SEP OCT 2011 by Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association

Sept./Oct. 2011 s Volume 29 s Number 5

Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association s Serving Colorado, New Mexico, & Wyoming

Plan Organizing for Success 8 Financial Planning Provides Direction and Opportunities 13 Monitoring Operational Costs Leads to Efﬁciencies 16 Management Styles in Four Different Companies 23 Member Proﬁle: Gard’n-Wise Supports Independent Green Businesses

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Our Mission Professionals growing for a better tomorrow... your growing resource. Cover Photo Courtesy of Gulley Greenhouse & Garden Center, Fort Collins, Colo.

In This Issue 5

Calendar, New Members, & Advertisers

Message from the Board: Plan – Organizing for Success

Financial Planning Provides Direction and Opportunities

Management Styles in Four Different Companies

20 CSU Update: Multi-Site Woody Plant Trials 21 Safety Corner: Claims Management and Return-to-Work Resources

22 ASLA News: Update on ASLA Colorado

23 Member Proﬁle: Gard’N-Wise Supports Monitoring Operational Costs Leads to Efﬁciencies

Board Of Directors Kent Broome, President Bailey Nurseries, Inc. 303.823.5093 Dan Gerace, Vice President Welby Gardens Company, Inc. 303.288.3398 Bill Kluth, Secretary/Treasurer Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises, LLC 303.659.1260 x205

Competitiveness of Independent Green Businesses

Matt Edmundson Arbor Valley Nursery 303.654.1682

Davey Rock Picadilly Nursery 303.659.2382

Tom Halverstadt Country Lane Wholesale Nursery 303.688.2442

Terry Shaw Harding Nursery, Inc. 719.596.6281

Bob Heath RRH, Inc. 303.904.3330

Dr. James Klett, Ex-Ofﬁcio Member CSU Dept. of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture 970.491.7179

Warren Jordan Jordan’s Greenhouse 970.482.4471

Les Ratekin, Past President Ratekin Enterprises 303.670.1499

Bob Lefevre Advanced Green Solutions 303.916.0609

Stan Brown Alameda Wholesale Nursery 303.761.6131

Monica Phelan Phelan Gardens 719.574.8058

Publishing Info

EDITORIAL

Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 959 S. Kipling Pkwy., Ste 200 Lakewood, CO 80226 303.758.6672 or 888.758.6672 Fax: 303.758.6805 info@coloradonga.org www.coloradonga.org The LooseLeaf is produced by CNGA and Millbrook Printing Company 3540 West Jefferson Hwy Grand Ledge, MI 48837-9750 Fax: 517.627.4201 www.millbrookprinting.com www.colorado nga.org

Sharon R. Harris Executive Director Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 303.758.6672 sharris@coloradonga.org The LooseLeaf feature writer and editor is Tanya Ishikawa of Buffalo Trails Multimedia Communications www.coloradonga.org/editor-tanya-ishikawa Visit www.coloradonga.org for classiﬁed advertisements, plant publications, upcoming events, a member directory, and much more!

N.M. Chapter Senator, Mike Erickson 877.905.6432 merickson@plantworldinc.com Wyo. Chapter Senator, Griff Sprout 307.332.3572 sprouts@wyoming.com Sharon R. Harris, Executive Director Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 303.758.6672

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kent Broome

Tanya Ishikawa

Dr. Jim Klett

Bill Kluth

Amy Statkevicus

ADVERTISING INFO Rick Haverdink 3540 West Jefferson Hwy Grand Ledge, MI 48837-9750 Fax: 517.627.4201 haverdink@chartermi.net

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LooseLeaf September/October 2011

2011

calendar

Outreach and Member BBQs

Rocky Mountain Short Course

Thursday, Sept. 8, 5 to 7 p.m., Heidrich’s Colorado Tree Farm Nursery, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Wed., Sept. 28, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, Colo.

Thank you to our sponsors: Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Pinnacol Assurance, and Richards, Seeley & Schaefer.

Adrian Bloom will be one of our speakers. Thank you to our sponsor, Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprise, LLC. Commercial Pesticide Applicators Seminars

Plant Walk

Tuesdays and Thursdays, Oct. 4, 6, 11, 13 and 18

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 3 p.m., The Northern Water and Conservation Gardens, Berthoud, Colo.

Thank you to our sponsor, Plant Select.

Exam Prep Seminars taught by Assefa Gebre-Amlak – CSU Extension Agent. These exam prep seminars are designed to help you prepare for and pass the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Commercial Pesticide Applicators licensing exam. Class space is limited; sign up early.

Women in Horticulture Luncheon Thursday, Sept. 15, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood, Colo. The fee is $25 per person. Thank you to our sponsors: Pinnacol Assurance, Richards, Seeley & Schaefer, and Wells Fargo Insurance Services.

Owners and Managers Meeting Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5, Vail Marriott Resort & Spa, Vail, Colo. $99 room rates. $55 to register for program. Thank you to our sponsors: Pinnacol Assurance, Wells Fargo Insurance Services, and Plant Select.

CNREF and CFF Golf Tournament Monday, Sept. 26, Noon Shotgun Start, Red Hawk Ridge at Castle Rock, Castle Rock, Colo. The early bird deadline is September 2. Sponsorships are still available. CNGA thanks the following companies for their sponsorship of events this year!

classiﬁed ADS

new MEMBERS

CNGA offers free posts and searches of our online classiﬁed ads, including items for sale or lease and job openings. For more information and to see current postings, visit the Industry Professional side of www.coloradonga.org and click on Classiﬁeds under the Resources tab.

Fitzgerald Landscaping & Design P.O. Box 423 Aspen, CO 81612 Tel: 970.920.3005 Fax: 970.963.3005 Katherine Fitzgerald www.ﬁtzgeraldlandscaping.com ﬁtzgeraldlandscaping@gmail.com Founded in 2000

HELP WANTED: Independent Sales Rep. Teton Trees of Rupert, Idaho is looking for motivated individuals to independently represent our company. Multiple territories are available. If interested, please send your resume to info@tetontrees.com or mail it to 20511 F St., Rupert, ID 83350 (Attn: Ty). Note: see more details about this position on the Classiﬁeds page on the CNGA website.

