Lifescape Coach Articles

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Boost Your Landscape Sales Skills with These Expert Tips

Creating an effective sales strategy is one of the most impactful areas we coach clients. Because of the discomfort many landscape business owners have with selling their services, their sales pitches are often rushed, tone-deaf, or poorly thought out. If you are stressed by the thought of a sales meeting filled with pushback, reduce those feelings of discomfort by building the following elements into your sales process.

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How to Spend Money the Right Way for Huge Growth In Your Landscape Business

The age-old problem for entrepreneurs, especially those in the early stages of building their business, is how and where to secure the leads that will generate meaningful growth. It can be a scary thing to make a ...

understanding elements of a landscape estimate

To Make a Huge Impact On Your Profits, Understand These Elements of an Estimate

One of the most significant fail points in the landscaping industry is the inability to estimate project costs accurately. If your goal is to be more profitable as a landscape business, you must devote the proper amount ...

Valuable Landscape Services You Must Charge For

Two Valuable Landscape Services You Must Charge Customers For

Landscape professionals will often ask us whether they should charge clients for consultation and landscape design. It’s true that some clients may question charging them for consultation visits when “every other ...

Setting The Right Labor Price

Need Help Setting The Right Labor Price? Start By Understanding Your Labor Costs

Setting the right labor rates for your landscaping business can be daunting. Doing it correctly means weighing a number of factors, researching labor trends in the industry, and finding the right tools and resources to ...

landscape employee compensation

Should Landscape Business Owners Pay Top Dollar for Employees?

Industries across the country are being hit hard by the pandemic fallout and landscape businesses are included. Many owners are desperate for help – almost any help – to relieve the stress and risk that comes with too ...

5 Steps to Structure Your Landscape Business Organization for Growth

5 Steps to Structure Your Landscape Business Organization for Growth

All of the recent and current economic uncertainty has taken a toll on many businesses as well as the workforce. Lots of companies in the landscape industry are scrambling to find help and many end up looking in the ...

landscape employees

Great landscape employees are found by using these 5 steps to avoid bad hires

Finding the right talent to fill critical roles in a landscape company is tough enough in normal times, but when you throw in a pandemic environment into the mix, it can be downright impossible. As a result, owners are ...

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4 Strategic Steps to Recruiting and Retaining a Quality Landscape Team

As a nation, we are currently experiencing a strangely dynamic employment environment filled with both opportunity and anxiety for employers and employees alike. It is an atmosphere of extremes – there are lots of jobs ...

5-ways-that-2020-taught-me-to-show-up-better-at-work

5 Ways that 2020 Taught Me to Show Up Better at Work

People typically don’t show up as their best selves when they’re feeling scared, threatened, or confused. Maintaining clarity about your personal and professional value is hard in that environment, so feeling ...

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Artisan Brand Company - What makes you special?

Everything feels so weird right now – not simply new or different – but rather, like we’re floating up in the air with no sign of where we’ll land. The economy still feels unsettled and directionless. The coronavirus ...

what-does-essential-mean-for-landscape-companies

What does Essential Mean for Landscape Companies?

As the coronavirus swept across the country and the globe, many individuals were, for the first time in their lives, being told they were “non-essential.” This, of course, was how government officials were determining ...

how-to-navigate-covid-19-with-your-landscape-business

How to Navigate COVID-19 with Your Landscape Business

There is no question that coronavirus (COVID-19) is profoundly affecting society and the economy. As the disease runs its course, we continue to discover how it touches virtually every aspect, large and small, of our ...

Finding and Retaining Talent

Finding and Retaining Talent in the Landscape Industry

There’s an old saying, “You can’t find good help these days,” that for many in the green landscape industry seems to be especially true. The triple whammy of a low unemployment rate, rising wages, and a generally ...

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Putting Your Knowledge on Paper: Why Are Landscape SOPs so Valuable?

All companies – landscaping businesses included – can run into problems when they don’t have a clear plan of action and a set of standards for any given task. If workers don’t know what to do and have no way of ...

successful-landscape-business-start-analyzing-your-failures

Want to be a more successful landscape business? Start analyzing your failures!

