DATE: FEBRUARY 14–15, 2024
LOCATION: ATLANTA, GEORGIA
At SYNKD Live I was surrounded by like-minded people from the industry that were there with the common goal of learning. The environment was infectious & I walked away feeling a new clarity about where our business should go next & how to get there.
Matt Norton Co-Owner & Designer for Open Envelope StudioSummer has arrived, and we are thrilled to welcome you to this exciting edition of our landscaping magazine! SYNKD has been buzzing with activity, just like your busy lives. We’ve been hard at work, finding new and innovative ways to connect with you and share the latest trends and insights in the industry.
First things first, have you heard the great news?
We’ve launched our brand new podcast, SYNKD On Air! Get ready to be entertained and inspired as we bring you lively discussions and expert advice. Tune in live every Monday at 11 AM ET on Turf’s Up Radio, or catch up at your convenience on-demand wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts. It’s the perfect way to stay connected and in the know.
But that’s not all—we’ve been busy building an educational powerhouse for you on our website. Introducing our CEU and educational webinar section! We’ve gathered the live talks from our recent event and added even more informative sessions. Dive into the world of hiring strategies, leadership mastery, the nuts and bolts of running your business, selecting the best products and harnessing the latest technology. We believe in the power of continuous learning, and these webinars are just the beginning of a transformative conversation.
Now, mark your calendars because we have something truly exceptional in store for you. Save the date for our highly anticipated SYNKD Live event, taking place from February 13–15, 2024, in vibrant Atlanta, Georgia. This time, we’re expanding to a thrilling 3-day program packed with captivating talks, invaluable networking opportunities and, of course, plenty of fun! We’re even organizing exciting social events to ensure an unforgettable experience. Stay tuned for more details— it’s an event you won’t want to miss!
SYNKD , we’re committed to bringing you the newest and the best products and services on the market. Our expo is a treasure trove of innovation and excellence, where you can discover cutting-edge solutions and stay ahead of the game. As a special token of appreciation for your loyal readership, we’re delighted to offer you an exclusive discount. Use the promo code READ30 to save a fantastic 30% on any ticket type for the upcoming SYNKD Live event. It’s our way of saying thank you for your continued support.
Before we wrap up, we have a small favor to ask. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. We put in tremendous effort to curate this publication, and we want to ensure it’s everything you’ve ever wished for. If you’re enjoying our content and want to see more exciting products
and services featured, we’d love to hear from you. Share your testimonial about the publication and how it connects different sectors. Together, we can show advertisers that our community is vibrant and engaged, inspiring them to invest in the incredible opportunities we present. Drop a line at angelique.synkd.io , and let your voice be heard.
Thank you for being an integral part of our community. Get ready to embark on a summer filled with growth, inspiration, and remarkable discoveries. SYNKD is here to guide you on your journey to landscaping excellence.
Wishing you a fantastic season ahead!
Polk Street Lafayette, Louisiana 70501
OWNER/MANAGING DIRECTOR
Angelique Robb angelique@synkd.io (337)852–6318
ADVERTISING & TRADE SHOW COORDINATOR
Aimee Almaguer aimee@synkd.io (337)789–0769
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Caitlyn Wallace caitlyn@synkd.io
SUBEDITOR
Erin Z. Bass
WRITTERS
Mary Kate Carson |pgs 12, 29 & 36
Catherine Schoeffler |pg 33
Jada Babcock |pg 41
Laura Lee |pg 44
CONTRIBUTORS
Deborah Cole |pgs 23 & 53
Damon Abdi |pg 25
Angelica & Matt Norton |pg 26
Dylan Harper |pg 46
Jay Worth |pg 49
Pam Dooley |pg 51
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INSIDE OUR COMMUNITY THIS MONTH
PAGE 8 INDUSTRY NEWS | PAGE 10 Q+A: WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING ON OR ALREADY DOING FOR A ‘BETTER BUSINESS’? | PAGE 12 INDUSTRY LEADER: MARTY GOTTLIEB |
PAGE 16 INSIDE TAPROOTS |PAGE 20 MINI INTERVIEWS | PAGE 23 DEBORAH COLE:
DEFINING SUCCESS | PAGE 25 DAMON ABDI: BUILDING SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES, COMMUNITIES & TEAMS | PAGE 26 ANGELICA & MATT NORTON: BUILDING A BASE
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) has announced its board of directors and new association president for the 2023-24 term. Brandon Sheppard from Weed Man will be the president of the association. Other board members include Beth Berry, Nick Brummel, Dan Carrothers, Warren Gorowitz, Doug McDuff and Teddy Russell. The officers for the term are Pam Dooley as president-elect, Roscoe Klausing as secretary/treasurer and Mike Bogan as immediate past president. The board consists of individuals from various landscaping and related companies such as Advanced Turf Solutions, Brummel Lawn & Landscape, FMC and others.
www.landscapemanagement.net
Level up your skills with SYNKD’s series of on-demand webinars. We cover a diverse range of topics, offering valuable insights, practical strategies and expert guidance to propel your career and business to new
heights. From soil sciences to business best practices, our webinars are specifically designed for peers, by peers. Visit our website to begin earning your credits!
www.synkd.io/ceu
HAVE SOME NEWS YOU WANT TO SHARE FOR OUR UPCOMIN G FALL 2023 ISSUE ? WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT. SCAN THE QR CODE TO GET IN CONTACT WITH US!
Discover the captivating Introduction to Landscape Design course by visionary Pearce Butcher on Domestika.org. Unleash your creativity as you explore Butcher’s 14 lessons and 26 additional resources, available in eight languages. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a homeowner with a passion for design, this course is tailored for you. Scan the QR code below and embark on an extraordinary journey where imagination meets innovation, transforming outdoor spaces into breathtaking masterpieces. Join Butcher and elevate your landscape design skills today.
Bobbie Burdick, CPLD, from Burdick & Associates in Ellsworth, Maine, emerges as the well-deserved winner of the prestigious 2022 Designer of the Year Award presented by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD). With her artistic touch, Burdick was entrusted by a couple who owned a century-old cottage nestled on their picturesque coastal property. The challenge? Revitalize the house while seamlessly integrating the surrounding environment.
Burdick’s team orchestrated the entire
transformation, from conceptualization to collaborating with an architect for the structure, landscaping, grading, plant installations and stunning renderings. Scan the QR code below to discover more about the captivating journey that earned Burdick this esteemed accolade.
Floriculture/Seasonal Color Design and Installation is about creativity, color and structure by pairing the best available variety of plants from my growers. To achieve this goal, I design annual beds and containers with this is mind to create designs that will thrive all season long, fall or spring.
First I collaborate with my local growers before each season to find out about any new and improved flower variety introductions I have to work with. Designing and pairing the right plants with like needs is extremely important in the success of my designs that will provide inspiring and beautiful color combinations.
Secondly, communicating with my vendors about availability and timing makes my process easier so I know when I can begin the design process and what I have to work with. Installing too early or too late can be detrimental to the success of the installation process.
Keeping up with weather conditions is extremely important on the timing to start the installation process, too early. Plants are too small and can be affected by cold, start too late, heat is a factor. We have a six to eight-week window for installation in order to ensure success.
Communication with my customers in advance of the upcoming season helps ensure they get the designs and plants they requested. I place my orders in advance with my growers, since availability is day to day because all my competitors use the same growers. Staying in touch with industry trends, new plant introductions, improved amendments and installation techniques will help improve the customer experience.
Lastly, using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and the Next Door app has greatly improved my exposure by posting my projects in real time and running ads to create more business. Its all about flowerpower!
A key component of 3.Fromme Design’s business strategy has been finding ways to pursue larger scale and richly complex projects while being a one-person firm. My true passion is integrating artistry, plants and the visitor experience into compelling spatial experiences—not the day-to-day operation and management of a large design firm.
The ongoing creative relationship with Chris Barkley and his team at HDLA has been a spectacular success. 3.Fromme Design and HDLA’s skillsets are exceptionally complimentary; our collaborative ethos with clients is the same; and we each deeply appreciate what the other brings to every project. The trick has involved keeping our firm’s individual identities while becoming a seamlessly unified team with a shared brand.