Register for Calendar events with CNGA unless otherwise noted. Tel: 303.758.6672 or 888.758.6672 Fax: 303.758.6805 E-mail: info@coloradonga.org CNGA is the host of calendar events unless otherwise noted. For more information, registration forms, and directions to programs, go to the Industry Professional site on www.coloradonga.org and open the Calendar under the Events tab. www.colorado nga.org

Circle Fresh Farms 3216 Tejon St., Suite #201 Denver, CO 80211 Tel: 303.995.1635 Ryan Kinnison www.circlefreshfarms.com ryan@circlefreshfarms.com

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LooseLeaf September/October 2011

Plan – Organizing for Success

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

By Bill Kluth CNGA Board Member

Besides the many great quotes about planning or the lack of planning, the importance of having a plan is well documented. But, what makes a great plan? First you need to know your business – the products, competition, customers, and your own company. To know your business you need information. Facts kill emotions, egos, and assumptions. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your key marketing points? What is your company culture? What do your customers really want? What does your competition do better (or worse) than you? These answers will help find your basic direction. Once you have that basic direction, your plan should always point toward that direction, reacting to changes in the market like a sailboat that changes tack when the wind changes but doesn’t change its destination. This basic direction needs to be communicated often to all levels of your company and be reflected in performance reviews. Who should be involved in planning? With the basic direction well defined and communicated, the key personnel who know their jobs/ departments will be the best resources to identify the specific plan needed to keep going in the basic direction. After that plan is identified it needs to be tested. Business cannot work like Columbus just sailing west and hoping to reach the destination. Analyze and review the plan using financial models and the facts you have developed. Once the plan is tested and approved, it needs to be communicated to all employees so they understand their role in making the plan successful Finally, assume you will need to tweak the plan (maybe a little – maybe a lot) depending on forces beyond your control. Weather, for example, can radically alter a plan, but as long as you keep focused on the basic direction, adjustments to the plan will keep you successful.

“Have a plan. Follow the plan, and you’ll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don’t have a plan. That’s why it’s easy to beat most folks.”

Post Script from Board President Kent Broome Bill Kluth is the Secretary/Treasurer of CNGA, and was on the legislative committee for several years. He knows about plans; his company has plans and it shows. That is one reason they are so successful. We can learn and gain better business practices from our fellow members. Do you remember CNA and CGGA? It does not seem that long ago when there was talk of a merger. The merger met several needs. Both the CNA and CGGA Boards were looking for ways to increase services and increase members, and a merger looked like it would fit into our plans. There was much discussion and some hesitation for some members of both associations, but the plan moved forward. We changed directions more times than I can recall, but gradually came together to form our current great association. Why do I mention this? That merger happened partially due to a plan. Plans do great things and have unforeseen benefits. A benefit that I did not see was what I could learn from great greenhouse companies – and Colorado has several. If you are not familiar with the ‘G’ side of CNGA, you have a chance to meet companies like Bill’s and learn from them. The same goes if you have not spent the time getting to know the ‘N’ side of CNGA. You will be surprised what you learn. CNGA has definite plans that it makes each year. If you are a member, those plans are started by you. Don’t miss a chance to tell the CNGA Board the direction you would like your association to move forward in. Take the opportunity to meet and observe other member companies, and see how you could learn from the direction they have chosen to take. Attend the BBQs this summer or the Owners and Managers Meeting (the association’s most popular event) this November. Miss these events and you might pass up a chance to meet Bill, Bob, Les, Dan, Monica... my wonderful colleagues who contributed so well to this year’s Board Messages.

CNGA Board President Kent Broome

“Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” – Richard I. Winwood, founding executive of FranklinCovey

– Paul “Bear” Bryant, university head football coach www.colorado nga.org

Financial Planning Provides Direction & Opportunities “Financial plans help put everyone in a company on the same page, and get them to Photo Courtesy of Kankakee Nursery, Aroma Park, Ill.

understand what is required to take the company where it needs to go.” – Mike O’Gorman, Kankakee Nursery

Photo Courtesy of Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery, Aurora, Colo.

LooseLeaf September/October 2011

Like a map guides travelers to their destinations, a financial plan can lead a business to longterm success. Wandering around without a clear idea of how to get where you want to go may add adventure to a trip, but operating without a budget can be daring at best and devastating at worst for any company. Knowing what expenses are necessary to support business operations and produce expected income is a strategic advantage that helps companies reach their goals and realize how to change tactics when necessary. “The most basic thing about budgeting is you have to have a plan to know where you are going to, how you are going to get there, and whether you got there,” said Mike O’Gorman, the chief financial officer for Kankakee Nursery in Aroma Park, Ill. “You need to define success and the order of the steps that are going to get you there.” Brad Fox, the owner of Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery in Aurora, Colo., described a budget as “the fiscal road map” for the year that shows you how to get “from point A to point B with as few hiccups as possible.” A longtime entrepreneur who has owned his green business for four years, Fox handles all his company’s financial planning. “We tend to get so bogged down in day-to-day operations. Budgeting is that one true time of year where I literally sit down and try to think beyond day to day. It makes you think through your year, and consider everything from employee and equipment needs to the water and insurance situations. You just think outside the box,” he said. A financial plan forces companies to be thinking ahead, instead of just living in the moment, agreed O’Gorman. Budgeting allows a company to “really put together this thought process from a fiscal perspective of what you’re forecasting, whether it’s your month or your year or your two years,” Fox added. “You look at it not only from a sales perspective but from an inventory and employee perspective. You look at what your costs are going to be, the best case scenario on the purchase side, as well as on the sales side.” The major advantage of having an annual financial plan, O’Gorman explained, is having a profit and loss balance sheet that helps companies determine what financing is necessary to purchase the materials and labor necessary

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to make desired sales projections. A business needs working capital, whether it is cash on hand, a loan, or a line of credit, to operate and make money. “If I need to buy additional equipment, then I may have to go to the bank to get term loans to pay for it. Now I have to generate enough income to service my debt. It all flows together,” he said. “If the goal is to see incremental growth and positive momentum, the expenses and all the financial pieces all have to fit together.” Two major factors that impact financial plans in the green industry are the seasonality of the business and the affects of weather. O’Gorman said these are critical factors for greenhouses and nurseries to pay attention to in their budgets.The timing of sales, purchases and labor needs are inconsistent and variable, so owners and managers can’t just plan based on fixed monthly expenses or income but on a more complex formula. If not, the results could be financially draining, such as increased debt due to insufficient cash when needed. O’Gorman noted that budgets helped companies during the slower economic environment of the last few years. By working on their financial plan, businesses could focus on controlling expenses when revenues dropped. This insight into operations allows companies to better understand which costs are fixed, which are variable, and where changes can be made. “Financial planning clearly helps you if things are not going your way. It helps you to react intelligently,” he said. “If things are going positively, it helps you identify where and why, and what you can can do more of to improve.” Even companies that are “going gangbusters” can fail, because without a plan, the growth can be hard to manage, he added. A budget and a plan helps you address the issues that come with growth. O’Gorman and Fox agreed that all companies, no matter how big or small, need to create budgets, but not all companies need to go beyond the one-year budget to a two-year or even five-year financial plan. Kankakee has a less detailed five-year plan that is more of a forecast to get management thinking about longterm issues. Sand Creek sticks to its one-year budgets. Both businesses review and compare the budget numbers to actual results on

