Million Dollar Landscaper Podcast

An Alternative To The H2B Program - MDL Episode 83

With all the issues of hiring today including the uncertainty with the H2B program, we figured we should talk about what many see as a viable alternative and that is hiring laborers from Puerto Rico.
Our family’s landscaping business did this two years ago and we wanted to give you a quick rundown of what is involved and what we saw as some of the pros and cons of using this method.
 
Have you taken our Growth Method Quiz?  If not head over to the Million Dollar Landscaper website and see what you should be focusing on to improve your landscaping business.

Tips For Improving Job Site Efficiency - MDL Episode 82

In today's we are answering a question from one of our Million Dollar Academy members.  We thought this was a great question so we figured we'd share it with you all.Here is what they wrote in:  
     "We are having issues with Job Site Efficiency.  Our bidding is on point with the other landscaping companies in the area if not more, we are usually the highest bidder for the jobs we get.  The problem is it takes us longer to finish the job than expected, we have dialed this down to efficiency."
 
He goes on to list some of the things they are doing to improve things.  But we wanted to share with you some ideas we had.  

8 Tips For Having Uncomfortable Conversations - MDL Episode 81

We’ve all been on one end or the other of an uncomfortable conversation at work….
And when you’re the boss, initiating these conversations is 1) Completely your responsibility or 2) You have to train someone on your team to do it
More people than you’d think just don’t like to say anything to their employees.
And these conversations can range from super uncomfortable, like having to fire someone….
To less uncomfortable, but STILL often avoided things like employee handbook violations.
In this week's episode, we have 8 tips for you on how to approach and handle any conversations that you might have been avoiding because even the thought of doing it is making you uncomfortable.

What Sets You Apart From Your Competition? - MDL Episode 80

One question we like to ask landscapers is why should a customer buy from you, or how are you different from your competitor?
And we commonly hear things like it’s our quality work, our customer service, or it’s our people....
Yes, these are all good things, but it’s not like your competitor is going around saying their quality of work is terrible, or that they have awful customer service and their people are mean.  
Doesn’t the customer expect all of these when they hire a company? 
What can you do to set your company apart from the crowd?

Interview with Jeremy Martin with Dust Killer Tools - MDL Episode 79

Today's episode is an interview with the creator of Dust Killer Tools, Jeremy Martin.Find out what Dust Killer Tools are, why you need them, how they can protect your employees, and help you comply with silica dust control laws.
For more information about Jeremy and his Dust Killer Tools click here!  Jeremy even offers a FREE Training on Silica Control and a FREE Control Plan Template.

Member Showcase with Nathan Dahl - MDL Episode 78

In this week's episode, we have a great conversation with one of the members of our Million Dollar Academy, Nathan Dahl.  Nathan is the owner of DahlCo Construction & Landscaping located in Ogden, Utah.Like all of us, Nathan has had his ups and downs along the way, but he's got a good head on his shoulders and 2020 is going to be a great year for DahlCo!
P.S.  Enrollment into the Million Dollar Academy is OPEN for a limited time!  If you're ready to take action towards getting your business from where it is now to where you want it to be >> ENROLL NOW!

Member Showcase with Alec Naylor - MDL Episode 77

Member Showcase: Alec Naylor
In this week's episode, we have our very first member showcase featuring Alec Naylor owner of Naylorscapes who proudly serves Ogden, Utah and the surrounding areas.Like most of us, Alec has faced some ups and downs over the years, but he's back and ready to do what it takes to get his business on track.Alec has great energy and a story that I think a lot of us can relate to so you're not going to want to miss this episode!
 
 
****If you're the type of landscaper that wants to opt-out of the chaos and get your business where you want it to be, then click this link and join us on our LIVE webinar where we'll go over the 5 steps we used to build and grow a seven-figure landscaping business.****

Goal Setting For 2020 - MDL Episode 76

🎉 Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020 🎉
Whether you set hardcore Year's resolutions or not, its' a great time to look over 2019 to see what did and didn't work and use that information to start making plans for the 2020 growing season.In this week's episode, we give a quick run-through of a goal-setting workbook that will help you get your thoughts and ideas sorted out so you can set some SMART goals for 2020. 🎯
 
If you haven't downloaded the workbook yet, you can snag a copy by heading here and signing up.
 

Green Growth Method Step #5 - MDL Episode 75

In today's episode, we are wrapping up our 6 episode series about our Green Growth Method.  
 
We started back with Episode 70 where we briefly went over all five steps of the Green Growth Methods.  Each episode since then has been a deeper dive into each individual Step of the Green Growth Method.
If you missed any of those you can listen to them here.
So that brings us to the fifth and final step today which is Grow Your Business.
 
Biggest Mistake I see landscapers make is thinking that strictly making more sales is enough to grow their business.
 
This can get you in trouble because if you don't have your business set up to handle an influx of work, you'll end up in chaos.
Also, if you are putting more sales on top of an estimating system that isn't profitable,  then it doesn’t matter how much you’re working if you aren’t getting to keep any of the profits. As far as teaching the Green Growth Method goes, I’d definitely say this is the most eclectic step.  It is kinda a mix of a lot of things.
 
It’s marketing, it’s social media, its sales, it’s self-improvement….The other steps were easy to pigeon hole into one topic.  This is the catch-all for all the things you need to do to successfully grow your business.
 
And if you haven’t downloaded the Green Growth Method pdf you need to head to our website and check it out.Click here for the Green Growth Method
 
You’ll see that even though this is a 5 step method,  we don’t have it laid out in a start here at step one and work your way to step 5 and your done linear path.  We have it laid out in a circle...kinda looks like a recycling sign.
 
And it is a circle because:     1) all of these steps are tied together and build off of each other     2) you’re never really done working on your business
The last thing we cover in today's episode is how important it is to have an accountability partner to lean on when you're going through the process of working on your business.Be it a spouse, a key employee in your business, or paying to be in an accountability group...Whatever you choose, we are all better together so make you have someone to help get you through working on your business.

Green Growth Method Step #4 - MDL Episode 74

We’ve spent the past few weeks introducing our 5 step Green Growth Method.
 
If you haven’t listened to episode #70 where we do a quick rundown of all the steps you can listen to it here.
Today’s topic is Step 4 - Estimating with Confidence!
 
We’ve talked about estimating in a couple of other episodes
All the way back in episode #8, we talked about the 5 estimating systems that are most often used in the landscaping industry.  These are systems that we have available in our Academy. We didn’t invent them, but we did very conveniently put them into ready to use spreadsheets so you don’t have to figure them out yourself.  They are plug and chug, no calculator required lol
 
The five estimating systems that we are referring to are:
Single Overhead Recovery System (SORS)
Duel overhead Recovery System (DORS)
Multiple Overhead Recovery System (MORS)
Overhead Profit Per Hour System (OPPH)
 
What we cover today's episode is how closely Step 4, Estimating With Confidence, in the Green Growth Method is tied to Step 3, Know Your Numbers.
 
You can’t put the cart before the horse.  If you want to learn how to estimate based on the actual numbers for your business, then you have to complete Step 3 before Step 4.  These two are completely tied together.
Wouldn't it be great to have your estimating all figured out before the 2020 growing season?!?
If you haven't taken our Green Growth Method quiz signup at https://milliondollarlandscaper.com/ggm-quiz-signup/