We rolled out a clear career path for the field. With all the labor wage increases, we wanted something tangible to hold on to, a way to be competitive in our market, and simultaneously add value to our team. We attached each increase to a skills chart ranking so if someone comes to me wanting more money, my response can be, “Great! I want you to have the opportunity for more money! Let’s see where you are on the skills chart.” That usually leads to a conversation of the skills we need that person to improve on to get to the next level of pay and we put a plan of action into place to make that happen. We have four levels of crew member progression and three levels of crew leader. This system gives opportunities for growth without feeling like the only way forward is an office job.
We recently implemented a new software—Aspire—to better run our business. We needed better visibility of our performance and feedback on estimated vs. actual for our jobs. It wasn’t an easy transition as it can be very disruptive and expensive, but we knew the end results would be worth the pain. I encourage all businesses, regardless of size, to lean into software and what it can do to help you run your business better— operationally, financially, and in service to your customers. Do this, and then still realize that it is a tool. Do not be servant to the software, use it to improve the way you operate and serve your clients.
Paley Landscaping, in 2023, has made a concerted effort to organize, clean up and straighten up our shop and trucks. Less time spent hunting and searching is time better spent loading the trucks early and getting started on all the craziness our industry involves. By no means are things where I want them to be, but the time of me or my employees hoping and praying to find equipment is a thing of the past. I firmly believe the time and money spent keeping things reasonably organized increases my bottom line.
People develop strong connections to the right products and eventually become dependent on the service they provide. Think of popular coffee brands, and why many fear they won’t survive the day without their favorite. Things like equipment, sprays, electronics, features and accessories similarly control the “survival” of businesses and determine how they function. Each product was carefully developed and placed to cater to a buyer’s specific needs and inspire a connection that will keep them coming back.
A mastermind behind the development and expansion of these industry products is Marty Gottlieb, leader of M. Gottlieb & Associates Inc. Marty has been a key player in the development of dozens of products and techniques that have been game changers in the green industry for more than 50 years. Things like “grow-bag gardening” revolutionized the way gardeners and growers cultivate healthy fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. He has developed the perfect balance of marketing and horticulture knowledge to make a lasting impact on the industry but says the road to success was neither short nor certain.
Marty launched his consulting group in 1986. At this point, he was a seasoned
company leader and product manager, serving in management positions for several industry-related companies. His last role before entrepreneurship was as vice president of sales and marketing for a Canadian peat moss company. Unfortunately, the company came under new ownership and dissolved the role, leaving him unemployed. Marty says it was the best thing that ever happened to him.
“I always wanted to begin my own agency, but if I never lost my job, I would’ve never taken the leap,” he says. “I managed to turn it into an opportunity.”
Marty began working with startups looking to sell to professionals across different industry sectors, including landscape maintenance, greenhouse/field growing and independent lawn and garden centers. Many of his clients were referred to him by his friends in the industry, as he was already known as an established, credible salesman and horticulturist.
“Let’s say you’re a gardener,” he says. “All of a sudden, you get this idea and you spend money to come up with a product but then don’t know what to do with it. Someone says, ‘there’s a guy in New York named Marty Gottlieb who knows.’ Then I jump in and help build their product and brand for various market segments in the green industry.”
He often begins by testing the products in his own garden, investigating if they are safe and useful. Sometimes, he schedules university studies that vouch for the effectiveness of a product. After rounds of studies and tests, Marty determines which industry sector is the best fit and sets up a sales plan. These plans involve trade shows and media features, establishing social media accounts, putting together a sales force, connecting with distributors, offering testing programs with potential buyers, developing training programs and so on.
“A new product’s success doesn’t happen overnight,” he explains. “Most startups have limited budgets and the lack of operating
capital slows down developing product and brand awareness,” says Marty.
The lengthy path to success tends to create a divide between startup owners
and the buyers they hope to reach. Marty says the most important thing to understand is a buyer’s perspective on risks. Buying new products from lesserknown sellers or “startup” vendors can be incredibly uncertain, so they aren’t likely to jump in with both feet and initially purchase large quantities. Professional buyers must be cautious and avoid large, potentially expensive risks. If they like a new product and believe it has merit, a buyer can often be convinced to do a trial or a test. Marty frequently encourages his clients to offer attractive, introductory programs that reduce the risk to customers and allow the sales process to move forward.
“It often takes at least three years for a product to get traction, and it isn’t always easy to be patient,” he says. “Something
I often must encourage my clients that building a successful product line takes more time than they’d like or were prepared for, & it takes patience & lots of effort to develop repeat buyers.
that helps, though, is connecting to other people who have been through this and became successful. I try to be a bridge who puts them together. That is how I see my role, as an educator and a connector. I find the people and the tools to make my client’s vision happen.”
People throughout the industry know Marty, due largely to his work with product engineers and developers. He is even a member of the Green Industry Hall of Fame after being inducted in 2021. Nominees are chosen for their innovative techniques, contributions to the field, contributions to humanity, education of their peers and commitment to the green industry. Growers, manufacturers, distributors and business owners know Marty as a credible source for new products and trends.
“They say, we see a lot of new products or different products, but when Marty sends something, I take a look at it. I know he’s a gardener and he’s tried it out and it’s true,” he says.
His love for gardening and growing is what motivates his work. Marty says he grew up interested in plants, which led him to a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Cornell University. He calls the green industry unique in the fact that people don’t see it as simply work or a job. People see it as part of their souls.
1. Know as much as you can.
2. Understand the benefits your product or service offers.
3. Understand your competitors: who they are, how long have they been in business, strengths and weaknesses of their product or services, business policies, perception in the market, pricing policies, customer service, etc.
4. Communicate your unique advantages compared to competitors.
5. There is no overnight success. Anticipate a longer than expected market entry and have the assets to sustain the business until the incoming cash flow exceeds the outflow.
6. Network within the industry. Find mentors and associates with broad connections, as this will save you from making many mistakes, save you money, and considerably shorten the market entry time.
“For me, this is my passion. I love this industry and I’m excited to see it advance and grow,” he says.
I’ve heard people say things about finding your passion, but sometimes I think your passion finds you .
essential
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When we say the Nexmow M1 is wireless we mean completely wireless. There are no wires to bury in the ground or charging stations. Nor do you need to install an RTK beacon station. Since we use commercialgrade RTK we can connect our Nexmow mowers to multiple RTK stations during mapping and mowing operation for greater accuracy, redundancy and stable operation. Because Nexmow site maps are stored in the cloud and we use a nationwide RTK network, you can operate a fleet of Nexmow mowers across the country.
Nexmow is designed to Drop, Mow and Go from site-to-site by a professional landscaper. Integrating an eCrew (fleet) of robot mowers into your operation allows your team to drop robot mowers and focus on more important tasks.
Nexmow mowers are linked to the cloud and store important mowing data to assist you in route scheduling, provide mowing and emission saving reports.
Nexmow robot mowers are available for sale through authorized dealers such as SiteOne Landscape Supply, Pape Machinery, Gardenland Power Equipment, B&M Lawn & Garden, Automated Outdoor Solutions and more.
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“We aren’t simply enhancing beauty in the world. There is a bigger purpose—blessing those who we work with.”
This is how Anna Snuggs outlines the mission of her family-run landscaping business in Birmingham, Alabama. Anna and her husband, Jacob, manage a design, build and maintenance firm that works on commercial and residential properties throughout the area. The couple launched the business to chase a love for the outdoors and a desire to enhance the spaces in their community. Their ultimate passion, though, is serving others, and they use landscaping to fulfill that goal.
When Jacob began his adult career, he pursued a life in ministry. He hoped to foster relationships with those who needed special support and guidance and saw himself in the church working with youth groups. Jacob studied to become a pastor, but felt called in a different
direction shortly after school. He was drawn to the outdoors. Jacob fostered a special skill for landcare since childhood and even worked for a grounds crew in his teen and college-age years. He decided to obtain his Alabama landscape licensing and join a landscaping team. Then, several years later, he considered starting his own practice. With Anna’s support, Taproot Landscaping opened in 2014.
Anna was hesitant at first, but “Jacob really has an amazing eye for this,” she says. “The first job was a patio, and it turned out beautiful. I knew he loved it, so we kept working, and here we are nearly a decade later. I’ve really grown to love it, too.”
Ministry remained a top priority for the couple, and as they developed their business plan, they worked to incorporate it.
“That is how we found Urban Purpose,” Anna recalls. “The group works with local community members who have
challenged backgrounds and are struggling to find a job.
