Landscape Saskatchewan News Summer 2018

Landscape Saskatchewan News Summer 2018

LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Wow! What a crazy spring and early summer it has been; busier and a bit crazier than what I can remember! I did, however, find some time to get away to Saskatoon for the ISA Prairie Chapter’s session on Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

Beyond being a scary little bug, I’m so proud of Saskatchewan’s reaction. Firstly, our government moved very quickly in passing an order to restrict the movement of materials that could bring EAB into our province. Second, our very own Aaron Krahn gave a thoughtful presentation on replacement species for ash. It would have been easy to promote a couple of species that he grows, but instead he insisted that there is no magic bean in this scenario. We have some replacements, but they come at a cost. Ash is a tremendous tree for our Prairie cities and can’t be eliminated completely.

We need to fight to keep EAB out, fight to preserve the ash we already have, and fight for common sense solutions. Landscape Saskatchewan will continue to work at the forefront. We have more details on the order in this issue and are planning future content on this continued theme, including sessions at the Green Industry Show & Conference in Edmonton this November.

Board of Directors: Leslie Cornell Cornell Design & Landscaping Ltd. President Robin Adair Arbour Crest Tree Service Ltd. Director Lane Bullied Gardens by Design Inc. Director Nathaniel Knutson See More Green Landscaping Director Aaron Krahn Lakeshore Tree Farms Ltd. CNLA Representative If you are interested in joining Landscape Saskatchewan’s Board, please email Joel Beatson at joel. beatson@landscape-alberta.com.

Administrative Support: Joel Beatson, CAE, CLM Executive Director Marnie Main Member Services Director

Leslie Cornell, President, Landscape Saskatchewan

Carmen Johnson Communications Coordinator Cheryl Teo Bookkeeper

Contact Us:

CALENDAR OF EVENTS August 14-16, 2018

September 26-27, 2018

CNLA Summer Meeting St. Andrews, NB www.cnla.ca

Canwest Hort Show Abbotsford, BC www.canwesthortshow.com

August 15, 2018

October 3-4, 2018

National Awards of Landscape Excellence St. Andrews, NB www.cnla.ca

Canadian Greenhouse Conference Niagra Falls, ON www.canadiangreenhouseconference.com

September 26, 2018

November 15-16, 2018

National Tree Day Canada-wide www.treecanada.ca

Green Industry Show & Conference Expo Centre, Edmonton, AB www.greenindustryshow.com

Landscape Saskatchewan c/o Landscape Alberta 18051 107 AVE NW Edmonton, AB T5S 1K3 Tel: 780-489-1991 Toll Free: 1-800-378-3198 Fax: 780-444-2152 admin@landscape-alberta.com www.snla.ca

On the cover: 2017 Landscape Award of Merit Winner Bills Landscapes Villa Royal

Follow us on Twitter: @landscapeask

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INDUSTRY AND ASSOCIATION NEWS Skills Canada Landscape Gardening National Competition After two days of intense competition among seven teams from across Canada, first place at the Skills Canada National Competition was awarded to Diana Davidson and Chad Merrett of Team Nova Scotia. Team Ontario received second place, with Team Quebec taking third. Alberta’s team consisted of Kendrick Shaw from Calgary and Olivia McIntosh from Chestermere.

Although the pair did not place at the National Competition, they were resilient in their efforts and produced exceptional work.

Each team built a landscape project from the provided construction plan. Teams worked from the ground up, preparing the landscape’s base, constructing an individually designed wood screen, installing retaining walls and paving stones, planting several trees, shrubs and flowers, installing a pondless water feature, and many other tasks—all within just 12 hours!

Skills Canada is the only national, multi-trade and technology competition for students and apprentices across the country.

More than 500 competitors competed in over 40 unique contest areas. Through these competitions, Skills Canada raises awareness of the trades and technology sectors for youth across the country. 2019’s National Competition is May 27-30 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Left: Team Nova Scotia; Right: Team Alberta

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Become A Landscape Horticulturist Journey Person Do you have years of experience in our industry? Want to prove it to your customers and employees? Do you want to hire and train apprentices (along with the ability to access grant money)? There is a way to achieve this designation without going back to school.

Those that have been working in their trade for many years and do not want to go the apprenticeship route may challenge the certification examination without attending training.

