Hosted by Mark Bradley
You’re the proud owner of a successful (or startup) landscaping business. You work hard throughout the day, tackling everything from sales calls to administrative work – even picking up a shovel in a pinch. But while you’re working your tail off, there are multiple aspects of your operations that are slowing you down and adding to that never-ending checklist. It can sometimes seem like you’ll never get ahead of things.
10 Things you Should Eliminate From Your Landscape Business
At LMN, we’ve been there before. That’s why we dedicate ourselves to providing top-notch landscape software solutions and training to business owners like you, helping reduce bad business practices so you can focus on those important revenue-generating tasks. For another added boost to productivity, here are 10 things you should do to eliminate waste from your landscaping business to improve operations and reduce expenses.
Patchwork Software
As the digital revolution makes its way into the trades, it’s more important than ever to invest in a comprehensive management solution. Flipping between multiple free-trial, siloed platforms won’t save you any time and can actually cause you more issues than it solves thanks to security issues and lack of integration. A complete landscape business management system, like LMN, houses all your digital needs in the same place, ensuring you have an efficient, protected business solution right at your fingertips.
Low-Quality Websites
You may have a flashy logo, well-placed ads, and quality branded apparel, but if your online presence falls flat, all your marketing efforts will be wasted. With numerous content management services, page builder tools, and web hosting companies available to you, there’s really no excuse for keeping that clunky custom site you built 5 years ago.
Excessive Travel
Now, of course, we know that transportation is an essential component of any landscaping business. From moving your crew between sites to delivery of products to meeting with clients, you will inevitably be on the go throughout your workday. Not maximizing the efficiency of your travel is another bad business practice. Driving around all day not only burns more gas, but time and money as well. By using a management tool to plan your day, you can ensure that unnecessary travel is reduced.
Unnecessary Inventory
You could call your accountant and debate the asset vs cost profile of your stored inventory, but that would just be adding more waste to an already expensive process. By entering all your inventory into a management platform, you can constantly track your overhead and make more informed decisions in order to run an effective landscaping business.
Wasteful Processing
Site inspections, permit procurement, and payment processing are unavoidable expenses in the landscaping game. But with so many sites running at one time, it can lead to bad business practices. Eventually, it will become difficult to prioritize, schedule, and manage your processing. A digital scheduling tool is a simple way to set up your workweek for streamlined processing.
Negativity
This one’s a little different from the rest of the categories but is crucial nonetheless. It can be easy for long, stressful days, irritating customers, and landscape business owner burnout to give you a negative attitude, but that’s only going to make things worse. As a business leader, it’s important to set the right tone for your crew, customers, and community – so don’t remember to take a break now and then to stay positive!
Outdated Media
These are technically all part of the same category, but you’d be shocked at how prevalent these archaic forms of technology are within the trades. Technology has left them behind for a reason, and so should you!
- Voicemail – The last thing you want to do at the end of the day is sift through a full inbox of voicemail. Funneling all these requests to a digital inbox or FAQ page can greatly reduce the volume of stored messages you receive.
- Paper – Paper is wasteful, easy to lose, and it’s downright annoying to store. Ditch the old-school invoicing and get your information stored on a secure software platform. The forests will thank you.
- Fax Machines – Do we really even need to explain this one? Any and all transfer of files can be done instantly and stress-free through a management platform.
Looking for more ways to eliminate waste in your landscaping business? LMN’s industry-leading management software provides a comprehensive solution to any and all landscape operator needs. Get in touch today to learn more about how we can help you scale your business!
