Road to success

The good ones thrive

BY ROD McDONALD

IN THE LATE ’70S AND EARLY ’80S, there was a buildI spoke with a staff member at Home Depot and she said customers ing boom in my area. Anyone who owned a truck, a ladder and a were waiting around for trucks to be unloaded. Then they swarmed hammer declared themselves a framing carpenter. On the surface, the racks before staff could even place plants on the shelf. As I wrote that preceding statement appears absurd or, perhaps, comical. last month, impatiens had become to our trade what toilet paper Sadly, those self-declared framing carpenters got work — but only had become to Costco. because the good framers were booked up. One afternoon in 1978, The title ‘The good ones thrive,’ could also has been ‘The tough I was having a conversation with one of the reputable framing carones thrive.’ penters. He said: “I will always have work. When I am too busy to get One has to have a certain level of toughness to survive in this busito everyone who wants me, then the marginal carpenters get that ness. I, like you, had friends who commented while shopping at my work. They work, only in the good times, never when it is slow.” garden centre in the spring, “When I retire, I want to open up a place

Those words proved true, again and again, as time went by. There just like this.” I told one friend she was not tough enough to handle were good homes and not so good homes being built in that time this business. She was not offended, but she was confused. I experiod. My brother built his first house in 1977. Two years later, a wind plained that she thinks we wander around smelling the roses, when shear devastated his neighbourhood, including his home. The roof was in reality, we spend so much of our time unloading trucks, organizing torn off. A good thing that wind turned benches and answering questions. Our out to be, as the missing roof exposed an work is both physically and mentally drainincredible number of deficiencies in not “When times are slower, ing. This is not a business for sissies. I knew only the framing, but also the insulation. His front door had been framed with not we have to provide even one person who attempted to manage a large greenhouse by working from 8 a.m. a hint of surrounding insulation, which explained why it was always so cold at the more reasons for customers until 4:30 p.m. If she missed lunch, she thought she could leave at 4 p.m. When I entrance way. The builder was charged with building code violations, and with to visit our garden centres tell that story to a group from our trade, there are always gales of laughter. If you no great surprise, declared bankruptcy. This story was repeated again and again, and greenhouses.” want an 8 to 4:30 job, this is not the busi ness for you. as time went by, when homes were being Good times or not-so-good times, you renovated 20 and 30 years down the will never get rich working for the bank. road. Workmanship that should have been carried out was either Debt is both a positive and a negative, and those who are good non-existent or poorly done. business managers know how to manage their debt load. I was never

Framing carpenters and landscape contractors have something in afraid of debt; I used it to build my business when I did not have liqcommon: During the good times, everyone works. When things are uid cash to finance projects. I also paid down my debt with accelerslow, only the good ones thrive. ated payments, whenever possible. I would never accept a loan with WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF UNCERTAIN TIMES, and one of the few are banks that penalize you for paying back loans too quickly, as they sectors that thrived during the early part of this year were the garwant to keep you on the hook, collecting interest every month. Find den centres and greenhouses. The family greenhouse where I work a bank, or better yet, a credit union, that is flexible in early repaypart-time closed down on May 25. There was nothing left to sell, ments. I don’t like working for the bank. I like working for myself. and nothing left to buy from other greenhouses. If you did not make a penalty for balloon payments or paying off prior to maturity. There money this past spring, there was something wrong. Consumers MANY YEARS AGO, a friend of mine got carried away with expanwere so desperate for plants that social media was filled with quession and easy credit. He bought a lot of equipment with ‘nothing tions asking where someone might find this plant or that one. down and low payments’ and he bid a lot of work. He needed to bid

a lot of work to pay for all the interest on his equipment loans. Two years in a row, he grossed over $2 million in sales, but netted only $6,000 one year and $20,000 the second. The following year he reduced his equipment and his crew size, and regained profitability. He has remained in the black for these last 30 years. He learned his lesson on how to be profitable, and the lesson is debt management. I love a story with a happy ending.

When times are slower, we have to provide even more reasons for customers to visit our garden centres and greenhouses. Cutting prices is not one of those reasons. Those who have attempted to increase business with lower prices have paid dearly for their foolishness — and quite quickly, I might add. Our margins are not so great that we should become price cutters. Even if we do try to lower our prices, we will never be as low as the box stores. Box stores have little investment in staff. They tend to hire warm bodies, not plant people. They place very little emphasis on maintenance or display and they always purchase from the cheapest wholesaler they can find. Box stores will drop a supplier of 20 years for someone five cents cheaper. There is no possible way we can, or should even want to, compete with the box stores. Lowering prices is a recipe for disaster.

We need to always be fresh with our displays. When I walk into a greenhouse or any retail store, it should proclaim this is the place I should shop. The displays should not only make me say the proverbial ‘Wow,’ but those displays should encourage me to buy. As my greenhouse manager used to say, compliments are always nice, but $20 bills are even nicer. I have walked into retail stores from our trade, that made it clear this is either a tired operation or one that is determined to achieve success.

A year ago, I had an idea of where our trade was headed and what to expect from the economy. Today, I have no idea. These are interesting times for all of us. What I do know, and for certain, is that the good ones amongst us will not only survive, but we will be the ones that thrive. Our attention to details, and the business plans we create, will keep us on the road to success. LT

Rod McDonald owned and operated Lakeview Gardens, a successful garden centre/landscape firm in Regina, Sask., for 28 years. He now works full-time in the world of fine arts, writing, acting and producing in film, television and stage.

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