I had the opportunity earlier this month to speak at the Landscape Alberta Green Industry Show & Conference (GISC). One of the seminars I led was Grow Your Snow Business. As we’re just starting the winter season, I thought that some of the information I shared at that seminar might be helpful and get you off to the most efficient start. Although I was speaking specifically about snow businesses, all this information is easily transferable to any contracting business.

We talked about six areas of business: Leadership, Customers, Staff, Finances, Operations, and Safety. Below I’ve listed some key points for the first three areas. each area, as well as some KPI’s to help you have success in that area.

1. LEADERSHIP

• Invest in professional development opportunities: Always be learning. Attend conferences, get involved in your local landscape organization, listen to podcasts, read books, network with others, join a peer group.
• Implement regularly scheduled meetings:...

In my conversations with business owners, there are issues and problems that seem to arise over and over again. They’re the same problems most owners deal with, the same ones I deal with. We found this article by Roberta Matuson to be very practical and helpful - 7 common mistakes business owners make and how to avoid them. I’m all about avoidance when it comes to mistakes! Take a look and let us know what you think. Do you have any other tips to add to the list?

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I've been in business for over 20 years and have seen my share of mistakes made by business owners — many that certainly could have been avoided. Here’s my list of common mistakes business owners make, along with advice on how to avoid following suit.

1. Failure to hire for fit.
Think about a job that you worked in that didn’t work out. Was it because you didn’t have the skills to do the job, or was it because your values did not align with the...

Let Nextra Consulting get you prepared and expedite the process of hiring foreign workers. 

We understand that Canadian employers need a reliable and stable workforce to maintain sustainable growth. Good access to skilled staff can make the difference between your company and your competitors. 

Nextra Consulting’s LMIA Process Services provide support and recruitment services to help employers address labour shortages with qualified foreign workers. Nextra has been working tirelessly, seeking guidance and direction, and building partnerships in order to provide these services. We offer hassle-free, fair-priced services and accompany our clients throughout the whole LMIA application process. We enable our clients to focus more on their business rather than their staffing problems or LMIA process. 

 Here is how we do it:

SERVICES 

• Complete assistance: Our team guides your company and staff throughout the entire recruitment and application process. This...

If you joined us at our GROW event in Stoney Creek in August, you saw the Metal Pless Live Edge blade in action on the Merlo machine. With that in mind, we are thrilled to hand over the blog to Metal Pless this week as they share more about their company with you. 

Metal Pless of Plessisville, Quebec is a frontrunner in the snowplow manufacturing sector. Clients rely on the company’s products to clear public roadways, commercial and industrial properties, as well as airports during and after a snowfall. It is a task done under intense time pressure and scrutiny; city streets and parking lots must be plowed quickly to maintain access in adverse weather conditions.

The company’s products can be fitted on various vehicles including tractors, wheel loaders, backhoes, skid steers, and tandem trucks. Plows are sold through a North America-wide dealer network. Dealers, in turn, sell to customers – typically snow contractors, Departments of Transportation (DOT),...

80% of new businesses fail every year. 

While that number seems staggering, it’s not all that surprising. Owners get on the hamster wheel of being a technician and working in the business 24/7 instead of on the business and before long they are burnt out and have no money to show for it.

I have been there; I get it. Thankfully there is a better way.

Today’s book recommendation is a good one for this topic. The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz walks you through a different way to look at and run your business by comparing it to the process pumpkin farmers use to grow the biggest pumpkins year after year.

While there is a tonne of incredible information, there are 3 things that really stood out to me:

1. The way he recommends asking for referrals. Instead of asking clients for referrals, Mike recommends that you ask them for the name of contractors that they are working with and that you build relationships with those people because they probably have a hundred clients...

If your staff are not making a living wage all winter long, chances are they will be looking for employment elsewhere. This can be challenging during winter months when you are reliant on snow events to provide them with hours. You’re going to need to get creative.

Can you work on a banked hours system through the summer? They wouldn’t make overtime but the banked hours could top up their pay throughout the winter months.

What about the SUB program we've chatted about previously? Look into it and see if your staff are eligible for it. You can read more about it HERE.

Can you set up an on-call schedule in advance (like some of our clients do) so that your staff know in advance when it’s their turn to watch the weather as opposed to being on-call all season long?

What about offering them new or late model equipment, training, regular communication and employee events during the winter to maintain culture? Whatever you do in the summertime for your staff -...

If you joined us in Stoney Creek this week you saw the Metal Pless Live Edge blade in action on the Merlo machine. With that in mind, we are thrilled to hand over the blog to Metal Pless this week as they share more about their company with you. 

Metal Pless of Plessisville, Quebec is a frontrunner in the snowplow manufacturing sector. Clients rely on the company’s products to clear public roadways, commercial and industrial properties, as well as airports during and after a snowfall. It is a task done under intense time pressure and scrutiny; city streets and parking lots must be plowed quickly to maintain access in adverse weather conditions.

The company’s products can be fitted on various vehicles including tractors, wheel loaders, backhoes, skid steers, and tandem trucks. Plows are sold through a North America-wide dealer network. Dealers, in turn, sell to customers – typically snow contractors, Departments of Transportation (DOT), airports, or other...

Have you asked your clients how they prefer to be contacted? Phone? Email? Text?

Choosing to communicate with your clients in the way that they prefer may seem like a simple thing, but it’s a simple thing that shows clients you are truly listening to what they are saying to you. 

If you are using their preferred method of contact, are you communicating well with that format?

Communicating well means being proactive in your communication about their project. Is it going to take longer than expected? Will a rain day or scheduling glitch mean a delay before you're back on their site? Communicate this information with them as soon as you know instead of waiting for them to ask.

Proactive communication builds confidence and trust. People who trust their contractors are more likely to them to their friends and family. It’s the simple things, like texting (if they prefer a text), that can make a huge difference.

Once you have great communication you can use things like a...

Are you asking for customer feedback after every job? Not some jobs, but all of them?  

Gathering feedback from every client provides you with insight that will help your company understand your customers wants, needs and the necessary information to help you stay relevant in your industry. Surveys are important tools for improving your business and ensuring your customers send you referrals.

Over the years I’ve found customer surveys to be one of the most consistent and effective ways for receiving customer feedback. You can get great insight with only three questions: 

1. How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?
2. What’s the biggest factor in your answer?
3. What can we improve on?

There are a lot of platforms available for surveys, but two that I have found to be easy to use and cost effective are:

Survey Monkey

Survey Sparrow 

Customer feedback is one of the best tools we have - take advantage of it!

Do you have a client that needs to be fired? Does that question cause you to recoil?

I know it seems counter-intuitive. You feel like you can’t possibly do that; you need the work and you don't want to tarnish your reputation. But hear me out.

I’m not saying you should cancel a contract mid-season, though that may be appropriate at times. What I’m talking about is reviewing contracts at the end of the season and rating them based on a few different criteria to ensure it makes sense to continue a working relationship with them. 

We can often feel like we need to take all the work that comes our way because, well, we need to make money. The problem with that mindset is that we can get booked up with small jobs that aren’t especially profitable and then don’t have time to complete the bigger, more profitable jobs that come our way.

An article from Landscape Management listed these six variables to take into account before you renew contracts:

Revenue...