Nobody likes to fail. It’s uncomfortable, annoying, and even depressing. People instinctively try to avoid failure and when we fail, we don’t like to revisit those often painful experiences. Most of us prefer to simply ...

Landscape Season Taught Me to Be a Better Boss

How the 2019 Landscape Season Taught Me to Be a Better Boss

There is an interesting organizational dynamic that most companies, including landscaping businesses, experience: leadership perception. There is often a fundamental disconnect between how we, as bosses, think we lead ...

correct-landscape-business-failure

How to correct landscape business failure when you uncover the truth about your year

At the end of the year, most landscape business owners are totally worn out and ready to do nothing for a while. At least that defines me; certainly, the creative well feels a bit dry. For many in colder climes, there ...

the-5-biggest-landscape-business-mistakes

How to Avoid These 5 Ginormous Landscape Leadership Mistakes

As an owner, fessing up to missteps in business building and management is hard. When you know something isn’t going well in your operational systems or with your personnel, it’s easy to stand back and put your head in ...

landscape business building opportunity

Fall Landscape Business Building Opportunities That Owners Don’t Want to Miss

For landscape companies located in climates like New England’s where the growing season ends abruptly with cold, frost and snow, November represents the beginning of the end of the active landscape season. As a business ...

how-to-get-the-best-out-of-your-landscape-employees

How To Get The Best Out Of Your Landscape Employees

That familiar lament of landscape business owners and managers – “you just can’t get good help these days” – is more myth than reality. The truth is, there’s plenty of good help out there and workers who really do want ...

fulfill your landscape proposal promise

6 Expert Tips to Fulfill Your Landscape Proposal Promise

Honest, hardworking landscape pros always have the best intentions at heart when they sell a project to a client. They sincerely want to deliver a top-quality project, on-time and on-budget, that will exceed client ...

write great landscape proposals and win contracts

How to Win More Landscape Jobs When you Write Killer Proposals

As landscapers, we’re most comfortable with our hands in the dirt and bringing projects to life for clients. What many of us are not so comfortable with is the art and science of crafting proposals that sell. As a ...

bad-landscape-project-estimates

How to avoid losing money over bad landscape project estimates

Virtually every small landscape business owner has experienced this situation at least once: You’re quoting a big job that you don’t want to lose, so you throw out a fast, barebones estimate that you hope will win you ...

landscape business stalled

Why is my landscape business growth stalling?

I spend a lot of time talking about marketing because that is a fundamental element of business growth that often gets overlooked in a “down-and-dirty” profession such as landscaping. We like to get our hands dirty, and ...

five-tools-for-cultivating-a-compassionate-culture-in-your-business

Five Tools for Cultivating a Compassionate Culture in Your Business

As a landscape business owner with over 30 years in the business, I know that our employees are more important than any truck, piece of equipment, or account. Without them, we cannot hope to reach our business growth ...

10-time-management-tips-landscape-business-owners

10 Time Management Tips for Landscape Professionals

Time seems to get away from a lot of us. Most of us never seem to have enough time to get things done, both personally and professionally. That may be okay when it comes to finding the time to clean out the garage, but ...

landscape-business-marketing-sales-mistakes

4 Massive Mistakes Landscape Companies Make in Their Marketing & Sales Messaging and How to Avoid Them

Landscape business owners – like a lot of business owners – spend a considerable amount of time and money crafting traditional sales and marketing tools such as truck signage, brochures, and now websites. However, more ...

sign-up-for-job-alerts

How do landscape employees choose the company to work for?

As a landscape business owner and consultant, the biggest challenge I hear about from other landscape company owners is how hard it is to find good help. Many landscape business owners are simply shooting in the dark to ...

improve your landscape business

Landscape Business Survey Analysis - Part III: Where do you think you can improve your business?

In Part 3 of our Business Survey Analysis series we’re going to take a closer look at what landscape business owners think can improve their businesses. Of course, some of you might say “that’s easy – more time, money, ...

landscape business owner's biggest challenge

Landscape Business Survey Analysis Part II: What is your single biggest challenge?