To work with Urban Purpose, Taproot Landscaping forgoes background checks for their potential employees and accepts people with little to no landscaping experience. There is one important prerequisite when joining the team, though: getting to know Jacob. He works
closely with each applicant to gauge their skillset, work ethic and overall character, and typically welcomes anyone who fits in well with the crew. Once on staff, Jacob continues building close relationships with each member, staying true to his ultimate goal of service and ministry. Since launching the business, roughly 100 team members have worked with Taproot Landscaping through Urban Purpose.
“It is so great getting to know everyone
and watching how they grow,” says Anna. “For example, one man on our team, who is phenomenal, is very open with his story. He was living under a bridge when he started working with us. Now he works with a sobriety group and is a leader in the company.”
Taproot also hosts an intern program to engage younger landscapers in the field. They partner with a local high school to find students who are either interested in the job or are unsure of what to do after graduation. The students go through early training steps, assist on job sites and help manage the Taproot firewood department during the winter months. Anna says some students return after graduation to join the team full-time.
“We’ve hired people who don’t even know how to use a weed eater!” she says. “Jacob is truly a great teacher. He just wants people with teachable attitudes. Even though we accept people with little to no
They’ve dealt with things like a criminal record, homelessness, addiction—just brokenness. Jacob needed a team & decided this was the perfect partnership.TAPROOT CREW
experience, we don’t let that negatively influence our product or service. We are very passionate about our quality of work and want to do the best job possible for our clients.”
patios. The crew also takes on irrigationfocused projects to help drainage at various sites and creative work that involves things like art installments and retaining walls.
“A lot of times, our clients come to us not knowing what they want,” Anna says. “They just know they want certain additions, like a firepit or a hot tub. Then, we get to develop ideas with them based on their tastes, lifestyles and the property we are working with.”
Anna says drawing up the designs can be the most challenging piece of the project, but is often Jacob’s favorite step. For Anna, she loves the relationships built on the job and getting the whole family involved. The Snuggs’ three children often join mom and dad at work, visiting project sites and engaging with the crew. The children are some of Taproot’s biggest supporters, too. They proudly wear the company gear and show off the work their parents are doing around the area. This family engagement and community enhancement are two of the many rewards reaped through Taproot Landscaping’s ultimate mission to create “beauty with a purpose.”
“We’ve learned a lot about how to love and care for our team, our clients and our family,” Anna adds. “We want to always do what is best for everybody involved, and it often feels like we are still learning how to do that.”
Taproot also has skilled and experienced landscape professionals on staff to round out the diverse team. Together, the group manages commercial properties throughout the Birmingham area. They handle residential design and build projects as well, specializing in hardscaping, outdoor fireplaces and stone
Our team not only learns skills, they learn to work hard & take pride in what they do. Then, they teach others who come after them. Our crew encourages & learns from each other .
It is a big responsibility & we wear a lot of hats, but it has been such an incredible journey.ANNA, JACOB & THEIR THREE KIDS
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What inspired you to get into the industry?
I enjoyed being outdoors and, when I realized I could make a living without having to wear out my brain cells doing higher math, advanced chemistry and writing a doctoral thesis, I said, ‘lets go for it!’
What’s the best part of your job? Interfacing with a diverse group of people, from landscapers to property owners.
What’s the key to great design? Understanding how to blend form, structure, texture and color, then realizing it has to be maintainable.
What would you blow your money on? Dog training. Although I have spent more than I care to admit and know more than the average person, I have not figured out how to get my dog to bring/retrieve.
What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?
Better wages for the guys and gals in the trenches.
What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry? Don’t settle. Many folks are hiring. Look for your best fit.
What’s the best part of your job? I love helping people solve problems. Whether it was drainage issues, plant issues and now business issues, I love using my experience to help others succeed and make a difference.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?
Deciding I wanted to leave the day-to-day of the industry. The industry has changed so much I felt I didn’t belong anymore, but didn’t know what I was qualified to do. I had never really considered looking at the industries that supported the green industry.
What would you blow your money on? Donating to charities, especially where animals are involved.
What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?
Having a steady labor force. We need to promote the industry as a great career to the younger generation.
What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry? Learn as much as you can from others. Ask for feedback and take it so you can continue to improve.
Senior Environmental Designer, Blackland Collaborative Austin, Texas
www.blacklandcollaborative.com
What’s the best part of your job?
Helping reintroduce biodiverse landscapes into cities and positively impacting human health and wellbeing, while making space for other species. We are at a point where landscape restoration isn’t a nicety; it’s a necessity. An opportunity to redefine our cities and landscapes from that of environmental antagonist to habitat.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?
The decline of botany. People see “green” and think the landscape is healthy when many times that isn’t the case.
What is something not many people know about you?
I was once an underwater archaeologist.
What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry?
Landscape design and maintenance is a key factor for addressing many of the challenges before us (global warming, species decline, heat island effect, obesity in children, water and air quality, etc.) and the industry is in a period of change. It is important that you understand how natural processes work and how you can come up with creative solutions to recreate or optimize ecosystem services.
Director of Horticulture, Charleston Parks Conservancy Charleston, South Carolina
www.charlestonparksconservancy.org
What inspired you to get into the industry? Gardening and cooking with my mother and grandmother. I worked in the food and beverage industry and started growing what I was cooking. I took a job a a local garden center and eventually went back to school for horticulture.
What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited?
Chateau de Valmer in the Loire Valley, France.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?
The lack of understanding of horticulture in the Southeastern U.S.
What’s the one thing that would make the industry better?
“Introduction to Horticulture” in elementary and middle school.
What are you most proud of?
Creating the database of the historic camellia collection at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
What advice would you give to someone entering the green industry?
To visit as many parks and gardens as possible. Meet their curators and find out why and how the landscapes were designed.
Vice President, Landart Solutions LLC
Fayetteville, North Carolina
www.landartsolutions.com
What’s the best part of your job?
On the commercial installation side, I love the thrill of the hunt of the next new, challenging project. On the residential side, working with clients to create an outdoor space that they can live in.
What’s the one thing that would make the industry better? Finding employees with work ethic.
What are you most proud of?
My wife for taking a big leap away from her love of art and creating and growing Landart Solutions with me.
What is your favorite phrase, slogan? Learn to sit back and observe. Not everything needs a reaction.
What’s the best advice you have received for your career?
I had a client tell me one time that it’s not the name of the company that I wear on my shirt or who you work, for it’s the relationship you created with me and that’s why I keep coming back to you to do my work.
What’s your best childhood memory? Riding my 10-speed bike to York, Maine, from York, Pennsylvania.
Deborah Cole on Embracing Setbacks as Opportunities for Growth
Our success/failure measurement is constantly being redefined by society and our industry. Any consideration of it (as it applies to each of us) is as slippery a slope to examine as we might think. In the modern world, depending upon our goals, success might be defined as the number of “likes” on a social media page, the number of invitations to provide our services or simply the amount of the balance in one’s bank account. Although there are societal measurements, I would argue that success is for each individual to determine. Along with evaluating what is success, we must look at what might be classified as failure. Is it a low number of “likes” on social media, a phone that never rings or a bank balance that cannot support our lifestyle.
While society works diligently to dictate what is success and failure, only we should make that determination. Only we can define what is a status of “no win” as it pertains to us and/or our businesses. We all know the story of Thomas Edison and his 10,000 attempts at creating a successful lightbulb. In reframing the definition of failure, he said that he had not failed 10,000 times before success, he had “successfully found 10,000 ways that would not work.” He was able to reframe a situation to his advantage.
As entrepreneurs, by definition we set ourselves on a path fraught with risk. When we wake up in the morning, we never know
what the day will bring, even though we have planned meticulously. Having the grit to start a business, hiring unpredictable humans to work with us and learning a million and one new things are all courageous steps on our path, possibly leading to unexpected outcomes. When I started my business, my parents were so quick with the negative “but, what if” statements. It is surprising I took the risk. Yes, there were challenges and, yes, there were (at least) 10,000 learning opportunities. It was all worth it. Others who do not share our dreams may only see and feel fear of the unknown, anticipating failure as a reason not even to try. Because others own their own fears does not mean they must become ours.
Failure is a word that should be retired and removed from our vocabulary. Even though not meeting expectations will happen and there will be disappointments, we can look at these as links in the chain of our success. These situations are merely learning opportunities along the way to building our businesses and living our best lives.
