Wait! What!
Recently I heard of a local landscape company owner who is ready to walk away from the business. Now, ever since I started landscaping in 2000, I always thought that starting your own company was the goal. Be your own boss, set your own work hours, exploit some workers, etc.
Proper Landscaping Inc was born with a dream like that and now the company provides great landscape maintenance services throughout the Lower Mainland. There’s no walking away.
Why quit?
So it’s interesting to hear about the owner of a small, but established, landscaping business is ready to call it quits. Why?
Because he can’t find any good people to rely on to scale his business. he wants to expand and, perhaps, ease up a bit. He wants good people to do good work without him being there all day.
That’s the dream: build a good team and then you make a great living. But the job market landscape has changed with the pandemic. People stayed home and got a chance to re-evaluate their lives. Why would someone go work for a small landscaping company?
The Landscape Management Network (LMN) says that in the US, 92% of landscape companies struggle with hiring, training and retaining staff.
My own work life in 2022 is hybrid: I have a full-time job as a landscape manager but I also blog for a living and I have many private side-gig clients. Small residential clients. But it’s clear what my day-job boss is offering me.
What are you offering?
What’s our landscape company boss offering, exactly? According to the Landscape Management Network (LMN), people can get a paycheque anywhere. How does working for a small landscape company enhance my life? Is there a way for me to develop personally and professionally? What’s my future pathway?
If it’s just a paycheque, our small business owner will continue to struggle in his talent search. There aren’t many great landscapers available in the Lower Mainland, and lots of companies are looking as well. It looks grim.
You can’t just pay me some cash to take your truck, deliver great service and maybe rarely see the boss. That’s a silly dream for a small company. So, what are you offering? Great pay, benefits, education support, on-the-job training, nice work sites? I know that it is a long year out in the field. The work is physical, in all kinds of weather and the weather is getting more erratic. How many summer heat domes will it take for people to walk away? My fear is getting stuck in a winter vortex with weeks of super cold temperatures.
Conclusion
I can’t wait to see how this thing plays out. Will our local landscape company owner quit or will he find the star performers he craves so much? He needs a great team in order to scale his business and make great money.
I just want him to think beyond a simple paycheque. I want my life to get better; and I want to develop personally and professionally.
