5 Tips Before Starting a Landscaping Business
Still thinking about whether starting a landscaping business was a mistake? Thinking of quitting already? Why don’t you hold that thought for now and let me help you out...
For a starter, it sure is tough getting in on the game, or is it? Let me tell you now, in the technological age, it has gotten a lot easier to learn the secrets of the trade, you just have to know where to look. I’m the founder of The Landscaping Employee Trap, Keith Kalfas. Let me share my experiences of starting my own landscaping business. Understand these five crucial things to get a jumpstart in the industry!
You’re Going To Do Counterintuitive Things
Like calling the landscape supplier and canceling an order that you just placed a couple of hours ago and then call them 30 minutes later, resubmitting the order. And then calling them half an hour later, AGAIN, and canceling the same order. They might even ask, "are you sure you want to be a landscaper?"
Any startup can fall in a financial position where you are tens of thousands of dollars out. Money is tight and you’re frantic with every deal you make. From the outside it might look like your head is way up your ass. But like I always say, you need a thick skin in this business because not everyone will understand what’s going on. So compose yourself, pick up the phone, and submit that order again.
Don't Let Pressure Get a Hold of You
At some point in your life, you will suffer a grievous problem whether you did something wrong or not. You are going to end up having a total meltdown in front of your first few employees and you’re going to lose them. Don't let the pressure get a hold of you and let your personal problems interfere with work.
If work problems arise, don’t call your employees after work hours to discuss work. You are not paying them to be on-the-call. You will stress them out and they will eventually quit on you. Either write it down and discuss it in the last 5 minutes of the day or talk about it the next morning at work.
Everything You Do Quantifies 10X!
As a leader, everything you do around people like your employees or business-owners quantifies by ten times. When starting a landscaping business, you will deal with fear and anxiety. Why? Because you are always worried about the money.
You may (and you will) come across rude customers and because it’s a business, you need what they will be paying you. My tip? Don’t let that fear get in the way of you standing up for yourself. These things will happen and if you do not learn how to properly handle them, your credibility and integrity as a business owner will suffer.
Find Your Fab-Five
Your business is a mirror image of what’s going on inside of your mind and your emotions in real time. If your business is in a constant state of emergency, then it will reflect on you as well.
Here’s a tip, find your fab-five. These should be like-minded people who understand the inner workings of a business. Someone you fully trust who will smack you in the face with some honest to goodness advice for your business. It gets brutal to talk about but the more you recognize that, the more you get dead-serious about divorcing yourself from the chaos and getting back into control. Pick them wisely. And if you can’t point to anyone right now, find out who they are and build those relationships now.
Find Your Happy Place
If things are rocky at home, then it’s going to be rocky with your business. When you are having a disconnection or a disagreement with your spouse, the longer it takes you to fix it, the longer your business will suffer.
When you’ve gone through so much in life, the only thing that you can do is find your peace within yourself. It will not matter how much money you make or how big your business gets. If you don’t have peace, it’s not even worth it. So go find that peace and happy place with your spouse and family and it will reflect in your business.
When you’re being emotionally hijacked by fear and you delve into it for too long, fear will become your reality and it will tear you down to the bottom. So what can you do? You have to consciously take that fear and crush it. Recognize it, tackle it, and be free to act again without second-guessing yourself.