Entrepreneurs love challenge. We may say that we are competitive and lovers of taking risks, but we are far more than that. We are courageous, optimistic and believers in possibility. Having such a mindset is crucial for success (or whatever term we personally wish to apply).
Using the retired term “failure,” we know that we must experience setbacks from time to time. It is essential that we embrace each one of them fully. We must acknowledge that it happened, examine where the wheels came off the bus, how our expectations weren’t met (were they not realistic?) and how we will forge ahead to learn from each of the encounters. We have all lost bids, jobs and/or contracts. At the time, the world might have seemed cloudy. But, without exception, there are lessons learned and often, upon reflection, gratitude that something happened exactly as it did.
I know that this attitude adjustment sounds like I am suggesting that we should live in a pink-frosted cupcake world that is not reality. But that is not the case. I do know that we live in a world that supports the courageous, the brave and the energetic. A loss can become a win with a reframe and a strength that serves us well as we grow as entrepreneurs in the best industry on the planet.
About Deborah Cole
Deborah Cole is the founder of a commercial landscape firm with multiple locations throughout Texas. She now devotes herself full-time to speaking, writing and consulting.
www.deborahcoleconnections.com
When thinking about the landscape industry, the first thing that often comes to mind is plants. Matt Knick, founder of WillowGrove Landscape, thinks about people first. The complete design, build and maintenance company based on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain provides these services throughout the Northshore area of Louisiana, with every project exemplifying the core values with which the company is driven by. These core values have been cultivated by a lifetime of experiences and are deeply rooted in a belief in guiding principles that extend beyond the individual.
Integrity: Honesty is a driving force for WillowGrove operations. Taking ownership of the work that is performed and communicating the reasons why things are done a particular way creates a transparent,
honest way of doing business that focuses on building trustworthy teams and transparent operations.
Passion: Understanding what drives people is crucial to WillowGrove’s success. Identifying team members that buy into the company culture leads to a level of purpose-driven professionalism that manifests in the projects that are installed.
Relationships: Challenges in landscaping, life and everything in between are unavoidable. The proactive, solutionoriented focus to tackling these trials is exemplified by WillowGrove’s willingness to offer the support necessary to overcome these challenges.
Service: Designing and building landscapes is one way to improve communities; being part of the bigger picture creates an even longer-lasting effect on the people around us. Those living on the Northshore will commonly see WillowGrove trucks around their neighborhoods, but they also often see team members at events supporting the community, such as local Autism Awareness Days and outreach efforts with their church.
These core values have been developed through Matt’s own experiences and the experiences he gained through growing
up in a contracting household and working with several landscaping firms over the years. When the opportunity arose for him to put his stamp on the landscaping industry, putting people first was at the top of the list. Creating an environment that allows both plants and people to grow was priority No. 1.
“Being a man of faith, I truly believe that it is when you give, that you fully receive the blessings in life,” says Matt. It is by this belief that WillowGrove continues to serve the community, creating a lasting impact that extends beyond the landscape.
In our last article, we talked about consultations. Let’s assume you got the job—what’s next? Every landscape design starts with making a base map. A base map is similar to a survey, but it documents changes in grade, existing plants, relevant architecture, property lines and a slew of other site conditions and constraints. There is real pressure to cut corners at this stage, because clients often voice their preference that billable time is spent toward the design. But we’re firm believers that an accurate and detailed base map is worth the investment and the effort, because it will both help your business grow and make jobs more efficient.
scale. (We occasionally produced 3D vignettes in Sketchup.) The lack of specificity of our designs required daily site visits to react to the realities of slope, trees, drainage and gaps in documentation. This worked for a few years because our projects were small and simple, and our low volume of work allowed us to make site visits to provide guidance. As time passed, we generated a long backlog because our current method did not allow for very many jobs at once.
taking on projects of greater complexity and size.
When we started out, we utilized surveys, hand-measurements and photos to piece together a crude representation of the site. Our goal was to get to the build phase as soon as possible and the only drawing we produced was a 2D plan to
We soon realized that if we created more detailed drawings, the need for site visits could be drastically reduced. To do this, we needed a highly detailed representation of the site from which to design. At that point, we began to explore solutions from the construction industry like transits, zip levels and rotary lasers. We identified that certain measurements were critical to a design on every project, like tree flares and door thresholds, and these tools were great with accurately measuring these key points. We saw a huge leap in job efficiency because we avoided the common scenario of stalled contractors awaiting designer’s guidance on unanticipated site conditions. Clients also appreciated smoother projects with fewer change orders and uncertainties. Fine-tuning this process generated business growth, and we found ourselves
Collecting and documenting accurate and detailed information has played a large role in our firm’s success. At this moment, we find ourselves undertaking our most challenging projects to date. We’ve been looking toward emerging technologies to streamline both the process of collecting data and conveying design ideas to clients, which we’ll talk about in our next article.
GET IN TOUCH WITH
Angelica Norton, ASLA
Owner & Principal Designer of Open Envelope Studio LLC
Phone: (512) 925-0155
Email: angelica@openenvelopestudio.com www.oes.design
INSIDE INSPIRATIONAL WORKS THIS MONTH
PAGE 29 MCPLANTS: SYNCHRONIZED ON A SLOPE |
PAGE 33 3.FROMME DESIGN & HDLA:TUCKER RANCH WELLNESS RANCH |
PAGE 36 ACTUAL SIZE BUILDERS INC.: THINKING ABOVE THE BOX
What catches your attention and invites you into your favorite landscape? Is it the motion and sound of bubbling water? The mystery of a stepping stone walking path that says find out where I lead? A crackling fire as the flames dance on gooey marshmellows?
These landscape experiences are not by chance. They are by design.
Separating a good landscape experience from a great one begins with the details and how they interact with each other. Details like understanding the soil, plant material selection, water drainage and the hardscapes are just a few. They are all part of a landscape that enhances a space and invites you to spend time there.
Craig McManus with McPlants emphasizes fundamental details in each of his projects. He works to educate his clients, along with industry peers, on these values. He explains how patience and attention to detail gained his team national attention for engaging landscape spaces.
“We are not just moving dirt around, arranging colored concrete units and plopping down random plants when designing and building a project,” Craig says.
In the latter half of 2018, Craig and his team worked with a couple seeking to develop their garden space behind their Atlanta-area home. Two desires stood out: A space for a large firepit surrounded by seating with enough space for large gatherings and a large putting green.
creating room for the firepit entertainment area and putting green.
The home’s interior lower-level living and entertainment area flows into the outdoor space. The garden also connects with the overlooking upper level visually and through a reconfigured staircase, which added a new hidden entrance into the garden around the backside of the garage.
The seven-hole, 1,350-plus-square-foot putting green offers a delightful challenge day or night. The lighting is designed to cast from a low angle, minimizing the shadows on the playing surface. Craig jokes, “This is the first infinity-edge putting green in the world.” The large green is often used for in-house putting tournaments and keeping the homeowners putting strokes sharp.
Available space was not an issue. A falling grade away from their home was. The new garden space also needed to connect with their home on several levels. The slope became usable space through a series of four different retaining walls
“I wish more folks would pay attention to water drainage,” says Craig. He has another client with a new home in a large subdivision where the entire back lawn fills up with up to a foot of water during rain events. “Whether by intention or incompetence, it is really kind of ridiculous,” he continues. “This was not a retention pond. The lawn was rotting from staying too wet. One problem cascades on to another.”
In regard to the project, the water falling from the sky onto the pavers and other hardscape is handled through a series of vegetative and dry-stream raingarden pathways. The pathways are directing and absorbing water, while also multitasking by offering pathways for people to move through the garden.
We are designing & building spaces where people will interact with nature during significant life events.Photos courtesy of ©Bressner
Water collected from the home’s roof is captured and sent to a soil-covered infiltration pit. The goal is to infiltrate as much water as possible back into the ground. If any water leaves the site, it needs to be as clean as possible. The planted areas are absorbing into the ground or evaporating the water as it would do if undisturbed and naturally vegetated.
All the retaining walls have their own drainage system so they will function properly. One of the most common reasons for retaining wall failure is hydrostatic pressure, meaning water pressure behind the wall. “You need to run water around a retaining wall, not to them,” explains Craig.