a regular basis. In the case of Kankakee, its large operation allows it to adjust its budget throughout the year as necessary. At Sand Creek, Fox doesn’t adjust his budget within each year. “I live within my budget, but make daily adjustments to my operations based on the situation,” he said. When budgeting for upcoming years, Fox adjusts the next year’s budget based on his experience and knowledge gained from previous years’ budgets and their accuracy. His original budgets and actual results have been getting closer together over the years. By June, he had already started his budget forecast for 2012, he said, “It’s not on paper yet, but I’m thinking ahead.” O’Gorman said the financial plan has “got to be a living document, not something just to do once a year, show to the bank, and put in a binder and on a shelf. You need to compare it to how you are actually doing.” If a company is struggling part way through the year, it should be considering making another version of the budget to figure out where to shift budget priorities and become stable again. Changing the document is not as difficult as creating it for the first time, he commented. When reviewing the budget monthly, quarterly or seasonally, companies can identify favorable and unfavorable trends and develop strategies to either take advantage of a good situation or address a negative one. It’s not so much about changing numbers on paper, but about understanding where the company is and how to keep it moving in a positive direction. “Philosophically, what you are really using the budget for is to create a tactical plan,” O’Gorman said. “You don’t want to get so caught up in doing it that you lose strategic actions. If the document changes and there is not followthrough, it is not good.” Both he and Fox agree that companies should create budgets from both cash and accrual budgeting methods, to more comprehensively understand their financial situation. Accrual accounting recognizes revenue and expenses in the time period when the activity occurred. It ties the income from and costs of a business transaction to the dates when it happened. On the other hand, accounting on a cash basis recognizes revenue when the customer pays it. It recognizes payments according

to the dates they are made, rather than when the transaction (delivery of goods or services) was made. Though some companies pick an accounting method to match their tax strategies, having documents created using both methods can help with overall planning of inventory and financing. “I look at my budget as the road map for the year, and my cash flow statement as a snapshot of how the cash situation is,” Fox said. “The budget helps me know if we are meeting, exceeding or not exceeding our expectations during the year.” Cash flow is a great business tool, he added. “Believe me, cash flow is something you should look at all the time. There is a cost associated with cash. If we can operate this business without borrowing any money to do it, that is a big positive.”

Photo Courtesy of Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery, Aurora, Colo.

For any given month, a manager could look at their ﬁnances on an accrual basis and see that sales are up and expenses are low based on what transactions took place that month. But, looking at the same month on a cash basis, the ﬁnances may

not look as good if customers haven’t paid yet for goods or services received, and bills for inventory received in a previous month are due. In this case, the cash flow is poor because uncollected customer payments are not in the company’s accounts while expenses are high. Knowing about the above situation through financial planning and understanding cash flow, companies can make decisions to improve their profitability. For example, Fox said, “We take advantage of every purchase discount out there. If a supplier is discounting 2 percent for payments within 10 days, that’s 6 percent a month. You do the math; it is the best money you can get. If we’re buying a million dollars of plant material a year, that just added $20,000 to our bottom line.” O’Gorman elaborated that cash flow projections help companies plan projects based on when they have cash available. It forces them to look at their working capital based on their collectibles and receivables, and know how much credit they need. “It doesn’t do any good to have revenue recorded that you never get paid for,”

Step-by-Step Financial Planning Tips Thanks to Matt Edmundson of Arbor Valley Nursery, Mike O’Gorman of Kankakee Nursery, Brad Fox of Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery, and Bill Kluth of Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises for their contributions to this list. Also, special thanks to Tom Shay, a writer, coach and speaker on business accounting and the owner of Profits Plus consulting firm. Shay’s advice helped shape the list and the resources at the end. 1. Make a commitment to develop a one-year financial plan at the minimum. At the very least, the owner and top managers should be involved, while including other employees in parts of the process can be helpful. 2. Don’t over-think it. Don’t get caught up in trying to be perfect on the first budget or even the second one. Don’t feel obligated to hire an accountant or buy expensive software. Look at financial planning as just an expanded version of managing your personal checkbook. If you really need help to get started, take a small business accounting course at a local community college.

3. Start with what you have in your desk: pencil, eraser, paper, and calculator. If you’re ready, you can use a computer spreadsheet, or QuickBooks and Peachtree are fairly basic accounting programs. 4. Gather together past financial records such as income statements and tax returns for the past 12 to 24 months or even five years. If you are a new company, search out industry resources or comparable businesses from which to pull data. 5. Look at the amounts for each revenue and expense item for each month and find trends and recurring information. Make estimates or forecasts for each item in the budget, based on the historical numbers, expected changes in the business environment, and your goals. 6. Review and analyze the figures at regular intervals to see if they show you a reason to change projections or adjust operations. Scrutinize the actual budget compared to original projections, and your financial condition on both an accrual and cash basis, to understand your current situation, how you got there, and what may need to change to keep you going in the right direction. 7. When necessary, revise your budget along the way to reflect the actual numbers, or adjust your operations to address the differences in your original financial expectations. Treat the budget as a living, breathing document.

LooseLeaf September/October 2011

he said. “You can be roaring on sales, looking great from a budget perspective, and find yourself going out of business because you are not getting paid.” This kind of insight into a company’s financial condition can make the difference between having to lay off good employees and finding alternatives to keep them on. Though many expenses are difficult to control such as health insurance and fuel costs, having a detailed understanding of where those expenses fit in the business’s overall operations can help it discover efficiencies and paths to more stability and profitability. “It’s a way to reflect on the last year and a way to forecast for the new year,” said Fox of Sand Creek Wholesale Nursery. “For me at this point, it’s less time consuming because we do have the basis for the budget. We’ve thought through what our expectations are and all the costs and income are all laid out from the past. I can make associations between numbers and understand how they might be in the future.” He admitted (several times) that budgeting is tedious – “no two ways

about it,” but it’s a business owner’s responsibility and he makes sure to commit the time to it. Both he and O’Gorman of Kankakee Nursery agree it pays off when times are not as good, because they have had the opportunity to think through the possible scenarios for adjusting the budget. They are more prepared to make the right decisions to keep their companies healthy and alive. O’Gorman added that financial plans help put everyone in a company on the same page, and get them to understand what is required to take the company where it needs to go. “These kinds of processes are helpful to us. That’s not to say some people in the company don’t roll their eyes when it comes time to sit down and hammer it out again,” he revealed. “Let’s not kid ourselves – a lot of companies do fine without a budget or plan. Could they do better with one? Maybe. Maybe not, but for every one of those people who succeeds in spite of themselves, there’s a significant percentage that doesn’t make it.”

extra expertise could support owners’ and managers’ ﬁnancial planning efforts, and free up their time for more strategizing. Decide whether the cost is worth it for seasonal or permanent part-time or full-time help in this area.

8. Begin forecasting for the upcoming year early, and put the numbers down on paper at a set time each year, so you begin the next year with a plan in hand. 9. Determine when it’s time to take it to the next level. Decide what will help your company improve its financial planning, which could be any of the following: (1) Develop a two-year or five-year plan to provide a broader look into the future and better prepare you for upcoming needs. (2) Expand your planning process to include input from more people in your company. Reach out to them and ask for their feedback about their work experience and procedures, which could lead to more efficient operations and improvements in the budget. (3) Consider whether your company could reap an adequate return on investment by hiring a bookkeeper, financial consultant, or accountant. The

Photo Courtesy of Kankakee Nursery, Aroma Park, Ill.

