Landscape Management, October 2010

MYBIGGESTMISTAKE LESSONS LEARNED THE HARD WAY BY LINDSEY GETZ COMPANY A Plus Lawn and Landscape PRESIDENT John Rennels EMPLOYEES 8 FOUNDED 2002 HEADQUARTERS Lawrenceburg KY WEB www apluslawnlandscape com REVENUE 2 YEARS AGO 220000 REVENUE TODAY 500000 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET OCTOBER 2010 184 The author is a freelancer with experience writing for the landscape industry To share your biggest mistake contact Nicole Wisniewski at nwisniewski@ questex com J ON RENNELS was a lone wolf As a result his company A Plus Lawn and Landscape Lawrenceburg KY struggled Rennels had no strategic sense of direction He wasnt paying himself And he had some serious cash fl ow issues We had no banking relationships to speak of he says We had no idea what banks wanted part of which was because we couldnt understand our own fi nancials The extent of our business planning was fi nd more work To make matters worse Rennels says two years ago it wasnt uncommon for him to top 100 hours a week during peak season The problem was simple I was not working on the business I was working in it he says And it all got old after a while he says He knew something had to change It takes two or more Rennels needed advice beyond those closest to him Your friends and family will often tell you what you want to hear instead of giving you good business advice he says Steep competition in his region meant he didnt spend a lot of time talking with other landscape business owners either So he joined a peer group a collection of business owners across the country who get together to discuss ideas and hold each other accountable to their goals The feedback from my peer group is honest sometimes even brutal and painful but its the best business advice you can expect he says And it comes from leaders who know what theyre talking about and have been through it themselves Today the company has more focus and revenue has increased Rennels has also had a signifi cant increase in personal income and the company has lines of credit that are being properly maintained He attributes it all to the help of his peer group We still have a lot of issues but fi nally we have a process on how to identify the major problems and deal with them he says Fears abound In seeking help from other landscape business owners Rennels was worried he would struggle to stand out He wanted his business to be unique and to do things his own way Hes since learned he can still be his own company even while taking advice from peers We take a good idea and make it work for us he says Joining a peer group was also a signifi cant fi nancial investment for Rennels small company A Plus currently has only eight employees and is the smallest company in the peer group which includes seven businesses While he admits he invests thousands each year Rennels says its proven worthwhile This year the fees were recouped with some help from the peer group on his brochures The peer group edited the copy he says It went through six revisions The fi nal result had great response The fertilizer and weed control brochure alone brought in about 60000 worth of work That made the peer group expenses well worth it Looking ahead While Rennels attempt to do it all on his own was his biggest mistake he says joining a peer group was his biggest success I consider the peer group my board of advisors he points out Today I would not make a decision without running it by them fi rst John Rennels biggest business blunder was thinking he was alone in this business Since reaching out to his peers hes turned his story of error into one of great success