lbtcadmin
11-13-2007, 01:07 AM
Lawn & Landscape Business Plan Success
www.nilssonbooks.com (http://www.nilssonbooks.com)
A Dun & Bradstreet survey showed 90 percent of all small business failures can be traced back to poor management, lack of planning or under capitalization. Within the "poor management" category the lack of having a solid, well thought out business plan was number one >>> starting with things like ... is this business a good idea to begin with ? ... is there a strong market demand for the product or service ? ... can it compete and win its share of business ? ... and so on. Will the business work and if so ... WHY ... will it work ?
Another reason for business failure is the little talked about attempts at internet scams, middlemen get rich quick schemes, and otherwise "make me rich I'm lazy, I don't want to work for money" multi-level marketing ripoffs. What ever happened to pursuing and building careers, and making money by actually working and earning it ? The number of misleading subject titles spammed is increasing and takes away from serious business offer emails.
Lots of people try the lazy route to riches ... looking for a golden nugget that will help them avoid "doing their homework" and paying their dues, and an easy way out. In a way there really is very little competition out there for those willing to get into the game, plan and do their homework ... way too many people just lay back and achieve only marginal results ... and won't do anything about themselves ... in other words ... they have no ambition.
Earl Nightingale said something like .... "if you want to succeed do what failures don't like to do" ... failures don't like to do their homework ...
The strange thing about business failures is that many of them are not business failures as such, I mean the business itself had customer demand, growing markets to operate in, and acceptable levels of competition but the person fails the business ... not the business. Many are not really in "business" they're simply self employed, have bought themselves a job, and work alone. It's like the guy who owns a hot dog stand who decides to take the day off. He could have had an employee if he has one run the "gig" that day but didn't. Now, his regular customers pass by his spot and see he's not there. Many of these small businesses are "jobs" because these companies never reach and go thru the organizational stage ... because there is no "organization" of employees, systems, customer base etc, etc. at that level.
To expand on this a little further ... if you want to start your own business it would be great if you got your degree in Business. A BBA Degree gives you a background in most areas of business. Courses in management, advertising, marketing, accounting, taxes, computer applications, psychology, business organization among others.
When we think of why businesses fail ... the business person himself is often overlooked for the reason. Although we like to think that just about anybody can handle a business and make it a success if they really want to ... may not be possible in some situations ... things like "biting off more than you can chew" ... not being fully prepared to make a 100% effort while at the same time having other full time responsibilities ... and getting in over your head because you didn't see exactly what would be required of you time wise ... investment wise and emotionally. Running a business can be very stressful and with a small business the owner handles many different skills ... are you ready for it?
If there's an easy way to make money (which in itself would be very, very rare) ... rest assured it'll be kept a secret because there would be little reason to share it with anyone and thus "dilute" all those "spectacular earnings" ... the vast majority of websites don't generate profits. And it's only common sense that if you put a small amount of effort into something ... that the lack of rewards match the lack of effort.
There's millions of bogus "schemes" on how to make money out there ... it's a terrible waste of time for all concerned. Many of them expect others who sign on to do the work for them in a pyramid ... classic example ? ... Marcut Amerika If you want to make money ... try doing it the old fashioned way ... work for it and earn it ... and forget about theories that say that "there's a sucker born every minute" that can be taken advantage of. People sleep better at night when they do the right thing and play the game fair ... being in business and making it happen also takes a measure of luck too. How many Henry Fords are "out there" with super great ideas ?
It takes BIG money to reach the big markets with the big ideas.
So, part of succeeding in business means that the goals are not only defined ... but realistic. In other words, "ditch" the get rich quick schemes and forget the "lazy way out" because there is none. In your community ... look around at various businesses in your area and see which ones "work" ... copy their success ... study their advertising methods ... their equipment ... their employees ... their prices ... products ... services and etc. Fashion your own business using their companies as a model. You don't have to reinvent the wheel with brand new ideas ... just "do" what already works. That's what franchising is all about and why franchised businesses have over a 90% success rate. Copy success. Offer something in high demand ... keep it simple.
Nilsson's Job Estimating System (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) has everything you need to evaluate job site specifications & work required, figure costs, how to price ~ lawns, grounds maintenance, landscape installs. You'll get step - by - step instructions, bid proposal outlines & customer contracts, labor hours job times. You'll get job price guides to compare your prices with the going rates, overhead costs, materials, profit ratios. You'll set realistic prices, and job labor hours goals based on field tested, proven, time studied labor hours for every job you bid. You'll know how to evaluate every job for total work hours required, the price to charge for the job, the profit you'll make, best crew size, job costs. You'll also get add-on service check lists to help you maximize sales by upselling customers on additional property improvements.
www.nilssonbooks.com (http://www.nilssonbooks.com)
A Dun & Bradstreet survey showed 90 percent of all small business failures can be traced back to poor management, lack of planning or under capitalization. Within the "poor management" category the lack of having a solid, well thought out business plan was number one >>> starting with things like ... is this business a good idea to begin with ? ... is there a strong market demand for the product or service ? ... can it compete and win its share of business ? ... and so on. Will the business work and if so ... WHY ... will it work ?