(4) Consider whether your company could reap an adequate return on investment by hiring a chief financial officer. The advantage is you will have someone who is not just accounting for debitsand credits in your ledgers, but really managing cash flow, creating tools and training to help other managers, providing advice on taxes and regulations, communicating with your bank, handling complex financing transactions, and advising you on how to manage the bottom line. The disadvantages are the cost of their salary and the possibility of their employee status clouding their view of the company’s financial health.

Resources for Analyzing Financial Information Cost of inventory calculator (60-day projectionary cash flow calculator): www.profitsplus.org/profit_loss.htm Financial ratios calculator: www.profitsplus.org/cost_of_inventory.htm Inventory needed per square foot calculator: www.profitsplus.org/financial_ratios.htm Pricing strategy chart (effect of raising price on number of items sold): www.profitsplus.org/slide_if_you_raise_your_prices.htm List of small business-oriented books: www.profitsplus.org/inventory%20square%20footage%20calculator.htm

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Monitoring Operational Costs Leads to EfďŹ ciencies By understanding the affect of labor decisions, companies can ďŹ nd ways to improve operations to avoid or decrease costs.

Photo Courtesy of Arbor Valley Nursery, Brighton, Colo.

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While Matt Edmundson and Bill Kluth run wholesale growing operations in Brighton, Colo., the two companies have many differences. One is a nursery with 55 full-time and 30 seasonal employees, growing and selling trees and shrubs. The other is a greenhouse with 285 full-time and 250 seasonal employees, growing and selling perennials, annuals, and other potted plants. One measures its property by the acre, while the other’s property is measured by the square foot. Each company markets to different sizes and types of retailers. Both men agree that tracking and analyzing operational costs is critical to the efﬁciency and overall success of their businesses. They also agree that the way to measure and manage costs is unique to each company in the green industry. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t monitor it,” said Kluth, one of the owner partners of Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises. “Each company is going to have a different way of doing it, but at the end of the day, if you are a manager and you are not managing, then why the title? The manager has more to do than take binoculars out and watch whether employees are doing their jobs efﬁciently. We have to pay attention to the details.”

Photos Courtesy of Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises and Arbor Valley Nursery

He believes no owner or manager can say they are too busy to do operational cost analysis, because he said, “In today’s economy, if that is what a manager is saying, I would be concerned about that business’s longevity. Having no plan to address cost issues means they are chewing through cash and spending extra money they can’t afford to. You really need to drill down and understand your expenses.” “You need to consider who you are and what you want to do, and work backwards to get to your ideas about costs,” he added. “If you see yourself as a premium supplier of goods as well as services, planning needs to reﬂect that. If you are a low-cost distributor, there’s a difference in how you plan and the way of looking at costs as a percentage of sales.” Kluth gave the example of a supplier to Wal-Mart, which would tend to spend a lot less on containers due to keeping to the pricepoint required by that big box store. Comparatively, his company’s containers would be more expensive to match its products and customer base. He said the percentage of sales is a value point. While there’s no blanket

answer for what the percentage of sales ought to be, he noted that direct material costs as a percentage of sales in greenhouses is probably somewhere around 30 percent, without labor, transportation or fuel costs. Still, even that range varies depending on the price of the product and how many are being sold. The difference in the percentage of costs related to a plant that is under $5 is not the same as an $80 plant, especially if one sells in much higher or lower quantities. “The way different companies come to cost analysis and profitability is totally different,” agreed Edmundson, the president of Arbor Valley Nursery. “You have to start with some key decisions in your business about how you are going to measure success. And, based on those measures, everything goes through those filters.” Costs are only part of the equation in deciding how to manage plant production, he explained. Edmundson’s company considers three major factors: is the plant in demand and can they produce it with competitive quality, what is the market price and can they produce it in a cost effective way, and how many can the market take and is that an amount that is worthwhile or possible for the company. A company’s ability to produce a quality product when the market wants it is another factor in determining costs and whether they are manageable. This is especially true for members of CNGA where most businesses “focus on making money during the first six months of the year and not losing it all in the last six months of the year,” said Kluth. Companies need to analyze whether they can produce for specific time windows and build production schedules around that, even before considering costs. They need to know when the inputs and outputs are available. For example, Edmundson noted, if 60 percent of roses ship Mother’s Day weekend, a company needs to decide if it can supply those in mid-May or find alternatives. He also gave an example of how companies must consider whether they can overwinter plants until the next year. The company must consider whether overwintering will damage too many plants to make them unprofitable, or whether selling them at a discount in the fall would be more profitable. Another example by Edmundson is a company’s decision on whether to can LooseLeaf September/October 2011

up a two-year supply at one time or do four smaller crop cycles. Companies need to consider various issues such as whether they can afford the large cash outlay for the bigger crop and whether the discounts for buying supplies in bulk for the bigger crop are equitable. An example from Kluth is his company’s willingness to spend more on labor and fuel, because it allows them to produce a seven-week crop rather than a nine or 10-week crop. “We might have higher fuel costs, but because we get out more sales, the fuel-to-sales percentage is still good,” he said. Edmundson and Kluth agreed that the biggest costs in their businesses are labor and fuel. The price of fuel is a cost they said is out of their control. However, they agreed that each company has different fuel needs based on their production schedule and many other factors related to how and what they choose to grow. Still, the two businesses are constantly looking at more ways to improve efﬁciency in fuel use, through better coverings, renting out greenhouse space for complementary uses, and other innovations. When calculating labor costs for individual products, companies should take into account both direct labor as in the production crews and indirect labor such as administration and sales staff. They should also consider not only salaries and hourly wages but indirect costs such as taxes and beneﬁts. Kluth said measuring labor costs at Tagawa is more detailed than adding together the employee payroll and dividing it across the number of products sold over a period. “Literally every aspect” of every project, including planting and pinching, is monitored to determine how much labor it takes. It can be as detailed as measuring the amount of time it takes for employees to load one rack of plants into a truck. If the company knows how much time it takes to load racks, and how much it is paying its employees, it can come up with a labor cost of loading racks. “It allows you to really see how labor goes into production. Otherwise, you don’t know how many hours you need, and don’t know how many people you need,” he said. “We have a labor management program and teams in our company. If team one, for example, is loading a certain number of racks today, we know how many hours to allocate to that work. If they can’t get it done in that amount of time, we have to allocate www.colorado nga.org