Another challenge that was experienced on this project was unstable soil. “When building a retaining wall or any hardscape, you need stable compacted soil,“ says Craig. “While excavating in search of compacted soil, we discovered buried, ground-up tree fiber. It had been covered with fill soil during the home’s construction process. Buried for over 20 years and with very little decayed, it was essentially equal to mulch. That’s not a good base to start a retaining wall. It would have been a disaster if it hadn’t been discovered and a retaining wall built on top of it.”
Several groups recognized this design and build project for its design, execution and craftsmanship. Hardscape North America recognized the project as Residential Retaining Wall of the Year Merit Winner
2020. It is one of McPlants’ capstone projects and largely embodies the motivation and passion behind Craig’s work.
On this project, Craig selected plants that will not outgrow their space. The plants are less stressed out and healthier because they’re not having to constantly be sheared into submission. He also points out that the plants are allowed to show off their natural form, texture and flower. “It makes for a more pleasing and dynamic garden when you’re not robbing the natural beauty of a plant,” says Craig.
The plant varieties and cultivars selected present a sequenced, year-round point of interest. There is always something to enjoy when visiting this landscape in any season. All the major lines in this garden are curvilinear, which allows for a more organic feel and fits into the natural surroundings better.
“I try to make decisions in terms of a long-range perspective,” says Craig. “What will it look like and how will it function in five years? Ten years? A generation from now? Every element will comingle and should function with each other.”
Craig has built his company around the “boutique landscape company” concept. “I believe we are able to focus on the details better, communicate more efficiently and
respond to unforeseen challenges faster,” he says. “For McPlants, we’ve chosen to stay small on purpose. I feel like I am more in touch with my clients. Having the designer on-site makes the design process flow better when issues arise, especially ones that challenge the initial design vision. Adjustments can be made on the fly; it is a big advantage.”
Craig uses his 35-plus years of experience in the green industry to lead his team and provide exceptional client service.
He dedicates time to share his knowledge by speaking to groups and at conferences. He also produces and hosts an educational podcast each Thursday.
“The bottom line of business is that you need to keep learning and growing,” Craig adds. “If you really understand the business, then work to understand it even more. No matter what level you’re on, grow yourself and your team.”
The Garden Question Podcast’s focus is designing, building and growing “Smarter Gardens That Work.” There are over 110 weekly episodes available, with new ones added each week. You can listen and subscribe wherever you consume your podcasts.
Soake® Pools, a family-owned business in New England, has been crafting exquisite plunge pools since 2014. Inspired by the luxury of plunge pools during a vacation, they sought to bring this indulgence to their own home. Faced with a lack of affordable options, they developed a revolutionary manufacturing process to overcome the rigors of any climate.
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Not far from the excitement of Disney World and the crashing waves along the beaches of Florida’s Atlantic Coast sits a relatively quiet city park poised to become a regional asset. Projected for completion in 2025, the core of the existing 209-acre, family-friendly public park will be transformed into a wellness park—a series of cultivated gardens and buildings. Visitors will be invited to taste, learn and exercise as they experience the unique beauty of Central Florida’s subtropical flora.
Tucker Ranch once provided beef cattle for the region west of Orlando, Florida. In 2011, the city of Winter Garden purchased the land from the Tucker family, whose wish was for it to become a city park. With a state grant, the city invested in creating the Tucker Recreational Park and Nature Preserve, which
opened to the public in 2018 offering a playground, picnic area, nature trails and a paddle craft launch on Johns Lake.
Within the expansive park sits a wide lawn, about 20 acres of former cattle grazing land bordered by a live oak-shaded playground, hedgerows and woodlands. This grassy open space is where the city is working with Floridabased 3.Fromme Design and HDLA, a planning, landscape architectural and urban design firm based in Nashville, Tennessee, to realize a vision of the land
once again providing nourishment for the region through the Tucker Ranch Wellness Park. Upon completion of the project, visitors will be encouraged to feed their minds, bodies and souls as they move through and experience a variety of edible plantings, outdoor exercise spaces and a series of thematic gardens. An open-air demonstration kitchen and multi-purpose event building will provide opportunities for educational programming and community activities that will anchor the park as a hub for civic activity.
The city of Winter Garden has developed a vision of a smaller botanical garden within a larger park, a cultivated centerpiece that will reflect the fecundity of the surrounding nature. “The vision is to create an attractive destination that will inspire and educate,” says Principal Designer Tres Fromme. “It will be a beautiful way of drawing people into the site
and orienting them as they are invited to move on to the trails, the lake or a walk through the woods.”
Tres, who the city of Winter Garden contacted because of his work as the lead designer on the Edible Garden in the Atlanta Botanical Garden, says, “As a society, there needs to be more awareness of the benefits of health and wellness tied to the outdoors and nature.”
One of the main goals is to get people outside to pursue wellness through exercise, getting in touch with plants and learning about nutrition. To form and realize this vision, Fromme brought in Landscape Architect Chris Barkley of HDLA, who he has worked with on various projects over the past 16 years, to partner with on Tucker Ranch.
Chris says, “For this project specifically, HDLA is focused on bringing the project vision to life—from initial concept ideation working alongside Tres to project management, consultant coordination, budget development, technical drawings and following it through construction administration.”
Tres jokes that “Chris loves spreadsheets because he can put numbers in them. I love spreadsheets because I can fill them
concepts gave way to one. Tres and Chris interfaced closely during a back-and-forth of ideas that helped shape the city’s vision of the wellness park. Throughout the process, they kept a realistic eye on implementation and maintenance considerations.
“We’ve worked very closely with Laura Coar, Winter Garden’s director of parks and recreation, who is an amazing horticulturalist,” says Tres. “She formerly worked at Disney in horticulture; she really gets how plants, gardens and landscapes positively affect people. Having her at the table from the very beginning was critical. We were able to have conversations about what the needs
front end and have someone with Laura’s background and experience at the table.”
The design includes plantings throughout, with various gardens focused on creating spaces to enjoy fragrance, meditation and storytelling. Native plantings will be featured as well as heirloom Florida garden plants. A potager, or kitchen garden, will feature rotating annuals like tomatoes, lettuce and kale, as well as herbs. An orchard will produce fruits of various types. Edible home landscape demonstration plantings will show visitors what they can plant in their own spaces for eating at home. A mix of perennial shrubs and flowering plants will form the pollinator garden leading to the
find it all? As we start seeing what is available and in what sizes, we might have to try plants that are marginally hardy in USDA hardiness zone 9b. We are very open to the fact that our cultivars might have to change. For example, we have several different cultivars of Loquat. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find some that are bigger than two inches high, or we may have to figure out something else. Coar has been very clear and open about how this is going to change and evolve as we go into plant selection. Laura has noted that a part of the function of the gardens is to test new plants and to see what happens; she has been open to trying things out.”
in historical architecture, they arrived at building designs that reflect a modern interpretation of the Florida cracker style with elements like wrap-around screened porches, walls that fold open in temperate weather and a welcoming outdoor hearth.
As of spring 2023, the wellness park project was in the construction documentation phase and planning to wrap up by the end of the season. Tres and Chris are hopeful for a groundbreaking before the end of the year and, barring any extreme weather events, to have it completed in 18 months.
The city is funding the main portion of the wellness park with significant additional funding from the Foundation for a Healthier West Orange and Advent Health. They are pursuing state funds and are confident their vision will attract the support of various other health-focused organizations.
For years, Tucker Ranch has been humbly drawing locals to play in the shade of its oak trees and wander its nature trails. With the realization of the wellness park, Tucker Ranch will become a destination not only for its natural beauty, but also for this cultivated centerpiece within the larger park.
Tucker Ranch is poised to become both a regional asset and a standard bearer for the future development of health and wellness parks in other cities. As Winter Garden’s vision becomes a reality, Tucker Ranch will be a regional destination for mental, spiritual and physical nourishment.
Tres and Chris worked with Hastings Architecture of Nashville on the buildings. The design process focused on serving
“The city has been very clear all along that they did not want to phase this project,” says Chris. “They’ve been committed to finding the funding and the resources to make it a reality in one phase. Not many municipalities are committed to doing that.”
