier this month, Landscape Management featured Part 1 of this two-part blog series. Now, it's time for Part 2—three more valuable tips on how to think like an owner.

1. Generate referrals

Your clients will refer you when they are wowed by your work and by the impression you leave with them each day when you come onto and leave their property. Every customer contact is an opportunity to make them happy they hired you. It starts with a genuine smile and a wave hello, and an extra touch like picking up their paper or garbage blowing around. It is further supported by a genuine question to see if there is anything else they need, and it ends with a job site cleaner than you found it. For those in the office, making your client feel 'special' each time they call will go a long way. When you find out the clients name, repeat it and give them a phone-hug,  "Mr Smith, I am SO glad you called, how can I help you today!" Say this with enthusiasm, and you will be remembered and referred. I guarantee it!

2. Learn valuable skills

Would you like to increase your chances of earning a raise? One thing you can do: learn new skills that your company needs in order to stay competitive. What skill would help you become more productive and help your company win more work? If you are not sure, ask your supervisor for suggestions. The more you learn and apply in a productive manner, the more you can earn. But don't do it just for the money. 

"Life is a journey, punctuated by learning new skills," Jeffrey Scott 

The more skills you master, the more you will feel motivated and satisfied by your work, and the more confident you will be. Do it for the internal satisfaction!

3. Bring a higher standard to work.

Owners like employees who are focused and want to do things right.  But since no one is perfect, there is always room to improve. Where can you improve your focus and workmanship? Where do you have go-backs, or where do you spend excessive time? Where are your clients not 100% thrilled with your work? Start with reflection:

• On Friday think about one thing you could improve from the previous week, and commit to improving on it the following week.
• Make notes at the end of each day on how you did to improve.
• Keep a little black book of improvements.
•  Find one specific area each week to improve on.

By the end of a full year you will have improved in over 50 areas! Wow—that will have a huge impact with yourself, your clients and your company! Sweat the details, and your clients and boss will notice. 

Jeffrey Scott, MBA, author and consultant, grew his landscape company into a successful $10 million enterprise, and he's devoted to helping others share the same success. He facilitates PEER GROUPS for landscape business owners who want to transform and profitably grow their business. For more information, go to www.JeffreyScott.biz, email Jeff@Jeffreyscott.biz, or call (203)220-8931.  

www.GetTheLeadersEdge.com.

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Jeff Korhan

According to consultant and author Jeff Korhan, you need to look at social media marketing as a three-legged stool. The first leg is attraction, the second is engagement and the third leg is conversion. If you have all three, your stool will remain perfectly balanced. If not, it will tip and wobble and be completely ineffective.

As Korhan explains, people go to the internet for two reasons: to be entertained and to solve problems.

If you're providing original content online that does both of these things well, then search engines like Google are going to quickly find you and significantly raise your rankings.

Korhan demystifies social media marketing and breaks it down into a simple process that's similar to what you're doing right now with your traditional marketing efforts, such as developing new leads through recommendations and referrals. His new book, Built-In Social, is due out next month from Wiley.

Show: Converting social marketing practices into everyday profits
Guest: Jeff Korhan, True Nature, Naperville, Ill.
Date: March 20, 2013
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE.

Editor's note: As part of a partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com.    

A much nicer tree story

Last week on this blog, we wrote about a heartbreaking tree-related story (Check it out here). Now, we relay one that's much more positive. South suburban Chicago paper Southtown Star recently wrote about Jim Tresouthick, a landscape maintenance supervisor for the village of Homewood, Ill., who's taking a stand against the emerald ash borer and planting an urban forest to last generations.

Nearly 2,600 of the town's ash trees were impacted by the emerald ash borer. Now, Tresouthick is busy planting a "forest of the future" in the village. His goal, he tells the paper, is to plant between 42 and 80 tree species that are able to thrive in an urban environment—"something that will be here for generations."

It's nice to read about someone who's taking action and really making a difference. Read the full article and learn more of Tresouthick's efforts, here.

--Beth Geraci

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Joe Salemi

The easiest and probably best way to develop relationships with community and industry influencers is by getting involved. Influencers don’t sit around waiting for things to happen; they make things happen. They also align themselves with others who make things happen and get things done. 

According to DynaSCAPE's Joe Salemi, two great ways to reach these people are by volunteering your time to a community or charity project and getting involved with landscape associations. Volunteering for a worthwhile project is a great way to do something positive and get your name and your company's name out there. Not only will you get you noticed, you’ll get noticed by the right people. The decision makers.