Another reason for business failure is the little talked about attempts at internet scams, middlemen get rich quick schemes, and otherwise "make me rich I'm lazy, I don't want to work for money" multi-level marketing ripoffs. What ever happened to pursuing and building careers, and making money by actually working and earning it ? The number of misleading subject titles spammed is increasing and takes away from serious business offer emails.
Lots of people try the lazy route to riches ... looking for a golden nugget that will help them avoid "doing their homework" and paying their dues, and an easy way out. In a way there really is very little competition out there for those willing to get into the game, plan and do their homework ... way too many people just lay back and achieve only marginal results ... and won't do anything about themselves ... in other words ... they have no ambition.
Earl Nightingale said something like .... "if you want to succeed do what failures don't like to do" ... failures don't like to do their homework ...
The strange thing about business failures is that many of them are not business failures as such, I mean the business itself had customer demand, growing markets to operate in, and acceptable levels of competition but the person fails the business ... not the business. Many are not really in "business" they're simply self employed, have bought themselves a job, and work alone. It's like the guy who owns a hot dog stand who decides to take the day off. He could have had an employee if he has one run the "gig" that day but didn't. Now, his regular customers pass by his spot and see he's not there. Many of these small businesses are "jobs" because these companies never reach and go thru the organizational stage ... because there is no "organization" of employees, systems, customer base etc, etc. at that level.
To expand on this a little further ... if you want to start your own business it would be great if you got your degree in Business. A BBA Degree gives you a background in most areas of business. Courses in management, advertising, marketing, accounting, taxes, computer applications, psychology, business organization among others.
When we think of why businesses fail ... the business person himself is often overlooked for the reason. Although we like to think that just about anybody can handle a business and make it a success if they really want to ... may not be possible in some situations ... things like "biting off more than you can chew" ... not being fully prepared to make a 100% effort while at the same time having other full time responsibilities ... and getting in over your head because you didn't see exactly what would be required of you time wise ... investment wise and emotionally. Running a business can be very stressful and with a small business the owner handles many different skills ... are you ready for it?
If there's an easy way to make money (which in itself would be very, very rare) ... rest assured it'll be kept a secret because there would be little reason to share it with anyone and thus "dilute" all those "spectacular earnings" ... the vast majority of websites don't generate profits. And it's only common sense that if you put a small amount of effort into something ... that the lack of rewards match the lack of effort.
There's millions of bogus "schemes" on how to make money out there ... it's a terrible waste of time for all concerned. Many of them expect others who sign on to do the work for them in a pyramid ... classic example ? ... Marcut Amerika If you want to make money ... try doing it the old fashioned way ... work for it and earn it ... and forget about theories that say that "there's a sucker born every minute" that can be taken advantage of. People sleep better at night when they do the right thing and play the game fair ... being in business and making it happen also takes a measure of luck too. How many Henry Fords are "out there" with super great ideas ?
It takes BIG money to reach the big markets with the big ideas.
So, part of succeeding in business means that the goals are not only defined ... but realistic. In other words, "ditch" the get rich quick schemes and forget the "lazy way out" because there is none. In your community ... look around at various businesses in your area and see which ones "work" ... copy their success ... study their advertising methods ... their equipment ... their employees ... their prices ... products ... services and etc. Fashion your own business using their companies as a model. You don't have to reinvent the wheel with brand new ideas ... just "do" what already works. That's what franchising is all about and why franchised businesses have over a 90% success rate. Copy success. Offer something in high demand ... keep it simple.
Nilsson's Job Estimating System (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) has everything you need to evaluate job site specifications & work required, figure costs, how to price ~ lawns, grounds maintenance, landscape installs. You'll get step - by - step instructions, bid proposal outlines & customer contracts, labor hours job times. You'll get job price guides to compare your prices with the going rates, overhead costs, materials, profit ratios. You'll set realistic prices, and job labor hours goals based on field tested, proven, time studied labor hours for every job you bid. You'll know how to evaluate every job for total work hours required, the price to charge for the job, the profit you'll make, best crew size, job costs. You'll also get add-on service check lists to help you maximize sales by upselling customers on additional property improvements.