additional hours. It’s not that they have to hit it dead-on, but we know what is possible and if there is a trend that is different, we know we may have to change something to ensure costs are managed.” Through this type of monitoring and evaluation, the company has saved labor costs by moving as many deliveries as possible to evenings. The trips take less time because drivers are sitting in traffic less so the company saves money. One labor cost that companies should be analyzing is off-season labor, and whether to keep employees working through slow times or lay them off. There are costs associated with both options; you are paying higher wages by keeping more employees on but have the expense of re-hiring new employees and the risk of losing loyalty and expertise. By understanding the affect of these labor decisions, companies can find ways to improve operations to avoid or decrease costs. They can, for example, try to develop more year-round sales activities, or cross-train employees so they are responsible for specific low and high season tasks, making them more valuable. Still, due to the inherent seasonality of the business, some employees will need to take time off. Realizing the value of experienced employees and the costs associated with letting them go, managers can develop various arrangements such as making the time off less of a financial strain. Tagawa offers the opportunity to take time off without pay but maintaining the seniority and benefits status. Arbor Valley offers job attached unemployment, where employees continue to get 80 percent of their salary and will be hired back within the year. These types of improvements in operations, Edmundson said, can’t really be built into a cost analysis model. It has to begin with hiring the right employees, who are willing to look at situations and say if I do this this and this, it will affect production this way. Employees keep notes and document their activities, so they can replicate good results and discover inefficiencies that can be improved. One grower at Arbor Valley found that a labeling process slowed down production, and came up with an idea to do pre-labeling – a change which dramatically increased output. That grower has made probably 50 changes

in a year that increased efficiency so much that production went from 4,000 to 8,800 perennials in a day, Arbor Valley’s president explained. “We have improved operations by setting plants differently on the potting line,” he said. “It’s not really one size fits all. You have to look at your people. You have to motivate or incentivize them to find ways to increase production without adding cost.” However, cutting costs is not always the solution. When a problem was found with soil media, the nursery changed media to a product that was 50 percent more expensive, but it made a huge difference in the quality of production. “It adds an expense but if we increase yield, it’s worth it,” he commented. “It’s always hard to make a change, because you don’t know if it will work out, but you have to have some proof it will work and some confidence. You just have to look at all the angles.” You have to prepare for disappointment and have realistic expectations of what the change will look like, he said. Companies can also do scenario planning to analyze the affect of a change before it is made. Whether costs stay the same or get lower, “you should be getting more efficient,” emphasized Kluth of Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises. Sometimes, the answer to a production issue is to raise prices, rather than cutting costs, but companies need to explain why the value is there and the price is worth it to customers. “To make money, it’s always easier to add to the top line than to cut at the bottom line. Each newer efficiency point is harder to reach and a bigger investment, so it may not be in the cards,” he said. “Be careful so you don’t accidentally produce something that customers don’t want to buy, or you have to discount even more for customers to see its value.” The two wholesalers concur that improving production is mostly about being more efficient and providing more training. Kluth summed it up by adding, “We should know what we’re spending everyday. If the trend line is we are going to have more expenses than expected, we have to change the process or charge more for production.”

Management Styles in Four Different Companies Establishing Decision-Making Processes Enhances Stability, even through Transitions Companies can be organized with different structures from fairly straightforward sole ownerships to more complex family partnerships and even more complicated employee-owned corporations. But, no matter what structure it has, each business must develop its own management style and be prepared for new methods and ideas that come when leadership changes.

Sharing Management Responsibilities with Family

Top right, James Nursery Company Yard Foreman Antonio Yanez supervises a loading crew. Top left, a crew weeds at Britton Nursery. Middle, Gulley Greenhouse & Garden Center’s perennial expert Pam Scott shows off a ﬂower. Bottom, a crew from L.I.D. Landscapes, a sister company to Plant Source, unloads boulders.

Gulley Greenhouse & Garden Center in Fort Collins, Colo., was founded in 1975 by co-owners, wife and husband Jan and Jim Gulley. They started the business in their backyard and later expanded to two greenhouses from a carnation range, originally planted by Jim’s father Raymond Gulley in 1966.

The family owned and operated business has 80 to 100 employees including the Gulley’s daughters: Beth Beagles, the purchasing manager, and Jamie Gulley, the custom container department manager. Jamie’s husband Alejandro Mateos, the retail manager, has also worked there for three years. The general manager is Gene Peilin, who is unrelated to the family. Mateos described the advantages of working in the family business as maintaining better overall communication, sharing the same objectives and business direction, creating an easygoing environment, and having “The Best Bosses Ever!!!” On the other hand, he said it can be hard to mix family with work. Family members work together frequently and it takes time to adapt to how to deal with each other in a different way. Relationships at work and home are different, and it’s not always easy to

LooseLeaf September/October 2011

leave behind moods or arguments over who is right or wrong where they started, at work or home. Mateos explained the Gulley management style as easy going but with high expectations, especially about people being able to multitask. Decisions are made with open communication. “Usually, it is first see, and first talk,” he said. “It’s not just the owners saying this is the way to do it. There is common agreement on all issues,” he added. “We try to find the best solution. Jan and Jim really consider how the employees view a decision. They are really sensitive in that way.” Mateos agreed that sharing responsibility with employees is important, adding, “We must teach and share our company knowledge and values with employees. Always share your goals and ideas with everyone; this way they know what is expected from them! Let them work their way but with our rules. Remember: No one does the job as you want it but yourself!” He believes the best communication happens when people really know each other, so he likes to be open about his personal life with the staff. He said it is also important to realize that they have families and a life besides work. “We reward them with a gathering time, and acknowledge their work and effort. We respect each of them and understand their needs and abilities,” he explained. “Once they trust in you, they take pride and responsibility like you for your business. Or at least you expect that!” When making changes, Gulley’s management always thinks about the benefit to the company and the employees at the same time. “We encourage employee feedback if we want to make changes that will impact their departments,” Mateos said. The family has begun discussing what will happen to the company when the owners retire. The business will stay in the family, but they are not ready for the transition quite yet. Mateos said any change in decisionmaking can be hard to do, but “the best way is always to have a plan of action, and of course, have the right training and skills to teach the staff. We share as much information as we have and we expect feedback. We always let employees know what our vision is, let

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them do their best, and always trust in their judgments and decisions.”

