Million Dollar Landscaper

There are always obstacles between us and our goals.  But many of these obstacles we create ourselves, and growing a business is challenging enough without continually standing in our own way. This week, Scott and Kati discuss three reasons why you might not be reaching your goals.    QUESTION —Do you have goals for your business this year?  What are they?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.

Someone once told me that if you aren't on the internet, then you DO NOT EXIST.  That may sound harsh, and at first, I thought it was a bit of an extreme point of view.  But more and more, i find myself thinking that they may have been right.  At least figuratively...   QUESTION — When was the last time you hired someone that you DIDN'T find online?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.

SPAM.  We all get it. We all hate it.  And so we tend not to use it as part of our own marketing strategy because we don't want to annoy our potential customers.  But is there a way to use email to maintain contact with past clients and reach potential new clients without being a virtual nuisance? In this week's episode, Scott talks to Laura Reale of "Landscape Marketing Secrets" about the do's and don'ts of email marketing. Learn how Laura can up your email game at https://landscapemarketingsecrets.com/ QUESTION —Do you mind being contacted by a company that has done work for you in the past? Let us know on our Facebook Page.  

It's like my mother always said: "The best way to ensure your landscaping company's profitability is to fly to St. Louis for three days and have as much fun as possible..." And so on this week's episode, Scott talks to  Adam and Sahra Linnemann of The Green Executive about the Profit First For Landscapers Conference and Facility Tour, which takes place in St. Louis, Missouri, from September 28th to 30th. Register at: https://thegreenexecutive.com/events/. Hurry, early registration ends soon! QUESTION —Have you read the book Profit First? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

Summer will soon be over, and so will the busiest time of year for most landscaping businesses.  For many of us, the off-season means less work, less income, and fewer profits.  But what if it didn't have to be this way? In this week's episode, Scott talks to Jason Geiman about adding Christmas lights to your landscaping business. Learn more about Jason's Christmas Light Training program at https://www.kingofpressurewash.com/offers/J67SRtfM/checkout   QUESTION —How do you keep your team busy in the off-season? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

All the talking heads on all the news channels seem to agree that we are headed for a recession.  The only disagreement is over how bad it will be, how long it will last, and what or who is to blame. Batten down the hatches... But don't panic because, on this week's show, Scott and Kati talk about what steps you can take to make sure that your business is prepared to weather the storm of a recession. QUESTION —How bad do you think the recession will be?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.

It was way too chaotic and loud in my house today to concentrate on writing show notes.  So I checked my "Systems and Procedures" manual.  It said I should pack up my laptop, go to the nearest British pub and write the show notes there.   Cheers! In this week's episode, Scott and Kati talk about systems and how the lack of them can be a threat to the very existence of your business.   QUESTION —Have you experienced a negative situation that could have been avoided if a system had been in place? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

Customer experience is the perception a customer has of a brand, based on the sum of all the interactions they have had with that brand.  If a person's impression of your company is positive, they are more likely to recommend you to others and to become a repeat customer themselves. This week, Scott and Kati discuss ways of creating a positive customer experience for your landscaping customers.      QUESTION —What are the best and worst customer experiences you can remember having? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

This week's episode is about Peaks and Valleys. "The indie film from 2019!" you ask?  "The one where a woman wrapped in plastic is thrown from a plane into a remote Alaskan lake, and then takes shelter in a secluded cabin after wandering naked through the northern wilderness for days?" Nope. Not that one.   This is a LANDSCAPING podcast, and today Scott and Kati discuss the peaks and valleys you encounter while running a LANDSCAPING business.   QUESTION — Do you feel like you're on a peak or in a valley?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.

There are people with a passion for landscaping, and there are people with a passion for accounting.  Some theorize that there may be some overlap between these two types of people, but studies so far have been inconclusive. In this week's episode, Scott and Kati discuss the importance of hiring an accountant for your landscaping business.    For all of your accounting needs, we recommend Cycle CPA. https://t2m.io/H4hkcEg QUESTION —? Do you do your own accounting?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.