Principal & Founder of 3.fromme Design
Email: tres@3frommeDESIGN.com
www.3frommedesign.com
HDLA
Nashville, Tenneessee
Email: info@hodgsondouglas.com www.hodgsondouglas.com
Landscapers and builders are increasingly recognizing the environmental impact of their projects. While traditional approaches often disrupt the natural ecosystem, innovative professionals are adopting new strategies to minimize these effects. One approach gaining traction is creative decking, which combines woodworking craftsmanship and thoughtful design to harmonize outdoor spaces with existing landscapes. Actual Size Builders Inc., a company based in Durham, North Carolina, exemplifies this approach and stands out for its use of Thermory products.
Thermory, a leading provider of thermally modified wood products, caught the attention of Actual Size Builders due to its reputation for longevity and ecofriendliness. The homeowners were concerned about their deteriorating deck’s negative impact on the surrounding trees and sought a solution to enhance their outdoor space while preserving the ecosystem.
“We had a deck leading to our house because of the height difference from the street to our front door,” explains the homeowners. However, the deck built in 1987 had rotting sections in contact with the ground. It was sloped and became slippery when it rained. Tight corners made furniture and large items difficult to maneuver, and the deck was encroaching on a large tree. We needed a deck redesign with stairs instead of a slope,
wider corners and a tree-friendly design. Our contractor recommended Thermory as a durable alternative to pine. So far, we haven’t experienced any rot or slippery surfaces. The brushed texture in the Thermory board provides excellent traction, especially in rainy conditions.”
By choosing Thermory products, Actual Size Builders found a sustainable alternative to traditional pine and other decking products. Thermory’s Thermally Modified Wood is known for its durability and resistance to rot. The selected Thermory decking boards featured a brushed texture that improved traction, addressing the slippery surface issue of the previous deck.
Led by Chase Pickett, the CFO and co-owner, Actual Size Builders specializes in various projects, including indoor remodels and outdoor constructions such as rooftops, balconies, porches and patios. With a commitment to preserving the environment, the company undertook a unique project for homeowners situated on a steep slope within a dense forest area. The clients, impressed by a previous collaboration with Chase on a rooftop balcony, desired a similar improvement for the front of their home on a larger scale. Their vision included an entertainment area for guests and an improved walkway to the front door.
“The front deck was originally just four
inches wide, with loose railings on both sides. It felt like walking a plank or crossing a bridge during a mountain adventure like a zipline. They truly needed more space,” recalls Chase. The steep slope presented challenges, making it difficult to navigate and transport items, especially in slippery conditions. Additionally, the abundance of trees contributed to leaf litter, further complicating movement up and down the grade. The homeowners required a safe and accessible solution.”
To address these challenges, the Actual Size Builders team designed and constructed a multi-tiered deck with separated levels and steps. Extending well beyond the house, the deck provided ample entertainment space and incorporated railings for enhanced maneuverability. Strategically positioned stairs ensured safe access to the driveway and front door. Custom-made railings, crafted from 3/4-inch galvanized electrical conduit and trimmed with pressure-treated pine, were chosen.
For the deck’s flooring, the team selected Kodiak Spruce by Thermory, renowned for its thermally treated wood with specialized grooves that enhance traction and prevent leaf litter accumulation. Careful consideration was given to working around existing trees and vegetation, utilizing large cutouts in the wood and a foundation that avoided disturbing root systems. Concrete bases secured the 6x6 posts, replacing those that did not meet building codes. Additional features included a concealed containment unit for trashcans behind a rolling door made of recycled Thermory Pine. Rope lights were installed for evening illumination, adding ambiance.
The project encountered unique challenges due to strict zoning regulations imposed by the surrounding forested area and a nearby creek. By constructing the deck instead of altering the landscape, the construction crew ensured compliance with zoning requirements while minimizing disruption to the ecosystem. The installation involved minimal digging for the structural base, further reducing the environmental impact.
The new deck, built by Actual Size Builders, not only offered a wider space for entertaining, but also incorporated stairs for easy and safe access. The tight corners were widened, eliminating previous difficulties in maneuvering large furniture or objects. The construction process carefully worked around the existing trees, ensuring their protection and growth. By building the deck around the trees, Actual Size Builders successfully preserved the natural elements while providing an improved outdoor experience for the homeowners.
Chase reflects on his commitment to sustainable building practices: “We love to build around trees and do that often. A few years ago, the trend was to place decks on top of finished spaces. However, a few buddies and I decided to move away from that approach due to its environmental impact. Nowadays, there is a growing emphasis on sustainably grown lumber, particularly.”
With their dedication to sustainable building practices and the use of Thermory products, Actual Size Builders exemplifies the growing trend of environmentally conscious construction. By prioritizing the longevity of materials and minimizing the environmental impact, these professionals create outdoor spaces that seamlessly blend with nature, while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the property.
CFO of Actual Size Builders Inc.
www.new.actualsizebuilders.com
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For almost a century, the benefits of horticulture as a therapeutic modality have been proven and documented by the medical community. Universities now offer graduate and postgraduate degrees in the field, and the American Horticultural Therapy Association promotes the practice nationwide. Although not as well-known, topiary can provide the same outcomes as gardening and other therapeutic horticulture practices. Mike Gibson, an award-winning topiary artist, is hoping to shine a light on how the art can be used to help individuals overcome challenges they face, both mentally and physically.
When Mike was just seven years old, he found his ability to function in a traditional classroom environment was impacted by an ADHD diagnosis. He struggled to meet the demands placed on him at school and began exploring topiary as a creative outlet. With the encouragement and guidance of his artist father, he looked forward to the
weekend when he could use his shears to create something unique, free from the rules and expectations of others. Although his diagnosis was looked at as a negative in school, it became an asset in the art of topiary, where he could let his mind wander in the world of creativity. Perfecting his self-taught skills and gaining the attention of neighbors, he gradually grew his clientele and created a lucrative side business that eventually morphed into a full-time career. Little did he know at that time, but topiary had become more than a business opportunity for him. It had become a
coping mechanism for the stresses of life—one that he continues to utilize today. Mike says, “[School] was such a struggle … I would go to school during the week and, on the weekend, I had the chance to cultivate my skills and hone in on my passion. That is what grounded me, that is what helped me calm down. And still to this day, if I’m getting too distracted or something, it is beneficial for me to step outside and start trimming some bushes to just calm down. Even cleaning my shears is therapeutic.”
American Public Garden Association’s annual conference in June.
His message is that topiary is for everyone to enjoy and not just the wealthy and elite, as many believe.
does topiary improve individuals’ mental health, the physical act of trimming and pruning plants can also improve mobility in the fingers and hands.
To bring more awareness to topiary and its therapeutic benefits, Mike feels it is important to offer it as an elective in all schools, particularly the inner-city schools where 4-H and agricultural programs may not be offered. The hands-on approach of such programs has been proven to benefit all children but may be especially beneficial to those with ADHD and who have difficulty in traditional learning environments.
“There are millions of kids that have never heard or know anything about gardening or even anything about horticulture now, but to learn topiary at a young age is pivotal to human success,” he says. “If all kids learned about topiary, it could change a generation.”
Drawing from his personal experiences as well as the widespread mental health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike knew he needed to make topiary available as a therapeutic tool to the public. He started his topiary as therapy workshops in 2022, presenting them all over the country at botanical gardens, nurseries, art museums and corporations. He is scheduled as a presenter at the
After a brief history of the art of topiary and creative pruning instruction, workshop attendees then have the opportunity to become artists. Equipped with an evergreen plant (either an Emerald Green Arborvitae, Yaupon Holly or Compacta Holly), a pair of Niwaki topiary shears and one-on-one support from Mike, they are free to design and create their very own topiary. People walk through the doors feeling doubtful of their abilities, expecting failure, and leave filled with pride at their accomplishments. Through topiary, attendees learn the core qualities of self-empowerment, confidence and patience, all skills that can be applied to every aspect of life. Not only
“This topiary therapy workshop is something that is going to help [people] relieve their stress and help with their mental and creative process, but also their overall health and wellness,” Mike says. He hopes to be a positive voice for how topiary should be accessible so everyone can reap the therapeutic benefits it has to offer. “Not a lot of people are looking at topiary as an art form and as a therapeutic measure to help them heal,” says Mike. “And [it] can be both. I’m trying to let the world know that topiary is nice and aesthetically [pleasing] to look at but it’s also a great tool that you can use to help heal yourself. I don’t know where I would be without topiary.”
If you are interested in booking a topiary therapy workshop, contact Mike Gibson with Gibson Works LLC at www.gibsontopiary.com/contact.