The Landscape Saskatchewan office has received a couple of inquires about how to achieve Red Seal status. Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission has detailed information on trade qualifiers and how to apply for assessment on their website. You can also find quick links for the landscape horticulturist trade.

New Staff at Landscape Alberta At the end of May Landscape Alberta welcomed new staff member Cassandra Duffenais who has assumed the role of Events and Relationship Coordinator. Cassandra recently moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia where she worked as an Assistant Registrar of Recruitment and Admissions at Dalhousie University. She is originally from Brampton, Ontario. We welcome Cassandra to Landscape Alberta and to our province’s unpredictable weather!

Enter the 2018 Landscape Awards No matter your specialty, from green walls and roofs, to construction or maintenance, there is a category for you in the 2018 Landscape Awards. We want to see your best work, and reward you for your excellent projects. Projects that score very highly in our program are elevated to compete in the National Awards of Landscape Excellence (Canadian Nursery Landscape Association).

Members can enter projects into nine different categories covering construction, maintenance and design. Each entry is evaluated using a set of criteria; the submissions are not judged against each other. There are two award levels; a Merit Award goes to an entry that earns 70-84 points, and an Excellence Award goes to an entry earning 85 or more points.

The 2018 Landscape Awards package is available now on our website at www.snla.ca. You can download the package for complete details, rules, forms, and helpful tips.

The early bird entry deadline is October 26, 2018 and the early entry fee is $100.00 per project entered. The late entry deadline is November 23, 2018 and the late entry fee is $150.00 per project entered.

Helpful Hints and Tips The judges determine the quality of materials, complexity, completeness of installation, workmanship, and horticultural correctness in the project using only the photographs and written description submitted with each entry. Remember, first impressions count for both judges and future clients.

Photography Tips • Photos submitted should be ones that you would be proud to display for your most discerning clients.

• Take photos from a variety of angles and points of interest.

• Include close-up photos of the beds, edges, shrubs, etc. that you maintain so the judges can evaluate your work.

• • • •

Candid photos of people using the landscape can show use and demonstrate scale.

Elevated/overhead shots taken from a normal vantage point (i.e. deck, upstairs window) can be helpful.

Photos are best taken during early morning or later in the day, or with an overcast sky.

Submit photos taken during the summer or early fall. Lawns should be green; if some photos are taken in the autumn season, the trees and shrubs should still have some leaves.

Site Preparation Tips • Remove distracting objects before photos are taken. Hoses lying across walkways, stray tools, litter, and so on have no place in a successful photo entry.

• Include before, during, and after photos of your work as it helps the judges to see your whole project.

• Plant material should be properly selected and well-adapted to the site.

• Sweep up mulch that has spilled onto hard surfaces.

• Make sure plant material is well-pruned and free of insects or disease. Remove all tags and flagging.

• Remove all weeds from shrub beds.

For Construction and Maintenance categories, plan to submit 8-15 images. For the Design category, include no more than 5 before and 2 after images (the after images will not be part of the judging but look nice in print publications). Choose only the highest quality resolution on your camera to produce the best image. All images must be submitted on a USB stick and properly labelled.

We encourage all of our members to participate and utilize this excellent opportunity to improve business, and remember, that awards look professional and positive to customers! We look forward to seeing your best work!

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STRATEGIC THINKING A NEW PERSPECTIVE Article by Jackie Hart When I talk to business owners about strategy they often roll their eyes and conjure up images of lengthy strategic plans requiring days of work. That’s not why I talk about strategy. To me, strategy requires thinking strategically—which is a critical business leadership skill of which most entrepreneurs are unaware. Thinking strategically is often defined as a mental or thinking process used by an individual to achieve success in a particular endeavour, and strategic thinking is a key aspect of a successful business strategy.

Based on many years as a consultant working with entrepreneurs, I believe there are six key steps in a sound, well-thought business strategy. The plan (strategic plan) depends on this critical thinking in order to determine what investment the company needs to move forward and how much profit will be generated. Here are my six strategic thinking steps to building a solid, well led business.

1. CLARIFY CULTURE WHO is your company? (Not to be confused with what your company does or offers.) What are the nonnegotiable values in your business? What do you believe in? What is unique about the behind-the-scenes dynamics and the dynamics between staff and customers? (HINT: if you’re feeling your company doesn’t have effective dynamics either behind the scenes or with customers, you really need to start with a culture project!) This is about defining your foundation—your culture. It’s a crucial step to take if you’re having trouble attracting employees who fit just right: something you simply can’t do if you don’t have a clear definition of what right fit is!