So, according to a popular website: "Ghosting is when someone who used to be friendly or even romantic with you suddenly cuts off all communication without explanation. While most people think of ghosting in a digital context, meaning a friend or dating partner stops responding to texts, emails, calls, etc., it can happen across all social circumstances." But what I'm still not clear on is that when someone ghosts you, are YOU the ghost, or are THEY the ghost? Perhaps this week's episode of the Million Dollar Landscaper will clear things up.   QUESTION —Have you ever been ghosted or ghosted by someone else? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

There are very few examples of history's great leaders blaming their followers for problems that they as leaders should have seen coming.  That's because, like a chess grandmaster, truly effective leaders anticipate these situations, and already have a plan for how to handle them before they even happen. How does this apply to landscaping, you ask?  Find out by listening to this week's episode! QUESTION —Have you ever worked for a reactive leader? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

Finally, after over two hundred shows and more than one-hundred-thousand downloads, the Million Dollar Landscaper Podcast pulls out all the stops and publishes its latest episode in 4D.  Yep, you read that right.  4D. Of course, that's 4D as in the  Four D's of time management. What are they, you ask?  Well, you'll have to listen to this week's episode to find out.  But here's a hint:  It has nothing to do with Dungeons and Dragons. QUESTION -Is there something that you have been doing, that you are thinking about hiring someone else to do?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.  

If your business is doing well, but your growth has slowed, and you're not sure what your next step should be, then you'll want to listen to this week's episode.  Scott is joined by Jonathan Goldhill, of the Goldhill Group.  They specialize in helping businesses that are "plateau-ing" reach that elusive "next level." QUESTION —Do you find yourself struggling to take your business to the next level? Let us know on our Facebook Page.   If you are struggling to break that 7-figure mark, find how the Goldhill Group can help you achieve that and more at https://www.thegoldhillgroup.com/  

The American Payroll Association estimates that the average small business loses three-quarters of a man-hour every single day, due to inaccurate time-keeping.  So why are so many companies still using paper time cards, when there is a simple GPS time-clock that makes time tracking simple and accurate? In today's episode, Scott welcomes back Isaac Barlow of busybusy, the number one app for reducing timesheet headaches.  QUESTION —Do your employees keep track of exactly when they clock in and clock out, or are they guess-timating? Let us know on our Facebook Page. Learn how you can better track your time using busybusy at: http://mdl.coach/busybusy. Mention the Million Dollar Landscaper Podcast and get 3 Months for FREE.  

Does it rhyme with quiche?  Or does it rhyme with pitch? However you say it, you'll want to listen to this week's episode because Scott's guest is Tim Kubista of RC mowers.  They discuss the importance of finding a "niche" for your business. Learn how you can niche down using RC Mowers at: https://www.rcmowersusa.com/ QUESTION — How do you deal with mowing steep slopes?  Let us know on our Facebook Page.

Does your business spend too much time and money on estimating?  Do you wish there was a better way?  Have you found yourself staring into space, and wondering if this process could be streamlined somehow using automation? If the answer to any of these is "yes," then you'll want to listen to this week's episode.  Scott's guest is Kristen Kinsella of Attentive, a company that uses artificial intelligence to help you save time and money on estimating.  Learn how Attentive.ai can help you grow your landscaping business at https://attentive.ai/ When you sign up make sure to mention "MMDOLLAR" to get 80% off in the first year of platform access.   QUESTION —How much do you spend on estimating in your business? Let us know on our Facebook Page.  

Are you one of those people who thinks that there is no overlap between the world of landscaping and the world of fashion? Don't believe the misinformation! In this week's episode, Scott's guests are Jake Hundley and Cody See of Evergrow Marketing.  They talk about hats.  White hats, grey hats, and black hats. They discuss the merits of each and offer their opinion on which one YOU should be wearing, and why. Learn how Evergrow Marketing can help your landscaping business by going to: https://evergrowmarketing.com/ QUESTION —Do you have someone doing your SEO? Let us know on our Facebook Page. Learn how Evergrow Marketing can help you grow your landscaping business at https://evergrowmarketing.com/

I worked at a place once where the team meetings sucked.  So we had a meeting to discuss why the meetings sucked. Guess what.  It sucked. Does it have to be this way?   Maybe it does and maybe it doesn't, but on today's episode, Scott and Kati discuss strategies YOU can use to make YOUR team meetings suck just a little bit LESS. Grab your free team meeting guide by going to: https://www.milliondollarlandscaper.com/teammeeting QUESTION —Do your team meetings suck? Let us know on our Facebook Page.

Do you feel like your business is doing well?  Great!  But what does that even mean?  How can that feeling be quantified?   In today's episode, Scott and Kati talk about using a scorecard to keep track of your key performance indicators, or KPIs.  What's that, you ask? Listen and find out! Grab your copy of the sample KPI scorecard by going to: https://www.milliondollarlandscaper.com/scorecard   QUESTION —What key performance indicators do you focus on in your business? Let us know on our Facebook Page.