Transitioning between Generations through Consensus Britton Nursery in Colorado Springs was opened in 1979 by Allen Britton Sr. and his sons, Allen Britton Jr. and Clark Britton. Clark moved on to start his own nursery many years ago, and Al Sr. and his wife Anita passed away in 2009 and 2003, so today, Al Jr. is owner and CEO of the family business. His youngest daughter, Stephanie (Britton) Thompson, grew up with the nursery and has become the production and forecasting manager. In 1998, Kirby Thompson married Stephanie, and “also married the family business.” Now general manager, he helps manage a workforce that reaches 15 employees during busy season. Thompson said working together all day everyday with his wife can have both up and down sides. It creates its own challenges for their marriage, when their personal life creeps into their work day and when their work life creeps into their time off. He agreed that running a family business can be difficult when trying to handle family dynamics within a corporate structure, because “You are just so close to one another in so many areas in life. When you hit disagreements and conflict, it can be more difficult than when dealing with (unrelated) partners or colleagues. With family, you have to go home with them, and on vacation with them.” However, he said his family tends to be the exception to the rule, describing the company as “a very healthy environment for our family to be in. All of us are thriving.” “We all do our part to secure the success of the company. It’s a way of life, more than just a business,” he commented. “The owners (as well as unrelated Nursery Manager Esther Langley, CCNP) live on the property as many others in this business do. My sons are watched by their nana (Al Sr.‘s wife Lana) everyday on the property here. I really love that aspect of it.” Another benefit of family ownership is the ease in convening leadership whenever necessary. If any issue or emergency crops up, they just gather in one member’s house for dinner to talk it over and move forward.

Thompson and his wife plan to own the business when or if her father ever retires. Someday, Thompson would like to pass it on to his sons, Benjamin and Britton who are now 7 and 3. The general manager is conﬁdent the company can transition well from the third to the fourth generation, due to its management style. When he and his wife decided Britton would be their longterm careers, their increased involvement led to a transition to shared decision-making between the second and third generations. “The concept of consensus was something that we started to kick around when we realized there was a new family dynamic with the son-in-law coming on with a business background but knowing nothing about plants,” Thompson said. “Al gave me leeway, and I realized he was listening and open. I said ‘We have a team dynamic going on, rather than me just working for my father-in-law.’ We made some mistakes where one side or the other made decisions that did not go well and were not agreed on by all.” The management team saw that everyone was gifted and knowledgable in different areas and had unique, relevant perspectives. “We started to realize that if we were not in agreement with something, it was not OK to trump the other person,” he said. “We began to take the idea of consensus decisionmaking seriously. We just realized it doesn’t make sense to move forward until everybody is in agreement.” The “management team by consensus” works because the team members have a shared vision and sense of purpose, and he said, “It’s been fantastic. There’s never any ﬁnger pointing, never any blame. We all learn lessons together. There’s a cohesiveness there that doesn’t work whenever you go with majority rule.” Thompson emphasized that the family business really thrives through avoiding top-down, pyramid management structure which can choke out community, and by operating “as stewards who look to God for guidance and provision and are in return given much by Him.” An attitude of interdependence and shared well-being begins with the owner and CEO, he said. There’s a sense of teamwork throughout the company with open communication and shared responsibility for success. To share in the rewards of success, employees are

also given a bonus at the end of each year, usually directly related to how proﬁtable the nursery is overall. “The fact of the matter is people don’t thrive unless there is a reward for their work. What we try to do is to make the environment positive to begin with. Really, just the work itself is rewarding: being out in the sun and getting exercise,” he said. “There has to be a balance between the value that the person that works for us brings to the table, and the paycheck needs to reﬂect how we value them.”

Management and Transition in a Solely Owned Company James Nursery Company in Denver, Colo. started out like a typical business in the green industry. In 1907, brothers Charles and Albert Ferguson partnered to open the company. When they passed away, Charles’ son Carlisle took over the business. One of the company’s longtime employees and a CNGA Hall of Famer Steven James, who was unrelated, later bought into the nursery and became a co-owner. Shortly after Ferguson passed away, James retired and his three grandsons took over the business. Today, one grandson, Dale DeJacamo, is the company president, and has been the sole owner for more than a decade. DeJacamo said because sole ownership suits his personality, it works well for the company, which has 15 employees. “The pros of sole ownership are I work from my own agenda and don’t need to consider other agendas,” he said, but added, “It’s always necessary to integrate other opinions, because everyone’s ideas are valuable.” “I always have to be mindful of other peoples’ agendas, and how they may or may not affect job performance. It’s a balancing act. It’s not all about me, but at the end of the day it is, because there’s not a shared sense of risk or reward,” he explained. “Everyone that works here shares in the success and failure of the company, so it’s not like they are immune to what happens one way or another. But, at the end of the day, I think I have to do what’s right for the business.” DeJacamo’s management style is “to hire experienced, capable people, empower them to do their jobs, and measure their performance,” but not to micromanage.

“My philosophy on management is that employees may not always do things exactly the way I would do it, but the job getting done successfully is the most important goal. That’s not to say I won’t pull rank when I think there’s a better way to do it,” he said. “We always seek out the opinions and ideas of our managers and other employees when we are in a decision-making process, and that is factored into the final decision. My decision-making process is not done in a vacuum. I consider what’s happening with my people on the front lines on a daily basis, and I will make a decision based on what’s best for everyone involved, especially the company.” “What makes this work for this company is that it’s my management style. That style is not so much related to the size of the company or anything else but my approach to meeting the demands of the market,” he said. “Over the 100-plus years that this company has been in operation, our business model changed several times. It’s changed two to three times in my tenure. It’s important to stay relevant to the marketplace, and make changes that are necessary to support the business. That’s part of my job: figuring out what’s going to work and what’s not.” Before too long, it may become someone else’s job. DeJacamo is getting ready to retire, and the ownership of the company is in the early stages of transition. His nephew, Joe Haskett, has worked there for 12 years and earned his business management degree from Metro State College. He may buy the company to become sole owner within the next three years. “He’s taken on the reins as general manager to give him the ability to run day-to-day operations. As we go through the process, I will tutor him on the business part, longterm goals, financial planning, and help him learn to steer the boat,” said DeJacamo, who plans to stay involved as chairman of the board and sees the change in leadership as a positive way for the company to move forward and grow. He revealed there was consideration of outside buyers, who were not current employees or relatives, but Haskett’s experience and interest made him a good fit. DeJacamo commented, “I like that his ownership continues the family history, but it was not the only factor in selling to Joe.”

Employee Ownership as a Transition Strategy Boulder-based L.I.D. Landscapes started 32 years ago as Landscape and Irrigation Design, and changed its name 15 years ago. The 50-employee, fullservice landscape design, build and maintenance company was acquired by its president, Phil Loughman, who is also the sole owner of Plant Source, a plant material seller also in Boulder. In 2003, Loughman converted the company ownership to an employee stock ownership plan, which he described as “a very complicated legal entity that is essentially a retirement plan,” governed by strict laws. He explained, “I did it for three reasons: as an incentive for employees to stay with the company, as a reward to employees for both their past and future service by giving them part of the action, which will eventually become all the action, and as a succession plan, my exit strategy.” “I don’t have any family who would take over the business, and I didn’t want to sell it to just anybody. I prefer to pass it on to the people who helped build the company,” said Loughman, adding, “Owners could sell their shares and stay or retire. I sold all my shares in two separate transactions, and stayed because I wasn’t ready to retire.” The employee stock ownership plan is a defined contribution employee benefit plan, where the employees are co-owners with equity-based deferred compensation based on the company’s financial health. L.I.D. hired several consultants to help set up the new ownership, and later hired a third party company to handle the plan’s administration. All employees, who meet minimum hourly requirements in a year and are with the company for a specific time period, become owners of company stock held in trust. There is no way to opt in or out. The trust is managed by trustees, who are Loughman and two senior employees at L.I.D. The trustees elect the company’s board of directors. The board calculates how much the company can contribute to the ESOP every year, and that contribution is divided into the employee accounts based on each employee’s percentage of the payroll. “It doesn’t necessarily change the management of the company. Somewhat