I think topiary has proven throughout time that it is a catalyst to healing , a catalyst to creativity .
Bruce Allentuck knows a thing or two about the landscaping industry. He was just a junior at North Carolina State when he founded Allentuck Landscaping, where he has served as president for more than 37 years. Based in Maryland with more than 30 employees on staff, his company serves residential clients with their landscape design, build and maintenance needs. But instead of resting on his laurels, Bruce continues to innovate and make the industry better. He’s recently built two tech companies to help professional landscapers across the country.
His most recent project is My Landscape Academy, an online training program that highlights safety, equipment and various landscape processes.
“My Landscape Academy was actually started for our own landscape company because we needed a way to train our staff better and faster,” says Bruce. “I looked around the marketplace and didn’t see anything that really fit our needs.”
Already having experience running RightPlantz.com, an online plant guide and directory, Bruce decided to create his own online training program. After using it internally, he shared the program with a few peers in the industry, and they loved it.
“They encouraged me to bring it to market and, with their help, we laid out what the program should look like,” Bruce says.
Nine months ago, they launched My Landscape Academy, which is specifically designed for employees who are new to the industry with no prior landscape experience.
So far, more than 40 training lessons are offered in both English and Spanish and can be viewed online and even from a cellphone. Topics range from how to wear personal safety equipment to using a core aerator, planting ground cover, applying mulch, installing gravel beds and identifying poison ivy—just to name a few. Employees get rewarded for each level they complete, before taking on more complicated issues as they progress through the program.
Many training modules can be accessed for free, but for the full program, landscape companies pay a fee based on the number of users at their firm. Bruce says another perk to using My Landscape Academy is that it puts everyone on the same page.
“I like things done a particular way in my company, and that’s what we’re teaching,” he says.
Allentuck Landscaping’s top way of recruiting is through word of mouth from their own employees, who many times bring in personnel with no experience.
“We have our own recruiting funnel,
employees with husbands and wives, fathers and sons, who come work for us and they know from the beginning what to expect,” Bruce says.
So far, feedback from other users has been positive and most of the lessons translate to other regions of the country, although Bruce admits all material might not translate to everyone.
He continues to work on developing content and is currently launching level three, with plans to do two or three more after that. He says he’s grateful for peers in the industry who continue to use and trial the program for him.
“I love getting feedback, both the good and the ugly,” Bruce says. “I want users to tell me what they think and what needs to happen. And if business owners ask to see a module on a certain topic, we’ll add it if it sounds like a good idea.”
While creating something new can be frustrating, Bruce says all the extra effort has been worth it.
“The giant companies have their own training platforms and it works for them, but I think there’s still an unlimited market,” he says. “We’ve invested quite a bit.”
In the end, Bruce says My Landscape Academy is about trying to help companies grow their businesses better and faster, and the key to that success is through educating and developing the workforce.
“There are so many companies that need help and so many owners trying to figure out how to make their lives easier,” says Bruce.
Bruce AllentuckPresident
ofAllentuck Landscaping
Email: brucea@allentucklandscaping.com
www.allentucklandscaping.com
www.mylandscapeacademy.com
The only way to make your life easier is by training your people . We hope that My Landscape Academy can eliminate a lot of headaches.
It’s important to give employees recognition for a job well done .
Dylan Harper Explains How to Utilize Marketing During an Uncertain Economy
With rising interest rates, whispers of recession and increased labor and material costs, it’s safe to say we are navigating an uncertain economy.
A common reflex for businesses is to cut attention and resources from marketing during economic volatility, but as unconventional as it sounds, marketing must become a greater priority for green industry businesses that want to continue growing during such times.
With insights from landscape business coach and consultant Jeffrey Scott, let’s explore a few practical actions green industry businesses should take while marketing in today’s economy.
Focus on High-Level Marketing Metrics
Given its rapidly evolving complexity coupled with the pressures of economic turbulence, marketing can be difficult to leverage for teams with little marketing experience or do-it-yourselfers.
business owners against focusing only on the marketing flavor of the week and recommends they take a step back to look at the big picture.
Focusing on these high-level marketing metrics will give business owners the clarity and big-picture view needed to make more effective marketing decisions:
• Return on Investment (ROI)
Revenue earned per dollar spent. *Can’t calculate for some campaigns.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) What is spent to earn a new customer
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Total revenue a customer creates over time
The first order of business, they need to know what’s working & what’s not, so they can do more of what works .
Businesses often find that the metrics described in the previous section vary among the services they offer and the types of customers they serve.
For example, some services may contribute to a higher CLV than others, while customers with certain needs or preferences might require a lower CAC than others.
During economic volatility, businesses should put their marketing resources behind promoting services and targeting customers that best serve their strategic needs (e.g. improving cash flow, increasing profitability, building route density, etc.).
Businesses can capture low-hanging fruit by growing existing accounts. It’s easier and CHEAPER to sell services to existing
customers because a relationship is already established.
“Ironically,” Jeffrey Scott reveals, “many customers aren’t aware of the additional services a business offers and are often buying from the competition.” This is why he encourages his clients to advertise to existing customers as much as they do to potential customers.
and direct calls to promote services to customers since the contact information is already in their CRM. Jeffrey Scott shares how one of his top landscaping clients experiences massive returns from frequently advertising to existing customers using email marketing.
If there’s one thing you can take away from reading this, it should be that marketing in an uncertain economy requires more thought, effort and persistence than marketing in a stable one.
Owner of Forge Marketing Group LLC
Phone: (678) 904–5474
Businesses can use cheaper, more direct advertising techniques like email marketing, text message marketing
Email: info@forgemarketinggroup.com
www.forgemarketinggroup.com
Every business goes through changes. As you grow, you need to add divisions or departments. You need to bring in additional leadership or change your software to something more robust or affordable.
You can go about this one of two ways: As a leader, you can make a unilateral decision and expect your team to live with it, or you can thoughtfully plan out your steps to keep your team engaged.
One path leads to resentment and turnover. The other path helps you succeed and thrive.
So what do I mean by “change management?” Change management is the process of implementing major changes to the structure or workflow of your business in such a way that your team willingly agrees to implement the change.
Said more simply, it’s how you handle the changes your business needs in a healthy way.
The first step to successful change management is simply recognizing that you can screw this up and that such an error can damage your business.
There’s a lot at stake when changes are executed poorly. According to the Harvard Business Review, 70 percent of change initiatives fail. Those are betting odds that most businesses will screw this up.
When changes fail, several things happen (all of them bad) to your business. Primarily, you lose the trust of your workforce. This causes fear, which leads to
By Jay Worth, Marketing Manager for Single Opsgrumbling, gossip and loss of enthusiasm for the work.
You also build resentment among your workers and managers. They become disillusioned and frustrated when they’re not consulted or included in the
change management process. They may ultimately start looking for a workplace that shows them this type of respect.
These things lead to higher turnover during a poorly executed change, which hurts your bottom-line profitability in two ways. First, you have increased recruiting and training costs. When you experience turnover, you obviously incur expenses for your business. If you’re savvy enough to track and manage these expenses, you know exactly how much it costs to recruit and train a new employee to the point where they’re producing billable hours. That number increases (sometimes exponentially) if you lose a manager or executive rather than a front-line worker. Secondly, you have diminished capacity to produce the work you’ve sold, causing longer lead times (backlogs) and less billable work being completed. With fewer hands to complete the jobs you’ve sold and fewer crew leaders and managers to supervise that work, your ability to deliver on jobs you’ve sold is drastically reduced. This leads to overtime (and burnout) for your remaining employees, longer wait times for customers expecting you to complete a job and fewer invoices being sent.
In short, your expenses go up while your cash flow is pinched. Never a recipe for a healthy business.
How do you avoid this? You can implement steps to encourage your team’s participation (rather than resistance) in the proposed change. Managing your team and their expectations properly during these changes will pay massive dividends for you once the change is completed. Properly executed change management can even help your team feel empowered and trusted. It can increase engagement and satisfaction at work.
We’ll dive into this in the next article in this series, but here’s a small preview, and the most important thing to remember when considering a change in your business:
You must be solving an actual business problem. Don’t make changes unilaterally or simply based on your workflow preferences.
Changing a workflow, company structure or software simply out of preference isn’t good enough. You must solve a commonly recognized problem in the business.
improve your problem with efficiency. Your team, however, talks to you about how your routing is awful, and you could cut down on waste by improving that function first.