Participating and getting involved in landscape associations does the same thing. It raises awareness to you and your business and shows that you’re active in your industry. Influential people, both inside and outside the industry, put a high value on this activity because they themselves are the same way. They volunteer and get involved and are attracted to those that do the same.

For a chance to win a free student version of DynaSCAPE, listen to the entire interview.

Show: Developing strategic relationships with industry influencers
Guest: Joe Salemi, DynaSCAPE, Ontario Canada
Date: March 13, 2013 
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE.

Editor's note: As part of a partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com.   

Beware the angry football fan

Here's a picture of one of two famed oak trees that stand at Toomer's Corner, the gateway to the Auburn University campus. For 130 years, the two trees provided a stately welcome on the campus to students and visitors alike.

The oaks symbolized the university's school spirit, and it was a longstanding tradition at Auburn to drape them heavily in toilet paper after every football victory (see image at bottom).

But two years ago, an angry University of Alabama football fan poisoned the trees with herbicide, upset that Auburn beat Alabama in their face-off a week prior. Now, both trees look like this. Pretty heartbreaking.

On April 20, the City of Auburn and the university are hosting an event called "Celebrate the Tradition." Held after the annual A-Day spring football game, it will give fans one last chance to roll the trees in toilet paper and bid them adieu before they're chopped down completely.

The school also will unveil its future landscaping plans for the site that day, as the community boldly moves forward. It will be interesting to see what those plans are. 

It's true that with every end comes a new beginning, but I can't help but feel it's a needless end these trees have come to.

--BG

What the trees looked like before, courtesy mnn.com user 11739

Student Career Days an education

OK, I'm all about Student Career Days. There's really no other way to say it. Hosted by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), the networking event for college students seeking to enter the landscaping industry drew nearly 900 students from every corner of the country this year, not to mention Canada.

The Auburn University campus was a beautiful backdrop to this year's event, which ends officially on Sunday. Surrounded by Auburn's charming cafes, southern hospitality and majestic pre-Civil War brick architecture, students immersed themselves in all things landscaping.

And it was fun to watch.

The day started with a pep rally in Auburn's old stadium, and the place rocked with fight songs from among the 63 colleges represented here. Afterward, it was on to the career fair, where students networked with some of the landscape industry's best firms, and firms in turn recruited top talent. 

The day was exhilarating on many levels. The camaraderie among students from all walks of life was contagious, proving Student Career Days is as much about connecting with other students as it is about connecting with employers.

For established landscape companies, Student Career Days is an important event. They don't take it lightly. By coming here year after year, they're exposed to potential staffers who are as serious about the profession as they are. Who aim to stick around. Whose heart is in it.

Thanks to Student Career Days, Auburn University today was just a positive place to be. It's a place overflowing with good vibes, ambition and people on a mission to know just how far their potential can take them.
-Beth Geraci

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Daniel Tal

You may have heard of Ruby Shoes, Ruby Foo's and Ruby Tuesday, but how about Ruby Scripts? While discussing Google SketchUp with Daniel Tal and the very active FD2B Talk Radio chat room, it became quite apparent that Ruby Scripts is a necessity when working with SketchUp. 

Ruby is a programming language anyone can use to write plugins (aka scripts) for SketchUp. Once installed, Ruby Scripts can add tools, simplify multistep operations and otherwise improve the way you work with SketchUp. Along with Ruby Scripts, Tal recommends purchasing Google SketchUp 8 for Dummies, watching YouTube videos by its author Aidan Chopra and utilizing a few of his favorite SketchUp apps.

Listeners of the show, both live and recorded, can win either an autographed copy of Tal's book Google SketchUp for Site Design or a student version of DynaSCAPE for free. You just need to listen to the show by April 6 to learn Tal's favorite ice cream and follow the directions to enter the giveaway.

Show: 3D modeling with Daniel Tal and Google SketchUp
Guest: Daniel Tal, Ambit-3D, Denver
Date: March 6, 2013 
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE.  

Editor's note: As part of a partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. (Sorry this week's is late!) FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com.  

PLANET's Student Career Days kicks off

Had a nice time hanging with some of the industry's best in the Auburn University Hotel bar this evening after hitting the student reception at PLANET's Student Career Days. It took place in the shadow of Auburn's storied football stadium, and whether they were doing the zipline, playing tug-of-war or just shooting the breeze, it was clear the students could not have been more pumped to be here.

