Landscape Business Fiscal Success

By Tim Kubista

With continued inflation , a labor shortage and rumblings of recession on the rise , the landscaping industry must rethink all the old strategies it once relied upon to build business .

The industry survived the pandemic and the supply chain crisis of the past two years only to be faced with these new problems that threaten to prevent you from growing your landscaping company the way you want .

It ’ s no longer enough to put an ad on the job boards to attract employees or provide your workers with average equipment or pay . You also can ’ t rely on word of mouth to drum up new business while your competition is using the latest technology to secure work and hire the industry ’ s top talent .

But now is not the time to manage your business by fear .

Tightening labor market

As anyone who picks up a newspaper or follows the news knows , the labor market is tightening to such a degree that finding enough workers to fill open positions has become a struggle all business owners face .

This is even more evident in positions that require physical labor , such as the landscaping industry .

Baby Boomers are retiring , and there are simply more people leaving the workforce than there are entering it . Right now , the United States is short about 400,000 to 500,000 workers , and it ’ s not going to get better . In five years , we may be short as many as 1 million workers .

And no silver bullet is going to fix this problem .

Landscapers must develop a strategy that will allow them to continually recruit top talent . For example , if you know there are only 100 people in your market willing to do a specific job , you should target the top third of that talent .

Identify those who want to work hard , who will show up on time and take care of your equipment , then go after those people with gusto .

You may need to pay more , of course , but it ’ s not just about money . It ’ s also about culture and work environment . You can offer newer equipment , latemodel clean trucks , nice uniforms and a positive company culture . No single thing is going to attract all the top talent .

Second , hire a recruiter whose only job is to be in the trenches and recruit talent . You should make a concerted effort to not only actively recruit high school students who don ’ t want to go to college and might be interested in a landscaping career , but be prepared to also actively recruit on social media . Look at your competitors to see how they are retaining their talent . Make contacts with those individuals who do a good job , and keep them on your radar .

Keeping a stable of good employees is important if you want to succeed in the landscaping industry .

Using technology

One way to free up cash in order to hire a recruiter is through technology .

There are several companies that can handle your business operations so you don ’ t have to – whether it ’ s hiring a human resources management company to do your payroll and taxes or a company to answer your phones and set appointments . Outsource those items that are not your core expertise .

There is also new equipment that can help you reduce the headcount of entrylevel employees . Autonomous products such as robotic mowers can help you take a mowing crew of three down to a crew of one , while remote-controlled mowers can replace manual mowing of steep slopes and extreme landscapes .

This technology helps you to not only be more efficient , but it also allows you to improve the compensation of your more talented employees .

And , in an interesting twist , this technology can help you identify niche markets your competitors don ’ t want to work in . Robotic mowers can allow you to bid out more work on tasks like landscaping steep slopes , wetlands and other areas that many landscapers hate to touch because of the safety risks and time constraints .

The good news

While no one wants to mention the word , “ recession ,” the fact is that landscaping is an almost recession-proof industry . People have to maintain their properties . They might cut back on introducing new landscaping features , but they still need their yards mowed , their properties pruned and their flowers tended .

Still , there ’ s no denying that land-

28 OPE Business March 2023 www . OPEBusiness . com