The point is that those doing the work daily recognize a problem. It’s just not the problem you thought. You are trying to solve a problem (efficiency) your way when that’s not the true problem. Your team members are already very efficient in the field, but the routing is the issue.
Talk to your team, discover the real issues and use the change management steps I will outline in the following articles to implement lasting solutions for your business.
Over the last couple of issues, I have enjoyed sharing what I am learning about Emotional Intelligence (EI)—what it is and why it is more important than ever as we begin to understand our human relationship with artificial intelligence. I’ve also learned about how Dr. Daniel Goleman’s five primary EI components show up in the workplace. I’ve written that the most creative, innovative and healthy cultures, and ultimately the most successful companies, understand the importance of EI development within teams and are providing training opportunities at an equal importance to job skill training.
For those who might have missed my two previous blogs, I’ll recap what EI means and provide an overview of the five main EI components. Emotional Intelligence is our ability to understand and manage our emotions and feelings, as well as those of others, in guiding our thinking and then our actions. It is different from the Intelligence Quotient, or IQ, in that it is specific to recognizing emotions and the impact these emotions have in our relationships. Dr. Goleman, who is considered by many to be the leading authority on EI, developed an emotional intelligence theory that outlines five main components:
• Self-Awareness: Knowing what we’re feeling at any given moment and understanding the impact our feelings have on others.
• Self-Regulation: The ability to understand and manage our behavior at any moment.
• Motivation: An inner passion that drives our outer behavior and actions.
• Empathy: An ability to understand and share the feelings of others by imagining the self within the same situation.
• Social Skills: These skills allow us the ability to connect, interact and work with others.
Understanding our emotional gaps, and continuing to develop and grow our skills, will allow us to establish healthier personal and professional relationships, while also measuring our potential to influence and lead others. To wrap up this blog, I’d like to share two EI resources that I’ve come across in my coaching journey that I believe stand out as effective tools.
Psychometric Assessment: EQ-i 2.0® and EQ 360® Emotional Intelligence. The EQ-i 2.0® and EQ 360® has a 1-5-15 structure: EQ-i 2.0® and EQ 360® produces a single EI score, which is then broken out into five subsections, and then 15 subscores. This assessment seems to be the most widely-used EI assessment to date and can be purchased for $350-$450 per test from trained practitioners.
Book: Team Emotional Intelligence 2.0: The Four Essential Skills of High Performing Teams by Dr. Jean Greaves and Evan Watkins. What I like
about this book is that it focuses on emotional intelligence within teams and provides simple exercises that can be integrated into monthly or quarterly meeting rhythms. The four essential skills outlined in the book include team emotion awareness, team emotion management, internal team relationships and external team relationships.
As I shared in my last blog, people are changing, and effective leadership is changing. Our ability to connect and engage with others, motivate our teams and successfully navigate high pressure situations relies on our ability to understand complex emotions. As we gain understanding, we grow compassion and empathy. We develop a greater capacity to accept beliefs that are different than our own because we gain perspective. We build sustainable and scalable teams to lead us into the future.
About Pam DooleyPam Dooley started in the green industry at 13, opened Plants Creative Landscapes in 2005, and expanded to Blue Ridge, Georgia in 2021.
plantscreative.com
and maintain, living green walls for landscapers to add to their range of services. • GSky green walls mount to a variety of surfaces outside, with an irrigation system or integrate with the landscape irrigation. • Interchangeable with ease— one gallon potted plants can be changed out as the seasons change or as the client desires.
All successful companies, small and large, make plans. The plans may be short-term or long, general or quite detailed. The more outlining of the road to success the better. Typically, business plans are developed at the starting line and, if leadership is focused on success, the plans are reviewed and refined on a regular (yearly) basis. Most plan templates include seven to nine components that are familiar: company description, statement of problem solving for clients, products and services, leadership and structure, market analysis, marking plan, an audit of the competition, goals and objectives and a financial plan. Sounds pretty complete, right? But one of the most critical components is never addressed. What does the founder(s) do when it’s time to leave the building? Missing from the majority of business plans is the exit strategy. In a review of the 20 most-followed models and templates for a business plan, only one included a section on an owner’s exit.
Admittedly, no one likes to consider the end of a new endeavor, because it is human nature to be excited about startups. The founder(s) is/are excited along with their families. Friends are supportive, cheering on as the business gets under way. Suppliers are elated to have a new customer and, hopefully, the marketplace is overjoyed at another option. Everything is exciting and optimism is high. But, realistically, everything has an end and we must plan for it to maintain control of it. Our commitment to operate for the benefit of customers, employees and our families must include how it all ends. This end can be planned or left to chance. We strategize for all possible contingencies to set everyone’s mind at ease and to protect those we care for. What occurs more often than we would like is that a young business owner encounters a medical emergency or accident, and life is cut short. Families are left with the burden of unraveling all of the details of the business during a time of grief.
Also, part of the reason we plan for the future is so that we can maximize our return on all of our hard work. A healthy transition means a second half of life that is rewarding and secure.
There will come a time when a business owner wishes to live a life without the stresses of the business world. If he/she waits until this critical point and then scrambles to develop an exit plan, options may be more limited. When plans are laid early in the life of a business, options are many. We will investigate a few of these. No matter what the choice, it is important to have the plan in writing and detailed with the help of an outside advisor.
1. Die with your boots on.
This is not advised. There are no plans and many risks. The advantage of this head-in-the-sand plan is that there are no expenses, no thought that goes into a plan. This may suit some owners. The disadvantage is that when the owner exits the company, there are no provisions for continuity, and family members are left to clean up the mess.
2. Shut down the business in a methodical way. This plan requires minimal planning (12 months or less). The advantage is that there is minimal cost and as long as loans are paid off and there are enough assets and resources to close out financial accounts, it is simple. Unfortunately, any equity in the company is lost and any value in the company for support of the owner in future years is lost. But if ending customer and employee relationships is not a personal concern, this is an easy way to exit. Plan for future sources of income.
3. Transition the business to a family member.
This is the hope of many business founders. The dream is to pass their business on to one of their offspring. The advantages are that there is a sense of pride in passing
on the legacy of a business that has been built. It is also guaranteed new ownership. A disadvantage is that often the founder and the next generation have very different ideas on the way a business should be run. Often the older generation has conservative ideas and the newer leadership wants to implement new ideas, new concepts, new innovation. There may or may not be financial considerations or an official sale involved.
4. Transition the business to a friend. If financial arrangements are satisfactory with both parties and all details can be set out in writing with the help of outside counsel, this can be an option. Every detail of sale, transition and future operations must be nailed down without exception. As a warning, It is difficult to maintain a friendship and a business transaction. One or the other suffers.
5. Sell the business to an employee. This is often a desired plan. Employees of long standing know the business, know the market and are an easy fit. The downside is that an employee may or may not have the financial ability to purchase a company. Owners who carry notes often wish they had not.
6. Sell the business to a national or regional landscape company. This has been the most frequent method of transition in the past decades. Unfortunately, large companies often do not have similar company culture, and the acquired staff feel the difference. It is important to understand this ahead of the transaction, especially if the owner plans to remain in the business for a period of time. Also, national companies only place value on maintenance contracts. Design/ build or construction companies often have difficulty finding a buyer.
7. Sell the business to a local competitor. Even if the purchase
price is acceptable, there can be difficulty. Company cultures may not be in alignment, and it can be difficult to continue to live in a community where a former competitor has acquired the business.
8. Create an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) or sell the business to employees through a hybrid ESOP . There are pros and cons to each of these. It is up to the owner/founder of the business to determine what fits his/her needs and the needs of his/her family. The ESOP is a highly structured manner of turning over the business to employees and, at the same time, allowing the founder to exit with a nest egg to fund his/her future. The traditional ESOP requires the company to be of a size to absorb the payout to the owner and to handle all of the reporting required by the government (ESOPS are tax exempt). Hybrid ESOPS fit the bill for smaller companies that are comfortable with long-term acquisition of ownership by employees.
Deborah Cole is the founder of a commercial landscape firm with multiple locations throughout Texas. She now devotes herself full-time to speaking, writing and consulting. www.deborahcoleconnections.com
About Deborah Cole
No matter what the plan is or becomes, there should be a plan .
No business startup should operate without an exit strategy in place.
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