Archives

Spring-Green Lawn Care Welcomes Newest Franchise Owner Scott Hodge

Spring-Green Lawn Care is proud to announce its newest Franchise Owner, Scott Hodge of R&H Land Designs, Inc. in San Antonio, TX. Hodge, a long-time business owner in the green industry, is excited to diversify with Spring-Green because he knows it will give him the opportunity to take care of customers over the long run. “The beauty of providing lawn care is that it is recurring,” said Hodge, “So we’re not just building something then walking away. Now we’ll be able to help the customer by maintaining their lawn too.” […]

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When Is the Best Time to Diversify Your Green-Industry Business?

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” This well-worn aphorism has been attributed to seemingly hundreds of figures: poets, actors, business leaders, motivational speakers. While we may never know who first uttered the words, they ring true nonetheless. And they can be applied to personal as well as business growth. Many businesses have learned the hard way that placing faith in one revenue stream can be fatal: Blockbuster Video, for instance, ignored the signs that streaming was the way of the future — signs Netflix capitalized on — and their brick-and-mortar […]

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QuickBooks Best Practices: 7 Tips to Maximize Your Financial Management

If you’re running a green industry business, financial management software is a must-have to account for revenue for work completed, record daily expenses, and take inventory to properly allocate material costs. From all the software options available, the majority of small business owners have opted for QuickBooks: As of 2015, QuickBooks enjoyed an 80 percent market share of U.S. small businesses that use financial management software. But many have only scratched the surface of the tool’s capabilities: For even the most seasoned QuickBooks users, there’s always plenty to learn about […]

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Humility and Experience As It Relates to Leadership – Marty Grunder

Marty Grunder at Spring-Green National Training Conference

Guest Writer: Marty Grunder, Founder and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Company and a leading Green-Industry Consultant. Leadership. That’s a word we hear all the time, use all the time, but do we really understand what it means with regards to running a Green Industry Company? I am constantly teaching, and one of the topics I focus on is Leadership. Leadership is the difference maker; it’s what ultimately determines whether our endeavors will be successful. There are so many lessons I could share here on Leadership; I could write for years. Since […]

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Hug Your Haters: 3 Ways to Improve Your Customer Interactions

How would you rate your green-industry business’s level of customer service? If you’d give your business a pretty high score, you’re not alone: 80 percent of companies believe they deliver exceptional service, according to a survey of more than 350 businesses by Bain & Company, a global management firm. However, according to that same survey, only 8 percent of those businesses’ customers agree. That means nearly every customer thinks the company has room for improvement. At this year’s Spring-Green National Training Conference, Jay Baer, bestselling author of Hug Your Haters, spoke […]

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5 Checklist Tips to Help Grow and Organize Your Company

Checklists—they can make your business life so much easier. If you want to get control over your company’s spending, evaluate your teams performance on job sites, and organize every department, then you need to incorporate checklists to meet your goals. Checklists to Consider In Your Business As you probably realize, there is a slew of checklist templates available online. But do you know which ones are the best for your green industry company? Your managers or crew leaders benefit the most from checklists. So, empower them to take their leadership roles […]

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The Importance of Weekly Meetings With Your Employees

Over the past few years, you’ve seen your business grow—going from just you to having multiple employees, crew leaders and managers. And you know with more employees, communicating is essential to success. To be efficient, you need to meet with your team at least once a week. Commit to holding weekly staff meetings to keep the team on the same page. Gathering everyone at a weekly meeting is an excellent way to hear, first hand, any frustrations and company wins as well as reminding them of your company’s mission and […]

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How to Grow Your Green Industry Business To Sell

Think about why you started your business. Maybe you were 15 years old, mowing lawns for neighbors during the summer to raise money for your senior trip. Maybe you graduated from college and loved being outside so much you found a way to make it your job. Whatever your reasons were then, chances are you aren’t spending a ton of time mowing lawns or enjoying the outdoors these days. So what’s your “why” now? And do you have an exit strategy planned? These are all important questions to ask yourself […]

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Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement

I’m betting you didn’t start your business to become a financial expert. You’re not alone. The overlap between financial accounting geeks and green-industry pros is pretty slim. But it pays — literally — to understand the basic finances of your business. Not only should you be able to read your profit and loss statement (otherwise known as a P&L), but you should also understand how to use the data on the statement to run your business smarter and more efficiently. To help you develop that basic understanding, let’s take a […]

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Give Yourself a Break! 5 Tips to Increase Work-Life Balance

According to a 2015 Gallup study, the average full-time employee in the United States works 47 hours a week — now multiply that by the “small business owner factor.” It might be easier to calculate how many hours you spend NOT working. Are you constantly putting out fires? Is your smartphone buzzing nonstop with texts and emails from employees? How much time do you spend working in your business, rather than working on it? When’s the last time you took a vacation? Work-life balance isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the […]

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