Despite what the term suggests, a superstar employee doesn’t necessarily have to posses some sort of exceptional skill set or overly-impressive resume to benefit your business. In fact, there is arguably more value in hiring someone with the right mindset, work ethic and positive attitude. However, when you do find and hire an employee that embodies the right attitude, it is still your job to foster an effective and motivational workplace environment. Here are 4 ways to encourage employee motivation.

New to LMN? Or just stopping by to check out what’s new? We’ve compiled some of our ‘most useful’ posts so you can get a jumpstart on planning for your most profitable and successful season yet!

Implement the right systems and spend less time working IN your business, more time working ON your business.

When armed with the right information, creativity and marketing strategies, opportunities abound for innovative contractors to capitalize on the green movement. Bearing in mind the water conserving benefits of using water features to limit grass space, here are some two noteworthy “trends” in water features.

In this economy, the only businesses that will thrive are those that are better than their competition. Instead of trying to compete on low price to win work, join us, Toromont Cat and the Landscape Management Network (LMN), for a 2-day business management workshop guaranteed to give you a competitive advantage in 2011! The raving reviews speak for the workshop, itself. LMN’s Plan for Profit Workshop will empower you to change the way you do business forever. Based on the success seen by other associations, we’re more than positive you’ll be blown away by this invaluable, “eye-opening” experience.

We’ve looked back at the trends in landscaping from the 1920s to 50s and discovered that with each passing decade, outdoor space is not only used for different purposes, but it deeply reflects the cultural and social conditions of the time. Here we look at landscaping trends from the 1960s to today.

With the growing trend to go green and with some areas facing laws against the use of pesticides, the plight for an environmentally-friendly lawn care product that still delivers the optimal results your clients expect is more important than ever. We’ve been diving into the topic of green solutions to pesticides ourselves and, in our quest to discover the latest trends we’ve come across a green manufacturing company that appears to be receiving quite a bit of buzz throughout Canada and the US as well. Read more about it here.

Nowadays, some form of landscaping – even if it means a few trees, a small yard, a porch or patio – is expected. That being said, while basic landscaping is the norm, most homeowners actually take it a step further. They feel it is important to enhance the curb appeal to their home and, more importantly, they enjoy having an outdoor space that is completely tailored to their own tastes. Hence, the desire to treat the landscape as an extension of the home, complete with all the comforts and added luxuries of the inside interior. But it wasn’t always this way.

For fun, here’s a look back at the landscaping trends of earlier decades – minus today’s Japanese-inspired spa gardens, outdoor kitchens, and fire pit tables.

We all want to maximize our profit. The good news is that most contractors in the landscape industry actually have room to increase the profit line on their financial statements and, despite what many think, it’s not just about adding sales! The real ticket to boosting your profits lies in understanding- and –maximizing – your capacity.