Jobber Team at GISC 2017

2. ESTABLISH STRATEGIC FOCUS WHY does your business exist (What is its purpose/mission?), and what are you ultimately trying to create by being in business? Where is the company headed? (What’s your vision?) By taking this step you are setting the context for your business. This is how you will filter through the vast amounts of information you take in. Time is money, and without intentionally defining your strategic focus, you may find yourself wasting valuable hours trying to figure out what’s relevant and what’s not.

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3. CREATE STRUCTURE This will support and drive your strategic focus: strategy drives structure. Strategy determines what fits (including people and positions) and what doesn’t. Structure is the implementation plan for your strategy. Be careful not to create business strategies around the personalities or the talents (or lack thereof) of various employees. Structure is used to determine what positions to create. Who you find to fill them (i.e. corporate structure) should be driven primarily by your strategic focus.

4. ALIGN PEOPLE One of the most effective ways to increase productivity (and profit) is to reduce or eliminate unproductive friction. It’s invaluable in helping you maintain alignment of people and purpose, and to engage the highest potential of each individual’s passions and talents. And, by the way, aligned people hold themselves and each other accountable to results, actions, and attitudes.

Green Haven Garden Centre Team, 2017

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5. IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY Clarity, alignment, and accountability will launch productivity to new heights. To maximize productivity, it is human nature to know what is considered good, bad, and outstanding. By setting clear targets, goals, and bench marks, you can establish better team collaboration, alignment, and productivity. Make sure that your culture insists everyone checks their egos at the door. Productivity can be remarkably improved when the company culture supports accountability; where people know when to step up, when to step back, when to own their mistakes, and when to own their victories.

GISC 2017

6. ATTRACT RIGHT FIT BUSINESS When you engage your valuable resources in contracts, customers or markets that don’t fit your business, you run the risk of wasting effort. This can contribute to increased costs and distract people and materials from more profitable work and potential. You will successfully gain forward momentum by engaging your team (and company advocates—which includes loyal customers, sub trades, suppliers, etc.) in a collaborative culture for mutual improvement and success. Get clear on what the right fit is, and go for it! Ignore the wrong fit. It took me years to learn how to stand my ground and realize that some of the work I did actually took away from my profits. There have been memorable occasions in my career when I’ve realized that the company would make more profit if it were to send staff and equipment home rather than engage with the customers’ project on their unreasonable terms. Know what you do well, who you sell to that appreciates your offering, and do what you promise to, and when. That’s right fit and profitable.

There’s a great deal of time and energy involved in rolling out these six steps, but your business will soar if you learn how to pay attention to them and focus on continuous improvement. As a collaborative business coach, I can help you to shift from where to you are ahead to where you envision being.

Jacki Hart is a seasoned Landscape Industry Entrepreneur and professional industry business coach. She can be reached at jacki@GetCBH.com

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Ten Simple Tips to Improve Your

Social Media Marketing Your Customers are Online With the prevalence of social media today, there’s a pretty good chance you have a personal Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account, but what about your business?

Plain and simple: if your business isn’t on social media you are losing customers and profits. Studies show that between 70-80% of people research a company online and through social media BEFORE they consider utilizing that company’s services. No online presence and customers won’t be able to find your services, and they’ll take their business elsewhere.

The benefits of social media definitely outweigh the effort the platforms take to manage. Overall, social

1 Know your audience. It’s important to know who you’re trying to target before you start developing content or before choosing which social media platforms to use for your business. A good start to determining your audience is with demographic profiles, which contain information about your customer’s age, gender, income, family status, and more. By researching your target audience’s interests, you will be able to post content that interests them and adds value to their lives. Then you can use these profiles to determine your content and platforms.

3 Find and highlight your company’s personal voice. The best social media accounts show some personality; a great example is Wendy’s Twitter account, which uses sass and wit, often times “beefing” with other fast food chains.

Choose the image you want your company to reflect (formal, casual, family-oriented, etc.), and voice your content in a way that reflects this. Audiences also like to see the people behind the company logo. Posting photos of your workers and sharing personal stories can go a long way.

