Celebrating our customers and partners is one of our favorite things to do. We recently chatted with green industry pro Adam Linnemann to see how he got started in the landscaping industry and what tips and tools he had to share with us.
Adam Linnemann has been in the landscaping business since he was 14 years old, mowing lawns for neighbors and friends in the greater St. Louis, Missouri area. Since then, his landscaping business has expanded to include seven crews and more than 15 employees. After 29 years in the green industry, Adam and his wife Sahra started The Green Executive to help landscape professionals look at their finances in a different way in order to boost profits. Adam and Sahra are Profit First certified professionals. Profit First is a cash flow management tool that looks at your finances as sales minus profit equals expenses rather than the more traditional way of sales minus expenses equals profit.
Throughout his 29 years in the industry, Adam has seen the benefits of applying Profit First principles in his own landscaping business in order to be more successful and specialize in certain categories in the landscaping industry. These types of realizations are exactly what Adam and Sahra do for other landscape professionals out there. Their mission is to help landscape business owners eradicate entrepreneurial poverty in the green industry.
Here are the top three takeaways from Adam at The Green Executive to help landscape pros be more profitable and successful in their businesses:
Be Ready to Pivot.
Adam asked a question, “Do you want to be the firefighter or the preventer of the fire?” You can either battle the flames and challenges head on as they appear OR you can be thinking steps ahead and preparing for anything that may come your way. Now, I don’t know about you, but I like that second option a lot better. Adam briefs his team on a scheduled basis so they know what to do in any situation big and small, in order to take care of their customers no matter what the circumstances. Always have a backup plan.
Understand Your Customer.
Your customers won’t always know what they want or need in their landscaping project. Customers also don’t know how much things cost. You are always going to have those customers that think the price you are charging for a project is just too much. This is why it is important to set a project minimum amount so you are sure to meet your profit goals. When pricing projects think about the profitability margins, cost of overhead, cost of equipment upkeep, and your crew. Profit needs to be built into your price from the very beginning to keep your landscaping company running successfully. Linnemann Lawn Care and Landscape has a page on their website where they provide a price range for a variety of projects in order to give customers an idea of what the cost will be. This can be a great way to weed out the customers that are looking for the cheapest option for a project. Adam also includes an inquiry form to help his team understand insights from the customer such as, budget, timeline, etc. This is a great way for Adam and his team to know how best to win the project and meet customer needs.
Invest in Your Team and Your Company.
Adam made it clear that you need to invest to see success. The Green Executive is a resource that helps prepare companies in the green industry for success. Having great members on your team is also very important. These are the people that your customers interact with on site. Adam says that he is always looking for new team members, even if he doesn’t need to hire anyone at the moment. The landscaping industry is getting busier, so it is always a good idea to have extra staff.
Thanks, Adam, for these great insights into the inner workings of the landscaping industry, and for some great tools and tips to help our landscape pros out there. Gemplers is here to help too! We supply pro-grade gear and tools for crews of all stages and sizes. Investing in quality tools and equipment will help your crew perform tasks efficiently season after season.
