SERVICE GROWTH PLANNING
GrassPerson , continued from page 28 is the market opportunity . Ultimately we ' re finding that the landscape maintenance and the bid-build business is a good business that generates millions of dollars of revenue . It ' s difficult to scratch out the same kind of profit that you can get from a dedicated irrigation business , a dedicated lawn care business or a dedicated lighting business .
We don ' t try to cover the entire Dallas area , but we do have an eye on expansion oriented around the business unit . As a company , we can imagine having multiple locations where we might have two or three technicians , a customer service person or a salesperson handling 10 ZIP codes , and they ' re embedded in that area . You can start those up pretty quickly for relatively low cost versus everyone coming into one place then having people drive an hour to see the first client . So , we ' re looking at some geographic expansion as well , but ultimately our strategy is to run separate businesses that are highly focused on the things that they do .
On the lighting side of the business , it ’ s everything for outdoor lighting and décor under the brand of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives . They ' ve been building a whole marketing strategy , pricing and focus areas with dedicated leadership . We ' re going to have dedicated team members , brand , website , vehicle wraps , etc . – all in a different legal entity . The idea is to get to a place where you can specialize , but you can also cross-fertilize and cross-market .
OPE +: Thinking about acquisitions , are you always looking to buy ? Moore : We ' re in a growth mode . We ' re looking for companies that have similar core or cultural beliefs – that treat their employees well , have a good brand and run a clean business . They don ' t have to be the biggest . Larger or private equity companies would say why buy a small one when it takes the same amount of effort
... be ready to be sold . Always be working on your financials . Always be trying to improve the quality of the earnings in the company ...
to buy a bigger one . But on the buy side , I think it ' s really cultural fit , geographic fit and it boils down to earnings . Are they going to be willing to sell at a reasonable valuation ? Some people are . Some people are not , and a lot of that ' s handholding and education . Part of our strategy is to build relationships long term .
For example , I ’ m meeting someone for lunch who is not for sale . But my intention is to explain to him it doesn ' t matter , because we ' re going to be here . Let me sell you on who we are and what we ' re trying to do . And when you ' re ready , give us a call . Cultivating long-term relationships is important .
OPE +: What about selling your business ? Moore : On the sell side , we ' re not for sale , so we ' re not really thinking about selling right now . But I understand that at any given time , we should be ready to be sold . What does that mean ? Always be working on your financials . Always be trying to improve the quality of the earnings in the company unless you ' re in a heavy investment mode .
It ’ s always being prepared , having audited financials , having a solid CPA firm as a partner that ' s going to make sure that your bookkeeping is correct and it ' s GAAP accounting standards , etc . It ' s about trying to build a franchise-type business where if we wanted to , it ’ s a franchisable business , a proven business model and we could go to a buyer and say , “ you ' re buying our name .” The name GrassPerson is a federally trademarked name . Our long-term strategy is that it ’ s a trademarked name that ' s going to be here and is going to be a really big business over time .
I have a couple sons who work in the company as well , and their runway is 20 years or more . If they wanted to expand and franchise all over the country , we have written processes , we have operation manuals , and we ’ re organized .
Some sellers only want to sell to a certain kind of buyer . They may say they will never sell to an institutional buyer . Others couldn ’ t care less .
You can get hung up on personal preferences . My recommendation to a seller is to think wisely , because you could spend a lot of time trying to get to perfection and never get there . If you structure it well , even if it ' s an equity buyer or a private equity company , you can still take care of the people that you want to take care of . It ' s a matter of negotiating that into the deal . If that particular buyer doesn ' t want to participate in the things that you feel are important , just keep looking and find another one . There ' s a bunch of them out there , and there probably will be a bunch of them out there for quite a while .
What I learned a long time ago is that you want to be clear about the business that you ' re trying to be in , because otherwise you can spin your wheels a lot and never get anywhere .
In the green industry , when you ' re doing a lot of different things , sometimes you have to have different aspects of a business model in there . Part of your business may need to be the everyday low price . My advice would be to really figure out the business you want to be in . Then you have to have the right people that can provide intense focus on that business and not get distracted by all the other things that are going on around them . Measure three times , cut once .
30 OPE + September 2024 www . OPE-Plus . com