In Part II of The Garden Continuum Landscape Business Survey analysis we’re going to dig into the answers survey respondents provided to the question “What is your biggest challenge in running your landscape business?” ...

Landscape Business Survey Analysis Part I: What landscapers love about running a landscape business

As part of the business consulting side of The Garden Continuum, we recently conducted a survey of landscape business owners to better understand the factors that drive them to launch and grow their operations. Our ...

goal setting is imperitive for landscape business success

Goal-Setting: A Landscape Business Growth Imperative for Success

Let’s face it: goal-setting is easier said than done. Remember all those New Year’s resolutions in the past that fell by the wayside in a matter of days? Or at least by the time the spring madness hit. A major stumbling ...

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Is 2018 a Growth Year For Your Landscape Business?

It’s a brand new year. Spring and the new growing season are just three months away, so it’s time to start making plans and getting active with business development. Any business looking for reliable, sustainable growth ...

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TGC Academy: The Year in Review

As 2017 draws to a close, I thought it’d be a good idea to look back at the year and what we’ve accomplished with TGC Academy, which was founded to provide business training and skill-building for both experienced and ...

5-crucial-actions-when-you-start-a-successful-landscape-business

5 crucial actions when you start a successful landscape business

One of the easiest things to do once you’ve started a landscape business is to dive right into the immediate projects at hand and plug away at every job that comes your way. It’s also one of the least productive things ...

top-5-things-to-do-before-you-start-a-landscape-business

The Top 5 things to do before you start a landscape business

Many people start a landscape business looking to make a killing. But, sadly, the only thing they end up killing, is the business. Why is this and how can you avoid it if you're seriously thinking about making the leap ...

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5 Reasons To NOT Start a Landscape Business

A surprising number of people think that just because they can clean up their yard, put down some mulch, and maybe even create a garden, it makes sense to go out and try to make money working in other people’s yards. ...

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Learning to Cope: 3 Tips to help you take a temporary step away from your landscape business

John Lennon once famously said, "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." This, unfortunately, can be true for running a landscaping business. Sometimes life simply gets in the way and derails even ...

how-much-does-it-cost-to-start-a-landscape-business

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Landscape Business?

Starting any new business can be a sleep-depriving, nail-biting experience for anyone, and starting a new landscape business is certainly no different. It takes time, money, perseverance and sometimes a lot of luck. One ...

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3 Critical Tools You Should Be Using When Hiring Subcontractors

The use of subcontractors is a time-honored means for landscape designers and contractors to control overhead and keep operations lean and mean. But subcontractors can be a double-edged sword that can work for you or ...

invest in your landscape team

5 Reasons why you need to invest in ALL your employees

Every business seems to have one or two employees who stand out. They’re the ones who show up early and stay late. They’re focused on doing the best job possible and are always looking for ways to improve. These are the ...

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How To Find The Perfect People For Your Landscape Organization

There is no question that the landscape industry is a people business. As an owner, you have to build relationships with clients and hire the right employees who can interface with them to maintain and grow those ...

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What Type of Landscape Team Should You Build?

How to hire good employees is one of the top three major issues I hear about over and over again from other landscape business owners. Hiring in the landscape industry tends to be a knee-jerk reaction to an immediate ...

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Landscape Business Burn Out: How to Recognize It and Avoid It

In recent years the medical community has discovered that stress is more harmful to our physical and mental well-being than previously thought. Chronic stress is a killer and its insidious effects can creep up on ...

expert-advice-to-establish-a-landscape-business-pricing-strategy

Expert Advice to Establish a Landscape Business Pricing Strategy

Here is a question I hear over and over again: “Our pricing is all over the place, how do I set landscape service prices and stick to them?” Confusion about pricing strategy is commonplace in many service industries and ...

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Competitive Advantage: What Makes You Unique?

Every business, like every person, is unique. Even businesses that provide products or services that are virtually the same have something unique about them that can be promoted to set them apart from their competitors. ...

