Landscape Management, October 2010

THE OPERATING ROOM AT A TIME WHEN industry operating costs increased 569 on average in 2009 and another 649 in 2010 according to Landscape Management research Matt Griffi n was able to reduce his operating LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET OCTOBER 2010 S6 looking at things that alleviate the big pain point for customers saving cash to provide the ultimate direct benefi t for themselves growing profi t The specifi c markets that are proving successful add ons for contractors vary from enhancements to water saving and sustainability services to specifi c client needs identifi ed through company surveys Another challenge has been knowing expansion or diversifi cation is necessary but not knowing what services would prove profi table or what changes would make the right difference in the bottom line Were looking to expand into markets were not strong in says Todd Dilley general manager of The Lawn Ranger Minneapolis MN I dont know what those are yet but thats what were looking into In the past three CEO Studies conducted by IBM coping with change was the most pressing owner issue However in 2010 a new primary challenge emerged complexity CEOs told us they operate in a world that is increasingly volatile uncertain and complex the study explains adding that 81 of CEOs anticipate business complexity to remain high or very high over the next fi ve years Many shared the view that incremental changes are no longer suffi cient The most successful organizations are using entirely new approaches to tap new opportunities and overcome challenges to growth A warning Dont diversify just for diversifi cations sake stresses Chris Senske president of Senske Lawn Tree Care in Kennewick WA Were diversifi ed enough that its almost hard to keep track of what we already do so were not adding any new services or departments he says Adapt to economic challenges strategically diversity and then test measure refi ne and repeat Stibel suggests urging contractors to be fl exible today THE INDUSTRY PULSE PRIME LAWN PRIME DESIGN PULSE PROFILE Matt Griffi n 2010 BUSINESS SENTIMENT 2011 BUSINESS OUTLOOK Somewhat optimistic 46 Uncertain 26 Very optimistic 16 Somewhat optimistic 44 Uncertain 26 Very optimistic 23 Uncertainty remains the same but pessimism drops by almost half SOURCE LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT costs by 6 Thats not a big number but it is when you look at it over the large scale of a years time says the president of 15 million Kingwood TXs Prime Lawn Prime Design To do this successfully Griffi n made some smart cuts We eliminated water delivery he says And the cleaning lady comes only once a week now vs twice a week We send out someone to pick up paper instead of having it delivered And we talked to our phone company about reducing those costs Basically we are just cutting back on anything that isnt a necessity Though the recession wasnt a total shock to Griffi n it did surprise me how fast everything happened he says adding that his numbers are still down by 10 but thats better than last years 18 to 19 decrease When it falls it brings down a lot I guess thats the nature of the beast I know some guys who are down 40 But Griffi n is feeling a sense of recovery I think its getting better he says Whether were out of it or its just on its way out I dont know But I think it couldve been worse Next year has Griffi n hopeful His 95 residential customer base did put off some jobs this year whether they were maintenance or just cleanup or even a patio They initially put it off to save money and now theyre starting to want to do things he says Theyre looking at things that have gone into such disrepair that they want to fi x it up Very pessimistic 4 Somewhat pessimistic 8 Very pessimistic 3 Somewhat pessimistic 4