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media marketing can increase brand awareness, generate more traffic to your website (a website is an essential too), improve your search engine ranking (how fast your business shows up when you do a Google search using relevant keywords), increase customer satisfaction, increase profits, and so much more.

But most small businesses don’t have the resources to hire a dedicated social media manager. You might be managing your social media yourself, struggling with posting frequent, relevant content. Hey, you’re a green industry professional, not a social media strategist! That’s where these 10 simple tips to improve your social media marketing will come in handy.

2 Engage with your audiences. Social media is a tool for twoway conversation; if someone starts a conversation with you online, they expect to hear back. You need to monitor and respond to comments, messages, and tagged posts you receive. Use conversations as a way to create a personal connection with users and build your credibility. Also, how fast you respond to messages is shown on your Facebook page; a good practice is to set up an auto-reply message to keep this rating high. The auto-reply message should thank the user for reaching out, and outline your business hours or that you’ll reply soon.

4 Quality over quantity. Social media users are inundated with thousands of advertisements and posts a day. Don’t add to the whirlwind by posting whatever, whenever because you haven’t posted in a while. Bad content will send followers running. Deliver relevant content that your audiences want; give them content that adds value to their online experience.

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Keep it fun! Social media is the perfect venue for fun content; focusing too much on sales gets old pretty soon, and users will unfollow you just as quickly. Change up your content and post things that interest your audience. You can still utilize social media for sales and promotions, but vary this with fun content. Some good examples include polls, contests, behind-the-scenes photos, how-to videos, and quick-read articles. Social media content calendars can help you find new ideas and avoid repeating similar types of content too often. Look on Pinterest or Google for templates.

Use relevant hashtags and keywords. Hashtags are like little coding systems; they file information and help users to find relevant content. Using hashtags and keywords that best suit your business is key; consider your audience’s interests when choosing them. Be sure to utilize weekly hashtag trends, like #ThrowbackThursday, which are easy opportunities to share engaging, fun content. Hashtags are especially relevant for Twitter and Instagram, but you can use them on Facebook too. YouTube is keyword-focused, so your video’s title, description, and tags should include relevant keywords to help audiences find your content.

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Keep your word count low and your content visual. Visual posts perform better. People remember 80% of what they see versus 20% of what they read. Keep your posts short, include visually engaging aspects like photos and videos, which can showcase your skills and professionalism. Make your videos personable, fun, and try adding your logo in the background (on a truck or equipment) to prevent “content borrowers.” Video is by far the most engaging form of content, and YouTube makes it easy to share videos on social media easy, and it’s free!

Post at optimal times. Each social media platform has optimal times where content performs better. Just remember that what is optimal for one business may not be optimal for your audience. If you’re targeting other industry professionals, posting in the early morning or evening when work is over may be better than posting in the afternoon. Try posting similar content at different times and see what your engagement rates are to help you decide your own optimal posting times. There are also tons of guides posted online that you can search for.

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9 Consider using social media scheduling software, like Hootsuite or Everypost; that way you can block off time to schedule your social media for the week (which is easier than posting on the fly), strategize your content, and double-check for errors all while saving some time. Most scheduling software let you post directly to multiple social media accounts and also provide built-in analytics.

Link your social media accounts from your website.

Whether you have a custom-built and managed website or use a webhosting service you manage yourself, you should be linking your social media from your website. The best place to add your links is usually in the header or footer— usually as little icons. This way people who find your website can engage with you online and see your social media content.

Choosing Social Media That Fits Your Business

Facebook is crucial because it informs and engages customers.

It can provide information (like sales) but it can also connect you to customers through conversation.

It creates a two-way dialogue that people expect from companies. Be sure to post regularly and respond to audiences.

Instagram is quite useful for the green industry because so much of our work is visual; Instagram serves as a gallery of your work and can showcase your talent and set you apart from competitors. It is also great for brand awareness.

Remember to regularly post and keep your images high-quality.

Twitter can be great for customer support and brand visibility, as people often use Twitter to rate companies. It’s great for building relationships with customers. But if you don’t have the time to Tweet regularly, keep up with trends, and respond to engagement, a vacant Twitter can hurt your reputation.

YouTube is like free advertising. You can easily share your videos on other platforms, and video content will get you high engagement rates. It’s also a great way for you to become a credible source of content for your audiences. How-to or project videos showcase your skills and expertise and are of interest to your audience.

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