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Your landscape business size designation is crucial for growth

When you become self-employed in an industry such as landscaping, you’re probably doing it without having the ultimate size of your business in mind. Most of the owners I meet get into this line of work because they ...

marketing-a-landscape-business

Marketing A Landscaping Business: Getting People to Buy What You’re Selling

Owning a landscaping business – heck, owning any business – is not for the faint of heart. If you’re struggle with getting the kind of work you really like to do, then this post provides some tips to fine-tune your ...

tips for lightening landscape business owner workload

Too Many Hats: Tips for Lightening Your Workload

As a landscape business owner, chances are good you shoulder most of the burdens that come with the territory. Sales, bookkeeping, scheduling, purchasing, and the myriad other tasks that need to get done to keep your ...

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A Recipe to Gain The Best Landscape Business Clients

There’s an old marketing joke that applies just as well to the professional landscape industry: “This would be a great business to be in if it weren’t for the clients.” Now, of course, there’s a lot to love about our ...

dont-like-selling-change-how-you-do-it

Don’t Like Selling? Change How You Do It.

As the owner of a landscaping business, chances are you do everything from managing the books to driving the truck. And that includes sales. If you’re like most people, selling doesn’t come easy – you’re uncomfortable ...

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SMART Landscaping: Tips to Help Establish Goals and Grow Your Landscape Company

If you’re struggling to build a landscape business, part of the problem may be that you have not firmly established your business goals. If you don’t know your goals, you don’t know where you’re going. Once you’ve ...

15-dos-and-donts-for-dealing-with-customers-who-wont-pay-their-bills

15 Do’s and Don’ts for Dealing with Customers Who Won’t Pay Their Bills

There is nothing more frustrating for a landscape business owner than to provide a client with a season’s worth of outstanding, timely service only to have them make excuse after excuse about why they can’t pay you on ...

super-easy-ways-to-avoid-price-wars-with-competitors

Super Easy Ways to Avoid Price Wars with Competitors

If you’re a small business, it’s often hard to avoid competing on price. Perhaps you’re afraid to lose a prospect or worse a client to a lower-priced competitor. Or you’re looking to get established in a new market. Or ...

the-1-pitfall-to-avoid-with-your-business-cash-flow-variation

The #1 Pitfall To Avoid with Your Business’s Cash Flow Variation

One of the biggest challenges for landscape contractors is managing cash flow. Seasonal variations, fickle customers, weather, and suppliers can all wreak havoc on your cash flow – one week you can be rolling in dough ...

easy-and-effective-way-to-turn-prospects-into-loyal-clients

The Easy and Effective Way to Turn Prospects into Loyal Clients

This is a problem most landscape contractors would probably love to have – too many clients or projects and not enough time to handle it all. Meaning there is tons of demand…and not enough supply (i.e. you and your ...

landscape business model

The One Landscape Business Model Guaranteed to Keep Business Booming

“Sorry, I can’t take the job. I’ve already got too much work” – said no one ever! If you’ve been in the landscape contracting business for any length of time, you probably adhere closely to that old farming adage, “make ...

4-cash-building-tips-for-landscaping-business-owners

4 Cash Building Tips for Landscaping Business Owners

Does it seem like each new landscape year brings a roll-of-the-dice when it comes to figuring out how much start-up cash you’ll need and if you’ll have enough to get things going at the beginning of your peak season? If ...

6-reasons-why-all-landscape-professionals-need-renewing-client-contracts

6 Reasons Why All Landscape Professionals Need Renewing Client Contracts

Chances are good you didn’t get into the landscape industry because you love paperwork. Nope! You enjoy working outdoors, creating beautiful landscape designs, watching plants flourish and nurturing their growth, and ...

7-ways-to-instantly-improve-your-landscape-sales-timeline

7 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Landscape Sales Timeline

The landscape industry is seasonal, so no matter where you live in the world, there are peak seasons and off seasons. If you’re like most landscape designers and contractors, the all-at-once influx of new business in ...