Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS
Today Stan talks with Tony Bass who partnered up with Michael Gerber (author of The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It) to write The E Myth: Landscape and Contractors edition.
Before he read The E-Myth, Tony’s landscaping business was making approximately $350,000 in revenue with 8 employees. After reading the book, he took a 6 month sabbatical to create systems he could apply to replicate and expand his company.
5 years after his sabbatical, Tony was at about $1 million in revenue. The revenue wasn’t important, it was the foundation. He had plans for every part of his business. A financial plan. Marketing plan. Operational plan. organizational charts. Job descriptions. Training manuals.
5 Mega Trends that Catapult or Kill
- Baby boomers buy more services
- Fuel prices are lower
- Big companies face higher cost of labor than smaller companies
- Pay rates are going up
- Automation
Links from this episode
SuperLawnToolkit.com
The E Myth – Landscape Contractor
The E Myth – Revisited
The E Myth – Original
I’ll be completely honest here. Self-help techniques and “ra ra!” type affirmations aren’t for all of us. But you’re listening to us to learn, right? To grow? To get that kick in the ass you need to start carving your own path? Give Robert Mallon a shot in this episode of LBP, and I guarantee you’ll be seeing some things in a different light. 
Shaun Caldwell is owner of Charlotte Print, an online printing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shaun’s background is internet marketing, but when his career wasn’t going where he wanted, he got into print media – which seems a little backwards – but it’s a move that Shaun truly believes was a game changer. Before beginning a direct mail campaign, ask yourself two questions. 1) What does your demographic look like? Age, income, location, etc. Know who you’re targeting. 2) Make sure your message to that audience is complimentary. It doesn’t matter how good your print piece looks or how many people see it, if you’re not speaking their language, then your efforts are lost and your money is wasted. Stan and Shaun also discuss the differences between a solo and “coop” campaign. Which costs more? Which is more effective? What kind of return can I expect?
Jeffrey Scott, MBA, author, business coach, hall-of-fame consultant, is the expert in growth and profit maximization in the lawn & landscape industry. He grew his company into a successful $10 million enterprise, and he’s now devoted to helping others achieve profound success. Jeffrey believes, if you really want to run and grow the business you always wanted while still having time to enjoy your success, it is absolutely necessary to become a recruiting expert. Find a rockstar #2 employee, or what Jeffrey calls a “2nd in command”. Next, get your estimating process down to a science. Then, work on a budget and make it a priority every single month. Get ready to hit the rewind button, because Jeffrey and Stan share some invaluable information in this episode, including some great tips on how to write the perfect “Help Wanted” ad. As always, thanks for checking out the Landscape Business Pro Podcast!
The Man, The Myth, The Legend: John Lee Dumas. After growing up in Maine, John went to college on an Army ROTC scholarship, eventually becoming an officer in the Army and doing a 13 month tour in Iraq. For the next 6 years, John tried law school, real estate, and corporate finance, but nothing felt right. Then, John decided to try something different: podcasting. Following his flare for business and his passion for learning from the best, John decided to create the exact podcast that he felt was missing – a seven day a week podcast where listeners could learn from established, accomplished entrepreneurs. That podcast is Entrepreneur on Fire. At first, John wasn’t comfortable behind the mic, and had no experience producing a podcast, but he understood the only way to get better was to learn from someone that had already done it. By investing in himself and seeking expert mentors that were enjoying the success he was after, John knew he was giving himself the absolute best shot at success. In this episode you’ll learn how to leverage a mentor to get your landscaping business off the ground, or take your existing company to the next level.
Head Honcho of 
How many times have you spent half the day meeting with a potential client only to realize their project is completely unrealistic for their budget? How much time have you wasted trying to figure out the scope of a project when the customer really has no idea what they want? Remember, YOU are in control of your business. Tom Reber is a contractor, business owner, podcaster, and business coach. He knows what it takes to make your business work for you, rather than the other way around. By prequalifying potential clients based on scope and budget, your jobs will be easier to land, easier to bid, and ultimately easier to GET PAID on. Period. It really is that simple to minimize the time spent on the project and maximize your margins. Simply put: Find the right clients, take on the right projects, and build the business you want to own.
As an entrepreneur, Kenny Chapman believes it’s important to ask yourself, “Are you serving your business, or is your business serving you?” Also known as The Blue Collar Coach, Kenny is President and Founder of the Blue Collar Success Group. When he was 30 years old and working as a self-proclaimed ‘sewer rat,’ he set the ambitious goal of retiring at the age of 40. After experiencing some setbacks, Kenny decided to take a hard look at how he was running his business, and how it was running him. Before anything else, decide what your endgame is and what your goals are as a business owner. Once you understand these and focus on your purpose, it will help guide you and your decisions every single day. This focus has allowed Kenny to look at retirement from a completely new perspective. Instead of building your company and eventually selling it as part of your retirement plan, why not create systems and build leaders within your company that allow you to keep the company forever, and never retire. Kenny is an author, business coach, speaker, consultant and above all else, a very successful entrepreneur. He has some great experiences and his no nonsense, down-to-earth style is a perfect fit for our show.