LooseLeaf September/October 2011

like when you buy stock in Coca-Cola, you don’t get to go tell Coca-Cola how to run their business. You can vote board members off if you don’t like the board’s decisions, but stock owners don’t make daily management decisions,” Loughman said. “As far as our day-today operations, nothing has changed.” Still, he noted he has a very participatory management style, adding he “never wanted to be ‘The Boss.’” Everyone from irrigation technicians to ofﬁce staff get a chance to participate in the annual business planning, with the three department managers leading the effort. “We don’t manage by committee, but there is a lot of consensus in what we do, with the understanding that every once in a while I may say we’re not going to do that and here’s why,” he said. The reason he manages in this style is it suits his personality, he explained. It helps to have lots of systems in place from a procedures manual to weekly work plans. It requires hiring the right

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people: those who are self-motivated, self-actualized, ready to take responsibility, and willing to think and act. These are the same type of employees who thrive in employee-owned companies. They understand they are each part of the business, and when they strive for better performance, the company does better and the value of their stock goes up. Though L.I.D.’s employee owners have been disappointed with the company’s lower performance during the poor economy of recent years, they didn’t lose any money due to the economic downturn. They haven’t actually purchased stock that could be lost. They have been given the right to hold stock, which has decreased in value in recent years but could increase as the economy improves. The value is established every year by an independently qualiﬁed valuator.

necessary for the best results. The main downfalls of employee ownership are it is “somewhat costly to administer,” and Loughman said, “I will tell you this is the most complicated thing I’ve ever done and I have an MBA.” When asked whether he would restructure the company as employeeowned if he had a chance to make that decision again, he paused, and then conﬁded, “The recession changed so many things so dramatically. I end up questioning everything. Things appear to be getting better; our business is certainly better. If we get back on track, if we have success and start making signiﬁcant contributions to the plan again, then my answer would be yes. Right now, my answer is no. I would go to law school.”

One drawback of this stock option is that, similar to other retirement plans, longterm commitments are usually

CSU UPDATE

Dr. James E. Klett Professor and Extension Landscape Horticulture Specialist Colorado State University

Each year, we hold an informational meeting to re-evaluate the program and plan for future plantings.

Multi-Site Woody Plant Trials The multi-site woody plant evaluation program started in 2002 at five different research and nursery sites throughout Colorado, in Brighton, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Grand Junction. Over the last nine years, we have done eight different plantings evaluating 54 different taxa. Growth and performance data is recorded on all these taxa for a minimum of five years. Some of the woody plants have been or will be recommended or introduced through the Plant Select® program including: Acer tataricum ‘Gar Ann’ PP15023 (Hot Wings® Tartarian Maple); Arctostaphylos x coloradensis (Mock Bearberry Manzanita); Arctostaphylos x coloradeniss (Panchito Manzanita); Heptacodium miconioides (Seven-Son Tree); Xanthoceras sorbifolium (Yellowhorn); and Rosa ‘Ruby Voodoo’ (Ruby Voodoo Rose). Each year we hold an informational meeting with Plant Select® members and other interested nursery personnel to re-evaluate the program and plan for future plantings. Woody plant lists are prioritized at this meeting for future planting, and cultural practices at each site are discussed and appropriate changes suggested for adoption. Robert MacDonald just completed a master of science degree from this research, concentrating his thesis from the spring 2002 plantings at all five sites. Currently, Eric Hammond, a master of science graduate student in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, is working on this project and writing his thesis on the spring 2006 plantings.

extreme cold temperatures recorded at most sites in late January and February 2011. The Chilopsis had better winter hardiness at our Grand Junction test site than along the Front Range. The shrub species plants in the spring of 2010 included: Junipers communis ‘Montana Spreader’ (Montana Spreader common juniper); Rosa ‘Ruby Voodoo’ (Ruby Voodoo Rose); Arctostaphylos x coloradensis ‘Chieftan’ (Chieftan Mazanita). All three of these taxa survived the winter of 2010-11 well, with only some minor dieback on the rose observed at some of the Front Range test sites. In the spring of 2011, we planted four species or hybrids in the genus Acer at all four sites. The four maples included: Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple); Acer truncatum x Acer platanoides ‘Keithsform’ PP7529 (Norwegian Sunset™ Maple); Acer truncatum x Acer platanoides ‘Warrenred’ PP7433 (Paciﬁc Sunset® Maple); and Acer miyabei ‘Morton’ (State Street™ Maple). From the above discussion, you can see we have had busy springs in 2010 and 2011, planting eight replicates of each of these taxa at the four test sites throughout Colorado. In future issues of Looseleaf, we will report on their performance along with research ﬁndings from our earlier plantings.

Since my last report in 2009, we have made two plantings, one in the spring of 2010 and the other in the spring of 2011. Currently, we have only four trial sites due to the severe hail storm in the spring of 2010 at one site, resulting in the closure of that nursery and consequently our test site. In 2010, we planted four tree species and three shrub species. The tree species include: Acer grandidentatum ‘Manzno’ (Manzano Bigtooth Maple); Pistacia chinensis ‘Sarah’s Radiance’ (Sarah’s Radiance™ Pistache); Pistacia x ‘Red Push’ (Red Push Pistache); and Chilopsis linearis ‘Bubba’ (Bubba Desert Willow). The Acer appears to be cold hardy and all of these trees were alive at all four sites in the spring of 2011. However, the Pistacia and Chilopsis did not overwinter well, due to

Chilopsis linearis ‘Bubba’

Acer tataricum ‘Gar Ann’

LooseLeaf September/October 2011

Claims Management and Return-to-Work Resources

SAFETY CORNER

From Pinnacol Assurance

Pinnacol is pleased to announce that our claims management and return-to-work resources have been recently updated and are now available exclusively online for policyholders. These resources contain the most current information, forms, templates and tips that employers need in order to get their employees the medical attention they require, and to get them back to work as quickly as possible.

How can I access this information? Policyholders can access this information two ways: Pinnacol Online – Once a policyholder has logged in to Pinnacol Online, the links to these resources are in the upper right corner, just above Policyholder Bulletins.

Are the claims management and return-to-work CDs still available? No. Policyholders only have access to these resources online.

Whom do I contact if I have feedback or questions about these resources?

Policyholders have

If you have feedback or questions about these resources, please call 303-361-4000 to speak with a Pinnacol claims representative or a return-to-work specialist.

to claims

If you have any additional questions about these online resources, please contact your Pinnacol marketing representative.

new online access management and return-to-work resources.