The main event gets under way in the morning. In the meantime, check out these photos from tonight. --Beth Geraci

The double zipline

A peer group perspective

Mike Kukol, president of Wyckoff, N.J.-based Horizon Landscape Co., was featured in Costco's March 2013 member magazine in an article about how peer groups can help businesses get ahead. The club store's publication, The Costco Connection, goes to 21 million readers in North America.

Kukol, who is a member of one of LM blogger Jeffrey Scott's Leader's Edge peer groups, says the group helped him boost profits during the recession by helping him better interpret financials, among other things.

For more on the benefits of peer groups for Green Industry businesses, check out our January issue.
 --Marisa Palmieri

Think like an owner--Part 1

Pass this on to all employees.

It 's not enough in this economy to wait for the boss to tell you what to do. If you want to grow your career, you have to think and act like an owner. Ask yourself, "What would an entrepreneur do to help this company grow?" Here are some answers.

1. Bring in prospects

The success of your company depends on its ability to attract new clients; but this is not just the role of marketing. "Everyone in the company is in sales," says successful contractor, Joe Markell.  

How can you help the company gain new clients? Personally, I find that the best way is to give a talk in front of potential clients, on a topic you are an expert. For me, it might mean giving a talk on leadership or time management. For you, it might mean giving a talk at a garden club or trade association. Selling can also mean passing your business card to people you meet on the street and at the deli. Whomever you meet, collect and pass along the good contacts you make to your sales team. Help the company grow, and you will too.    

2. Find efficiencies

For every dollar a company saves, it is 8-20 times more valuable to the company than making a dollar in new sales. Why is this? Because that dollar saved goes right to the bottom line. It is pure profit. In my experience, here are just some of the areas where inefficiencies can happen:

• warranty
• call-backs from a client
• go-backs due to incomplete work
• unproductive yard time
• unbillable time

Put on your thinking cap and find ways to help. If you are not sure where to start, ask your boss where he or she is trying to improve efficiencies. They will appreciate the fact that you care.

"The attitude of few influences the attitude of many"

3. Bring a "yes” attitude to work

You can singlehandedly lift the attitude of your crew, and even your department, by having a consistent, outwardly positive attitude. Be optimistic no matter the challenge, even when others are negative. Lift other people's outlooks by keeping yours high. Just say “Yes,” and find out how you can help. Positive attitudes are infectious. Bring a “Yes” attitude to work, and you will become instrumental in improving your company's can-do spirit. 

See what more Scott has to say on this topic in Part 2.

Jeffrey Scott, MBA, author and consultant, grew his landscape company into a successful $10 million enterprise, and he's devoted to helping others share the same success. He facilitates PEER GROUPS for landscape business owners who want to transform and profitably grow their business. For more information, go to www.JeffreyScott.biz, email Jeff@Jeffreyscott.biz, or call (203)220-8931.  

www.GetTheLeadersEdge.com.

Landscaper saves woman and dog from fire

We're happy to hear that an Orlando, Fla. landscaper has saved a woman and her canine from a fire. The woman was in the midst of a sound sleep when the fire broke out, and the landscaper is being hailed as a hero. Congrats to him for staying vigilant! Get more on the story here.

--Beth Geraci

FD2B Talk Radio Insight of the Night: Josh Ferguson, Esq.

The best defense is a good offense, according to attorney Josh Ferguson of the law offices of Kent/McBride in Philadelphia. What he means is that the best way for a landscape contractor to protect himself is by having good, solid contracts and proper documentation.

As exciting as the courtroom scenes are on television shows like Law & Order, most landscape contractors would rather stay out of the system and not get involved in litigation  for obvious reasons. It's not only expensive and time consuming; it's also bad for business. Ferguson recommends that contractors develop a relationship with an attorney long before there's ever a problem. 

Since the goal of any good attorney is to protect his or her clients, he prefers to be proactive and not reactive by crossing his Ts and dotting his Is beforehand instead of waiting for a problem to occur, only then to realize that some “language” in a contract was missing, exposing you and your business to significant risk. This approach allows his clients to stay out of court and making money.

Show: Free legal advice that might just save your business
Guest: Josh Ferguson, Kent/McBride, Philadelphia Pa
Date: Feb. 27, 2013
To listen to the full show, CLICK HERE. 

Editor's note: As part of a partnership between Landscape Management and FD2B Talk Radio, we'll be posting an "Insight of the Night" every Thursday from the previous night's radio show. (Sorry this week's is late!) FD2B Talk Radio is a Green Industry radio show that broadcasts live every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Its host and founder is LM columnist Jody Shilan, who's also the editor and founder of FromDesign2Build.com.