The Story of Danscaping…

Exactly ten years ago Dan quit his job as foreman at a local landscape business and started up his own landscape company, Danscaping Inc.  Dan was certain that if he was the one calling the shots, things would run smoothly and he’d reap the rewards.  To help him achieve this vision, Dan built a small crew of five employees who worked long, hard days, and were productive and profitable. 

 Over the next few years Danscaping really started to grow and things got busier than ever. Dan was determined not to make the same mistakes his old boss made, so he spearheaded morning planning and job monitoring.  At the same time, Dan’s evenings were filled with chasing leads, refining designs, tracking invoices, and trying to plan the next day’s work.  It was exhausting, but Danscaping’s growth kept him motivated. 

 Soon Danscaping had more jobs, bigger jobs, and bigger snow contracts.  Dan should have been thrilled, but Danscaping Inc. just wasn’t the same company anymore. Dan regularly worked 90 hour weeks—if he wasn’t selling jobs, he was on site monitoring productivity.  It seemed his foremen had lost interest in the work.  Dan would often visit a site to find jobs half-finished, laborers wandering aimlessly, materials everywhere, and an irate homeowner complaining that the flagstone patio they just installed was NOT the color his wife selected at the design meeting! 

 While Dan was busy putting out fires, the sales pipeline fell apart.  Dan would arrive to sales meetings late, unprepared, unkept, and inattentive.  While the client communicated their vision of their ‘garden oasis’, Dan’s thoughts would drift to the project he just left.

Dan was losing control over Danscaping, and it seemed everyone took his efforts for granted.  Half-finished milestones on every project created serious cash flow problems.  As a result, Danscaping had several accounts frozen and credit cards maxed out.  Sales were up from last year, but the company bank balance was down because profits were being consumed by inefficient operations.  Things were completely the opposite of what Dan had envisioned—he was working harder for less profit and nothing was getting done right!

 Dan now faced a difficult crossroads.  He was either going to fix Danscaping’s problems, or he was going to dissolve half of his business, keep a few of his key guys, and go back to the old way of running things.  While contemplating this difficult decision, Dan thought of the only person who could help get out of this mess—Bill Sanders. 

 Dan fired up his truck and headed to Bill’s place. 

 Dan admired Bill, who was 15 years older than Dan and had built himself a great landscape design + build company.  Bill barely had to work anymore; he kept up some relationships with his best clients and helped mentor his new managers, but otherwise came and went as he pleased.  His company, it seemed, ran itself. 

 As he pulled up to Bill’s place, Dan found Bill tinkering with his boat behind the shop.  After exchanging pleasantries, Dan began to talk about his troubles with Danscaping, his life, and now his marriage. 

 “I need your help.” said Dan.  “The stress and frustrations of running Danscaping just aren’t worth it anymore.  I know you don’t have the same problems.  You’ve figured this industry out.  I need your help, Bill—I won’t last one more year without it, I just know it.”

 Bill looked thoughtfully at Dan. He pulled out a pair of cigars, passed one to Dan, and began to mull over what he was going to say.  Bill knew he couldn’t fix Dan’s ailing business himself, nor did he have the time to do it. Besides, Dan wasn’t using an operating budget, which meant he’d have to help him build one from the ground up.  Bill also knew he was scheduled to spend the next month at his cottage—a trip he had promised his wife at the start of the season, and Bill never broke a promise to his wife. 

 “Listen—there’s no secret to the way I run my company.  We use a simple set of systems and tools that ensure we work efficiently and make the right decisions. But this doesn’t mean I can fix your company—heck, I might even make things worse!” stressed Bill.

 “You won’t.” pleaded Dan, “It can’t get much worse. I just need you to look at Danscaping for a week and point me in the right direction.”

 “A week!?” gasped Bill.  “I’m bound for the cottage this month…” 

 Bill paused.  By owning a business, selling work, and building relationships for many years he’d become good at reading people.  Dan looked like a beaten man, and Bill just couldn’t let an old friend down.  

 Bill leaned over and looked Dan squarely in the eyes.

 “I’ll tell you what, Dan. I can’t give you a week of my time right now, but I’ll give you my cell number and you can call me in the evenings.  I’ll talk to you from the cottage and I’ll see what I can do. But you need to understand that the only person who can fix Danscaping is Dan, with the help of his team, his systems, and his tools. 

 The wrinkles on Dan’s forehead relaxed.  Neither man said anything for a while, and after finishing their cigars Dan extended his hand out to Bill.

“I can’t thank you enough for your help,” he said.  “You won’t regret it!”

… to be continued

Wish you knew a ‘Bill’ to help steer your company in the right direction?  Join LMN and Landscape Ontario for their Seize Control:  Your Operating Budget workshop series.  Bring your company’s numbers, and leave with an operating budget and pricing system built specifically for your company.  At only $100 for three full days of education, guidance, and advice, there has never been a better opportunity to improve your business.  For more information go to www.landscapemanagementnetwork.com, email at workshop@landscapemanagementnetwork.com, or call 1.888.347.9864.

The Danscaping story is pure fiction.  Any resemblance to actual companies is purely coincidental.

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