Pinnacol.com – Policyholders can also access these resources from Pinnacol’s main website in the resources section (www. pinnacol.com/resources). Policyholders will need a policy number to access the information.

Return-to-Work and Modified Duty You have the power to control your workers’ compensation costs. Injury prevention is the best approach, but if a workplace accident does occur, good claims management is key, starting with a return-to-work program. Oftentimes, injured workers can come back to work and contribute to your organization while their injuries heal. You, as the employer, need to plan for this possibility and offer modified duty tasks that take injured employees’ physical restrictions into consideration. As your workers’ comp insurer, we may pay for medical treatment and wage replacement benefits; however, employers and injured workers can benefit greatly from offering modified duty work. Pinnacol Assurance is here to help. Call a return to work specialist at 303-361-4000.

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ASLA NEWS

Update on ASLA Colorado CNGA has recently partnered with the American Society for Landscape Architects on two programs, the development of the Front Range Tree Recommendation List and the distribution of CNGA’s LooseLeaf magazine to interested ASLA members. The Colorado chapter of ASLA, which has been around 30 years, arranged for its members to visit CNGA member nurseries to get to know each other better this year.

ASLA Colorado Board President Kurt Munding

Networking and education are just as important to both organizations. ASLA Colorado held industry mixers at happy hours throughout the summer on the third Wednesday of each month. A new emerging professionals group was started this year to get the younger members a little more engaged with the older professionals, and this group plans to organize a charity event in the future. The lunch and learn programs were a big hit this summer, and ASLA plans to continue the monthly series at the Denver Public Library Central Branch throughout the fall.

ASLA Colorado is proud that the national organization selected University of ColoradoDenver student Ryan Setarkis as the national student representative to the national conference. Setarkis will be an ambassador for the next generation of landscape architects at the conference on October 30 in San Diego. Kurt Munding, the ASLA Colorado board president, reports that the organization is pretty excited about the December 1 awards and scholarship banquet, planned at the Four Seasons in Denver, Colo. The annual event is “a great celebration for our chapter and our members,” Munding said. For more information on ASLA Colorado’s activities, visit the society’s website at aslacolorado.org.

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LooseLeaf September/October 2011

MEMBER PROFILE

Gard’N-Wise Supports

Competitiveness of Independent Green Businesses How did your business get started? Gard’N-Wise can trace its roots to the agricultural industry and seed business. Two century-old seed companies were the forebears for what is today Gard’N-Wise. The Western Seed Company founded in 1905 and the Ross Seed Company founded in the 1890s served farmers growing a variety of crops. Both companies were part of an industry that adapted from agriculture to home gardening in post-war America, as a generation of rural farmers became urban gardeners. In the 1960s, the Wise family purchased the Ross Seed Company in Kansas and the Western Seed Company in Denver (operating as American Garden Products) a decade later.

Please tell us about your staff, facilities, and customers. Today, Gard’N-Wise is still owned by the Wise family: Bob and his three sons, Marc, Scott, and Steve. The company employs 45 people who sell, ship, and service garden centers, nurseries, hardware, landscapers and greenhouses in 15 states from Missouri, Iowa, and Oklahoma to New Mexico, Nevada, and Oregon. The company operates four warehouses and a sales ofﬁce selling to 4,000 independently owned businesses in the green industry. Gard’N-Wise stocks and sells up to 10,000 items for the home gardener and professional grower.

Please describe your product line and services. Gard’N-Wise is a specialty distributor of lawn, garden, greenhouse and landscape products. Its specialty is supplying exclusive and unique products for the home gardening enthusiast. The product selection includes grower supplies, lawn and garden fertilizers and chemicals, tools, gardening containers, landscape fabrics, garden pond supplies, and a variety of garden accessories. It is the distributor of the brands www.colorado nga.org

gardeners trust, such as Ferti*lome, Miracle-Gro, Bayer Advanced, Scotts, and Safer Products, to name a few.

Gard’N-Wise driver Gary Lehman delivers an order to Asia Chambers of Good Earth Garden Center.

How do you support your customers? At Gard’N-Wise, we attempt to source as many products, domestic and imported, as garden centers would want to merchandise to differentiate their businesses and better compete. We make the ordering experience easy through our annual trade shows, early order planning, and assistance with inventory ﬁnancing for spring and summer selling. Our garden center focuses on the green goods and helps the owner/operator in the hard goods part of their business with employee training, sales support, and point of sale resources. Our sales staff is known for establishing strong customer relationships and providing information on the latest gardening trends and industry technologies.

When and why did you become a CNGA member? We at Gard’N-Wise believe strongly in industry associations such as CNGA, which strengthen member companies and improve the way everyone does their business. A strong industry helps all members. In addition to CNGA, Gard’N-Wise is an active member of most green associations in the states in which it operates. Many members of the Gard’N-Wise team are active in trade organizations and we encourage their participation.

What has been your most important CNGA beneﬁt? CNGA has provided guidance to our company on a number of issues from water policy to immigration compliance. Recently, CNGA was instrumental in eliminating redundant taxing due to changes in Colorado state tax laws.

Gard’N-Wise 12770 East 39th Ave. Denver, CO 80239 303.371.9790 www.gardnwise.com (Also locations in Kansas City, MO; Salt Lake City, UT; Lubbock, TX; and Wichita, KS)

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Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 959 S. Kipling Pky, #200 Lakewood, CO 80226

MEMBER PROFILE continued

Wh are Why e ﬁnancial planning and analysis im t? important? We place a great deal of importance on nd ﬁnancial planning. We’re in a budgeting and a business, and making revenue highly seasonal and earnings ta targets in the best half of the year a is critical to making it through the lean months. W n operating budget two years in We prepare an adv advance. The b budget includes monthly ve ss margins, expenses at line item revenues, gross ng (and losses), and balance sheet detail, earnings roj line item projections. We compare actual nc to budget on a daily and monthly performance basis.

Wha tools and people help you What accomplish your budgeting tasks?

“We attempt to source products that help garden centers to differentiate their businesses and better compete.”

The company’s ﬁnancial statements are reviewed by accountants each year, when the owners discuss with accounting advisors any changes in accounting rules and proposed actions to take advantage of changes. We have a good relationship with UMB Bank of Colorado, and they have been extremely helpful as a supplemental management resource in addition to regular banking functions.

Under what type of ownership are you organized? Gard’N-Wise stock is held by the owners within a family limited partnership, and an owner cross purchase plan is in place, funded by life insurance, to assure ownership continuity.

Gard’N-Wise uses a custom order entry and accounting system that provides management information on inventory movement, sales, credit control, and general ledger. The system provides good product information, and customer purchase and payment history which is also interfaced to our secure website for customer convenience.

Steve Wise (standing) and Marc Wise (sitting) in the Denver ofﬁce of Gard’N-Wise

LooseLeaf September/October 2011